Let's all see our monthly budgets...???

[Gailete]

Folks tend to resent outliers who elect to travel a less worn path.

I think that is partly true for just about everyone on SA. The path MOST traveled in the US at least these days, is the one of spending more than you make, no savings, no fiscal responsibility. And yes those that have not (because they spent it all) do resent those that have something.

One of the things I do is product reviews for Amazon. When some people hear about it and ask me how I got involved, when I tell them, you can see their faces go down because it is just a bit too much work to get yourself noticed and asked into the program. Same with so many things that helps you make and keep your money. It is just too hard for most people to want to do.

[Nutria]

when I tell them, you can see their faces go down because it is just a bit too much work to get yourself noticed and asked into the program. Same with so many things that helps you make and keep your money. It is just too hard for most people to want to do.

Most people are followers, not rugged individualists.

People need to honestly introspect where on the three-way continuum of leader-follower-independent they are and adjust accordingly. (Of course, most people don't want to introspect, and many that do delude themselves... )

[clatoden99]

My favorite app is goodbudget which will automatically sync to an account you can create on their website Home Budget App for Android, iPhone, & Web (goodbudget.com). I create my "envelopes", then every time I spend money, I quickly input it. This keeps track of where my money is going. I don't go into the red unless it is a Medical bill. If you are young with no kids, then try to maximize savings or pay off your student loan or car loan as soon as possible and always strive to be debt free with the exception of the house mortgage.


My categories are:
Groceries/Household goods
Transportation/Gas
Utilities
Mortgage or Rent (automatically paid, fixed amount)
Eating Out/Entertainment
Insurances (automatically paid, fixed amount)
Shopping/Gifts to others


Savings (automatically paid, fixed amount)
Property Tax
Medical (copays, Rx, ortho)
Vacation
Gardener
Kid #1 (such as music lessons, camps, school donations, etc)
Kid #2
Car Registration/Maintenance
Car Loan (for some people)
Student Loan (for some people)

[BuckyBadger]

Same here. We've always lived below our means and saved an adequate percentage of our income without needing a recipe to follow. I fully realize, however, that not everyone can manage that. A budget can be a critical tool to keep things on track, especially early on when you're starting out and need to figure out how much you can afford to spend on various things.

We also don't budget. We deduct a massive amount of money toward savings and retirement before our paychecks even hit our account. We spend what's left. We have a large enough slush fund that a few thousand dollars up and down per month is irrelevant as long as it isn't all in the same direction for too many months in a row.

We are lucky that we are able to do this, though, although we made some of our own luck by not over extending ourselves on fixed costs like mortgages and car payments.

[disneysteve]

We also don't budget. We deduct a massive amount of money toward savings and retirement before our paychecks even hit our account. We spend what's left. We have a large enough slush fund that a few thousand dollars up and down per month is irrelevant as long as it isn't all in the same direction for too many months in a row.

We are lucky that we are able to do this, though, although we made some of our own luck by not over extending ourselves on fixed costs like mortgages and car payments.

I don't think luck has anything to do with it. It is based on everything you mentioned including buying a modest home and cars and committing to saving first before spending.

We also maintain a comfortable surplus in our account so that when one month includes unusually high expenses (home repair, travel, whatever), it doesn't sink the ship.

[bjl584]

Lump me in with those that don't have a budget.

Living below my means and paying myself first have served me well. No need for a strict budget.

[Nutria]

Lump me in with those that don't have a budget.

Living below my means and paying myself first have served me well. No need for a strict budget.

Instead of "budget", think instead of "expense tracking" so that you stay living within/below your needs...

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Not a true budget but we have a monthly amount that we spend and that's it. I'll play semi-budget thread if we are going to reveal.

[BuckyBadger]

I'd post our monthly expenses but people would flip out. We're well-paid DINKs. We save a lot and we spend a lot. We are not money mustache-ers.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Nope, I wouldn't say I do much expense tracking either. Nor spending tracking. Long ago, when I first came to SA I was going to try to track spending for a single month, but it was just too boring. I did manage to track food spending for that month, though.

I have to look up how much I spend on utilities, insurance, or whatever. I no longer even remember how much we paid on our mortgage or how much our present car cost. When I note expenses in my blog, it is usually when I have just encountered them on a bill or statement, or when I have gotten out paperwork & bank records to calculate something interesting I've seen on someone else's blog, or when a one time only expense has occurred such as this week when we paid to have work done on our air conditioner.

I used to have a superb memory for numbers, but that has faded. Besides, my financial life has always been more like a thoughtful art than a precise science. I will do calculations to make decisions, but I've never had to suddenly put on the brakes when tracking revealed that I was spending too quickly....'cause no such thing has happened.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Maybe the thread should be what you spend per month? IE burn rate? Bucky I'm sure my burn rate will look terrible since we aren't working but it didn't change since we aren't working.

[Singuy]

I'd post our monthly expenses but people would flip out. We're well-paid DINKs. We save a lot and we spend a lot. We are not money mustache-ers.

Do it!
I did mine!

[tripods68]

We use zero-based budget in Excel (new Tab for every month). I keep track of what we spend, bills, groceries, upcoming trips vacation, allowances, savings/retirement, 529, etc. Call me the 'nerd' in the family.

[autoxer]

To get this thread back on topic, here is my average monthly cash flow from last year. This is for a family of four, two adults, two toddlers:

Income: $16,250 - Income Tax: 3,700 = Take Home Pay: 12,550

• Mortgage: 2,006
  Principal: 934
  Interest: 527
  Escrow: 544
• Food: 900
• Entertainment: 107
• Home Repair: 124
• Transportation: 321 (gas, insurance & maintenance for two cars)
• Health & Fitness: 382
• Kids: 300
• Personal Care: 62
• Pets: 28
• Utilities: 270 (electric, natural gas, water, cell phone, internet)
• Life Insurance: 123
• Travel: 25
• Shopping: 328
• Gifts: 43
• Uncategorized: 102
• Business: 20
  Total Spending: 5,141

• 401k contributions: 1,500
• Roth IRA contributions: 917
• 529 contributions: 400
• Brokerage contributions: 1,380
• Savings Account: 3,212
  Total Investments and Savings: 7,409

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I'll play.
Budget is for wife and I

Property Tax: 900
Home Insurance: 80
HOA: 165 (also includes cable and internet)
Car Insurance: 120 for 2 cars
Gas: 120
Toll: 80
Electricity: 120
Water: 60
Eating out: 150
Food: 100(parents buy the bulk of it and cooks for us so we eat over a lot).
Mortgage: 0
Car payments: 0
Cellphone: 220
Misc: 500 (child's clothing, buying things for the house here and there)
Total: $2595

Income
Myself: 6400 after tax/insurance/$2,500 FSA/maxed 401k
Wife: 12,500 after taxes, no retirement account

Savings: 16,300/month
401k: 1400/month

I think saving $16k a month and spending $2600/month is pretty mustachian.

Problem for many is I can give a number $6k we spend on living and I can say rent is $2400. Rest is living and it fluctuates