We do not live as inexpensively as @TiggerDad, but I have kept an annual spreadsheet broken down monthly that tracks every penny we’ve spent for the past 19 years. For 2017, the last year that I can report expenses for an entire year, here is what we spent on all our “above the line” obligations:
All housing (no mortgage)…$11,502
(property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, home warranty, HOA,
landscaping/irrigation, pest control, maintenance/repair)
All utilities…$6009
(electric/solar, gas, water, Internet, phones)
All auto (two cars, no payments)… $5326
(gas, washes, parking, insurance, AAA, registration, emissions,
maintenance/service)
All food…$7245
(grocery and alcohol)
All healthcare…$13,079
(doctor/drugs/dentist/vision co-pays, vet, LTC,
company-extended HC premium until 65)
Our discretionary spending includes:
All dining out…$7155
(including club expenses)
All clothing/personal…$3389
(clothes, dry cleaning, shoes, jewelry, hair/nails, cosmetics)
All entertainment…$14,038
(travel, gifts, theater/movies/rentals, books, music,
hobbies, memberships)
These are our main buckets; there a few more. Our retirement budget assumes a new car every ten years, even though our pattern with cars is almost twice that. We will go down to one car when my Corolla dies. We have also forecasted an appliance replacement budget as well as increasing health and home maintenance and repair costs as our bodies and home age.
So, we currently require roughly $45K to handle our non-negotiable obligations which should eventually fit closely within our SS footprint, and we’re currently spending roughly $25K on fun and extras which will fluctuate based on our whims. Our retirement planning scenario is based on $100K (post tax, plus COL increases) annual cash flow. We did not figure SS into our base nut as we can’t assume it will always be there or be there at any predicable amount, so our portfolio balance is quite a bit higher than what this scenario suggests, but it’s what we’re comfortable with.
I do admire those who live happily on less, and I continue to comb our expenditures for waste. If I could get us down to $30K without feeling pinched, I would do it in a heartbeat. In the meantime, I continue to subscribe to Mr. Money Mustache for general tips and guidelines that might apply to us, and I will listen to any advice @TiggerDad offers. 