How much did you SPEND in 2005?

soupcxan

Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Joined
Aug 25, 2004
Messages
1,448
Location
Houston
I thought this question might provide a different perspective from the "how much did you save" thread. Those using MS Money or Quicken should easily be able to generate a report with expenditures by category.
 
Here's mine, roughly:

school & property taxes: $2700
gas & electric: $1550
water: $150
phone: $660
food: $1500
entertainment: $800
books and gifts: $850
homeowner's insurance: $340
auto insurance: $1050
gas & auto maintenance: $1400
health insurance: $2340
house maintenance: $1900
subscriptions: $95
hiking club: $45
medical: $360

total: $15,740

One thing very different in 2005 is I only had time to vacation at my parents' vacation place, which was essentially free. Also, I only had health insurance for part of the year, but included it at the whole year expense. My favorite things to do are free: hiking in the mountains with friends and a barbecue later; watching pro football on tv with my buddies; snowshoeing and cross country skiing; reading.....

kate
 
Hmmm

Ballpark - maybe 100k - courtesy Katrina. Luckily I don't keep a spreadsheet/detailed budget - that would be messy.

Need to replenish the emergency fund in coming years.

Somewhere back in the early 90's - I had a 12k year. I hope 2005 will be the high for a while - offends my 'cheap' er ah frugal sensibilities.

Stuff Happens.

heh heh heh heh heh
 
I spent $28,000 not counting the new car I bought on Dec 30th. I don't have rent expense either, but I do have health ins.

Ha
 
80k if you don't count the new truck. 20k went to pay for the kids college. No mortgage or debt payments. I still was able to save a good chunk though. Hopefully I'll do a little better this year.
 
Somewhere in the 35-40k range, which includes three new tv sets, a dishwasher and a new stove.

Amazing food budgets on the folks who have posted. I spend in 3 months what you spend in a year, across two people, and I do all the cooking from scratch. I bargain shop at the cheap supermarkets too. What the heck are you eating?
 
() said:
Amazing food budgets on the folks who have posted.  I spend in 3 months what you spend in a year, across two people, and I do all the cooking from scratch.  I bargain shop at the cheap supermarkets too.  What the heck are you eating?

I wrote something about the $4.11 a day food budget and was about to hit the post button, but decided not to.  I guess people have much different lifestyles than what I would ever want, even in my worst-case scenario.
 
I guess if oatmeal is your default breakfast, tap water is your default beverage, and you're shopping the bulk bins for pastas and grains and supplementing with some really cheap veggies you could hit that mark. Holy crap, I paid $2.25 for a single red bell pepper earlier today...
 
$4,611 Relationships
$1,069 Gifts/spending on family members
$914 Charities/Dental (no medical) Expenses
$1,620 Miscellaneous (Grocery, Fast food, Clothes, Hair cuts, etc.)
$294 Business School (taking GMAT, transcript orders)
$8,508 Total

Housing - paid for by parents
Auto (car, insurance, gas) - picked up by employer
 
() said:
Holy crap, I paid $2.25 for a single red bell pepper earlier today...
I am no cheap food guru- but try Trader Joe for those red bell peppers. Always seem to be way under most supermarkets.

Ha
 
() said:
. . . Holy crap, I paid $2.25 for a single red bell pepper earlier today...
That would buy up to 7 red bell peppers where I shop.  This time of year it would only buy 4.  I get most of my vegetables from Sprouts (a fairly recent addition to the grocery store choices here in Phoenix).  The bigger grocery chains charge more for poorer quality.  

I don't know whether the lower prices I see reflect the fact that there are lots of vegetable farms nearby, that I am buying inferior red bell peppers and just don't know enough to be disappointed, or some other reason.
 
"relationships"...hmmm, so thats what they call it these days ;)

Yeah, I love trader joes. Unfortunately the nearest one is about 90 minutes round trip drive. I still hit them once a month for goodies. I can get produce cheap at sams club, but then I have to figure out what to do with 8 bell peppers. :p

$4.99 a lb at the not so cheap market.

SG - funny part is, they grow peppers all around where I live. The supermarkets however truck them all in from distant areas. Go figure. I wish one of the local farms did one of those share deals where you kick them some money and they give you a bucket o' produce every week. Given that about 90% of the area near me is farm, you'd think...but no.

And yes, your peppers are inferior. In fact, they're grown on a farm near my house and once a week we dig a hole, put the peppers in them, and pee on them. Then they're shipped out.

Shoot...now my wife wants to know why i'm laughing...
 
Peter76 said:
$4,611 Relationships
$1,620 Miscellaneous (Grocery, Fast food, Clothes, Hair cuts, etc.)

Damn Peter, do you eat your relationship?

Ha
 
Peter76 said:
$4,611 Relationships
$1,069 Gifts/spending on family members
   $914 Charities/Dental (no medical) Expenses
$1,620 Miscellaneous (Grocery, Fast food, Clothes, Hair cuts, etc.)
   $294 Business School (taking GMAT, transcript orders)
$8,508 Total

Housing - paid for by parents
Auto (car, insurance, gas) - picked up by employer

OK, this is more of an expense sheet than a budget.  By the way, if you are spending over half of your "budget" on "Relationships" I would consider that more of an addiction than a relationship.  Yup, I remember when I used to spend money on those kind of addictions.  It was fun, I'll admit.
 
() said:
What the heck are you eating?

Well, it happened pretty naturally. Not a fan of junk food or soda, get enough meat for my liking at my buddies' barbecues so rarely buy it, seem always to get wine as a gift from family members, buy produce seasonally. Spend well on my favorites, like Irish tea, German beer, and salmon. My biggest problem is buying too much fresh stuff that goes bad before I use it, so I've learned to be careful... I guess I have a small appetite too, except for the beer. ;)
 
About $144K counting every penny not in still in my possession now.
 
12 Annual
A. Gas 1,717
B. Food/Wine 3,078
C. Dinner 440
D. Vitamins/Supliments 63
E. Clothing 43
F. Home Mtc./Bacco -
G. Travel -
H. Misc. 877
I. Hobbies 75
J. State Park Pass -
K. Book/Movies 192
L. Magazines 36
M. Truck Mtc -
File Cabinet/Misc -
RA. Auto/Mtc 393
RB. Medication -
Rc. Exercise Equip -
RC. Medical Services 347
Rd.Tax File/misc -
Re. Vacation -
Rf. Bike 61
Rg. Computer program 73
Rh. Gift -
Total Credit Card 7,394
-
Cash-ATM 1,380
Water 264
Natural Gas 420
Electricity 300
Telephone 336
Auto Insurance 866
Car Taxes 136
3,702
-
Internet Access
GYM
State Park Pass 25
Misc
25
-
Subtoal 1- Minimum Exp excluding 11,121
medical Ins. & Housing -
-
Medical Ins.
Subtotal 2 11,121
-

-
11,121
-
Rent 9,000
-
Total 20,121
 
() said:
". . .And yes, your peppers are inferior.  In fact, they're grown on a farm near my house and once a week we dig a hole, put the peppers in them, and pee on them.  Then they're shipped out. ...
Huh? That's what that flavor is. I thought it was goat poop. :)
 
That's okay

The holy trinty of LA - onions, celery, bell pepper - throw in some red beans, smoked sausage and a liberal sprinkle of Tony C's Creole Seasoning.

Goat poop or pee pee haven't a chance.

heh heh heh
 
() said:
Holy crap, I paid $2.25 for a single red bell pepper earlier today...
Yeah, I'll agree with that expletive. Buy a package of seeds!
 
Nords said:
Yeah, I'll agree with that expletive.  Buy a package of seeds!

Didn't someone on this board do a test to prove that if you put half a red pepper in the dryer, it works just as well as if you put a whole red pepper in the dryer? Maybe I'm confusing things...
 
retire@40 said:
I wrote something about the $4.11 a day food budget and was about to hit the post button, but decided not to.  I guess people have much different lifestyles than what I would ever want, even in my worst-case scenario.

When I am traveling by myself, I could hit $4.11 a day easily, but that
would likely exclude booze.

JG
 
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