Retire on 3k per month thoughts...

[REWahoo]

Living on $700/month? You're on drugs

I don't think drugs will fit in his budget...

 

[Milton]

Rush Limbaugh is a great man. He has brains and guts, qualities which are in short supply these days. My main area of disagreement is with his eternal optimism. He thinks the leftist drift can be fixed. I do not.

What Zipper said (post #14).

 

[SecondCor521]

Living on $700/month? You're on drugs

Data by category from 2/26/2009 through 8/25/2009, directly from Quicken, excluding the three categories previously mentioned:

Food -1,688.27
Utilities -1,058.37
Recreation -413.14
Auto -294.75
Insurance -159.20
Misc -141.50
Medical -73.79
Bank Charge -63.00
Clothing -59.66
Charity -58.31
Cash -46.59
House -44.08
Work Expense -20.06

Total is $4,120.72, divided by six is $686.79. My post yesterday was based on the six months ending yesterday, which included a grocery shopping trip for $87.03 on 2/25/09 and excluded the $6.35 I spent on lunch today. ($4,120.72 + $87.03 - $6.35 ) / 6 is $700.23.

I am on one maintenance prescription medication which is $15.99 for a 90 day generic supply at Rite Aid, appropriately categorized under Medical:Medicine. I also take a generic multivitamin every day, but I doubt you'd count that.

Let me know which specific number(s) you don't believe and I'd be happy to expand or clarify.

Based on your disbelief I am guessing you live in a much higher cost-of-living area than I do. Statistically you probably live within 100 miles of an ocean. I am a thrifty fellow living in cheap flyover country.

ETA: Whoops, I just noticed I mentioned drugs first. Ignore any huffiness in the above, but the facts are still legit.

2Cor521

 

[free4now]

Data by category from 2/26/2009 through 8/25/2009, directly from Quicken, excluding the three categories previously mentioned:

Food -1,688.27
Utilities -1,058.37
Recreation -413.14
Auto -294.75
Insurance -159.20
Misc -141.50
Medical -73.79
Bank Charge -63.00
Clothing -59.66
Charity -58.31
Cash -46.59
House -44.08
Work Expense -20.06

Total is $4,120.72, divided by six is $686.79. My post yesterday was based on the six months ending yesterday, which included a grocery shopping trip for $87.03 on 2/25/09 and excluded the $6.35 I spent on lunch today. ($4,120.72 + $87.03 - $6.35 ) / 6 is $700.23.

I am on one maintenance prescription medication which is $15.99 for a 90 day generic supply at Rite Aid, appropriately categorized under Medical:Medicine. I also take a generic multivitamin every day, but I doubt you'd count that.

Let me know which specific number(s) you don't believe and I'd be happy to expand or clarify.

Based on your disbelief I am guessing you live in a much higher cost-of-living area than I do. Statistically you probably live within 100 miles of an ocean. I am a thrifty fellow living in cheap flyover country.

2Cor521

Wow, I take back my crack about you being on drugs. That's seriously impressive. I don't know anyone whose car expenses are only about $450 (294.75 Auto + Insurance 159.20) for 6 months. Most people estimate that amount per month.

I will admit to living a few miles from the Ocean, and in fact in one of the most expensive cost of living locations in the world (San Francisco). I find that because of the mild weather here I don't have to spend on things that lots of flyover country folks deal with, like snow removal, high heating/cooling bills, replacing weather-damaged property, self care costs for cold/flu season, warm clothes, crime and security costs, etc. The fact that your utility bills are nearly as low as what I spend on my 1 bedroom apartment in mild San Francisco indicates to me that you are actively working to keep your costs low.

 

[Moemg]

Hmm. I wonder what drug I was on when I wrote that.

Current numbers are about $3700 per month, with about 80% spent on kids, taxes, and mortgage interest. So I actually am living on about $700 per month aside from those 3 things.

2Cor521

I'm sorry but this is like me saying I only spend $600 a month because we are not counting taxes , insurance and travel . What you spend is the bottom line not minus kids ,mortgage and taxes .

 

[W2R]

Wow, I take back my crack about you being on drugs. That's seriously impressive.

I second that! As I look at your expenses and compare them with my own, in category after category you are spending less. Not that I am any paragon of LBYM virtue myself, but I don't think I spend an excessive amount on most categories and I am really impressed (especially with the utilities/energy since I think you live in a cold climate - - you must be really working with that thermostat!). If you could just get rid of that "bank charge", whatever that is, you would be spending closer to $600/month than $700/month. Congratulations on some great budgeting accomplishments.

I don't think drugs will fit in his budget...

Looks like there is nowhere near enough wiggle room in that budget for the kinds of drugs you guys are talking about, at any rate!

 

[TromboneAl]

Here are our numbers for last year, just under $3,000/month (click then click again to make them big enough to read).

 

[FANOFJESUS]

Data by category from 2/26/2009 through 8/25/2009, directly from Quicken, excluding the three categories previously mentioned:

Food -1,688.27
Utilities -1,058.37
Recreation -413.14
Auto -294.75
Insurance -159.20
Misc -141.50
Medical -73.79
Bank Charge -63.00
Clothing -59.66
Charity -58.31
Cash -46.59
House -44.08
Work Expense -20.06

Total is $4,120.72, divided by six is $686.79. My post yesterday was based on the six months ending yesterday, which included a grocery shopping trip for $87.03 on 2/25/09 and excluded the $6.35 I spent on lunch today. ($4,120.72 + $87.03 - $6.35 ) / 6 is $700.23.

I am on one maintenance prescription medication which is $15.99 for a 90 day generic supply at Rite Aid, appropriately categorized under Medical:Medicine. I also take a generic multivitamin every day, but I doubt you'd count that.

Let me know which specific number(s) you don't believe and I'd be happy to expand or clarify.

Based on your disbelief I am guessing you live in a much higher cost-of-living area than I do. Statistically you probably live within 100 miles of an ocean. I am a thrifty fellow living in cheap flyover country.

ETA: Whoops, I just noticed I mentioned drugs first. Ignore any huffiness in the above, but the facts are still legit.

2Cor521

As another person in fly over country I have a few questions to ask.
How about house taxes and insurance you pay those if the house is paid for or not. What are they costing you?

 

[HFWR]

I don't think drugs will fit in his budget...

Well, if he'd get rid of all that unnecessary stuff...

 

[Sam]

Here are our numbers for last year, just under $3,000/month (click then click again to make them big enough to read).

Al,
Impressive, even with the house already paid for.

Edit:
I just looked at it more closely and did not see "auto insurance". I also noticed that "telephone expense" is very low (340). What's the secret?

Sam

 

[TromboneAl]

I just looked at it more closely and did not see "auto insurance".

It's part of Car & Truck, though it should be broken out. $350/year for the Echo and 234.20 for the Tacoma.

I also noticed that "telephone expense" is very low (340). What's the secret?

I guess we just don't talk much. We pay about $23/month for the landline, use Kallcents dial around for our infrequent long distance, and we buy some minutes for our tracfone now and then.

​

 

[NW-Bound]

In an ealier post, I said that we might be able to live on $36K/year, if we downsize to just one home.

Then, I looked at my bank statements online. I was fooling myself! We are spending a heck of a lot more than that (not proud to share it!). Yet, we do not like to eat out, nor go to the movie. We check out books and DVDs from the library. We also have no car payments. Even after taking out the kids' tuitions, which hurt like crazy with additional winter and summer sessions, it was still way higher than I thought. Have not had a European trip in the last 12 months either.

My electric bill last month alone was more than $400. T-Al spends a bit more than $500 for the entire year. The only way I can match it is to consolidate to my 2nd home in the high country boonie, where I can tolerate the cold a lot better than the heat down in Phoenix.

It's amazing T-Al did it. His medical expenses were also higher than ours. Where did our money go? I will sit down this weekend and try to figure it out.

 

[heyduke]

I too admit Al's electric bill for the year made me very jealous - my ave annual electrical bill for the last 18 months comes out to 1906.00 .... ahhh but mine includes water and garbage so not as bad as I originally thought.

 

[oldtrig]

My wife and I live on about $1200 a month. We have our home paid for and no debt at all. I could live on that amount if I had affordable health insurance. For now I have to work just for insurance. oldtrig

 

[SecondCor521]

@freefornow, thanks. I actually spend billions on the expenses you just mentioned. Idaho is a terrible place to live. In fact, all the Californians who have moved here are very unhappy and want to move back. There is no culture, we have no minorities, wolves live here. Under no circumstances would I recommend it. (In actual fact I have spent exactly $0.00 on the items you listed in the last 12 months.)

@W2R, thanks. It does get hot here in the summer and cold in the winter. In general I try to keep the thermostat at 78 in the summer and 60 in the winter. I find that my body adjusts. As for the $63.00 in bank charges, that is over the whole six month period, so it would average out to about $7.00 per month. It's what I categorize overdraft fees and such things under. Normally I am very careful but I occasionally pay small fees due to either carelessness or as a result of playing credit card arbitrage (at which I have earned about $12,000 in the past fifteen months, so I don't mind giving a little back.)

In terms of utility costs, it does help that my cost per kWh is somewhere around 5 cents.

As another person in fly over country I have a few questions to ask.
How about house taxes and insurance you pay those if the house is paid for or not. What are they costing you?

House taxes for 2008 were $1,199.44. The assessment rate is a tad over 1% of the taxable value. I get a homeowner's exemption. The taxes for 2009 have not been announced yet but should be soon. I pay these via a normal escrow account with my mortgage and categorize them under Taxes (so not included in the detailed listing).

Homeowner's insurance runs me $262.66 annually through USAA, and I believe that is categorized under Insurance. Since I pay it once per year in December it is also not reflected in the above figures.

@Moemg, I understand your point, and I'm not trying to brag. OK, I am a little. Currently my retirement plans involve quitting my job, selling the house, buying or building a teardrop trailer, and boondocking around the country. I include the NPV of my child custody expenses in determining my FIRE net worth. Therefore I believe it is at least somewhat legitimate for me to exclude child custody expenses, property and income taxes, and mortgage interest because I will not incur (or have already accounted for) those expenses. In my FIRE budget I do add back in for the expenses that will increase as a result of this lifestyle shift.

 

[NW-Bound]

... Currently my retirement plans involve quitting my job, selling the house, buying or building a teardrop trailer, and boondocking around the country.

So, the talk of the teardrop trailer in a previous post in another thread was serious and not a joke. You are waiting for the kids to grow up and on their own, aren't you? For a single guy, it's not a bad way to spend some years of your life.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

Great Job SecondCor521 in all you are spending about $823 that is awsome. Man that is a great deal on home insurance mine is $490 here in MO. One more question how do you get the food bill so low?

 

[haha]

One more question how do you get the food bill so low?

Mac and cheese, hold the cheese.

 

[DayDreaming]

... My electric bill last month alone was more than $400. T-Al spends a bit more than $500 for the entire year...

Not bragging, but my total electric bill for the past 12 months was $447, or about $37/month.

 

[Khan]

Not bragging, but my total electric bill for the past 12 months was $447, or about $37/month.

Level billing for '08: $23/mo

 

[NW-Bound]

But, but, but Khan, your heating bill?

 

[Khan]

But, but, but Khan, your heating bill?

Level billing for gas: $113/mo
(heat, hot water, stove)

 

[SecondCor521]

So, the talk of the teardrop trailer in a previous post in another thread was serious and not a joke. You are waiting for the kids to grow up and on their own, aren't you? For a single guy, it's not a bad way to spend some years of your life.

Yup to both questions.

@rec7, actually $700 is about 20% of what I spend, so the total monthly tab with everything runs about $3500 ($700/0.2). The food bill is just a combination of a lot of different things: I just feed me and my three kids about a third of the time, so figure 2 people equivalent. I shop at Winco. I make a list. I buy generic everything nearly. I shop on unit price. I buy as little prepared food as possible. The one thing I don't do really is coupons.

2Cor521

 

[walleye]

I think we live on $2500/month. I am tracking it more closely now that I have more time. Is Quicken best for this?
That's $2000/month in routine expenses (insurance, food, utilities ...) and $500/month for discretionary (RV trips) & hard-to-predict (car repair).

 

[stoutboy]

.............and John, if I might?

Anyone who would listen to Rush Limbaugh is a freakin' idiot!

well, he is named "John Galt".