Share Your Monthly Budget

[Head416]

Just curious what other people's monthly budget/spending looks like. I'm not in a good financial situation right now (way too much credit card debt). I'm just curious what percentage of other people's spending goes to rent, bills, food, spending money, etc.

I'll throw up my numbers first, my excuses will follow:

Rent 39%
Car Pmt 5%
Insur 5%
Credit 13%
Utilities 14%
Charity 5%
Savings 5%
Food/Ent 15%

I've been meaning to do this for a while, but hadn't taken the time to figure out the percentages. I was a little surprised that rent was 39% of my take home, but I live in Los Angeles so there you go. Car payment is for one car, Insurance includes auto and renter's. That huge 13% going to credit card payments is my punishment for spending like an idiot. The utilities category includes all sorts of things: cell phone, Internet, TV, alarm company, gasoline card. I actually didn't realize our charitable giving had dipped down that far, it used to be around 10%. We try to put a little towards savings, but we pull out from there way too often.

The Food/Ent category is everything else, including haircuts, dry cleaning, clothes, guitar lessons, birthday presents, concert tickets. Pretty much everything that isn't already accounted for. That 15% is the part I feel on a daily basis, and it feels pretty tight.

So do me a favor, take 5 minutes and post up your percentages. I'm looking forward to seeing how your expenses work out. I feel like I make too much money to feel as broke as I do, maybe it will help me out to see how everybody does it. Obviously my credit card debt is a problem, but that isn't something I can fix in the short term.

[nostatic]

Rent - 35%
Car pmt - 5%
util - 15%
ins - 5%
food - 15%

Rest is for whatever happens. No cc debt (pay it off every month). Have decent rainy day savings (1 year of expenses), reasonable retirement (around 500K, probably 15 years from retirement).

[McLovin]

That does seem like a lot for rent. Seems difficult to get by when rent chews up that much.

I don't have a budget, but the biggest differences we would have would be:

Rent/mortgage: 0%
Car payments: 0%
Credit: 0%

Even give that, it seems like we spend a lot of money, on exactly what, I'm not sure! I have a fairly expensive wife and kids. I know my wife spends at least $300/month ($3600 a year) on her hair alone. For the kids, piano lessons, golf lessons, tutoring, etc. goes well into the 5 figures per year. Our grocery bills seems very, very high to me.

So our "Food/Ent" category (which you lump all that under) is big, tens of thousands.

Of course, I spend almost no money on myself in those categories. I cut my own hair, bring leftovers for lunch every day, etc. $40 in my wallet can last me 2 weeks!

[Head416]

Thanks! Keep 'em coming!

Man, 0% for rent/mortgage would change A LOT for me!

[Embraer]

base on net income:

5% rent (yes..5%)
65% savings, not including 401K. I throw $5200 into a savings account each month that I don't touch. $674 every two weeks is taken out of gross income for IRA.
10% food
20% going out, toys, other expenses


im single, with no responsibility or debt.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by McLovin

That does seem like a lot for rent. Seems difficult to get by when rent chews up that much.

In my case we're paying a premium for good public schools. Otherwise I'd be looking at 20% going to tuition for private school. Once he's out of HS we're relocating and probably slicing 20-40% off the rent.

[JavaBrewer]

Mortgage 39%
Cars & Credit 0%
Util 20%
Food & Ent 25%
Ins 5%

We try to cut back on F & E but that's also the primary source of daily comforts for all the hard work. Having two kids at high school age takes a toll as well.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by Head416

Thanks! Keep 'em coming!

Man, 0% for rent/mortgage would change A LOT for me!

Yeah, that's what I thought, too, but the money seems to still go somewhere!

From what I've seen, myself and my friends, is increasing savings efficiency pretty much has to come from the wife. Of course there's exceptions, but often most of the money flow is going through the wife - she's the one doing the shopping, buying the household things, etc. My wife isn't a spending maniac, but she still spends in ways that I wouldn't. Both in buying things that aren't 100% necessary, and in paying too much. Basically, my $20 bill is her $100 bill. To me, spending $100 on something is a major purchase! To her, that's half the cost of a minor Target trip.

Financially, IMO if there is one "saver" and one "spender" in the family, it's much, much better if the wife is the saver and the husband the spender.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by Embraer

base on net income:

5% rent (yes..5%)
65% savings, not including 401K. I throw $5200 into a savings account each month that I don't touch. $674 every two weeks is taken out of gross income for IRA.
10% food
20% going out, toys, other expenses


im single, with no responsibility or debt.

LOL, my budget would be simple if I were single.

0% rent.
0% car payments.
0% credit.
95% savings.
5% everything else.

[Embraer]

yeah...if I reach the point where I have to actually start spending money again, it'll be hard. I love this lifestyle.

[Gogar]

Mortgage: 16%
Car payment: 0%
Credit: 0%
Util: 7%
Insurance: 3%
Savings: 20%
Food/Ent:

[Head416]

Maybe I should become a rockstar... seems better than becoming finically responsible. But based on my (lack of) progress on the guitar, it could take quite a while.

My wife does rein me in. I'd be coming home with boats, guitars, guns, and cars otherwise. But then we also spend more together, going out, etc.

[GH85Carrera]

Much like McLovin I don't have a budget. I am lucky enough to have had a job since I was 16. Only 5 working days in my life of no income since 1972.

0% on mortgage
0% on credit
0% on car payments
a few grand to a charity
large chunk to eating out.
I just do not track what percentage is for the basic costs of living in a house. The property taxes, insurance and upkeep or to drive my cars.

We have no debt at all and we save more than we spend.

I vividly remember the bad old days of wondering how I was going to make a utility payment before that utility is cut off. Eating rice and beans for weeks on end and not going out on a date for a couple of years because chasing women is expensive. I did not have any sort of vacation for many years.

When I was at the bottom I promised myself I would be debt free by 40. I did not make it by my 40th birthday but before I turned 41 I did not owe anyone any money.

It was a lot of work and I have never accepted one penny of government assistance.

[motion]

You guys wouldn't want to see my budget. Pretty much 100% of it is fun tickets

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

0% on mortgage
0% on credit
0% on car payments
a few grand to a charity
large chunk to eating out.
I just do not track what percentage is for the basic costs of living in a house. The property taxes, insurance and upkeep or to drive my cars.

That's close enough to mine that it's not worth retyping it so I'll just copy Glen's>

Hey - so far no one has owned up to how much they spend on hookers and blow.

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by Head416

Maybe I should become a rockstar... seems better than becoming finically responsible.

It's funny how you never considered that my numbers are the way they are because I am 'finically' responsible, just "lucky" or something.

[Head416]

No, not really. Just an easy joke!

[Crowbob]

I'm on the GlenPlan.

[Cajundaddy]

I haven't sweated personal finances much since the kids got degrees, jobs, and houses. My back of a napkin budget:
Mortgage: 20%
maint exp: 5%
credit: 0%
Utilities:5%
Savings: 10%
Charity: 15% (bleeding heart wife)
Travel & Entertainment: 20% (like to travel while we are fit and healthy)

[sammyg2]

Doan have no budget but it works out to something like this:

Mortgage: 5%
car payments: 6%
Insurance..... dunno. Not that much.
No credit card balance.
Utilities 3%
Church/charity bout 8 to 9%
entertainment/dining 10%
Cost of daughter being away at college: 15%
Groceries/shopping etc: 7%
The rest goes to savings, son's college fund, hookers and blow.


Serial, my allowance is $40 a week and I usually doan spend it all.