Westernskies
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- May 5, 2008
- Messages
- 3,864
But no rice or beans today...
there's always Red Beans and Rice at Dunbars tomorrow...
But no rice or beans today...
there's always Red Beans and Rice at Dunbars tomorrow...
Red beans and rice are for Mondays...
I had steak for supper tonight. Yep...Izahuzzy...People are eating three meals a day? Spendthrifts!
I had steak for supper tonight. Yep...Izahuzzy...
I'm with you, there are folks here that spent less on food last year than I spent last month. That includes going out to eat as well as shopping.
This is one of the reasons why I enjoy reading all the posts. It is interesting to see how different our spending patterns are as a group.
A couple of these posts are unrealistically low unless people are sitting around in the dark eating rice and beans three meals a day (granted, that's possible). I suspect people have put what they think they are spending without actually adding up receipts; if they actually tracked every expense on a credit card in Quicken they would see that their expenses are higher than their guesstimate.
I think this thread is an excellent eye-opener into how people's lifestyles and situations vary. I don't see that any of the numbers are unreasonable on either the low or high end as long as they are effective relative to income and/or SWR. snip
We spent approximately 16500, here are the details
1133 Car
2667 Grocery
333 Phone
267 Elec
4200 Rent
3733 School
178 Medical
222 Clothes
3044 TV+Furniture
267 Misc
222 Books+dress
============
16267 TOTAL
There are invisible expenses, like car, appliance, etc. depreciation, company paid health insurance, internet. I was aiming for 24000 but somehow was not able to reach that.
Naughty, naughty Soupy!This is the budget that I just don't get, I think we are missing part of the story here.
This is the budget that I just don't get, I think we are missing part of the story here.
I would like to know how two people can live comfortably on $222/month in groceries, I believe it is possible but it must require massive coupon searching in addition to eating a lot of repetive dishes cooked in bulk. Plus if you include other non-food things that I typically buy at the grocery store (shampoo, soap, toothpaste, paper products, etc.) I think it would be even more of a hardship.
Also, there is no item in this budget for eating out, did they not eat at a single restaurant the entire year?
What kind of living space and how many sq ft does $350/month in rent get you?
$23/month in electricity? They must never run the A/C or the heat? No bills for other utilities like water, gas, etc?
$111/person per year in clothing? Don't see how this is possible unless you exclusively shop at thrift stores (even so, that is still not much of a wardrobe, or to allow for normal replacement of socks and underwear).
I should be clear, this is for living in a developing country, eating out is cheap here still we mostly eat at home. Weather is good enough all year, no need for AC/Heating. Gas(Propane) only for cooking, subsidized. People here believe that property price will go up and up so rent is cheaper compared to property price, I think my apartment is around 1250 sq feet. Gas-petrol is expensive but distances are less and car insurance is $200/year.
I also lived in Dallas, I think I was spending around 40k there.
He, he - you should look at some frugal people and not ER board, where everybody is filthy richThis is the budget that I just don't get, I think we are missing part of the story here.
I would like to know how two people can live comfortably on $222/month in groceries, I believe it is possible but it must require massive coupon searching in addition to eating a lot of repetive dishes cooked in bulk.
There are cultures where going to the restaurants is considered extravagant.Also, there is no item in this budget for eating out, did they not eat at a single restaurant the entire year?
Craigslist shows up to 3 bedrooms in greater Atlanta area: atlanta apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslistWhat kind of living space and how many sq ft does $350/month in rent get you?
When I lived in single bedroom apartment in Atlanta suburbs I paid roughly $30 total for both gas and electric, the rest of the utilities were included in the rent ($400 per month at the time). I never run A/C, I did run heat in the winter.$23/month in electricity? They must never run the A/C or the heat? No bills for other utilities like water, gas, etc?
That's actually a pretty generous amount. Last year for myself I think I spent $69 for Keens sandals (I hope they last at least 7 years as the last pair did) and Santa brought me few pairs of socks (~$10 maybe). I'm curious how often you replace socks and underwear? Also how expensive do they need to be? Target has 6 packs of socks for 9.99 and 6 pack of underwear for 12.99$111/person per year in clothing? Don't see how this is possible unless you exclusively shop at thrift stores (even so, that is still not much of a wardrobe, or to allow for normal replacement of socks and underwear).
I should be clear, this is for living in a developing country
I track every single expense down to the penny (actually, I round up every purchase to the nearest dollar, so my numbers are slightly high). .
Everything is included in the $11,974 I spent in 2010.
I would be interested to see how this breaks down, even if your condo is paid off I do not believe it is possible to live on this amount in the US unless your standard of living is below the poverty line.
Millions of people live on less than me in the US.