Your annual expenditure poll

[ourkid8]

Good for you for having your expenses around $9,000/year!!! I pay $600/week in mortgage payments + just under $700/month to our lovely town of Richmond Hill in property taxes.  Just on those 2 items alone, I hit about $9,000 in under 3 months! 

 

Shahed

 

I think my "all in" total expenses are around $6.000-$9,000 a year. That is for food, housing, gas, insurance, everything.

 

Stanley you are my new role model.

 

BeerBaron

 

 

hahaha. thanks, man!  8)

 

Wow!  $6-9k a year?!  That's impressive.  Are you currently incarcerated?  That's the only way I could see expenses being that low.

 

Pretty much!

 

Well, my electricity is about $50-$100 a month. My food is $100 or less (i would guess probably closer to $50). Gas is about $100. My insurance (car, home, health) is around $200 or so a month. My property taxes are around $2000 per year. My internet is about $35 or so.  Hmmm...if we say $80 for misc stuff (gifts, dates, etc)....that's about $9,000 or so a year.

[biaggio]

Enjoyed reading this thread, You guys are funny.

 

Stanley-enjoy it while it lasts. It was around 30 it will all changed for me --- you will be spending 6000-9000/month soon enough (a wife and a few kids, will do it). Do not avoid marriage + kids , as its worth it.

 

Moore, how did you accumulate 6 figure brokerage account at such a young age---I would love my kids to do this + I would be willing to feed them several times a week + have them take home leftovers.(I have one now going to school-when he comes home from school he leaves with all the groceries + food he can carry.)

 

Moore I assume your family/parents taught you well-how did they do it? Or someone taught you to invest early on?

[ERICOPOLY]

My food is $100 or less (i would guess probably closer to $50).

 

You live on $1.65 per day?  ($50 per month)

 

Is that like 32 cents on breakfast, 33 cents on lunch, and for dinner you pull out all the stops and spend $1?

 

Do you find food scraps in dumpsters?  Ate the neighbor's pets?  Trapping raccoons?  Stealing the neighbor's lemons off the tree? 

 

What is your secret?

 

I bought two lemons yesterday and it cost me a dollar.  That's 2/3 of your daily budget but you can't survive on 3 lemons a day.

[NormR]

Ate the neighbor's pets?

 

Vegetarians, from the other point of view

[twacowfca]

My food is $100 or less (i would guess probably closer to $50).

 

You live on $1.65 per day?  ($50 per month)

 

Is that like 32 cents on breakfast, 33 cents on lunch, and for dinner you pull out all the stops and spend $1?

 

Do you find food scraps in dumpsters?  Ate the neighbor's pets?  Trapping raccoons?  Stealing the neighbor's lemons off the tree? 

 

What is your secret?

 

I bought two lemons yesterday and it cost me a dollar.  That's 2/3 of your daily budget but you can't survive on 3 lemons a day.

 

Hey!  The best food staples are dirt cheap: rice, beans, corn etc.  Throw in a few leftovers from mom's table, and you've probably got a diet better than nine out of ten Americans.  :)

[DCG]

Not sure on the exact amount, but a good amount. I'm married with 1 kid/baby (so far), a dog and a cat, 2 mortgages (one of which is mosty paid by tenants), live in a place wih cold winters and expensive heating bill. Seems like we spend a ton of money on food. And kids are expensive.

 

And I'm currently it of work, so it's not easy living just on my wife's salary, but we're managing, and hopefully I'll find a new job soon.

[ERICOPOLY]

My food is $100 or less (i would guess probably closer to $50).

 

You live on $1.65 per day?  ($50 per month)

 

Is that like 32 cents on breakfast, 33 cents on lunch, and for dinner you pull out all the stops and spend $1?

 

Do you find food scraps in dumpsters?  Ate the neighbor's pets?  Trapping raccoons?  Stealing the neighbor's lemons off the tree? 

 

What is your secret?

 

I bought two lemons yesterday and it cost me a dollar.  That's 2/3 of your daily budget but you can't survive on 3 lemons a day.

 

Hey!  The best food staples are dirt cheap: rice, beans, corn etc.  Throw in a few leftovers from mom's table, and you've probably got a diet better than nine out of ten Americans.  :)

 

I agree but I still don't think I could eat those staples combined with FRESH fruits and veggies for 55 cents a meal.  You should see what an avocado costs in Seattle.

 

So anyways I want to hear what he says.

 

There is no need for meat in the diet though -- I think that can be eliminated to save money.  It costs 10 calories of grains to produce 1 calorie of animal meat for the table.  That's terrible economics (not to mention driving up the price of food/grains) yet people get upset about using corn for ethanol production.  I'm not even counting the money saved on the heart bypass surgery you won't need.

 

[stahleyp]

My food is $100 or less (i would guess probably closer to $50).

 

You live on $1.65 per day?  ($50 per month)

 

Is that like 32 cents on breakfast, 33 cents on lunch, and for dinner you pull out all the stops and spend $1?

 

Do you find food scraps in dumpsters?  Ate the neighbor's pets?  Trapping raccoons?  Stealing the neighbor's lemons off the tree? 

 

What is your secret?

 

I bought two lemons yesterday and it cost me a dollar.  That's 2/3 of your daily budget but you can't survive on 3 lemons a day.

 

Thanks for the kind words, guys! haha

 

Eric,

 

Here is basically what I do. I have the healthiest diet of almost anyone I know. Recently I moved to mostly all organic/natural. Before that, I could get away about $50 a month or so (I'd suspect).

 

I eat about 6x a day. For breakfast, I'll eat a bowl of organic cereal (kashi was $2.5 with a coupon - plus recyclebank points for future $2 off coupons) with milk. The milk (nonorganic)will last me about 1-2 weeks depending on the week. that's $2.50 for a gallon. breakfast should total about .60 or so.

 

I'll eat a protein/nutrition bar. After buying coupons on ebay, those come in about .20 or so.

 

Lunch. Peanut butter (natural) on organic 100% whole wheat bread. I'll buy manager special when I can and just put in it the fridge. Or if 100% nonorganic is especially cheap, I might buy that. Overall, I would the peanut butter is about $1.75 for 2-3weeks worth and break is about $3 on average for a week. I'll eat a organic spinach salad too.  $3 for a pound and lasts about a week. $6/7 days + $1.75/14 days --- about a $1.

 

4th meal - fruit and nuts (buy in bulk) let's say .50 cents (that's probably a high estimate).

 

5th meal - protein shake (or veggies) $20 or so if I get it on sale and lasts about 2-3 months depending on use. .33 cents per day.

 

6th meal - veggie burger or mom's leftovers! let's say that averages about a $1 (again, I'd venture to guess less than that).

 

That works out to about $3.60 a day or about $108 a month.

 

 

 

 

[given2invest]

that sounds awful  ;D

[AZ_Value]

My food is $100 or less (i would guess probably closer to $50).

 

You live on $1.65 per day?  ($50 per month)

 

Is that like 32 cents on breakfast, 33 cents on lunch, and for dinner you pull out all the stops and spend $1?

 

Do you find food scraps in dumpsters?  Ate the neighbor's pets?  Trapping raccoons?  Stealing the neighbor's lemons off the tree? 

 

What is your secret?

 

I bought two lemons yesterday and it cost me a dollar.  That's 2/3 of your daily budget but you can't survive on 3 lemons a day.

 

Thanks for the kind words, guys! haha

 

Eric,

 

Here is basically what I do. I have the healthiest diet of almost anyone I know. Recently I moved to mostly all organic/natural. Before that, I could get away about $50 a month or so (I'd suspect).

 

I eat about 6x a day. For breakfast, I'll eat a bowl of organic cereal (kashi was $2.5 with a coupon - plus recyclebank points for future $2 off coupons) with milk. The milk (nonorganic)will last me about 1-2 weeks depending on the week. that's $2.50 for a gallon. breakfast should total about .60 or so.

 

I'll eat a protein/nutrition bar. After buying coupons on ebay, those come in about .20 or so.

 

Lunch. Peanut butter (natural) on organic 100% whole wheat bread. I'll buy manager special when I can and just put in it the fridge. Or if 100% nonorganic is especially cheap, I might buy that. Overall, I would the peanut butter is about $1.75 for 2-3weeks worth and break is about $3 on average for a week. I'll eat a organic spinach salad too.  $3 for a pound and lasts about a week. $6/7 days + $1.75/14 days --- about a $1.

 

4th meal - fruit and nuts (buy in bulk) let's say .50 cents (that's probably a high estimate).

 

5th meal - protein shake (or veggies) $20 or so if I get it on sale and lasts about 2-3 months depending on use. .33 cents per day.

 

6th meal - veggie burger or mom's leftovers! let's say that averages about a $1 (again, I'd venture to guess less than that).

 

That works out to about $3.60 a day or about $108 a month.

 

Holly Cow!! Someone is definitely serious about retiring in 5 years

 

By the way if you were one of my buddies, I would so make you pick up the tab every time we go to a bar because all this is not fair for the rest of us.

[DCG]

I probably spend at least twice the amount just on beer each month that stahleyp spends on food.

 

You don't even ever eat out?

[given2invest]

Must be really fun to date you  ;D

[Liberty]

Holly Cow!! Someone is definitely serious about retiring in 5 years

 

Looks like he has the discipline to achieve his goals. Hopefully he has the same discipline on the investment side as on the saving side :)

[Liberty]

Must be really fun to date you  ;D

 

Financial independence is a huge turn on, don't you know?  ;) 8)

[Guest Hester]

My food is $100 or less (i would guess probably closer to $50).

 

You live on $1.65 per day?  ($50 per month)

 

Is that like 32 cents on breakfast, 33 cents on lunch, and for dinner you pull out all the stops and spend $1?

 

Do you find food scraps in dumpsters?  Ate the neighbor's pets?  Trapping raccoons?  Stealing the neighbor's lemons off the tree? 

 

What is your secret?

 

I bought two lemons yesterday and it cost me a dollar.  That's 2/3 of your daily budget but you can't survive on 3 lemons a day.

 

Thanks for the kind words, guys! haha

 

Eric,

 

Here is basically what I do. I have the healthiest diet of almost anyone I know. Recently I moved to mostly all organic/natural. Before that, I could get away about $50 a month or so (I'd suspect).

 

I eat about 6x a day. For breakfast, I'll eat a bowl of organic cereal (kashi was $2.5 with a coupon - plus recyclebank points for future $2 off coupons) with milk. The milk (nonorganic)will last me about 1-2 weeks depending on the week. that's $2.50 for a gallon. breakfast should total about .60 or so.

 

I'll eat a protein/nutrition bar. After buying coupons on ebay, those come in about .20 or so.

 

Lunch. Peanut butter (natural) on organic 100% whole wheat bread. I'll buy manager special when I can and just put in it the fridge. Or if 100% nonorganic is especially cheap, I might buy that. Overall, I would the peanut butter is about $1.75 for 2-3weeks worth and break is about $3 on average for a week. I'll eat a organic spinach salad too.  $3 for a pound and lasts about a week. $6/7 days + $1.75/14 days --- about a $1.

 

4th meal - fruit and nuts (buy in bulk) let's say .50 cents (that's probably a high estimate).

 

5th meal - protein shake (or veggies) $20 or so if I get it on sale and lasts about 2-3 months depending on use. .33 cents per day.

 

6th meal - veggie burger or mom's leftovers! let's say that averages about a $1 (again, I'd venture to guess less than that).

 

That works out to about $3.60 a day or about $108 a month.

 

 

 

I have a bare-hand wild boar killing technique that will save you a lot of money on food. PM me.

[DCG]

that sounds awful  ;D

 

Agreed. I'd rather enjoy life.

[Liberty]

that sounds awful  ;D

 

Agreed. I'd rather enjoy life.

 

He's the only one who can decide if what he does gives him more satisfaction than what he's giving up, in the same way that Buffett's frugal ways are obviously giving him more satisfaction than he would get out of a bigger house and all kinds of bling.

 

There's a lot of things that I want but I delay getting them because to me it's better to own a few more shares of the businesses that I like, and it's better to be financially independent a bit sooner, etc.

 

There's such a thing as going too far - ie. if Buffett didn't buy the coke and burgers that he loves so much to save money - but it's up to each person to decide what that is for themselves.

 

I'm saying this because people tend to project their tastes and needs and limits on other people way too much, and that's a flaw in their mental models, as Munger would say.

[given2invest]

Yah, if he's happy that's great.  I just said it sounds awful.  Haha.

 

 

[Parsad]

To each his own.  I think if StahleyP can do that, the more power to him.  I spend about $400 a month on groceries and you should see my fridge, pantry and stock of non-food items.  I buy tons of fruits, veggies, nuts, grains, rice, flour, meat, extra-virgin olive oil, pastas, baked goods, packaged and unpackaged goods, toiletries, etc.  Whatever you want to eat, I have it or can make it for you in my house!  What I spend $400 on, most people would spend $700-1000 on every month. 

 

I buy a Starbucks coffee (usually brewed, not a big fan of the mixed drinks) every single day I go to the office, as well as a breakfast sandwich, wrap, bagel or muffin.  But I almost always brown bag lunch, as I like to be at my desk until after the market close.  I eat out in the evenings maybe 3-6 times a month, and the places range from dirt cheap to upper mid-price.   

 

I've been that way ever since my Dad died 21 years ago, and I started doing all the grocery shopping.  No extreme-couponer, but I do read grocery flyers cover to cover, and use coupons when readily available on a weekly basis.  Don't need to, but it's become a habit after all these years, and I'm always looking for a bargain!  It's the same sort of high you get finding an undervalued investment.  Cheers!

[Liberty]

People looking for tips to save money should check out:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Tightwad-Gazette-Amy-Dacyczyn/dp/0375752250/

 

It's from the early 90s, so some of it is dated. But there's so much stuff that even if you use only 5% of the tips, you'll probably end up paying for the book dozens of times over.

 

That book, please a few blogs that I read for a while, have no doubt saved me thousands of dollars at not real cost to me life enjoyment. But more importantly, they helped change my mindset a bit, and after a while I didn't need any reinforcement to stick to it. None of it feels like a sacrifice, it feels like finding bargains, and that's fun!

[Kraven]

I agree to each his own, but those that are spending these ridiculously low amounts on food obviously don't have children or anyone in the house that like there to be edible things around.  My kids like avocados and those are at least $2 or more each.  That would blow the $2 a day budget without anything else being consumed or anyone else in the house eating.  We don't eat extravagantly by any means, but just to eat out at a Friday's or something is $40-50 with the kids.

[moore_capital54]

Its important to put everything into perspective. While we are alive in the material world, and we reach a point whre we can afford to enjoy the fruits of our labour I think it is ridiculous not to do so.

 

The key is to reach the stage where you feel your money is compounding at a rate that minus inflation and annual cash burn you are content with what you leave for your loved ones or society.

 

The problem I tend to see is when people that have minimal net worths and have no compounding mechanism either spend too much or too little. If you're making $20k a month in a safe job, you should at least enjoy life, because you will never really compound to greatness after taxes and inflation and good memories are extremely satisfying and motivating.

 

Some of my best memories have been on vacations or large family dinners at superb restaurants.

 

 

[tombgrt]

I have tremendous respect for people like StahleyP with his amount of dedication to achieve a certain goal. Everyone has to decide what balance is best for him.

 

Personally I have some of those habits as well. For instance, when in a mall I will automatically compare every product I'm buying and I'll convert the price against quantity (and to a much lesser extent quality). When I see a pizza for $4.5 and one for $1.5, I'll always take the cheapest as I doubt I'll enjoy the more expensive one 3 times as much as the cheap one. It doesn't make perfect sense but it's just something I do when looking at products. I drive a $2000 car because I doubt I need the comfort of a $10000 car just now. Especially since it doesn't take me to my destination 5 times faster, is 5 times saver or consumes 5 times less fuel.  :P

 

I plan on living with my parents for at least a couple of years after I graduate next year. I'll pay a fixed sum for living expenses and the rest I'll be able to save. It makes a big difference and I couldn't care less about the first years of total independence lost. When you think about what compound interest will do with your current savings it really isn't all that hard to stop spending on useless stuff.

[given2invest]

Being 22 is very different than 32 which is very different than 42 which is very different than 52 which is very different than 62.

 

 

[Kraven]

Being 22 is very different than 32 which is very different than 42 which is very different than 52 which is very different than 62.

 

This along with Moore's post sums it up well.  People are at different stages in their life with different financial resources and needs.  I remember being 25 and getting my first bonus.  It was a whopping $2500 which after taxes was about $1600 or so.  I was walking on air.  My wife and I were ecstatic and put that money to very good use and had some fun too.  But you get older and needs change.