Reply to We spend around 18K a month, where does it go?

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[quote=Anonymous]We make good money and I can see how you end up at these numbers:

Children - I know people think $500/month for 3 kids clothing is high, and I agree you can definitely do it cheaper with Target/Old Navy, but that's $160/month per kid.  At Nordstrom, a girls dress can be $40-$50.  Jeans- $30-$40.  A pair of sneakers- $40-50.  A winter coat- $50-80.  No, my kid doesn't need new shoes or a coat every month, but 4-5 pieces of clothing/shoes can add up quickly.  I regularly go through the kids clothing and discard stained/ripped/worn clothes and replace them- 4-5 items a month is a lot, but not ridiculous.

Food and Dining - I would bet the $2k on groceries includes a lot of pre-prepared foods.  I usually grocery shop on Tuesdays and pick up dinner from the Whole Foods prepared options that night.  One Whole Foods prepared dinner for 5 people can be $50.  Do that a few nights a week, plus other food, and it adds up quickly.

Home and Property- $300/week for a housekeeper does seem high, but if she does two 8 hour days, that's $18.75/hour, which seems in line with the market.

Shopping - $2500 does seem like a lot without a more detailed breakdown, but heck, if a weekly trip to Target is $100-$150 per shot (paper towels, laundry detergent, pharmacy supplies, poster board and markers for a school project, and yes, a few ridiculous things that seemed like a good idea at the time) that's $400-600/month right there.

Add in a medium size household purchase or two (maybe you only buy a vacuum every 5 years, but there's always something breaking/looking worn out- a new iPad or iPhone, blenders, frying pans, toasters, deck chairs, storm doors, dishwashers, etc)- say $300-500/month.

For adult clothes- a sweater or dress from a nice brand at Nordstrom, plus tailoring- $300.  A pair of leggings at Lululemon- $90.  DH tends to shop twice a year, but spend $2-3k a shot (nice suit, a couple of new dress shirts, maybe a new pair of shoes), so say that averages $400/month.

So right there, I'm up to $1500-1900 a month, and it doesn't feel like excessive overconsumption.  Yes, we could buy "lower quality" stuff (and yes, I recognize that sometimes we are just paying for the recognizable brand name), and yes, I could make do with less, but I'm not buying bags and bags of clothing a month.
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