We tried to live within a budget, but we can't

[Dtail]

Quote:

Originally Posted by imnontrad And $1,500/month for food! Even if I add in all my expenses for eating out, I do not think I top $350.

We budget and spend around 1300 per month for 2 people on food.
Cook from Home Chef 3x weekly = 240 monthly
Dining out/order in 4x weekly = 700 monthly
All alcohol included in the numbers.
Breakfast about 4x monthly = 100 monthly
Lunch about 4x monthly = 120 monthly
Misc groceries = 140 monthly

Rarely anything gets thrown out. Cooking is a necessary evil for us.
So for us, 1500 monthly is not a stretch.

[JJpop]

Not trying to be rude but it sounds like simple self control.
If you are at home 1500 a month for food for 2 people is a choice that you eat out a lot.
The clothes are simply a want and not a need.

[corn18]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJpop Not trying to be rude but it sounds like simple self control. If you are at home 1500 a month for food for 2 people is a choice that you eat out a lot. The clothes are simply a want and not a need.

$2,000 / month

[CardsFan]

I am amazed at the comments here telling someone how they should spend their money, and they are spending too much on this or that. (Well, maybe I am not amazed, just disappointed)

OP was simply pointing out that setting a budget that is different than your normal spend, does not always work as you hope.

From everything I have read, OP can support this level of spending, and realizes that he may have jumped the gun by setting a goal that was not consistent with the past.

And, ignoring WHAT they spend it on, OP's annual spend is probably fairly typical for many of the folks here. Not all, I am sure some spend way more (Robbie comes to mind) and some spend way less.

Rant over.

[2177V]

Cut up your credit cards and use cash. Withdrawal cash for your food and clothes budget. At the end of the month, you will likely run low on cash and you have to decide between food or clothes. This usually works since your credit cards blows up your monthly budget.

[FlaGator]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CardsFan I am amazed at the comments here telling someone how they should spend their money, and they are spending too much on this or that. (Well, maybe I am not amazed, just disappointed) OP was simply pointing out that setting a budget that is different than your normal spend, does not always work as you hope. From everything I have read, OP can support this level of spending, and realizes that he may have jumped the gun by setting a goal that was not consistent with the past. And, ignoring WHAT they spend it on, OP's annual spend is probably fairly typical for many of the folks here. Not all, I am sure some spend way more (Robbie comes to mind) and some spend way less. Rant over.

+1

I’m surprised at the number of scolds responding.

Personally, I find what some people spend on travel shocking, but I have already seen most of the lower 48 and didn’t leave anything valuable in Maui. No strong desire to go overseas again. Do I post on those threads telling people they are wasting their money? No, why would I? It’s their money.

This thread shows me some will drop a brick if I posted my spending for the last few years.

But I won’t, so the scolds will have to find something else to gnash their teeth over.

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlaGator +1 I’m surprised at the number of scolds responding. Personally, I find what some people spend on travel shocking, but I have already seen most of the lower 48 and didn’t leave anything valuable in Maui. No strong desire to go overseas again. Do I post on those threads telling people they are wasting their money? No, why would I? It’s their money. This thread shows me some will drop a brick if I posted my spending for the last few years. But I won’t, so the scolds will have to find something else to gnash their teeth over.

Did the weekly email update come out and are we getting drive-by comments?


I've been around long enough that I respect posters here and would not type anything I wouldn't say to their faces.



A few of these last posters should try that sometime.

[RetiredHappy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CardsFan I am amazed at the comments here telling someone how they should spend their money, and they are spending too much on this or that. (Well, maybe I am not amazed, just disappointed) OP was simply pointing out that setting a budget that is different than your normal spend, does not always work as you hope. From everything I have read, OP can support this level of spending, and realizes that he may have jumped the gun by setting a goal that was not consistent with the past. And, ignoring WHAT they spend it on, OP's annual spend is probably fairly typical for many of the folks here. Not all, I am sure some spend way more (Robbie comes to mind) and some spend way less. Rant over.

+1.

To some, OP might appear to be spending too much by their standards. But OP is not asking them how he and his wife should be spending their money. OP and wife can afford their lifestyle.

[RobbieB]

Guilty party here -

Everything I've said about my spending is true. 5-7% for seven years. And now up 50% over the same time.

Due to the 50% uptick in funds and the 7 less years of life expectancy, my spending is now within the 4% even though I didn't change anything.

Thank you equities -

[daylatedollarshort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bloom2708 Even my "Prana Stretch Zion" pants are only $85 unless I catch a sale. The shorts are under $50 usually. They last a long time, so it takes a long time to need a new pair.

One of our kids wears those and I put them into camelcamelcamel notifications and get an email when the price drops on Amazon.

[Dtail]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vchan2177 Cut up your credit cards and use cash. Withdrawal cash for your food and clothes budget. At the end of the month, you will likely run low on cash and you have to decide between food or clothes. This usually works since your credit cards blows up your monthly budget.

Not true for us.
We earn around 3.5k yearly on CC rewards and don't spend anymore monies using CC's vs. using cash.

[JJpop]

Scolds?
What exactly is the purpose of the op’s post?
All I can ascertain is they are spending more than they planned on food and clothes but they can afford it. OK, great.
So the point is…….
Of course people are going to have comments about it.
Do you all expect everyone to just congratulate them ?
In the end I do not get the point. Food part is more understandable but the clothes is simply a spouse with money wanting to buy a bunch of clothes.
So again why would anyone be surprised about some comments that are not congratulating them?

[ivinsfan]

JJpop..you are the one the started a post by saying "not trying to be rude", that's right up there with my favorite which is "don't take this the wrong way".


My test for scolds or rudeness is , would I say the same thing directly to someone's face? If the answers no, I try to make my point in a more pleasant manner.


You don't have to get the point because the OP isn't spending your money.

[corn18]

Just for clarity for those joining late, the clothes spending is $600 / mo and the food spending is $2,000 / mo.

[JJpop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivinsfan JJpop..you are the one the started a post by saying "not trying to be rude", that's right up there with my favorite which is "don't take this the wrong way". My test for scolds or rudeness is , would I say the same thing directly to someone's face? If the answers no, I try to make my point in a more pleasant manner. You don't have to get the point because the OP isn't spending your money.

First of all that is your test, great.

Secondly I would happily make my comment to their face.

Thirdly if they do not expect comments they should not post comments like he did.

Maybe you should worry about your own comments and not tell others how they should comment.

[plex]

It is always good to have some splurge categories in your budget for the things you care about, otherwise it would mean retiring too early. Though you don't want to go way over budget on everything or go over what your portfolio can safely handle. So I don't see any problem in this case.

Personally, my two splurge categories will be food and games. Food is a bit hard for me to way overspend on because I like cooking, so I can usually make restaurant quality meals in under 30 minutes most days, I have some sort of weird allergic reaction to alcohol, and scratch ingredients really aren't that expensive. Despite wanting to splurge on food, I have never spent more than $200 per month per person, I'd like to get that up to $300/month. I plan to start making a lot more fish dishes, and probably increase my trips for fresh veggies/fruits to every 4-5 days instead of at least twice that.

[KrisS]

As usual, some pretty unnecessarily judgemental comments from folks. Kudos to you for posting an honest query.

You say you are within your spending limits, seems like there is not a clear, shared goal behind creating and following a budget.

One idea might be to change your categories to reflect your spending reality rather than traditional categories that don't really help or suit your purpose.

For example, if "clothing" or "wine" for one of you is actually a "hobby" or "entertainment", I would budget it like that so there is equitable/agreed spending across this kind of category. It might also open up honest conversations about how you each want to spend your time and money.

A different lens on your spending and activities might provide a breakthrough on your budgeting, help you both meet your goals and yes, resolve unspoken tension on spending.

[teejayevans]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vchan2177 Cut up your credit cards and use cash. Withdrawal cash for your food and clothes budget. At the end of the month, you will likely run low on cash and you have to decide between food or clothes. This usually works since your credit cards blows up your monthly budget.

If you have to do this, then you shouldn’t have retired.
I have a large miscellaneous budget line item, I didn’t want to sweat the small stuff.
You can always find a way to spend more money.
Retirement is about living your life on your terms, not surviving on a minimum budget.

[corn18]

I do appreciate all the replies! We haven't spent any money on clothes so far this month, but we do have 4 days left to go.

As a small update, I did update my model to reflect actuals. And added some buffer for future unknown unknowns. After making those adjustments, we have $20k of extra / year beyond our $25k BTD budget.

It is always enlightening to me to see the impact that $100 / mo for 40 years has vs. a one time purchase of $10,000. While the latter seems much more impactful, the former is actually has way more impact.

And no, I am not going to have a talk with my wife about clothes spending. She is heading to her mom's to help her because she is having surgery on Friday. She's not doing well and my wife doesn't need me pinging her on something that really doesn't matter that much in the grand scheme of things. I can tell that she is worried about her mom and I'm trying really hard to be kind and understanding. Now, the poor guys building our patio are getting an earful everyday as she finds little things wrong that really bother her (which normally wouldn't).

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJpop First of all that is your test, great. Secondly I would happily make my comment to their face. Thirdly if they do not expect comments they should not post comments like he did. Maybe you should worry about your own comments and not tell others how they should comment.

Keep trying.....