Final 2022 Cost of Living - Total Household Expenses (Not Including Travel)

[ShokWaveRider]

OK. Our 2022 expenses are how locked in. It does not include discretionary expenses such as travel, eating out as in our case I track very little eating out expenses unless I remember to do so, but does not mean we do not eat out. Takeout food is included in the food expenses. Home maintenance was a lot higher than normal this year as not much had been done for the last 5 years.

Honestly, this type of expense chart is meaningless unless it is quoted with respect to where one lives, what type of home one is maintaining, whether it is owned, Rented or mortgaged and how many people in the household, so I have included those parameters. I do not think it is bad for an average middle class home in an average middle class neighborhood. It is almost exactly the same as 2021 if one takes off home maintenance costs as there were insignificant last year.

Please see attached spreadsheet for totals.

Location: Coastal Northeast Florida
Home: 3,300 sqft. single Family with No Mortgage
Car: One New Leased car (costs included on spreadsheet)

 

[Tom52]

Looking at your numbers there was one thing that really jumped out at me. How do you manage to get the gas pump to always stop at the whole $ or half except in the month of August? That is amazing, very seldom can I get that to happen even when I try.

Edit- We probably dine out at breakfast lunch or dinner at least once a week so our expense for that is a fairly large % of our yearly spending. Our groceries for two people are running at least $100 per month higher and we don't eat that fancy and shop mostly at Aldi and WM.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Looking at your numbers there was one thing that really jumped out at me. How do you manage to get the gas pump to always stop at the whole $ or half except in the month of August? That is amazing, very seldom can I get that to happen even when I try.

Ha Ha, it is an art. If I miss it I go to the next dollar or half dollar. LOL Happy Christmas.

 

[racy]

I've tracked our monthly expenses since 2009 and recently adjusted them for inflation. Without vacations we averaged $95,702 per year, with a minimum of $79,008 and a maximum of $114,160. Life is good and beats the alternative
Location: Nebraska
Home: 2600 sq ft, no mortgage, gated community
Vehicles: car, pickup, boat, motorcycle, ATV

 

[aaronc879]

My total expenses for 2022 will be $12,621 give or take $20 or so if I spend a little more or less on food than I expect in the next couple weeks. This is for a single person in a paid off 1200sqft house in small town Wisconsin. Property taxes were a killer at $3156 but healthcare was free with ACA subsidies and general good health.

 

[Dtail]

Our 5 year average is about 90k including all expenses. 2800 sq ft paid off house.
We do splurge on food, as monthly grocery and dining out is 1,300.

 

[W2R]

Our 5 year average is about 90k including all expenses. 2800 sq ft paid off house.
We do splurge on food, as monthly grocery and dining out is 1,300.

My 5 year average (for one person) is about $41K including tax, medical, and all other expenses. I live alone in a 1500 sq ft paid off home in an inner New Orleans suburb and drive a 13-year-old Toyota Venza.

Honestly I splurge on anything I truly want, including almost entirely restaurant food these days since I seldom cook any more. IIRC Frank says the trick is not so much having what you want, but wanting what you have. Sounds good to me.

 

[aja8888]

I'll post my figures later this week when my bank kicks out the next statement. I use gross spending figures only as I gave up keeping detailed info years ago.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I spent 33k which doesn’t include travel. It did include vet bills but if I had a huge bill I would have to pay for it with savings. My car is paid for but I have a small mortgage. My HI is one of my biggest expenses at 400/month for Medicare parts B, C and D. In the past year I have either eliminated or substituted for something cheaper for my discretionary expenses. I had to do that in order to be able to live on my income.

 

[aja8888]

2022 totals

Two adults, one dog, no mortgage, no car payments, 2,000 sq.ft. house and 2021 Hyundai Tuscon.

Annual Spending

Spending - $47,842
Income tax paid - $6,000
Property tax - $4,500

Total - $58,342

Included in total is about $4,280 in non-anticipated spending (gifts, new fence, iPad, etc)

 

[athena53]

I'm glad you exclude travel- I was a Big Spender in that category this year! It's still at $116K YTD excluding travel and it's just me, myself and I. Major items: $40K to charity, $10K for window replacements, $18K taxes (real estate and income), about $10K combined on insurance- Medicare, IRMAA, Home and Auto.

I spent more on jewelry (about $3,000) than clothing ($350).

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I'm glad you exclude travel- I was a Big Spender in that category this year! It's still at $116K YTD excluding travel and it's just me, myself and I. Major items: $40K to charity, $10K for window replacements, $18K taxes (real estate and income), about $10K combined on insurance- Medicare, IRMAA, Home and Auto.

I spent more on jewelry (about $3,000) than clothing ($350).

A lot of that seems discretionary (Charity and Jewelry) and not a true indicator. Am I missing something?

 

[aaronc879]

A lot of that seems discretionary (Charity and Jewelry) and not a true indicator. Am I missing something?

I think most people have been posting their total 2022 expenses. Did you intent for it to just be basic mandatory expenses? If so then I am under $10K for the year.

 

[athena53]

A lot of that seems discretionary (Charity and Jewelry) and not a true indicator. Am I missing something?

No, I was missing something! I should not post before finishing my morning ration of coffee. Cut out jewelry and charity and it's $73,000.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I think most people have been posting their total 2022 expenses. Did you intent for it to just be basic mandatory expenses? If so then I am under $10K for the year.

I did mention excluding discretionary expenses in the OP. How can you live on $10k? Do you live in a Tent? Seriously, Our Taxes, HC and insurance alone are over $10k

 

[RonBoyd]

These were our expenses through today:

View attachment 2022 Expenses.xls

 

[scrabbler1]

My expenses for 2022 are about $21k. Zero for travel. Housing $6k, Medical $4.5k, everything else $10.5k, spread out among utilities, income taxes, food, car insurance, et.al. Not quite Aaronc level, but in the general neighborhood.

 

[tominboise]

We spent $123793 in 2021 and are on track to spend $123020 in 2022. Two adults, one house, one cabin, one kid in college, 6 vehicles. No debt for a number of years.

 

[NW-Bound]

Well, I see no surprises here, if we are talking about essential living expenses.

Once you own your home and have no debts, just utility bills, groceries, insurance, and Medicare are not too bad.

Yes, real estate taxes can be quite high in some locales, or a retiree can have a huge house requiring lots of up keep.

But in the end, it's all discretionary spending that drives up expenses. Toys (things that move), pets (things that eat), jewelry (things that shine), travel, gifts, charity, fancy dining, mistress, etc...

 

[aaronc879]

I did mention excluding discretionary expenses in the OP. How can you live on $10k? Do you live in a Tent? Seriously, Our Taxes, HC and insurance alone are over $10k

I don't have a lot of money and have even less future earning potential so I spend what I can. I paid off my mortgage and have a paid off low mileage vehicle. I paid nothing in taxes or health care in 2022. I spend very little on food, maybe $150/mo. Don't eat out or order in. I don't travel much and I travel cheap if I travel at all. I don't understand how people who say they are frugal spend $50K+ any more than you understand how I spend so little. I grew up poor and have never even grossed $50K in a year so I have never know anything different. That $10K includes $3K+ on property taxes on a <$150K house.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

OP here, in my case the numbers were not significantly different from 2020 or 2021. Inflation has not unduly impacted our household at least. We are certainly lucky.

 

[aaronc879]

OP here, in my case the numbers were not significantly different from 2020 or 2021. Inflation has not unduly impacted our household at least. We are certainly lucky.

My spending was $19K in 2020, $18K in 2021 and $12,600 this year so it's going down not up. That is mostly because I paid off my mortgage last year. That $12,600 this year includes buying an ebike and going to Florida for a week so I can definitely go down to around $10K flat if I don't have a major appliance replacement or home repair.

 

[rodi]

excluding travel and kids college expenses (which is paid for by 529 money - which I don't include in my 'nest egg/investable' when calculating WR.)

$85k.

It does include college kids non-529'able expenses (health insurance, car insurance, massive groceries when they are home.)

It does include two big home improvements - solar, and new fireproof (hardy board) fence and labor paid to younger son to dig post holes and paint it.

This is easier to figure out without travel... our big trip this year was paid for last year... and we've prepaid most of the big trip(s) next year in this year.

 

[scrabbler1]

My spending was $19K in 2020, $18K in 2021 and $12,600 this year so it's going down not up. That is mostly because I paid off my mortgage last year. That $12,600 this year includes buying an ebike and going to Florida for a week so I can definitely go down to around $10K flat if I don't have a major appliance replacement or home repair.

Your spending and mine in 2020 and 2021 were similar. Mine was about $20k each year, mainly because I unloaded an actively managed stock fund in favor of a similar index fund. This did 2 things: it greatly lowered my HI costs because I qualified for a big ACA premium subsidy, and it lowered my income taxes because all those large, annoying cap gain distributions disappeared.

I had paid off my mortgage back in 1998, something which allowed me to semi-retire in 2001 and keep working part-time until I fully retired in late 2008.

 

[racy]

...But in the end it's all discretionary spending....

Agree. What's the point of tracking only essential spending? It's like if I my car's odometer only showed mileage to & from work and nothing else.