What do you spend per month?

Discussion in 'Finance, Investing & Economy' started by Andy_B, Mar 16, 2005.

  1. peledre

    peledre Member

    Mar 25, 2001
    Sioux Falls, SD
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    :) It's the german american North Dakota version my ma showed me how to make back in the day.
     
  2. Chewmylegoff

    Chewmylegoff Member

    Jan 26, 2004
    London
    it sounds like one of my favourite dishes which i refer to as "bung it in all in the pan yeahhhhh".

    ahhh the quirks of language eh?
     
  3. peledre

    peledre Member

    Mar 25, 2001
    Sioux Falls, SD
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Indeed.
     
  4. Northside Rovers

    Jan 28, 2000
    Austin TX
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Off the top of my head:

    Mortgage: $1100 / month
    Car Payment: $551 / month
    Property Taxes: $500 / month (about $6000 a year)
    Groceries: $600 / month (wife and 2 kids)
    Phone $40.00
    Mobile Phones: $80.00 (for me and my wife - I use like 20 minutes a month)
    Heat $80.00
    Cable TV / modem: $100.00
    Electricty $150.00
    Car insur $150.00
    Home Imnsurance: $200 / month
    Gas $210.00
    Gifts $100.00
    Dining Out $100.00
    Household $125.00
    Water $70.00
    Entertainment $100.00
    Clothing $125.00
    Haircuts $50.00
    Yard $75.00
    Medical Ins $260.00
    Recreation $200.00
    Trash $8.00
    Subscriptions $20.00
    Charity $100.00

    What does that total?
     
  5. Sachin

    Sachin New Member

    Jan 14, 2000
    La Norte
    Club:
    DC United
    How can you pay $6000 in property taxes. My mortgage is 50% higher than yours and I just pay $175/month in property taxes and I live in a close-in DC suburb.

    Either your've got a serious, serious assessment or some totally messed up property tax rates.

    Sachin
     
  6. Liverpool_SC

    Liverpool_SC Member

    Jun 28, 2002
    Upstate, SC
    The home insurance seems other-worldly too. Do you live in a flood plain or something? I cannot believe that home insurance would be higher than car insurance.

    $600/month for groceries is pretty amazing too. I think ours is more like $250 plus maybe another $100 for Healthy and Beauty and we hardly ever eat out (only 2.5 of us right now, though).

    I wish that we could get by with $100 in gifts. If I annualize what we spend on gifts - it would make me cry. Probably more than $2000 if you consider Christmas. And we don't even have any kids yet.


    Here is my best guess for our household (per month):

    Mortgage: $750
    Groceries: $325
    Car Payment: $0
    Car Insurance: $120 (Amica is great if you have a good record - esp. considering how high SC rates are for couples in their 20s)
    Home Insurance: $35
    Telephone: $40
    Cellphone: $40
    DSL: $40
    Cable/Satellite: $0
    Water: $50
    Power: $85
    Charity: $500 (we tithe - 10% of salary - to church plus the typical odds and ends)
    Haircuts: $20
    Dry Cleaning: $30
    Dining: $75
    Clothes: $50 (see entertainment)
    Gas: $100
    Postage: $15
    Gifts (inc. Christmas): $185
    Cars: $50
    Pets: $20
    Entertainment: $75 (we use side jobs to fund most of our habits)
     
  7. MLSNHTOWN

    MLSNHTOWN Member+

    Oct 27, 1999
    Houston, TX
    Do you have a state income tax at all? Sales tax?
     
  8. stopper4

    stopper4 Member

    Jan 24, 2000
    Houston
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    adulthood?

    responsibility?

    married with children?
     
  9. Bluto11

    Bluto11 The sky is falling!

    May 16, 2003
    Chicago, IL
    well since I live with the rents still I have almost no expenses:

    rent: $100
    mobile bill: $45


    and thats about it. I've gone a little crazy with my credit card lately because I have money laying around, its usually $600 a month. I pay it off in full every month. my low expense life style will end May 1st when i move into the city and live off my own money for a change
     
  10. striker

    striker Member+

    Aug 4, 1999
    I think Northside Rovers lives in Austin, TX. Texas does not have an income tax, but we have very high property tax and sales tax. The home insurance that he listed seems excessively high. I live in Austin and pay slightly more property tax than him, but I pay only ~$68 per month for my home insurance. He must have very valuable stuff in his house!!! :)
     
  11. Andy_B

    Andy_B Member+

    Feb 2, 1999
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't see whats so outrageous about a $6000 property tax? Ours hovers in the mid 5000 range.

    Using someone mortgage payment to estimate taxes can be faulty since one would not know how much equity they already have in the home

    Andy
     
  12. Northside Rovers

    Jan 28, 2000
    Austin TX
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No Income Tax in Texas ....yet.

    I paid like $3700 last year for school taxes alone.

    Plus Various Community College and property taxes and whatever else.

    I bought the house for $176,000 total in 1996 - financed $160,000. Re-financed twice, most recently 2 years ago to a 15 year mortgage.
     
  13. royalstilton

    royalstilton Member

    Aug 2, 2004
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Less than I make.

    Mortgage = 1470
    Condo fee = 175
    Food and sundries = 300 ( just two of us )
    DirecTV/DSL/cell = 150
    Clothing = 100 - 150
    Car Ins = 125
    Car maintenance = 50+
    Gasoline = 150
    Electricity = 80 - 100
    Personal grooming ( wife ) 50
    Personal grooming ( me ) 10
    Property tax = 300
    Entertaining = 150
    Music + books = 150
    Charity = 15% of gross


    Savings = 500
     
  14. Liverpool_SC

    Liverpool_SC Member

    Jun 28, 2002
    Upstate, SC
    You live in Massachusetts, though. Everybody knows you are going to have super-high taxes there.

    And as far as the amount of equity in the home, I thought that it was customary for the homeowner to pay all property taxes (usually via an escrow account managed by the mortgage company). That is how it is in our case, in any event. There is no formula for breaking it down on an equity basis.
     
  15. yimmy

    yimmy Moderator

    Aug 23, 2004
    California
    So your property taxes don't pay for the public schools? You have to pay a separate tax for schools and stuff?
     
  16. Andy_B

    Andy_B Member+

    Feb 2, 1999
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That is not what I was saying. I was saying that a mortgage (the part that is the loan only, not the taxes or insurance in escrow) should not be used to determine how much ones property taxes are.

    I had a very small mortgage because we put down a large down payment. My taxes however are still high.

    Because of the homes value?

    Andy
     
  17. Northside Rovers

    Jan 28, 2000
    Austin TX
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    When I last refinanced, I opted NOT to pay into an escrow fund and pay the taxes and home insurance by myself, once a year.

    I paid 3 property tax bills in January. One for schools $3700 and two others for $1700 and $700 each.

    The two smaller ones come from the county and combines stuff into one bill: local community college tax and stuff.
     
  18. striker

    striker Member+

    Aug 4, 1999
    Don't you live in Austin? I thought we only get a single bill in January?
     
  19. yimmy

    yimmy Moderator

    Aug 23, 2004
    California
    I see, thx for sharing. Is your property tax calculated against the actual value of your house every year or it like mine where they calculate it against the actual value of your house the first year and then just multiply the value of your house by 1.05 (i'm not sure if it's 5 percent but it's much lower than the actual rate of my house's appreciation) to calculate the following year's property tax?
     
  20. Northside Rovers

    Jan 28, 2000
    Austin TX
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I live in un-incorporated Williamson County - just outside Cedar park City Limits.

    But I get to pay Travis County Taxes for ACC, Leander ISD taxes and whatever Williamson Co. bills me for.

    My property tax fluctuates year to year - it actually went down 2 years ago as my appraiased value dropped. I think it stayed the same for 2004.
     

Share This Page