What's Your Baseline Annual Budget?

[Retired To Win]

I've managed to bring my annual baseline budget down from $24,000 18 months ago to $18,000 at present. (And, no, I'm not living in a hovel or eating rice and beans every day. )

How's your budget doing?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

$70k being generous. Probably closer to $65k with $30-35k mortgage and expenses.

[Petunia 100]

Wow, that is impressive. I hope you'll share more about how you are managing getting your expenses so low.

[disneysteve]

18K? That would barely cover my mortgage payments. I'd love to see your budget. Is this just for you or are you married? Any kids?

[feh]

Our annual budget is $40K, for a family of 3. By "budget", I mean actual expenses; it does not include payroll/income taxes, savings, etc.

We do not have a mortgage.

[humandraydel]

$30k including $8400 for housing (PITI) for 2 (soon to be 3) people and 2 dogs.

[Retired To Win]

My $18K Baseline Budget is Itemized in my Blog Post

Wow, that is impressive. I hope you'll share more about how you are managing getting your expenses so low.

You can check out the details of my $18K annual baseline budget by going to the blog post that's linked at the top right of this forum reply.

[bigdaddybus]

based somewhat in the same format you have in your blog, here is mine for my family of 6.

Housing $22680
Utilities $7200
Auto $9000
Healthcare $2950
Groceries $9600
Retirement $28380
Gymnastics $2400
daycare $12532
clothing $5200
His and her blow money $2600
savings $20000
vacations $5000
misc kid items $2000

Total $129,542.....I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.

[bigdaddybus]

I've managed to bring my annual baseline budget down from $24,000 18 months ago to $18,000 at present. (And, no, I'm not living in a hovel or eating rice and beans every day. )

How's your budget doing?

Impressive, I cant even imagine getting my families expenses that low

[BuckyBadger]

I'd say we spend about $90-100k a year.

DINK.

Mortgage is less than $2000 a month.

[kyoko]

I just read your blog. We'll done! It shows how much not having mortgage payments frees us up. It's so ideal to pay off mortgage as soon as we can!

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Yes, I read your blog as well and commented there. Let me add, though, that where you live is so beautiful. It is one of those places that tugs on my heart; sort of feels like it is where I belong even though I've never lived anywhere near! My spouse told me long ago, that he thought it so beautiful that he could tolerate poverty if only he could have the beauty of the Shenandoah valley....Anyway, pardon my sentimental interruption

[Retired To Win]

Comparing Baseline to Baseline It's Less Horrible

based somewhat in the same format you have in your blog, here is mine for my family of 6.

Housing $22680
Utilities $7200
Auto $9000
Healthcare $2950
Groceries $9600
Retirement $28380
Gymnastics $2400
daycare $12532
clothing $5200
His and her blow money $2600
savings $20000
vacations $5000
misc kid items $2000

Total $129,542.....I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.

Thanks for posting that, BigDaddyBus...

If I adjust your expense lines so as to make this an apples-to-apples comparison with my baseline budget, your baseline budget would shrink by $63,580 down to "only" $65,962 -- which works out to $11,000 per person for a family of 6. The gymnastics, clothing, blow money and vacation line items would go into a separate (non-baseline!) discretionary budget. The retirement and savings line items would be... savings!

Now... if we (you) could find ways to whittle down some of those remaining baseline expenses.

[bigdaddybus]

Thanks for posting that, BigDaddyBus...

If I adjust your expense lines so as to make this an apples-to-apples comparison with my baseline budget, your baseline budget would shrink by $63,580 down to "only" $65,962 -- which works out to $11,000 per person for a family of 6. The gymnastics, clothing, blow money and vacation line items would go into a separate (non-baseline!) discretionary budget. The retirement and savings line items would be... savings!

Now... if we (you) could find ways to whittle down some of those remaining baseline expenses.

Thanks, I appricate posts like this as it gives me a new perspective by having another set of eyes reviewing our numbers.

So I am at 51% of my income for my base budget, saving 37%, and using 12% for discretional spending. Looking at it that way makes me feel pretty good.

My wife and I know they we could save considerable money by downsizing homes, currently 4800sqft. But, that is our plan in 15 yrs when the kids are gone. Until then we consider the home an investment as we bought it from an estate for $150,000 under replacement value.

Daycare will be cut 25% this year when one child changes to half days. Reduced by 75% the following year, and then gone the next. That money will be redistributed towards college savings.

So, any idea what $11,000 per person tells me? average, above average expenses?

[danielhermann]

You cannot have a standard budget say for a single person, a family of 2 or a family of 4. Ultimately expenditure is more or less in line with income. So depending on your income levels, your expenditure too would be different, all other things remaining equal. There are a host of other factors too, whether you live in the city or the county, whether the kids are attending private school, whether you wear only the branded stuff or only the top-of-the-line stuff, whether you love to go on vacations. So you will not find expenditure patterns of any two individuals the same.