my real household budget.
my real household budget.
In another thread there is quite a discussion on frugal or minimum budgets or monthly expenses. Rather then muddy the waters there further I thought I should post my "as real as I can be about it" expenses for observation and comment. All per month.
Property taxes ...... $456
Heat.....................50 .... I heat with wood I cut myself this is fuel and depreciation on tractor, chainsaw, and wood splitter. WAG
Electricity...............120
ll Phone & computer...150
cell phones (2).........125
dish TV..................120
Car ins. full 2 vehs....125
Car registrations.......13
Car pmt. 21 Subaru...455
gas .....................100
truck repairs............75
House insurance........30
Medical deductibles...100
food ....................500
beer & wine ...........270
clothing .................75
gifts /charity...........120
-------------------------------
Total $2886 or $34,632/ year.
I maybe over stating gifts and clothing as we tend to receive as much as we give and much of what I receive is clothing.
Vacations come from DWs salary, was 22K soon to be 31K.
The above list takes up all but about $116/M of my fixed income so any errors would fall to DW's money.
Any thoughts ..Omissions.??
Property taxes ...... $456
Heat.....................50 .... I heat with wood I cut myself this is fuel and depreciation on tractor, chainsaw, and wood splitter. WAG
Electricity...............120
ll Phone & computer...150
cell phones (2).........125
dish TV..................120
Car ins. full 2 vehs....125
Car registrations.......13
Car pmt. 21 Subaru...455
gas .....................100
truck repairs............75
House insurance........30
Medical deductibles...100
food ....................500
beer & wine ...........270
clothing .................75
gifts /charity...........120
-------------------------------
Total $2886 or $34,632/ year.
I maybe over stating gifts and clothing as we tend to receive as much as we give and much of what I receive is clothing.
Vacations come from DWs salary, was 22K soon to be 31K.
The above list takes up all but about $116/M of my fixed income so any errors would fall to DW's money.
Any thoughts ..Omissions.??
Re: my real household budget.
I started this way. The next step I did is to track every cash inflow/outflow you have and classify by expense type and month, and see how close you are. I do this, it takes about 4 hours month for me, this is downloading all credit card, bank, and investment activity, and ensure the balances at end of month tie to ensure you are capturing every cash in and out to the penny. I was close on the budget, but it is enlightening to know exactly how the money comes in and goes out, like what a business does.
If this sounds obsessive, yes it definitely is, and I don't even need to do this, I'm just type A. In any event, my trash can and recycling containers aren't overflowing every week, like all of my neighbors are, from over buying a bunch of crap.
If this sounds obsessive, yes it definitely is, and I don't even need to do this, I'm just type A. In any event, my trash can and recycling containers aren't overflowing every week, like all of my neighbors are, from over buying a bunch of crap.
Re: my real household budget.
beer & wine
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Re: my real household budget.
I see Medical deductibles but no entry for Medical insurance??
Bear
Bear
Re: my real household budget.
How much goes to savings/investments?
Re: my real household budget.
You have a good grasp of your costs I think and your spending is moderate. I don't see a bill for Water or Garbage. Or dental expenses.vtsnowdin wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 3:31 am In another thread there is quite a discussion on frugal or minimum budgets or monthly expenses. Rather then muddy the waters there further I thought I should post my "as real as I can be about it" expenses for observation and comment. All per month.
Property taxes ...... $456
Heat.....................50 .... I heat with wood I cut myself this is fuel and depreciation on tractor, chainsaw, and wood splitter. WAG
Electricity...............120
ll Phone & computer...150
cell phones (2).........125
dish TV..................120
Car ins. full 2 vehs....125
Car registrations.......13
Car pmt. 21 Subaru...455
gas .....................100
truck repairs............75
House insurance........30
Medical deductibles...100
food ....................500
beer & wine ...........270
clothing .................75
gifts /charity...........120
-------------------------------
Total $2886 or $34,632/ year.
I maybe over stating gifts and clothing as we tend to receive as much as we give and much of what I receive is clothing.
Vacations come from DWs salary, was 22K soon to be 31K.
The above list takes up all but about $116/M of my fixed income so any errors would fall to DW's money.
Any thoughts ..Omissions.??
While the overall numbers are not high, if one wanted to find possible further efficiency, one could group like things together.
Utilities - Is this optimized? Could you cut extra wood and sell it as a side hustle since you already have the equipment? Or trade it for something your neighbor has? Could insulation of a pipe or electric outlet save a little?
Housing - I don't see a sinking fund for repairs. If you are a handyperson you still need materials and tools.
Transportation - Keep a maintenance log to make sure everything is done on time, make a plan for bigger things like new tires or snow tires.
Date night expenses with your spouse? Remember to invest in your relationship, it can't all be beer and wine in front of the dish TV.
Re: my real household budget.
Medical insurance comes from my former employer so except for deductibles and low prescription co pays is not in my cash flow.bearwithbear wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 6:03 am I see Medical deductibles but no entry for Medical insurance??
Bear
We have no dental insurance at present.
Re: my real household budget.
Ivygirl"
Garbage is take it to the transfer station $5/bag for garbage zero for recycling. Maybe $20
Water is owned spring fed by gravity so no bill and works when power is out.I don't see a bill for Water or Garbage.
Garbage is take it to the transfer station $5/bag for garbage zero for recycling. Maybe $20
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Re: my real household budget.
Easy savings: Switch the cell phones over to Cricket. Auto payment and it'll cost you $70 for 2 phones. I know there are other low cost providers but I don't have personal experience with them. I switched from AT&T (Cricket uses their system) and my service was identical and cost cut more than half.
To be totally realistic, you may want to include some % of the wood equipment. I'm in the same boat and would figure in some portion of a $13k tractor, $300 Husqvarna, $650 Stihl and $1000 splitter over some number of years, plus the gas/oil/diesel that is being used during work.
As someone who doesn't drink......beer and wine? Holy cow. Perhaps a AA membership?
To be totally realistic, you may want to include some % of the wood equipment. I'm in the same boat and would figure in some portion of a $13k tractor, $300 Husqvarna, $650 Stihl and $1000 splitter over some number of years, plus the gas/oil/diesel that is being used during work.
As someone who doesn't drink......beer and wine? Holy cow. Perhaps a AA membership?
Last edited by Jack FFR1846 on Tue Jan 18, 2022 7:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
Bogle: Smart Beta is stupid
Re: my real household budget.
In case you don't know cutting and splitting wood is a lot of work. My eight to ten cords a year is plenty for my 67 year old bones and muscles. I did sell ash logs last year in front of an insect infestation so have about twenty cords worth of tops waiting in the woods and on the landing.
Re: my real household budget.
Jack FFR1846 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 6:57 am Easy savings: Switch the cell phones over to Cricket. Auto payment and it'll cost you $70 for 2 phones. I know there are other low cost providers but I don't have personal experience with them. I switched from AT&T (Cricket uses their system) and my service was identical and cost cut more than half.
I would in a heartbeat but the DW likes our service and will not budge.
It has been suggested Repeatedly!As someone who doesn't drink......beer and wine? Holy cow. Perhaps a AA membership?
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- Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2013 6:05 am
- Location: 26 miles, 385 yards west of Copley Square
Re: my real household budget.
I will commend you on the hard work with the firewood. I'm 3 years younger and know exactly what you're going through. I forest manage my property (tax savings), so mostly downed trees, insect damage or trees interfering with more healthy ones. Last year, I bought the wood splitter, so my annual work went from about 3 cords a year to 10. I will still swing the splitting wedges to exercise now and then and of course there's the work to get the seasoned wood from the last 2 years into my basement and into the wood furnace.
Bogle: Smart Beta is stupid
Re: my real household budget.
If you have reasonable internet service, I would be looking at getting rid of dish TV and using a streaming service instead for about half the cost.
Re: my real household budget.
We just upgraded the phone land line last month to increase internet speed and reliability. They also offer TV perhaps cheaper then dish but I like the recording and playback features of my remote and dislike the voice one in my daughters service so am reluctant to change. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
Re: my real household budget.
Thanks everyone for taking the time to read this and your thoughtful comments.
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- Location: East Coast
Re: my real household budget.
I’m not sure not counting expenses like vacations because your wife’s salary covers it is a solid budgeting methodology. Just my opinion. And I would like to know who insures your home and get me some of that.
Re: my real household budget.
You never go out to a museum, concert, theater, a show that costs something? You don't travel or have any expenses associated with travel? I am asking because I travel quite a bit and it's a major chunk of my annual expenses (~20%). But I only started more travel in the last 7 years as I was financially more stable; maybe you are also planning to do more exploring in the future?vtsnowdin wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 3:31 am In another thread there is quite a discussion on frugal or minimum budgets or monthly expenses. Rather then muddy the waters there further I thought I should post my "as real as I can be about it" expenses for observation and comment. All per month.
Property taxes ...... $456
Heat.....................50 .... I heat with wood I cut myself this is fuel and depreciation on tractor, chainsaw, and wood splitter. WAG
Electricity...............120
ll Phone & computer...150
cell phones (2).........125
dish TV..................120
Car ins. full 2 vehs....125
Car registrations.......13
Car pmt. 21 Subaru...455
gas .....................100
truck repairs............75
House insurance........30
Medical deductibles...100
food ....................500
beer & wine ...........270
clothing .................75
gifts /charity...........120
-------------------------------
Total $2886 or $34,632/ year.
I maybe over stating gifts and clothing as we tend to receive as much as we give and much of what I receive is clothing.
Vacations come from DWs salary, was 22K soon to be 31K.
The above list takes up all but about $116/M of my fixed income so any errors would fall to DW's money.
Any thoughts ..Omissions.??
EDIT: just saw you mentioned vacations coming out of your wife's salary. I think that's strange way of putting together expenses when there is sort of a shadow budget.
Last edited by JS-Elcano on Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: my real household budget.
$31,000/yr on travel/vacations sounds like a lot of vacations, concerts, museums, and theatres.JS-Elcano wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:10 amYou never go out to a museum, concert, theater, a show that costs something? You don't travel or have any expenses associated with travel? I am asking because I travel quite a bit and it's a major chunk of my annual expenses (~20%). But I only started more travel in the last 7 years as I was financially more stable; maybe you are also planning to do more exploring in the future?vtsnowdin wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 3:31 am In another thread there is quite a discussion on frugal or minimum budgets or monthly expenses. Rather then muddy the waters there further I thought I should post my "as real as I can be about it" expenses for observation and comment. All per month.
Property taxes ...... $456
Heat.....................50 .... I heat with wood I cut myself this is fuel and depreciation on tractor, chainsaw, and wood splitter. WAG
Electricity...............120
ll Phone & computer...150
cell phones (2).........125
dish TV..................120
Car ins. full 2 vehs....125
Car registrations.......13
Car pmt. 21 Subaru...455
gas .....................100
truck repairs............75
House insurance........30
Medical deductibles...100
food ....................500
beer & wine ...........270
clothing .................75
gifts /charity...........120
-------------------------------
Total $2886 or $34,632/ year.
I maybe over stating gifts and clothing as we tend to receive as much as we give and much of what I receive is clothing.
Vacations come from DWs salary, was 22K soon to be 31K.
The above list takes up all but about $116/M of my fixed income so any errors would fall to DW's money.
Any thoughts ..Omissions.??
Re: my real household budget.
Yes, just saw that and edited my post. Thanks.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:13 am$31,000/yr on travel/vacations sounds like a lot of vacations, concerts, museums, and theatres.JS-Elcano wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:10 amYou never go out to a museum, concert, theater, a show that costs something? You don't travel or have any expenses associated with travel? I am asking because I travel quite a bit and it's a major chunk of my annual expenses (~20%). But I only started more travel in the last 7 years as I was financially more stable; maybe you are also planning to do more exploring in the future?vtsnowdin wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 3:31 am In another thread there is quite a discussion on frugal or minimum budgets or monthly expenses. Rather then muddy the waters there further I thought I should post my "as real as I can be about it" expenses for observation and comment. All per month.
Property taxes ...... $456
Heat.....................50 .... I heat with wood I cut myself this is fuel and depreciation on tractor, chainsaw, and wood splitter. WAG
Electricity...............120
ll Phone & computer...150
cell phones (2).........125
dish TV..................120
Car ins. full 2 vehs....125
Car registrations.......13
Car pmt. 21 Subaru...455
gas .....................100
truck repairs............75
House insurance........30
Medical deductibles...100
food ....................500
beer & wine ...........270
clothing .................75
gifts /charity...........120
-------------------------------
Total $2886 or $34,632/ year.
I maybe over stating gifts and clothing as we tend to receive as much as we give and much of what I receive is clothing.
Vacations come from DWs salary, was 22K soon to be 31K.
The above list takes up all but about $116/M of my fixed income so any errors would fall to DW's money.
Any thoughts ..Omissions.??
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- Posts: 1021
- Joined: Tue May 05, 2015 7:42 am
- Location: East Coast
Re: my real household budget.
I think 31k is the salaryJags4186 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:13 am$31,000/yr on travel/vacations sounds like a lot of vacations, concerts, museums, and theatres.JS-Elcano wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:10 amYou never go out to a museum, concert, theater, a show that costs something? You don't travel or have any expenses associated with travel? I am asking because I travel quite a bit and it's a major chunk of my annual expenses (~20%). But I only started more travel in the last 7 years as I was financially more stable; maybe you are also planning to do more exploring in the future?vtsnowdin wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 3:31 am In another thread there is quite a discussion on frugal or minimum budgets or monthly expenses. Rather then muddy the waters there further I thought I should post my "as real as I can be about it" expenses for observation and comment. All per month.
Property taxes ...... $456
Heat.....................50 .... I heat with wood I cut myself this is fuel and depreciation on tractor, chainsaw, and wood splitter. WAG
Electricity...............120
ll Phone & computer...150
cell phones (2).........125
dish TV..................120
Car ins. full 2 vehs....125
Car registrations.......13
Car pmt. 21 Subaru...455
gas .....................100
truck repairs............75
House insurance........30
Medical deductibles...100
food ....................500
beer & wine ...........270
clothing .................75
gifts /charity...........120
-------------------------------
Total $2886 or $34,632/ year.
I maybe over stating gifts and clothing as we tend to receive as much as we give and much of what I receive is clothing.
Vacations come from DWs salary, was 22K soon to be 31K.
The above list takes up all but about $116/M of my fixed income so any errors would fall to DW's money.
Any thoughts ..Omissions.??
-
- Posts: 2408
- Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2020 4:05 pm
Re: my real household budget.
I see nothing for household consumables (e.g. cleaning supplies) or home repair / maintenance.
I've seen this type of comment a few places. You should look at all expenses, including those that come out of paychecks (e.g. medical premiums). If you think something like vacations are covered by some income stream, that's just some mental accounting which is hiding some of your spending.
This kind of checksum is really worth it. I account for everything coming into and out of the paycheck to make sure I'm not hiding costs there too.Kagord wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 5:21 am I started this way. The next step I did is to track every cash inflow/outflow you have and classify by expense type and month, and see how close you are. I do this, it takes about 4 hours month for me, this is downloading all credit card, bank, and investment activity, and ensure the balances at end of month tie to ensure you are capturing every cash in and out to the penny. I was close on the budget, but it is enlightening to know exactly how the money comes in and goes out, like what a business does.
If this sounds obsessive, yes it definitely is, and I don't even need to do this, I'm just type A. In any event, my trash can and recycling containers aren't overflowing every week, like all of my neighbors are, from over buying a bunch of crap.
Re: my real household budget.
Wow, $270 is a massive budget for alcohol… can you elaborate on this? How much alcohol do you consume on a monthly basis?
vtsnowdin wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 3:31 am In another thread there is quite a discussion on frugal or minimum budgets or monthly expenses. Rather then muddy the waters there further I thought I should post my "as real as I can be about it" expenses for observation and comment. All per month.
Property taxes ...... $456
Heat.....................50 .... I heat with wood I cut myself this is fuel and depreciation on tractor, chainsaw, and wood splitter. WAG
Electricity...............120
ll Phone & computer...150
cell phones (2).........125
dish TV..................120
Car ins. full 2 vehs....125
Car registrations.......13
Car pmt. 21 Subaru...455
gas .....................100
truck repairs............75
House insurance........30
Medical deductibles...100
food ....................500
beer & wine ...........270
clothing .................75
gifts /charity...........120
-------------------------------
Total $2886 or $34,632/ year.
I maybe over stating gifts and clothing as we tend to receive as much as we give and much of what I receive is clothing.
Vacations come from DWs salary, was 22K soon to be 31K.
The above list takes up all but about $116/M of my fixed income so any errors would fall to DW's money.
Any thoughts ..Omissions.??
Re: my real household budget.
Cleaning supplies would be in the food budget. I do any repair work myself (We built it ourselves) and any parts have been minimal in recent years.AnEngineer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:21 am I see nothing for household consumables (e.g. cleaning supplies) or home repair / maintenance.
Other then road trips to Maryland to visit Daughter and Grand daughter we have not been on a vacation in years. Family comes to visit us on their vacations. Also you could not get me on a plane today with fixed bayonets. Car and gas for those road trips are in the monthly budget.I've seen this type of comment a few places. You should look at all expenses, including those that come out of paychecks (e.g. medical premiums). If you think something like vacations are covered by some income stream, that's just some mental accounting which is hiding some of your spending.
I'm probably type CThis kind of checksum is really worth it. I account for everything coming into and out of the paycheck to make sure I'm not hiding costs there too.Kagord wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 5:21 am I started this way. The next step I did is to track every cash inflow/outflow you have and classify by expense type and month, and see how close you are. I do this, it takes about 4 hours month for me, this is downloading all credit card, bank, and investment activity, and ensure the balances at end of month tie to ensure you are capturing every cash in and out to the penny. I was close on the budget, but it is enlightening to know exactly how the money comes in and goes out, like what a business does.
If this sounds obsessive, yes it definitely is, and I don't even need to do this, I'm just type A. In any event, my trash can and recycling containers aren't overflowing every week, like all of my neighbors are, from over buying a bunch of crap.
Re: my real household budget.
I'd like to say that was ten bottles of $27 wine, but is more accurately a $55 for a 1.75L of Bourbon, a Bota box of wine, and the rest beer at $20 a eighteen pack. A sixpack a day is a minimum.
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- Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2020 4:05 pm
Re: my real household budget.
So your budget doesn't include less frequent high-cost items, like replacing a furnace or roof?vtsnowdin wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:35 amCleaning supplies would be in the food budget. I do any repair work myself (We built it ourselves) and any parts have been minimal in recent years.AnEngineer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:21 am I see nothing for household consumables (e.g. cleaning supplies) or home repair / maintenance.
Re: my real household budget.
Correct. The standing seam roof will outlast me and possibly my daughter who is already the owner of record. At 35 years old ( the house)it is holding up well and we will address what comes what may.AnEngineer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:43 amSo your budget doesn't include less frequent high-cost items, like replacing a furnace or roof?vtsnowdin wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:35 amCleaning supplies would be in the food budget. I do any repair work myself (We built it ourselves) and any parts have been minimal in recent years.AnEngineer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:21 am I see nothing for household consumables (e.g. cleaning supplies) or home repair / maintenance.
Re: my real household budget.
$270 is a lot for phone/computer/dish or cable. Are there any bundles available in your area? Have you called to ask for rate reductions? I live in a high cost area with a cable monopoly and I can usually get $50/month shaved off by calling every year.
Re: my real household budget.
vtsnowdin,
I do not believe in budgeting. If you save enough, you can spend the rest. In this case, save $200 per month and spend the rest.
KlangFool
30% VWENX | 16% VFWAX/VTIAX | 14.5% VTSAX | 19.5% VBTLX | 10% VSIAX/VTMSX/VSMAX | 10% VSIGX| 30% Wellington 50% 3-funds 20% Mini-Larry
Re: my real household budget.
Glad that works for you, KlangFool. This works when your income is high and expenses are low. In this stage of life, I would run out of money each month if I didn’t have a budget for different categories, and communication with spouse about those categories.
For the record, I almost met your extremely high standards for home purchase and saving 1 year of expense / year…but not quite.
Last edited by runner540 on Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: my real household budget.
AS I said we have just upgraded the landline service from the phone company. After one time charges for the switch( $125) the bill is supposed to drop.
The State of Vermont is in a tissy to get high speed internet to every house and hunting camp so what is available is changing but as I am about as far into the woods as you can get without starting to come out the other side it will be awhile before there is any competition for my business.
I do plan to watch it and switch to a more economical setup when it finally gets in place.
I live five miles from the nearest paved road and 1000 feet in elevation above it.
Re: my real household budget.
What is the purpose of this list? If it is for planning, then it seems that you do need to have some consideration for repairs and replacement even you provide most of the labor. I can only see $75 for the repair category. Will that even cover a set of tires? Refrigerator, washing machine, mattress, tractor, TV, boots? Also, your low costs depend on your labor. You mentioned being 67. Do you have a plan for when you can not split your own wood or crawl under your car?
Is the house insurance a split cost with your wife or is it really that low? Actually, I would be ecstatic both the house and auto prices, assuming sufficient liability coverage.
Is the house insurance a split cost with your wife or is it really that low? Actually, I would be ecstatic both the house and auto prices, assuming sufficient liability coverage.
Re: my real household budget.
After 44 years of marriage we don't do much of any budgeting or need to talk about it much. We both know how much is in the checkbook and our savings account and she has a rough idea of how much I have in my Fidelity accounts and I see her 401K statements. She will salt money away in a no interest savings account or even put cash into our gun safe and thinks I don't notice and I am careful to let her think that.
She also has a small hobby business that she keeps separate books on which is probably a small loss at present.
For Christmas this year I "gave" her four studded tires for her new car and got them on before the first snowfall. So a gift of safety.
A cart full of groceries cost $250 to $240 and rising and a tank of gas for the truck $50 and there is nothing you can do about that.
About the only real budgeting is setting aside the money due in November for property taxes which is the single biggest bill of the year. All else is routinely covered by the checkbook balance.
She also has a small hobby business that she keeps separate books on which is probably a small loss at present.
For Christmas this year I "gave" her four studded tires for her new car and got them on before the first snowfall. So a gift of safety.
A cart full of groceries cost $250 to $240 and rising and a tank of gas for the truck $50 and there is nothing you can do about that.
About the only real budgeting is setting aside the money due in November for property taxes which is the single biggest bill of the year. All else is routinely covered by the checkbook balance.
Re: my real household budget.
Mostly a conversation starter inspired by a contentious thread that has now been locked. It was snowing a foot and the market was closed. It should have stayed closed considering the morning so far.
$75/m is $900 a year and I think that has well covered recent years. Tractor was bought and payed for when I was semiretired and working as a double dipping consultant. (JD 5045E 4WD 45HP). Ten years old and I have less then 1000 hours on it. When I plow our private road with it the neighbors drop off five gallon jugs of fuel. That is my next thing to do today.If it is for planning, then it seems that you do need to have some consideration for repairs and replacement even you provide most of the labor. I can only see $75 for the repair category. Will that even cover a set of tires? Refrigerator, washing machine, mattress, tractor, TV, boots? Also, your low costs depend on your labor. You mentioned being 67. Do you have a plan for when you can not split your own wood or crawl under your car?
When I can't do it anymore I of course plan on paying for it, most probably from the index funds returns.
No that is not split and is that low but I am under insured on it and need to talk to my daughter to see if she wants to up it. We traded in a rusted out Rav 4 and put $3000 of my stock pick returns down on the 2021 Subaru forester so borrowed about 32K without digging out the paperwork. Both vehicles are fully insured but as I have had the same auto insurance policy sense 1974 they treat us pretty well.Is the house insurance a split cost with your wife or is it really that low? Actually, I would be ecstatic both the house and auto prices, assuming sufficient liability coverage.
Re: my real household budget.
runner540,runner540 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:05 am
Glad that works for you, KlangFool. This works when your income is high and expenses are low. In this stage of life, I would run out of money each month if I didn’t have a budget for different categories, and communication with spouse about those categories.
For the record, I almost met your extremely high standards for home purchase and saving 1 year of expense / year…but not quite.
That statement is false for me. I save 1 year of expense even when my income was low.
But, conceptually, this is foreign to you. I come from a culture/community/country with an average gross saving rate of 30+%. We saved 1/3 of our income by default. We do not assume that 1/3 income exist and we live our lives accordingly.
My ancestors came from a place that suffered 800+ famines across 800+ years. Only those that saved even while they starve survive that sequence of events.
<< For the record, I almost met your extremely high standards>>
That is not a high standard for my culture. It is the normal behavior.
KlangFool
30% VWENX | 16% VFWAX/VTIAX | 14.5% VTSAX | 19.5% VBTLX | 10% VSIAX/VTMSX/VSMAX | 10% VSIGX| 30% Wellington 50% 3-funds 20% Mini-Larry
Re: my real household budget.
I like to look at full year budget. There are fluctuation in spending month-to-month that tends to smooth out if you look at total for the year, and then divide by 12. Also you may miss some spending if you don't look at the whole year spending.vtsnowdin wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 3:31 am In another thread there is quite a discussion on frugal or minimum budgets or monthly expenses. Rather then muddy the waters there further I thought I should post my "as real as I can be about it" expenses for observation and comment. All per month.
Property taxes ...... $456
Heat.....................50 .... I heat with wood I cut myself this is fuel and depreciation on tractor, chainsaw, and wood splitter. WAG
Electricity...............120
ll Phone & computer...150
cell phones (2).........125
dish TV..................120
Car ins. full 2 vehs....125
Car registrations.......13
Car pmt. 21 Subaru...455
gas .....................100
truck repairs............75
House insurance........30
Medical deductibles...100
food ....................500
beer & wine ...........270
clothing .................75
gifts /charity...........120
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Total $2886 or $34,632/ year.
I maybe over stating gifts and clothing as we tend to receive as much as we give and much of what I receive is clothing.
Vacations come from DWs salary, was 22K soon to be 31K.
The above list takes up all but about $116/M of my fixed income so any errors would fall to DW's money.
Any thoughts ..Omissions.??
A few comments:
1) The car payment is yuck. So does beer & wine. No offense.
2) Is house insurance home owner insurance? What's your policy and who's the insurance underwriter?
3) You probably need to do budget for both you and your wife. Aside from vacation, what are other spending? It seems like your budget doesn't include trips to nail & hair salon. Or do you spend the entire 22k on vacation?
Time is the ultimate currency.
Re: my real household budget.
The car is perhaps the last one we will need to buy. It offers about six years of repair free driving other then 7500 mile oil changes and gets 36 MPG.H-Town wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:16 am
A few comments:
1) The car payment is yuck. So does beer & wine. No offense.
2) Is house insurance home owner insurance? What's your policy and who's the insurance underwriter?
3) You probably need to do budget for both you and your wife. Aside from vacation, what are other spending? It seems like your budget doesn't include trips to nail & hair salon. Or do you spend the entire 22k on vacation?
In other words worth the money.
Booze equals entertainment to some. At least I don't smoke or do drugs.
The house insurance is mostly fire insurance with just what home owner protection comes with it. If it burned down My daughter would just start rebuilding on the reinforced concrete foundation with perhaps just one floor instead of the present two with four bedroom layout. Local co-op not a nationwide firm.
Nail and hair salon bills are minor and something I never see. My girls have given me my haircuts sense the local barber retired /covid closed up shop.
The balance of the 22K goes into things I have forgotten and my wife's hobbies and spoiling Granddaughter. This was just the list off the top of my head with few receipts checked beyond the tax bills and last months utilities. It is however a lot closer then a $1000/ month fantasy.
Re: my real household budget.
Say goodbye to Dish
Get a good outside antenna and Netflix.
Get a good outside antenna and Netflix.
Re: my real household budget.
So your budget is $56k per year, not $34kvtsnowdin wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:40 amThe car is perhaps the last one we will need to buy. It offers about six years of repair free driving other then 7500 mile oil changes and gets 36 MPG.H-Town wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:16 am
A few comments:
1) The car payment is yuck. So does beer & wine. No offense.
2) Is house insurance home owner insurance? What's your policy and who's the insurance underwriter?
3) You probably need to do budget for both you and your wife. Aside from vacation, what are other spending? It seems like your budget doesn't include trips to nail & hair salon. Or do you spend the entire 22k on vacation?
In other words worth the money.
Booze equals entertainment to some. At least I don't smoke or do drugs.
The house insurance is mostly fire insurance with just what home owner protection comes with it. If it burned down My daughter would just start rebuilding on the reinforced concrete foundation with perhaps just one floor instead of the present two with four bedroom layout. Local co-op not a nationwide firm.
Nail and hair salon bills are minor and something I never see. My girls have given me my haircuts sense the local barber retired /covid closed up shop.
The balance of the 22K goes into things I have forgotten and my wife's hobbies and spoiling Granddaughter. This was just the list off the top of my head with few receipts checked beyond the tax bills and last months utilities. It is however a lot closer then a $1000/ month fantasy.
Vanguard/Fidelity | 76% US Stock | 16% Int'l Stock | 8% Cash
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Re: my real household budget.
Do you do anything for fun? Hobbies? Entertainment?
Odd, but you only spend $120/year in gifts?
No budget for vacations?
I know you do your own repair work, etc. but I'm certain there are expenses for big ticket items and home repairs, even if just parts. I'm sure there's labor, too. I doubt you're re-roofing your house or installing your own furnace.
If your wife is paying for some of these, then it really isn't a household budget.
Odd, but you only spend $120/year in gifts?
No budget for vacations?
I know you do your own repair work, etc. but I'm certain there are expenses for big ticket items and home repairs, even if just parts. I'm sure there's labor, too. I doubt you're re-roofing your house or installing your own furnace.
If your wife is paying for some of these, then it really isn't a household budget.
Re: my real household budget.
No that is $120 per month $1200 a year and just a WAG.Triple digit golfer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 1:54 pm Do you do anything for fun? Hobbies? Entertainment?
Odd, but you only spend $120/year in gifts?
No budget for vacations?
I know you do your own repair work, etc. but I'm certain there are expenses for big ticket items and home repairs, even if just parts. I'm sure there's labor, too. I doubt you're re-roofing your house or installing your own furnace.
If your wife is paying for some of these, then it really isn't a household budget.
Well as I have said the steel roof is good for decades yet and I got the wood furnace I'm using now for free and did install it myself.
The roofing was the only part of the house I subbed out as I did not have the tools. We had it scaffolded ply wooded and tar papered when they arrived but they had to shovel the snow and ice off to begin.
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Re: my real household budget.
I’m not sure what the point of this is. You have $34k in spending listed, but your home appears to be underinsured, and you have every category that fits into “things that could go wrong” zeroed out. I can guarantee that at least some things (health, dental, home repair, car) will actually go wrong, and you will have expenses in those categories, probably large expenses. “My wife or daughter will pay for it” is fine as a way to pay for that kind of stuff as long as they agree to it, but the “nothing will go wrong” budgeting method will never produce a very accurate budget.
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Re: my real household budget.
Hmmmm… Seems like even the most innocuous posts become contentious theses days. Personally, I find this thread very helpful and hopefully OP can incorporate some of the better suggestions into a more accurate budget. Which was the point I’m guessing.
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Re: my real household budget.
vtsnowdinvtsnowdin wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:40 amThe car is perhaps the last one we will need to buy. It offers about six years of repair free driving other then 7500 mile oil changes and gets 36 MPG.H-Town wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:16 am
A few comments:
1) The car payment is yuck. So does beer & wine. No offense.
2) Is house insurance home owner insurance? What's your policy and who's the insurance underwriter?
3) You probably need to do budget for both you and your wife. Aside from vacation, what are other spending? It seems like your budget doesn't include trips to nail & hair salon. Or do you spend the entire 22k on vacation?
In other words worth the money.
Booze equals entertainment to some. At least I don't smoke or do drugs.
The house insurance is mostly fire insurance with just what home owner protection comes with it. If it burned down My daughter would just start rebuilding on the reinforced concrete foundation with perhaps just one floor instead of the present two with four bedroom layout. Local co-op not a nationwide firm.
Nail and hair salon bills are minor and something I never see. My girls have given me my haircuts sense the local barber retired /covid closed up shop.
The balance of the 22K goes into things I have forgotten and my wife's hobbies and spoiling Granddaughter. This was just the list off the top of my head with few receipts checked beyond the tax bills and last months utilities. It is however a lot closer then a $1000/ month fantasy.
Enjoyed your budget review. Seems like you can cover the needs and wants.
I see no issue with your beer and wine budget. You have my approval for entertainment and mental benefit. Likely cheaper in the longrun. (A nondrinker myself but an seasoned bartender during my college days).
What is the old saying - "I spent half my money on whiskey and women, the other half I just wasted". Looks like you are doing well with a good spirit budget and spending money on the important things like you wife, daughter, and grand daughter. Add some good hard manual labor working firewood rounds it out well.
Only real advice I have is to consider an alternative heat source from wood when you are no longer a youngster . Growing up my parents heated with wood until the free labor source moved away. Heat pump installed the following year.
Enjoy