How Much Money Do You Live On?

Off Topic
1

I’ve seen a couple debt threads lately and it has got me interested in how much money other people use to live on and what they spend it on.

For example I spend ~400/month on rent, utilities, phone, cable, net, ~400/month on food, ~80 auto insurance/month, ~100 entertainment/month, ~80/month on gas, and ~30/month on parking, that all adds up to 1090/month or 13,080/year. Now let’s add on gifts for others, ~300/year, vacation, ~500/year, auto maintenance, ~700/year, and adding this on to previous total I spend about 14,580/year on living, now I am also in grad school and I pay 6500/year in tuition and fees, so all together I need about 21,080/year to survive.

When I was in my undergrad I lived on less than 15k a year, 7k of which went to tuition and related fees, during that time I had no vehicle, which costs me close to 3k a year now.

2

Rent: 600
Utilities: 60
Internet: 40
Food + supps: ~450 ? (fiancee pays for this)
Entertainment: 50
Toiletries, meds, other: 50
Gas: 50 (her parents pay for fixing car, which has been a couple hundred bucks in the past couple years, thank god)
University: ~7000/yr x 2 (fiancee included)

Total: 29600/yr (me and fiancee)

Don’t have cable as I watch TV shows on the internet. Same with movies. I ride my bike to work and class. Gym membership and health insurance with university enrollment. Don’t drink alcohol, and rarely go to bars requiring cover. Don’t eat out but maybe once every other week.

I am sure we spend a bit more on stuff here and there, but we have everything we need as far as furniture, computers, decor, etc. We live a very simple lifestyle, but neither of us want more. We have a social life and have fun, but we just don’t go clubbing and shit, which saves a lot of money. She probably spends more money on clothes than listed, but not much at all, a couple hundred per year.

Right now I am using student loans for living expenses and tuition, and we both have jobs. Provided we graduate and have full time jobs making 40000/yr each, which with master’s degrees isn’t too unrealistic given a couple years, that’s 80000 (before taxes of course), but we’ll be spending 14000 less each year on school.

Probably more on rent in a bigger city and utilities of course, factor in a new car, should have health insurance through jobs, but still, I don’t know what we’re going to do with all the money we make. Maybe there’s something I’m missing, but outside of my student loans (she has none), we have no debt. It all comes down to lifestyle I guess. We’re just happier with less “stuff.”

3

Rent: 280
Utilities: 60
Internet: 0
Food + supps: ~400
Entertainment: 0
Toiletries, meds, other: 50
Gas: 25 (
University: 0

Total: 810/mo

I am lucky that before coming to Japan was awarded a full academic scholarship. I get ~1,800 per month and get to save as much money as I want.

Internet is completely free on campus. My apartment is within waling distance of my laboratory and it serves its purpose. It is not big, more like a room with a kitchen, sink and toilet. However it serves its purpose and my budget.

I watch movies all the time from the internet, read all the books that I want and whenever there are parties or other activities I use my motorcycle wich is dirt cheap on gas or walk.

I try to save as much money as I can because I am a cheap bastard and love money.

4

Rent: $600
Utilities: $100
Cable: $50
Internet: Mooch off neighbors wireless
Food: $150
Credit Cards: $20
Gas: $60
Pets: $20
Netflix: $6
Loan: $80
Health Insur.: $60
Car Insur: $180
Rent Insur: $15
4 monthly paperbacks: $25
Entertainment/dining: $30
Gym: $50
Misc: $50

Total: $1500
Yearly min: $18,000

I live very comfortably on this. Luckily here apartments are cheap - I pay $600 for a 1300sq apartment with 2 beds, enclosed patio, and a den. It’s very nice.

I’ve always been conservative with money because I like having a large savings. Recently, I decided to splurge on a 72" LCD TV, a home entertainment center, and an awesomely comfortable leather couch. I could blow out the windows if I wanted to.

Life is so frikkin sweet right now.

5

I’m on the same boat as Schwarzenegger, minus the fiance and tally up a bit more for rent + utilities.

I’m up to my teeth in student loans and still have more to take out. Once I finally get back to active duty, it should take me a year or two to pay everything off.

Until then, I’m stuck spending:

Rent: $685
Utilities: $110
Cable: Included, even though I only watch a few minutes of CNN
Internet: $45 (Verizon Wireless broadband)
Phone: $40
Food: $160
Gas: $80
Insurance: $65
Netflix: ~$12

That’s the monthly lay-out. Per semester I’m looking at ~$3000 worth of school expenses. I only wish I had a fiance to help spend time with and help with the bills, but I have a sugar momma girlfriend that insists on paying when we go out (score!).

6

Rent: $300
Car Payment: $200
Insurance: $50
Food: around 200 a month
Internet/phone/cable: $75
Utilities: 0 (roommate covers this)
Gas: around $50
around $900 total for each month.

I make most of that teaching guitar to kids. It’s a pretty okay gig.

7

Holy shit!

Mort: $1281
Truck: $460
Suv: $502
Cell phones: $110
Cable/internet/phone: $170
Water/sewer: $35
Gyms: $70
Food: $600
Gasoline: $440
Ins: $240
Student Loan: $255
Nat. gas: $25
Elec: $150 avg
Day care: $150
House alarm : $35

These are stable every month. I have a credit card balance that I pay as much as I can, which varies on how much overtime I can get and shove to it. Supps are also subject to extra money between bills. This is coming out of a combined income of just under $100k a year.

You add it up. I hate looking at it.

8

[quote]BigRagoo wrote:
Holy shit!

Mort: $1281
Truck: $460
Suv: $502
Cell phones: $110
Cable/internet/phone: $170
Water/sewer: $35
Gyms: $70
Food: $600
Gasoline: $440
Ins: $240
Student Loan: $255
Nat. gas: $25
Elec: $150 avg
Day care: $150
House alarm : $35

These are stable every month. I have a credit card balance that I pay as much as I can, which varies on how much overtime I can get and shove to it. Supps are also subject to extra money between bills. This is coming out of a combined income of just under $100k a year.

You add it up. I hate looking at it.[/quote]

Wow.

I really feel for you. Feel free to come over and watch the big tv.

9

Rent: $900 (shoot me)
Cable/ internet: $80
Car ins.: $40
Car payment: $0, paid off
Gas: Negligible, mostly walk, ride bike, take bus
Food: I budgeted $12 per day for this
Cell phone: $68 (should turn the fuckin thing off)
Gyms: $60 (2 gyms, 2 different towns)
Electricity: $30

That’s the bulk of it for me. The good thing is I don’t have jack shit in credit card debt, and I only have 5 weeks of school till I graduate and start my job. Right now I’m paying all these bills out of savings that I built up over the summer while doing an internship.

10

[quote]Squiggles wrote:
BigRagoo wrote:
Holy shit!

Mort: $1281
Truck: $460
Suv: $502
Cell phones: $110
Cable/internet/phone: $170
Water/sewer: $35
Gyms: $70
Food: $600
Gasoline: $440
Ins: $240
Student Loan: $255
Nat. gas: $25
Elec: $150 avg
Day care: $150
House alarm : $35

These are stable every month. I have a credit card balance that I pay as much as I can, which varies on how much overtime I can get and shove to it. Supps are also subject to extra money between bills. This is coming out of a combined income of just under $100k a year.

You add it up. I hate looking at it.

Wow.

I really feel for you. Feel free to come over and watch the big tv.[/quote]

Haha, I have a big high def tv. :slight_smile: I know it looks like a lot, but we really live comfortably. Most of our debt will be gone in a couple years. We plan to keep our cars as long as they run, and we don’t have much on the credit card, and since I give a couple hundred extra each month, it will be gone soon, too.

11

Utilities - 225
Gasoline - 400
Food - 800-1000
Insurance - 400
Internet - 25
Satellite - 100
Cell Phone - 180

This is for a family of 4

No mortgage or car payment.

12

Mort- 1850
Ins(Home+vehicles)-250
Cable,Int&phon- 160
elect-150
nat.gas- 55
water/sewer- 40
gym- 50
house alarm- 25
food- 450
gasoline- 450
car- 400

I am single, and now depressed after completing this excercise. Thanks alot, Joe84

13

Hmmmmm…

Rent(Includes bills) - $1100 (£550)
Food - $400-500
Internet - $30
Gym - $80
Mobile - $100
Travel - Currently free though usually $120

So about $2000, which is about £1000.

Yup, sounds about right.

14

Not counting school tuition because I’d have to look those figures up

Rent 455
Cable/Internet 100(I feel like I’m getting the shaft here haha)
Food 200-250 including supplements
Utilities 100ish
Travel is mostly free because of a rail system in town
Gym is free as a student(well after they charge me in tuition fees haha)

I barely break even on these expenses and the extra money I do have go towards paying for school.

15

[quote]rainjack wrote:
Utilities - 225
Gasoline - 400
Food - 800-1000
Insurance - 400
Internet - 25
Satellite - 100
Cell Phone - 180

This is for a family of 4

No mortgage or car payment. [/quote]

Property Tax?

16

Holy crap!

Look how we are getting raped with cell phone bills!

My girl and I split ~$1700/month.

17

[quote]Chewie wrote:
rainjack wrote:
Utilities - 225
Gasoline - 400
Food - 800-1000
Insurance - 400
Internet - 25
Satellite - 100
Cell Phone - 180

This is for a family of 4

No mortgage or car payment.

Property Tax? [/quote]

I write it off with my business property taxes, so I don’t consider it a living expense.

18

rent: 1,045 (will go to 0 in Feb)
Car: 500
Internet/phone/cable: 100
Power: 30
Gas (for house): 50
Cell Phone: 60
Fuel: 80
Food: 400
gym, insurance, ect. are all paid upfront to save money so I’m not sure what the monthly split is.

The rent is so high b/c I rent furniture at the moment since I moved for only a few months for work.

19

[quote]animalmj wrote:
Mort- 1850
Ins(Home+vehicles)-250
Cable,Int&phon- 160
elect-150
nat.gas- 55
water/sewer- 40
gym- 50
house alarm- 25
food- 450
gasoline- 450
car- 400

I am single, and now depressed after completing this excercise. Thanks alot, Joe84

[/quote]

Crazy mortgage payment, (well to me since I’ve never had one), your house must be worth 400-500k?

20

[quote]Joe84 wrote:
animalmj wrote:
Mort- 1850
Ins(Home+vehicles)-250
Cable,Int&phon- 160
elect-150
nat.gas- 55
water/sewer- 40
gym- 50
house alarm- 25
food- 450
gasoline- 450
car- 400

I am single, and now depressed after completing this excercise. Thanks alot, Joe84

Crazy mortgage payment, (well to me since I’ve never had one), your house must be worth 400-500k?[/quote]

No way! Probably 300-325K with the current market. It includes my property taxes, which is a little over 300/mo.