What extras do you pay monthly for?

[Sheryl]

We all presumably pay for utilities and Internet. Many of us pay for TV of some sort. But how many more little extras do you pay for - and have you noticed how they add up? Have you been sucked into the automatic payments that you forget or procrastinate canceling?

Right now I only have TIVO, which I paid for 3 years in advance, but which would be $12.95 per month. Have not succumbed to Netflix yet...

In the past I have had health club dues ($25) which too me forever to face up to canceling (guilt), and I went through a phase of online gaming (World of Warcraft) which continued to suck about $12.95 out of my bank account for months after I quit playing...

 

[Spanky]

cell phones - family plan. $65 /month.

 

[LOL!]

My spouse has a couple of old 401(k) plans with just about $12K in each of them. They are in high expense ratio mutual funds. I just cannot get her to roll these over to Vanguard where her other investments are. So it's like paying $5 - $20 a month in extra fees. Got any tips to help me get her to fill out the forms?

She had another IRA in a 0.1% interest bearing account for 5 years which was like paying $10 a month in fees. She gave me the password to the account and I switched it to a 5+% interest bearing account.

 

[walkinwood]

Cell phone $40/mo.
Netflix $10/mo
Cable TV: $54/mo
Internet Access : $32.99/mo

Cloudmark Spam filter for Outlook: $40/yr
Pbase : picture hosting site : $29/Yr
Magazine subscriptions: ~$50/yr
Norton AV : Can't remember
Turbotax: Can't remember


Got rid of my land-line phone, so that's one I'm not paying ~$40/mo on.

 

[FinallyRetired]

Sailing, slip fees and maintenance, anywhere from 5k to 10k per year depending on how active I am. It's a huge expense but it's my one hobby and I'm willing to pay the piper. I have this budgeted through age 70 or so at which time I figure I will be too old to grind winches or pull sails up and down.

 

[Niko]

The big one is my gym membership, apprx $45/mo. I justify it because (1) I use it regularly, (2) all the money in the world can't buy your health back, and (3) I don't own a cell phone (easily more than 45/mo), pay for TV (ditto), or highspeed internet (ditto). Other than that I don't have many monthly extras -- just the regular stuff.

 

[Sheryl]

I forgot Norton AV - that's only $29 a year I think.

Niko - I think a gym membership is one of the best things anyone can spend $ on - if they use it! You are so right about your health!

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i was never really into all the extras of life. i'd love to have some science, animal & travel channels but i'm not willing to pay $600/year for the 90 other channels i'd never use. i still don't even know what tivo is.

so while i don't consider these extras, if required, i could cut out cable & dsl, restaurants, the gym (no no no, not the gym), books, cd's, some miscellaneous other stuff all adding up to about $300/month. i suppose i could also cut back on prescriptions but i already forget to take my eye drops about half the time. also i pad my monthly budget with the full medical deduct which i've never used but a small fraction and, of course, summer roadtrip money.

finally, i could lighten up my lead foot, that would probably save a bunch each month. but i don't see any of that happening any time soon.

 

[runchman]

Got any tips to help me get her to fill out the forms?

My wife has no interest in investing. I either:

1. Fill out the forms completely, just tell her where to sign, or
2. Sign her signature myself. It's kinda close to hers, and I nobody ever seems to look closely. Have deposited plenty of checks this way.

- John

 

[Nords]

DSL instead of dialup,
standard cable instead of "basic" (I'm really looking forward to a la carte pricing),
Business Week & Scientific American in print instead of just the website,
an aquarium (air pump, lighting, & fish food),
a bunny (although he produces a lot of fertilizer), and
lots of irrigation instead of xeriscaping (we're working on that).

Raising a kid, although we're working on that too...

An occasional full membership to Classmates.com & TogetherWeServed.com.

No more newspaper.

Of course my "subscriptions" to FIRECalc and FundAlarm are essential expenses...

 

[Mwsinron]

Various online gaming memberships. However it goes under hobbies since its one of the things the wife and I do. 1 magazine subscription for computing. Digital cable and cable modem.

 

[clifp]

Netflix, digital cable with DVR, but I think high speed internet is a no longer a luxury. WSJ online and a couple of other online services and few paper magazine subscriptions more than 1/2 are investment related. A "gardener" currently and probably a cleaning lady in the future, total is under $200 month.

 

[Andre1969]

My biggest monthly expense is Directv. It's something like $85 per month. That pays for two Tivos though, as well as HBO, Showtime, or whatever (you can switch it with a moment's notice, and my roommates tend to do that if they see something interesting coming up on another channel).

Now, if it were just me, I'd drop the extra pay channels and go down to one Tivo, but the three of us watch too much tv, so it's probably worth it. Oh, I did save 50 bucks though, getting my grandmother's cousin to sign up for Directv. They take 10 bucks off your bill for 5 months.

My cell phone runs about $130-140 per month, but I have 4 lines on it. Mine my two roommates, and my uncle.

We also have high-speed DSL which is about $50 per month, and a Netflix plan that runs around $20 per month, but one of my roommates pays that tab.

 

[Outtahere]

We have the standard cable package and I just added DVR programing to the mix for $9.95.

About twice a month we'll use the OnDemand and buy a movie

Web hosting/picture site for $8.95

A couple of magazine subscriptions

Two forum yearly fees.

We don't really have too many extras added on to anything. The DVR feature was so I could go to bed at a decent hour so I consider that an investment in my health. I don't have a gym membership but spent that money buying equipment for my home. I'm very good about working out on my own, maybe once I'm retired I'll think about joining again but right now being there when it's crowded irritates me.

 

[walkinwood]

Forgot to add..

morningstar.com $140/yr. I just called and cancelled heh heh! As I move to more index funds, I just don't find the premium membership that useful.

I wonder what else I'm going to remember now that I'm thinking about this.

 

[JohnDoe]

Housekeeper $150/month
Directv $95/month
Cell Phones $72/month

 

[W2R]

I think a gym membership is one of the best things anyone can spend $ on - if they use it!

I strongly agree! What is the point of having enough $$$ to RE, if you don't maintain your health so that you can enjoy it? Gym membership might be a luxury, but for someone like me (who has great intentions but doesn't get enough exercise without a membership), it is not optional.

I use mine more days than not, and it makes a huge difference in my stress level and how I feel about these last few years at work. Gym membership is worked into my estimated retirement budget, too.

I am thinking about giving up my $34/mo cell phone service, or going to a cheaper service than Verizon, but haven't made that decision yet. I really don't use it except for calling my family long distance for free, or for hurricane evacuations when necessary.

I pay my lawn guy $30/mow, which probably averages out to $60/mo. I have that worked into my retirement budget as well.

No magazine or newspaper or website subscriptions, TIVO, Netflix, or other entertainment options. I really don't have time to enjoy them for the next three years.

 

[Trek]

Mail forwarding service from the States at $15 a month (paid annually though). And my Florida Skype phone number w/ voicemail is ~$3 a month (paid annually too). No cell phone now, though I may get one and that will cost around $8 a month.

 

[Moemg]

Blockbuster.com .$12.00 a month and worth every penney.

 

[audreyh1]

I'm retired and LBYM so I'll pay for whatever monthly extras I darn well please thank you very much!!!

But, I do admit, that $125 monthly DirecTV bill does rankle a bit. Still, I'm not willing to give up watching movies when I'm camped out in the boonies......

$45 per month for health club is the best investment I can imagine if you actually use it!

Audrey

 

[HFWR]

$120/mo for digital, HDTV cable and broadband internet
$40/mo mobile phone

After learning of impending layoff, cancelled land-line phone ($40/mo), alarm system ($30/mo), and gym membership ($25).

Don't miss the phone or alarm system; do miss the gym, but replaced it with a $40, Craigslist universal machine...

 

[Outtahere]

Gosh that reminded me of the $40 every two weeks for my sister to clean. We file that one under charity (sigh).

And the newspaper, dh HAS to have that.

 

[Andre1969]

Oh yeah, I just remembered...the newspaper. I have a weekend subscription to the Washington Post. Mainly for the sales ads that come on Saturday. I think it's like $12.60 every 12 weeks. Kinda ironic though, that I whine about junkmail, telemarketers, email spam, etc, but then actually PAY to get the sales ads!

Oops, that reminds me...I accidentally shredded the paper bill the last time it came. Guess I'd better give them a call!

I've thought about cancelling the home phone service, but if I did that, wouldn't that take down the DSL as well? Also, we don't get very good cell phone reception around the house, so it would be hard to rely on just the cell. There are two rooms upstairs where I can sometimes get cell reception. And if my roommate puts his phone in the kitchen and then puts his Bluetooth thingie on, he can use his cell and walk all around the house. Sometimes I'll get reception out on the deck, but often I have to walk out to the garage, or back in the woods!

 

[Sue J]

We haven't had a newspaper for years, I read it online. I used to have a People Magazine subscription but I stopped that when we had 2 kids in college. I go to the library and borrow magazines. None of that news is all that important that I can't wait a week.

Our one splurge is DirecTV. We don't pay for any sports packages or movie channels but we love the Discovery and science channels. This would be very reasonably priced ($52) but we have 5 TVs (first is included in the service and extras are $5 each) and a TiVo ($6). Add that all up with taxes and it's now $82 a month.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

The little things make for a nicer life. Sunday paper, movie channel, gym, whatever.

I hope I can retire with enough cushion that I don't have to give them up. Don't need a BMW or a country club, but sure do enjoy sitting on the porch with a good cup of (high end) coffee and the Sunday paper.