My expenses for 2024 as near as I can figure

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
Whew! Finally totaled my receipts and check stubs.

Food (various stores) - $2544.18

Charitable donations - $550

Car
fuel - $410.06
insurance - $1576.80
maintenance - $1122.61
registration - $39.00
total - $3148.47

OOP Medical
OTC pharmaceuticals - $65.94
prescriptions - $84.53
doctor fees copays - $709.54
total - $860.01

Household
sundries including storm clean-up - $4427.13
laundry (items I can't do in my washer) - $28.00
electric service - $873.16
fuel oil - $1438.60
garbage service - $612.34
cable service - $2598.89
insurance - $1096.52
maintenance (including lawn mowing) - $450.00
property taxes (village, town, county & school) - $4021.59
total - $15,546.23

ALL TOTAL - $22648.89
 

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Very thrifty! I spend probably 3 times the amount on food.

Have you figured out how much you could spend each year? I watched a YouTube about how if we don't spend the money that we could afford to spend, we are being wasteful of all the hard work we did to earn it.

 
debodun said:
Car
registration - $39.00
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Well, you certainly got me beat there.

Smog Certificate - $50
Registration - $233
Reissue Tags (lost in the mail, which I did not lose) - $28
Total: $311

debodun said:
cable service - $2598.89
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Between the time we got cable back in 1999 and when I turned it off 288 months later, after paying the cable company an average of $100 a month... That adds up to $28,800. Now I pay $31.24 a month for 100 mbps Internet service, and I stream whatever I want watch on free services. Mo betta!
 

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I could never keep track of expenses like this.

Cable is out of control. If I move, I may dump it for 6 months so it can reset as a new customer. Not sure if that would work if I keep internet.
 
Remy said:
Cable is out of control.
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It's twice what I was paying when I first moved, they keep raising the price and dropping channels, but it's a technology I understand. I never could comprehend "streaming".

It's my belief that as customers are fed up with cable and cut the service, the cable company has to make that loss up on the remaining customers.
 
debodun said:
What do you use to stream?
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My laptop. I also have a ton of DVDs and MP4 files. I also have Spectrum, but it's 100 Mbps Internet service only. No Cable. I go to Tubi and Pluto a lot. Tubi is a Fox company, and has some of their shows, plus a lot of movies and TV shows. Pluto is owned by CBS so they have some of their shows on there, and a lot of other stuff as well.

Some broadcast networks have some of their programming on their website, CBS, NBC, Fox, etc., unless they do that anymore. but be prepared for the advertisement bombing... At times these websites don't work all that well, due to a high volume to Internet traffic. But if you catch them at the right time, and you don't mind the ad bombs, you can sometimes watch shows you can't see anywhere else.

There is no way I am ever paying for cable again. My internet was free when the Affordable Connectivity Program was still available. When funding for that ran out I told Spectrum to turn it off. I had no intention to actually do that, but said that so they would make me a deal. They said they had 100 Mbps for $30 plus tax ($31.24 total) so I took it. I paid $50 a month in Eureka for the same thing from Suddenlink, a cable company that seems to be run by the mob or something. I can't say as I miss them at all...
 
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Axel Slingerland said:
There is no way I am ever paying for cable again......They said they had 100 Mbps for $30 plus tax ($31.24 total) so I took it. I paid $50 a month in Eureka for the same thing from Suddenlink, a cable company that seems to be run by the mob or something. I can't say as I miss them at all...
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I totally dislike cable companies. Blood suckers serving up garbage IMHO. There is NO WAY I would pay more than what I pay for internet: $45.00 a month. And I think that too is outrageous, because the way the world is now: it is a necessity and should be less expensive.

I too, stream on my laptop. I love streaming so much, now I own a new smart TV and DH is beginning to consider cutting the cable he is paying for.

Axel: My grandfather's name was Anchor and his brother, my uncle was also an "Axel". What heritage are you? They were from Denmark.
 
debodun said:
Whew! Finally totaled my receipts and check stubs.

Food (various stores) - $2544.18

Charitable donations - $550

Car
fuel - $410.06
insurance - $1576.80
maintenance - $1122.61
registration - $39.00
total - $3148.47

OOP Medical
OTC pharmaceuticals - $65.94
prescriptions - $84.53
doctor fees copays - $709.54
total - $860.01

Household
sundries including storm clean-up - $4427.13
laundry (items I can't do in my washer) - $28.00
electric service - $873.16
fuel oil - $1438.60
garbage service - $612.34
cable service - $2598.89
insurance - $1096.52
maintenance (including lawn mowing) - $450.00
property taxes (village, town, county & school) - $4021.59
total - $15,546.23

ALL TOTAL - $22648.89
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Amazing! Gives me faith that if DH dies before me, I will be able to survive on only MY income!
 
HoneyNut said:
Very thrifty! I spend probably 3 times the amount on food.
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Do you live alone?
That averaged $6.95 a day for food. That's up about a dollar a day from a few years ago, not surprising as costs for everything are skyrocketing, but I do supplement with items from 2 local food pantries. Even they aren't as generous as they were a few years ago.
 
I give you credit for being able to keep such a detailed accounting of your expenses, I wish more people would do what you do.

I think with auto bill pay many people simply lose track of their expenses and that leads to financial trouble. Your cable bill is a perfect example, while you seem to be OK with it I imagine many people couldn't tell you what they pay yearly, and if they checked would be shocked.

A detailed accounting as you do should be a must do for anyone trying to live within a budget, or to simply have a grasp on monthly/yearly expenses.
 
Dave Ramsey offers a freeee app called Every Dollar that one can set up using their own categories. Plug in your income for the month & then return to the app after EVERY expenditure & plug in the amount spent. The app then keeps a running monthly tally of how much you spent in each category & how much is left. Very user friendly. And did i mention freeee.
 
I have no problem with closely tracking expenses, though I haven't done so nor needed to in many years.

The danger with that habit? It's too easy to become obsessive, forgetting money should be viewed as a tool, a means to an end, not an end in and of itself.

I'm not suggesting overt wastefulness, but being "careful" often veers into stinginess, soon leading to a deserved reputation of being a cheapskate. A well-proven method of quickly narrow one's social circle - almost nobody wants to hang out with cheapskates.

Most people feel more secure with reasonable financial back-up, but joy generally comes from balance: save a little, spend a little, splurge a little.

Vacations, nice meals out with friends, generous gifts, a professional haircut, tickets to a show or concert, a new winter coat to replace one long out of style or threadbare, a new outfit that makes you smile when you wear it, clicking up the heat a few extra degrees when those socks and sweatshirts aren't quite enough, etc. While not absolute necessities, these things great pleasure to our lives.
 
debodun said:
I spoke to a Spectrum agent about 6 months ago. I an not aware other ISP in my area (not to say there isn't any).
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Do you have a cell phone with at least a gig of "data"? I used to have a 6 Mbps Internet account from AT&T. It had a 1 gig data cap. I came close once or twice when I was downloading a lot, but I streamed TV on it for over a year.

Have you ever looked into the Lifeline Program? Commonly referred to as "Obama Phones" these phones are available for free to qualified people. If you have certain government assistance programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, Federal Public Housing Assistance, Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefits, etc., you automatically qualify in most places.

And of course, you can use a cell phone's internet service on a computer by using a hotspot or tethering.
 

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