Shocked: Our bare-bones monthly cost of living is 5K after taxes! What's yours?

[Anonymous]

Wow.

My actual:
1300-Rent
100-Utilities
200-Transportation (no car)
250-Insurance (health and life)
1400-Daycare
80-Classes for DC and I
90-Student Loan
300-Groceries (1 adult, 1 toddler)
200-Emergency Fund (this includes funds for DC to visit his father in the Midwest, as I'm responsible for 50% of the travel costs)
200-Misc (eating out, clothes, routine dr visits with co-pays, 'fun' money, gifts, etc)

4120.

That's no cable, no car, no retirement savings, no debt other than SL. I cloth diaper, we have no routine meds we have to pay for, I cook at home and shop sales. Only one adult and one small child. The only 'frivolous' thing up there is the classes DC and I take and maybe the travel costs (which are court ordered that I pay). That's pretty bare bones. I make $55,800. I have no wiggle room.

[Anonymous]

We moved here a year ago from the Midwest, and we are shocked by how much everything costs here. Our lifestyle has definitely taken a downward turn, and DH got a big raise when we moved here! Our food expenses are more than 1K per month, probably closer to 1500 per month when you add in meals out. We are foodies, shop at farmers markets and whole foods, trader joe's, etc. Not gourmet food, but basic, wholesome, mostly organic, and it costs A LOT. Restaurants that are mostly organic are expensive.

We have no mortgage, which is the only way we can survive here. All our savings are in our house, which means we can't spend them, luckily.

But we live paycheck to paycheck, something we never did before. We have two school-aged children, and are extremely frugal (except for food!). But the COL here in the DC area is astronomical, even for the basics, like electricity, water, gas, not to mention gasoline, dry cleaning, plumbing, you name it. We used to save money every month, and now we barely manage to get by each month.

I'm thinking life in the cold, cold midwest wasn't so bad, after all.... It was certainly cheaper.

[Anonymous]

BTW, we don't have cable and DH's company pays our Internet and cellphone, just in case you're wondering.

DC's PT are fully covered by our insurance so again it doesn't cost us a thing. Anythig else about MY bills you can think of?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You quoted me.

Last year, our only medical expense aside health insurance was $15 co-pay fir my first OB visit and $250 for my emergency C-section.
This is our first real Christmas with a child so I'm not sure if we'll buy gifts or not. For my taste DC has enough. We don't have family in the coutry and don't exchange gifts with friends. Clear now?

I go to the grocery store once a week and spend on average $40. Just came back, BTW and spent $39 this trip. I'm not an extreme couponer but I do stock up when I see a good sale and clip coupons for things that we actually buy. I cook from scratch and our diet is different from most people we know (DH is vegetarian, DC is gluten/lactose intolerant and I'm gluten intolerant with food allergies). We eat a lot of fresh produce and rarely use substitutes.

We don't buy clothes every month and don't service our car every month so I just listed what we spend every month. Gas is around $100...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Hm let me see...

$1300 - rent
$400 - car payment
$90 - utilities
$300 - health insurance
$150 - groceries

That's all for us. Family of 3 with #2 on the way.

We visit my country every other year, DH's country every other year and we take vacation in the US every year. The US vacations are usually very cheap because DH travels for work so among nights free in hotels, rental car points and flying miles we spend almost nothing.

So you don't by clothes, or anything other than food? No Christmas presents? No...anything? I thought OP was talking about what she actually spends each month, and everyone else is leaving out all of this shit, as though they never have car break down, have a sick pet, get a hair cut, buy a baby shower gift, etc.

Yes, we're clear. You did not factor in all of your monthly expenses. Got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1400 Rent
1100 Daycare
650 Student loans (two formers students, five degrees)
400 Grocery
120 Utilities
60 Health Insurance
20 Renters
30 Cell service
100 Dogs

3880 (if I did my math right) for a pretty low budget lifestyle with good benefits and no car

WTF, 5 degrees? Sounds like a giant waste

How can you think it's a waste when you don't even know what PP and his/her spouse do for a living or how much they make?

ITA! Dh and I have 5 degrees between us. We both makes great six figure salaries thanks to those degrees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BTW, we don't have cable and DH's company pays our Internet and cellphone, just in case you're wondering.

DC's PT are fully covered by our insurance so again it doesn't cost us a thing. Anythig else about MY bills you can think of?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You quoted me.

Last year, our only medical expense aside health insurance was $15 co-pay fir my first OB visit and $250 for my emergency C-section.
This is our first real Christmas with a child so I'm not sure if we'll buy gifts or not. For my taste DC has enough. We don't have family in the coutry and don't exchange gifts with friends. Clear now?

I go to the grocery store once a week and spend on average $40. Just came back, BTW and spent $39 this trip. I'm not an extreme couponer but I do stock up when I see a good sale and clip coupons for things that we actually buy. I cook from scratch and our diet is different from most people we know (DH is vegetarian, DC is gluten/lactose intolerant and I'm gluten intolerant with food allergies). We eat a lot of fresh produce and rarely use substitutes.

We don't buy clothes every month and don't service our car every month so I just listed what we spend every month. Gas is around $100...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Hm let me see...

$1300 - rent
$400 - car payment
$90 - utilities
$300 - health insurance
$150 - groceries

That's all for us. Family of 3 with #2 on the way.

We visit my country every other year, DH's country every other year and we take vacation in the US every year. The US vacations are usually very cheap because DH travels for work so among nights free in hotels, rental car points and flying miles we spend almost nothing.

So you don't by clothes, or anything other than food? No Christmas presents? No...anything? I thought OP was talking about what she actually spends each month, and everyone else is leaving out all of this shit, as though they never have car break down, have a sick pet, get a hair cut, buy a baby shower gift, etc.

Yes, we're clear. You did not factor in all of your monthly expenses. Got it.

Life insurance?
Travel expenses averaged out by month?
Car repairs/gasoline average out by month?
Clothing expenses (purchases and cleaning) averaged out by month?
Entertainment/movies?
Furniture purchases?
Water/sewer? (if not part of rent)
Pets expenses?
Hair cuts?

Some of these may not apply, but others might. Many of us don't buy clothes EVERY month, and we can even go many months without purchases. But at some point, we have to get new shoes, and the kids outgrow their winter coats. Those are still expenses and have to be considered, even if they don't come frequently.

I know people are curious about how two adults can live on $150 of groceries a month. Does this really 90 meals? Do tell more details about what you're eating, where you're shopping, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We moved here a year ago from the Midwest, and we are shocked by how much everything costs here. Our lifestyle has definitely taken a downward turn, and DH got a big raise when we moved here! Our food expenses are more than 1K per month, probably closer to 1500 per month when you add in meals out. We are foodies, shop at farmers markets and whole foods, trader joe's, etc. Not gourmet food, but basic, wholesome, mostly organic, and it costs A LOT. Restaurants that are mostly organic are expensive.

We have no mortgage, which is the only way we can survive here. All our savings are in our house, which means we can't spend them, luckily.

But we live paycheck to paycheck, something we never did before. We have two school-aged children, and are extremely frugal (except for food!). But the COL here in the DC area is astronomical, even for the basics, like electricity, water, gas, not to mention gasoline, dry cleaning, plumbing, you name it. We used to save money every month, and now we barely manage to get by each month.

I'm thinking life in the cold, cold midwest wasn't so bad, after all.... It was certainly cheaper.

There is no one who thinks good food is more important than I do (literally no one - ask anyone who knows me) - but spending $1500 on food and restaurants each month when you're living paycheck to paycheck is nuts.

[Anonymous]

My pet peeve, and I am not an economist, is that the inflation measures published by the government are very wisely calculated to measure pretty much everything else other than the monthly budgets we are all complaining about. If you want to look into this further, I invite you all to find from Dept of Agriculture the price of a gallon of milk monthly over the last ten years. You will see that it has increased at a much higher rate than our incomes, and you will also see huge month-to-month jumps. Unfortunately we do not keep our grocery receipts from years back...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BTW, we don't have cable and DH's company pays our Internet and cellphone, just in case you're wondering.

DC's PT are fully covered by our insurance so again it doesn't cost us a thing. Anythig else about MY bills you can think of?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You quoted me.

Last year, our only medical expense aside health insurance was $15 co-pay fir my first OB visit and $250 for my emergency C-section.
This is our first real Christmas with a child so I'm not sure if we'll buy gifts or not. For my taste DC has enough. We don't have family in the coutry and don't exchange gifts with friends. Clear now?

I go to the grocery store once a week and spend on average $40. Just came back, BTW and spent $39 this trip. I'm not an extreme couponer but I do stock up when I see a good sale and clip coupons for things that we actually buy. I cook from scratch and our diet is different from most people we know (DH is vegetarian, DC is gluten/lactose intolerant and I'm gluten intolerant with food allergies). We eat a lot of fresh produce and rarely use substitutes.

We don't buy clothes every month and don't service our car every month so I just listed what we spend every month. Gas is around $100...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Hm let me see...

$1300 - rent
$400 - car payment
$90 - utilities
$300 - health insurance
$150 - groceries

That's all for us. Family of 3 with #2 on the way.

We visit my country every other year, DH's country every other year and we take vacation in the US every year. The US vacations are usually very cheap because DH travels for work so among nights free in hotels, rental car points and flying miles we spend almost nothing.

So you don't by clothes, or anything other than food? No Christmas presents? No...anything? I thought OP was talking about what she actually spends each month, and everyone else is leaving out all of this shit, as though they never have car break down, have a sick pet, get a hair cut, buy a baby shower gift, etc.

Yes, we're clear. You did not factor in all of your monthly expenses. Got it.

Life insurance?
Travel expenses averaged out by month?
Car repairs/gasoline average out by month?
Clothing expenses (purchases and cleaning) averaged out by month?
Entertainment/movies?
Furniture purchases?
Water/sewer? (if not part of rent)
Pets expenses?
Hair cuts?

Some of these may not apply, but others might. Many of us don't buy clothes EVERY month, and we can even go many months without purchases. But at some point, we have to get new shoes, and the kids outgrow their winter coats. Those are still expenses and have to be considered, even if they don't come frequently.

I know people are curious about how two adults can live on $150 of groceries a month. Does this really 90 meals? Do tell more details about what you're eating, where you're shopping, etc.

LOL, I agree. They must be eating ONLY rice and beans with the gluten allergies and whatnot, and very small portions at that. If she said "we only eat pancakes and homemade bread" I would have guessed that maybe $150 could last a month. No soy milk? I spend $35/week on milk. You cannot convince my monthly MILK BUDGET is only $10 less than your food budget! It's just fricking impossible to only spend $150/month on food.

[Anonymous]

What about clothes? no one mentioned clothes shopping even in their actual budget!

[Anonymous]

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/pricebasket.html

[Anonymous]

You can make 6 figures very quickly with a Bachelors in STEM, another reason to steer away from other degrees except maybe law or medicine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can make 6 figures very quickly with a Bachelors in STEM, another reason to steer away from other degrees except maybe law or medicine.

Really? I make 6 figures with a phd in stem. Wouldn't have happened in my field with a bachelors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow.

My actual:
1300-Rent
100-Utilities
200-Transportation (no car)
250-Insurance (health and life)
1400-Daycare
80-Classes for DC and I
90-Student Loan
300-Groceries (1 adult, 1 toddler)
200-Emergency Fund (this includes funds for DC to visit his father in the Midwest, as I'm responsible for 50% of the travel costs)
200-Misc (eating out, clothes, routine dr visits with co-pays, 'fun' money, gifts, etc)

4120.

That's no cable, no car, no retirement savings, no debt other than SL. I cloth diaper, we have no routine meds we have to pay for, I cook at home and shop sales. Only one adult and one small child. The only 'frivolous' thing up there is the classes DC and I take and maybe the travel costs (which are court ordered that I pay). That's pretty bare bones. I make $55,800. I have no wiggle room.

that looks tight. The only one that maybe looks high is the day care? Is it really 16,800 per year for day care these days?

[Anonymous]

I think your outrage is making you blind. I've said already that DH travels for work so his expenses (including food) are paid by the company so 3 to 4 days a week we only have one adult eating in the house.

We're not calves so we don't drink gallons of milk. We occasionally drink rice milk and I cook using almond milk that I make myself as needed.

If you're interested in tips for saving on groceries there are several helpful websites with free information all over the Internet.

On the furniture - we've been living in furnished rentals for a while and in our previous home (3 years ago) we did have to buy furniture but it was 3 years ago! Who buys furniture every year?

Anyway, why are you all so angry? Just because people are spending money differently than you? That's such a weird reason to be angry... wow!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BTW, we don't have cable and DH's company pays our Internet and cellphone, just in case you're wondering.

DC's PT are fully covered by our insurance so again it doesn't cost us a thing. Anythig else about MY bills you can think of?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You quoted me.

Last year, our only medical expense aside health insurance was $15 co-pay fir my first OB visit and $250 for my emergency C-section.
This is our first real Christmas with a child so I'm not sure if we'll buy gifts or not. For my taste DC has enough. We don't have family in the coutry and don't exchange gifts with friends. Clear now?

I go to the grocery store once a week and spend on average $40. Just came back, BTW and spent $39 this trip. I'm not an extreme couponer but I do stock up when I see a good sale and clip coupons for things that we actually buy. I cook from scratch and our diet is different from most people we know (DH is vegetarian, DC is gluten/lactose intolerant and I'm gluten intolerant with food allergies). We eat a lot of fresh produce and rarely use substitutes.

We don't buy clothes every month and don't service our car every month so I just listed what we spend every month. Gas is around $100...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Hm let me see...

$1300 - rent
$400 - car payment
$90 - utilities
$300 - health insurance
$150 - groceries

That's all for us. Family of 3 with #2 on the way.

We visit my country every other year, DH's country every other year and we take vacation in the US every year. The US vacations are usually very cheap because DH travels for work so among nights free in hotels, rental car points and flying miles we spend almost nothing.

So you don't by clothes, or anything other than food? No Christmas presents? No...anything? I thought OP was talking about what she actually spends each month, and everyone else is leaving out all of this shit, as though they never have car break down, have a sick pet, get a hair cut, buy a baby shower gift, etc.

Yes, we're clear. You did not factor in all of your monthly expenses. Got it.

Life insurance?
Travel expenses averaged out by month?
Car repairs/gasoline average out by month?
Clothing expenses (purchases and cleaning) averaged out by month?
Entertainment/movies?
Furniture purchases?
Water/sewer? (if not part of rent)
Pets expenses?
Hair cuts?

Some of these may not apply, but others might. Many of us don't buy clothes EVERY month, and we can even go many months without purchases. But at some point, we have to get new shoes, and the kids outgrow their winter coats. Those are still expenses and have to be considered, even if they don't come frequently.

I know people are curious about how two adults can live on $150 of groceries a month. Does this really 90 meals? Do tell more details about what you're eating, where you're shopping, etc.

[Anonymous]

Greetings from Flyover Country.

$2000 per month covers ALL for a comfortable living where there are decent schools.