W2R
Moderator Emeritus
Most years I start an annual spending thread at about this time, like this one I started last year:
Unfortunately my memory and mathematical/cogitive capabilities have been temporarily affected by "Covid brain fog" (from my bout with Covid last September). This is NOT permanent, and is improving day by day. For example, I no longer think I am 53 or that Jonesboro is 2400 miles from here! However, I have a 3-4 month gap in my spending records, that I have been trying unsuccessfully to address. I started recording my spending again this month, and have most of it for this month I think. I still have not recovered enough information from past months to compare my spending this year to that of prior years. And then there are the medical bills that have started rolling in.
So, I can't participate in the annual spending thread this year. But that doesn't mean we can't have one! Please feel free to post anything you wish to share about your spending in 2021.
All I can say is that today the sum of my bank accounts plus investment portfolio is 1.06 times what it was a year ago. So, I'm not going broke but that's about all I can contribute.
What, nobody's started a spending thread for 2020? OK, here goes. I'll copy some of the verbiage from last year's thread.
My guess is that many of us are adding up our spending for 2020 right now and want to tell someone about it. How was your spending compared with last year? Are you happy with the amount you spent? This is a thread for saying as much as you WANT to say and feel comfortable sharing. If you do not feel comfortable even reading this type of thread, please stop now! There are lots of other threads to read.
The purpose of this thread is.... fun.
We have a wide range of income and spending on the board, so I'd suggest you don't compare yourself to others on the forum; no matter how much or how little you spent, there are others just like you. It's more productive to compare your spending to that of your 2019 self, or to your goals. Do you want to report it as all inclusive, or in categories? Either way, here's your thread so have at it.
These are my totals for every category except estimated income tax payments. I am 72 years old, and live alone in a 1500 sf paid off house in an inner/urban suburb of New Orleans.
Category|Total for 2020|Comments
Groceries| $3,113.45 | Includes toiletries, detergent, paper towels, etc.
Restaurants| $3,299.50 | lunch every day plus some dinners
Gasoline| ... $307.39 | Everything is close by.
Car| $1,718.74 | insurance, maintenance, registration, safety sticker
House| $6,704.27 | insurance (homeowners', wind-and-hail, and flood), property tax, mowing, maintenance, upgrades
Utilities| $2,868.57 | internet, natural gas, electricity, water, trash, sewage, cell (I don't have landline or cable TV)
Fitness| ... $361.00 | gym fees
Clothes| ..... $17.46 | kitty-cat non-skid slippers
Miscellaneous| $4,445.32| gifts, haircuts, Lazy Boy recliner, new laptop, etc
Video Gaming, apps, computer software | ... $654.39 | games, accessories, Switch Lite
Medical| $5,706.37 | insurance, Medicare, prescriptions, OTC meds
Dental| ... $595.00 | cleaning, x-rays, tooth extraction
TOTAL| $29,791.46 | plus a boatload of income tax
(BTW, here's the forum explanation of how to set up a table like this one for those who might want to).
COMPARISON WITH 2019: My 2019 numbers are available here. This year I thought I would spend less due to the pandemic. But no, I spent more than last year. I guess the scalpers got me? And then my new recliner cost ~$2,200, my new laptop cost ~$1,200, and my new Switch Lite video game console cost ~$195. OK, I guess it makes sense.
AM I HAPPY WITH HOW IT ALL WORKED OUT? Pooh. I don't like spending more than last year while thinking I was spending less. But oh well, I can afford it, and the market is up.
AM I SOMEHOW TO BE REGARDED AS ADMIRABLE OR VIRTUOUS FOR SPENDING THIS MUCH OR THIS LITTLE? I don't think that I spent a lot more than, or a lot less than, the rest of our members. And if I did, I don't really give a hoot because that is not where I get my feelings of self worth (and I imagine the same is true for you, too). The point of the thread is to have fun.
Unfortunately my memory and mathematical/cogitive capabilities have been temporarily affected by "Covid brain fog" (from my bout with Covid last September). This is NOT permanent, and is improving day by day. For example, I no longer think I am 53 or that Jonesboro is 2400 miles from here! However, I have a 3-4 month gap in my spending records, that I have been trying unsuccessfully to address. I started recording my spending again this month, and have most of it for this month I think. I still have not recovered enough information from past months to compare my spending this year to that of prior years. And then there are the medical bills that have started rolling in.
So, I can't participate in the annual spending thread this year. But that doesn't mean we can't have one! Please feel free to post anything you wish to share about your spending in 2021.
All I can say is that today the sum of my bank accounts plus investment portfolio is 1.06 times what it was a year ago. So, I'm not going broke but that's about all I can contribute.