Single, living alone (one cat), San Francisco Bay Area, 50, not yet retired ...
$9,185.65 Mortgage
$4,609.85 Charity
$3,108.64 Property Taxes
$2,171.84 Utilities (Gas/Elec, Water, Phone, Trash, TV, Internet)
$1,008.97 Home and Auto Repair
$0,883.35 Food
$0,798.00 Homeowners Insurance
$0,435.32 Gas (for car)
$0,413.00 Auto Insurance
$0,402.96 Cat (food, supplies, vet bills)
$0,860.55 Misc
Total ($23,878.13) (plus $60,987 in estimated income taxes)
Previous Years:
1999 (30,915)
2000 (33,454)
2001 (27,325)
2002 (31,751)
2003 (29,757)
2004 (25,510) [plus 18K in veterinary bills]
2005 (29,424) [plus 5K in veterinary bills]
2006 (30,735)
2007 (29,703)
2008 (31,846)
2009 (23,878)
I tracked all my expenses to the penny in 2009. The last time I did this was in 2001. Being very competitive with myself, this helped me keep costs well under previous years. I also had a ~$3 reduction from normal due to a mortgage refinance. As mentioned in previous posts, a goal was to spend less than $1000 on food in 2009. I came in at $883.35, or $2.42/day. I'll spend more in 2010.