$100 per Day or Less

[Mr._johngalt]

Great post Martha! I could have used that info back in
my "insurance shopping" period. I recall that at one point I thought "HIPPA says I "must" be offered coverage........cool!" Then I discovered what I would be required to pay. Couldn't do it, so that was simply not
an option. I also thought (naively) that maybe I could
"work" the state pools/residency angle, as I had not
officially selected my state of ER residence. Again, I was shocked by the cost. We found coverage we can afford
and are just limping along until Medicare kicks in.

JG

 

[MJ]

I can't count this year as I am still receiving my salary and health benefits. I am way below the $100/daily still being in a squirrelling away mode.

In 2006, single and living in NY, my daily rate inflation adjusted depending on the expense, will be $133, but 1/2 will be budgeted expenses for travel, personal, home maintenance and auto that may not be all used.
I own my home and am debt unless you count the $24K 0% interest cc loan, due in 6/2005

I figure in 2006, I should be around $100 to $110 a day.

MJ

 

[TromboneAl]

I had estimated our yearly expenses at around $50,000 (Wife, 17-yr-old, and me), but I did a detailed analysis of last year, and was surprised to see the total at $67,000 (including taxes).

The first batch of numbers is from the credit card annual summary (we put a lot on credit card, but of course always pay off the balance, and never pay interest). The car and health care are higher than normal, since we had some major repairs in both areas. Gas is high because it's 25 miles to town (and school) from our house.

House is paid off, and I'm semi-retired at 51.

What I learned from this is that unless you really analyze an actual year, you can't rely on your estimate.

I don't know if this counts as $61/day (three people), $92 (two) or $183.

I'll bet we can get this down to $55,000 when the daughter is off on her own, and taxes will be a bit lower.

ATM Withdrawals 5100
Groceries (CC) 8607
Airline 2015
Healthcare 3623
Gasoline 2420
Car Repairs 3130
Yarn, Books, Stuff 3170
Hardware, Garden 1604
Home Improvement 1450
Computer for Jenny 1405
Restaurant (cc) 557
Internet 191
Ski Trip 911
Other 3808

Charity 1271
Health Insurance 4924
Home Insurance 1180
Non CC Healthcare 1095
Prop Tax 2353
Utilities excl Propane 2017
Car Insurance, DMV 2168
Tax Prep 325
Firewood 416
Propane 1164


Fed Tax 11503
State Tax 840

Total 67248

 

[runnerr]

Just curious but what is your medical insurance in TX

 

[ESRBob]

Fed Tax 11503
State Tax 840

Total 67248

Al,
Even if you're semi-retired your fed tax looks high. Do you have a self-employment company and are you getting your full deductions, SEP, IRA etc? Deducting health insurance? If you work on that one, you might be able to get your federal tax down a lot (or do you also have taxable pension income?) Anyway, some tax savings could get your annual nut closesr to 55k and a few more investigations into categoreis like "other" and "books,yarn,stuff" might yield a few goodies, too.

Welcome to the Board

 

[TromboneAl]

Bob,

Yes, I'm self employed, max out the SEP-IRA, wife maxed out on her IRA, all medical/dental expenses and health insurance payments deducted.

The tax probably looks high because even though I'm semi-retired, I'm lucky enough to still be bringing in a good amount of money.

I have a software product that I sell. Being SR means that I'm not developing any new products, and I answer about three tech support calls a day plus some emails. I'm pretty confident that my accountant has got the tax as low as possible.

I agree that the Other, and Books, Yarn, Stuff categories are the ones to concentrate on.

 

[Helen]

We are shooting for $46k spending this year net of taxes, mortgage and retirement savings. That's about $126 per day.

We are spending quite a bit on vacations, mostly with our families (lot of $$ for airfare and nice hotels). I guess without the vacations we'd be close to $100 per day.

We're still working and are spending quite a bit on gas for a 2 hour per day commute. We also have 2 Great Danes and a border collie mix - probably cheaper than a kid.

-helen

 

[Mr._johngalt]

We have 4 dogs, 2 homes, 3 vehicles and a boat.
This year, we are spending at about 22K per annum.
No problem!

JG

 

[deserat]

Al,

The other, books and yarn are important, too!!!!!! Especially the books and yarn - one thing about the books is there's the library, but the yarn....no yarn libraries I know of that will allow me to borrow it for a long time - like forever?

From a yarn aficionado - Deserat aka Bridget