What are your One or Two Largest Spending Categories?

[Khan]

1) gifts/donations/charities
2) house maintenance
3) groceries et al

 

[Telly]

I'm ER'd, in 8th year.

If I remove specials, like a new car or DIY house renovations, the general category that has been #1 is Insurance (health, home, cars, umbrella, a little term life). #2 is real estate taxes.

If I separate the insurance category into it's components, then Health Insurance and Real Estate Taxes are approx. even.

 

[Mill]

My list is different than most. Hard to decide which category comprises most discressionary spending...



-gambling, cigarettes, beer, entertainment

-vacations

-food

 

[yakers]

Fed Income tax, state income tax, sons college costs, food, travel, home improvement, medical costs

 

[Lagniappe]

1. Federal Income Tax
2. State Income Tax
3. Mortgage P&I
4. Payroll Taxes
5. Property Tax

 

[teejayevans]

1. Federal Income Tax
2. State Income Tax
3. Mortgage P&I
4. Payroll Taxes
5. Property Tax

You can tell who works, and who don't from these lists.
TJ

 

[albundyz]

ok, I guess I have a distorted view of what a "spending category" is. Doesn't anyone have a category for "spending money"? Actually, we call this "an allowance".

I spend my allowance on things like entertainment, beer, clothes, gifts, donations, haircuts, beer, stupid Walmart purchases, and beer.

My wife spends her allowance on really stupid stuff, but that's her choice, it keeps us from arguing over spending money.

We each get $600 a month. That's $14,400 per year and is our biggest spending category.

Either we are extravagant spenders or that does not qualify as a "category".

I have one credit card used exclusively for food and gasoline. That ran at $8,400 for 2009 and would be our second largest category.

 

[Trek]

1- Food
2- Utilities

 

[megacorp-firee]

2009
1) mortgage
2) property taxes
We have paid off the mortgage
2010
1) property taxes
2) medical insurance and bills

 

[SecondCor521]

ok, I guess I have a distorted view of what a "spending category" is. Doesn't anyone have a category for "spending money"? Actually, we call this "an allowance".

I think people categorize however it makes sense to them. In my case, the kinds of transactions you talk about fall under "Misc", "Cash", or "Recreation", depending on my mood. In any case, those three categories maybe add up to 3% of my expenses.

In about 4 years, my largest category will be something like Kids:College:Tuition and it will possibly dwarf all of my other expenses. But I segregate the funding for that in separate buckets from my FIRE stash and my other expenses.

2Cor521

 

[earlyguy07]

In order:

Federal income tax
Charitable donations
Social security tax
Rent