Anonymous wrote:You don’t enjoy dining out?? Even if you don’t like the food, don’t you miss out on a lot of socializing?

I don’t track anything this closely but I think you must be missing your health insurance costs, and I’m not sure you should do the roof/water heater/etc by dividing them over 12 months. I think you should either do them as cash or count big home things over a larger period, maybe the life of each system? Idk but I don’t think 12 months makes sense.

Socializing would be great. I don’t have many people to socialize with, though. I need to figure that out but tend to go for walks or drives with friends or just hang out and talk over tea.

Yes, clarified above that medical in my OP is not inclusive of premiums paid by paycheck which add $500 monthly for a total medical cost of $1125 a month.

Anonymous wrote:Your costs are so LOW; I cant wait to be an empty nester!

I admit to being a happy empty-nester! I’m in the best shape of my life, too. And the best part is we have a great kid who is happy at college and doing well. It’s a good life!

You don’t enjoy dining out?? Even if you don’t like the food, don’t you miss out on a lot of socializing?

I don’t track anything this closely but I think you must be missing your health insurance costs, and I’m not sure you should do the roof/water heater/etc by dividing them over 12 months. I think you should either do them as cash or count big home things over a larger period, maybe the life of each system? Idk but I don’t think 12 months makes sense.

Your costs are so LOW; I cant wait to be an empty nester!

Anonymous wrote:So the $24k in *fun* includes college kid incidentals or any spending?

Your health card is incredibly low - be grateful!

Yes the fun spending includes anything for her including train tickets home, extra grocery runs for snacks, her music lessons, pointe shoes ($120 a pop!), etc. She covers makeup, eating out, toiletries and clothes I think are non-essential, and entertainment (concerts) from her own income as a student worker.

Anonymous wrote:I don't really know how to give feedback on your spending without knowing income/savings rate. If you're not saving anything for retirement or anything then you are doing a terrible job prioritizing. If you're saving $60k/year on top of these numbers you're killing it.

The discretionary seems kind of high but also reasonable given you don't have a mortgage, but health spending seems low for a couple old enough to have a college student (who is also, presumably, still on your insurance?).

Overall, good job.

Saving was about $61,500 across 401k’s, HSA, and Roth IRAs.

That’s out of pocket spending on medical. I pay premiums out of my paycheck. Approx $5,000 a year or $600 more monthly for family med, dental, vision insurance.

Anonymous wrote:Also, are you sure your utilities are that low? Electricity has been that much alone for a few months.

We are low users of energy. House set to 62 in winter and 77 in summer. We also do all those savings programs. Figures are accurate. It was 55 the other morning inside. Brrr. But I don’t mind and DH goes in to work.

Anonymous wrote:Great job. I assume your college age child is on some kind of scholarship, 9-11 GI Bill, or using 529 withdrawals since you don't list any expenses for that.

Right, college. We had saved for that with help from the parents. $94k this year came from the 529. I’ve always seen it as fake money. She has enough to pay for her undergraduate degree and I’ve never included 529 funds in our calculations.

Anonymous wrote:So the $2K is mostly eating out, right?

No, none of us eat out regularly. Most of the $2000 is education, fitness, and music related. Classes, memberships, reeds, lessons. We also take solo trips from time to time. Eating out is a waste of money, often unhealthy, and we don’t enjoy it.

Great job. I assume your college age child is on some kind of scholarship, 9-11 GI Bill, or using 529 withdrawals since you don't list any expenses for that.

So the $2K is mostly eating out, right?

Also, are you sure your utilities are that low? Electricity has been that much alone for a few months.

I don't really know how to give feedback on your spending without knowing income/savings rate. If you're not saving anything for retirement or anything then you are doing a terrible job prioritizing. If you're saving $60k/year on top of these numbers you're killing it.

The discretionary seems kind of high but also reasonable given you don't have a mortgage, but health spending seems low for a couple old enough to have a college student (who is also, presumably, still on your insurance?).

Overall, good job.

So the $24k in *fun* includes college kid incidentals or any spending?

Your health card is incredibly low - be grateful!

Posting what I spent in 2025 for feedback or comments. Family of three with two adults and one college kid not living at home. No mortgage. Amounts are approximate monthly values. Total monthly spending ~$12,300.

Required Expenses = $7,000
Groceries 850
Home Maintenance 3,000*
Home Tax, Ins, HOA 1,110
Auto, Umbrella Ins 300
Auto Fuel, Repairs 400
Life Ins 60
Medical 625
Utilities (phone, gas internet, water) 350

Discretionary Expenses = $5,300
Clothing 350
Eating out 100
Entertainment 150
Gifts 450
Household items 300
Travel 2,000**
Guilt-free spending for everyone 2,000***

* Higher than usual due to water heater, roof, and heat pump replacement in 2025
** Yellowstone, Disney cruise, Hawaii
*** Classes, eating out alone, books, music, anything spent on an individual for the most part