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

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[quote=Anonymous][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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Holy storm door....how many iPads and frying pans and toasters are you all destroying every month?  It sounds like you barely use the kitchen so what are you doing with that toaster anyway?[/quote]

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