My 2020 Expenses

Lee said:
oops :D....no that amount is for a month, I know I am frugal but not that frugal
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ROFLMAO!

When I read that you occasionally buy a frozen pizza, but otherwise make everything from scratch (which is what I do), I thought, how in the heck does Lee, do it? :)

I was starting to believe you had the same appetite as Deb! LOL!
 

Aunt Marg said:
I do see our overall yearly alcohol expenditure to increase, albeit ever so marginally once dear husband retires at the beginning of next year, seeing how we will both be home fulltime, and quite possibly around the same time I may just be hitting you up for a few of your recipes related to refreshing summer drinks, Ronni! :)
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Happy to share @Aunt Marg! I enjoy making cocktails, and have some good recipes. My pitcher of mojitos as a tasty summertime beverage is one my family looks forward to when they come over for a bbq or other gathering.

One of my boys enjoys making cocktails too. His whisky sour is amazing!! Sometimes he’ll bring over the alcohol to make his latest creation for everyone.

I sure hope Covid is no longer a threat by this summer because we do a lot of gathering with friends and family during the warmer months.
 

To add... I don't honestly know how a young couple or younger person could do it where we live.

A mortgage on a home like ours would run (at a fixed interest rate of 3.5%), approx. $2,995.62 a month (30 year), or approx. $4,281.86 a month (15 year).

Adding in the lowest monthly mortgage option with our yearly expenses, and the grand total would come to $58,747 a year.
 
Ronni said:
Happy to share @Aunt Marg! I enjoy making cocktails, and have some good recipes. My pitcher of mojitos as a tasty summertime beverage is one my family looks forward to when they come over for a bbq or other gathering.

One of my boys enjoys making cocktails too. His whisky sour is amazing!! Sometimes he’ll bring over the alcohol to make his latest creation for everyone.

I sure hope Covid is no longer a threat by this summer because we do a lot of gathering with friends and family during the warmer months.
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I'm coming to your house to enjoy a few tasty drinks I've never tired before, Ronni! LOL! :)

Like yourself, I, too, have missed the family gatherings we regularly have.

Nothing like getting together with good company over a variety of delicious food and drink.
 
Here goes.
Cable, internet, land phone, cell phone..........290.00, month.
Hydro.......heat, air conditioning, normal usage, i see i have a lot plugged in........200.00, month
Water.......35.00, month.
Drugs.......100.00, month.
Groceries.......400.00, month.
Gas.......50.00, month..........but......in the last 10 months........100.00 total.
Auto insurance........120.00, month.
Auto maintenance, basic.........200.00, year.
Property annual taxes........1600.00, annual.
Personal shopping.......$?$?$?.
CHOCOLATE.........not telling.
Entertainment.........last 10 months........0000000000........normally, 50.00, month.
Spring vet bill, 3 dogs, check up, vaccinations, heartworm medicine........500.00.
Dog food, treats............too much........that's okay.
CHOCOLATE..........NOT TELLING.
 
Jules said:
Marg, have you never gone across the line to grocery shop? There’s a considerable difference in food & household prices. And many unique products.

When the American skiers are here in the winter, it’s funny to listen to them discussing the prices. “$2 for an avocado and it’s hard as a rock.”
A can of refried beans was about $1 in the US, it’s $3+ here. The Customs Agent looked at me like I was nuts when I was telling him what I bought.
Then there’ll be some items that are cheaper in Canada.
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When my sister visits from Toronto she gasps at how much less expensive our produce is. I nearly had to break out the smelling salts when she saw green onions at 10 cents per bunch. I didn't dare reveal that the previous week they were 12 bunches for a dollar.
 
For your internet & TV probably a waste of time but I'll post this anyway.

You can go online to check which T-Mobile telephone plan suits your use type.
https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone...Yp-evIX_vZLc6yc04BBoC4-EQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

T mobile contacted my cable company & at no cost to me transferred my number.

For your T V

Look up @ best buy
1. Smart TV
2. Modem
3. indoor TV antenna

Smart T V's range from $119.00 to $359.00
Modem range from $59.99 to $199.00
indoor TV antenna $34. to $160.00

The end result you have a new TV and only have to pay the $59.00 internet accsee fee plus taxes.

The indoor antenna makes it possible to watch sports on ABC NBC ABC FOX. And any other programs you like.

So depending on what you think you would be comfortable spending after looking up T V & telephone pricing. Go to a Best Buy near you & ask what combination of modem & indoor antenna would work best for you where you live. If you decided to buy then ask for their geek squad to set everything up for you.

You could add Netflix for movies
https://help.netflix.com/en/node/24926

All in all for less than $500.00 you could eliminate that $204.00 bill and pay for Internet access @$59.00 & Netflix if you wanted Netflix. That translates to about $125.00 a month less so the $500.00 or less would be paid off in about 4 months. Then your bill would be $59.00 plus Netflix if you wanted that.
 
Jules said:
Marg, have you never gone across the line to grocery shop? There’s a considerable difference in food & household prices. And many unique products.

When the American skiers are here in the winter, it’s funny to listen to them discussing the prices. “$2 for an avocado and it’s hard as a rock.”
A can of refried beans was about $1 in the US, it’s $3+ here. The Customs Agent looked at me like I was nuts when I was telling him what I bought.
Then there’ll be some items that are cheaper in Canada.
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My sincere apologies, Jules, I missed your entry, and I have not the slightest how.

Yes, we used to go across the line back when the kids were little ones, not often, but a couple of times a year, and we'd bring back a fair bit of groceries and save, however, with our sagging dollar, we haven't been to the USofA forever.

I remember a time when our dollar was nearly right on par with the US dollar, and boy, were those ever good days!

One such place we used to go was the White Elephant (I think that was the name), and my favourite place as a homemaker and mom was JC Penny.
 
StarSong said:
When my sister visits from Toronto she gasps at how much less expensive our produce is. I nearly had to break out the smelling salts when she saw green onions at 10 cents per bunch. I didn't dare reveal that the previous week they were 12 bunches for a dollar.
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I can believe it.
 
debodun said:
Gathered together all my receipts and bank statements. I was surprised at my food expenditure - it's usually around $2500, but this past year it was over $2700. I expected it to be less because I didn't have to buy pet food, but maybe because prices have risen because of COVID.

groceries - $2714.65
OOP medical - $5663.79
home (including taxes, insurance, maintenance, fuel, utilities) - $7743.95
car (including fuel, insurance, other fees) - $642.84
cable service (Internet, TV and phone) - 3630.87

I was wondering how that compares to others.
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I'm really amazed how much you pay for cable. I don't have cable & I'm glad. I pay $660 Canadian for internet & landline phone for a whole year. I have a flip phone which costs me $158/year. I guess I'm blessed! Since I'm a Canadian I don't pay for medical visits at all but I do pay for my prescription drugs which are about $1300/year. Yap! I'm blessed.
 
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It seems like some things even out. Some of us pay less for food but more for utilities or gasoline, more for some taxes and services but less for others. Produce costs here are low because we're near the California Central Valley, which provides 25% of the US food supply. We're also quite close to Mexico, another wonderful source of fresh produce.

All told it runs an average of $4000 per month for DH & I to comfortably float this boat without travel or big extras. And that's with paid-off cars and no mortgage.

So be it.
 
Oops - made a mistake on that cable bill. It did seem high to me, too. I re-calculated it and it's actually $2572.13 - that averages $214.34 a month - still kinda high. My electric bill is probably lower that most other people's - $440.95 (average $36.75 a month).
 
debodun said:
Oops - made a mistake on that cable bill. It did seem high to me, too. I re-calculated it and it's actually $2572.13 - that averages $214.34 a month - still kinda high. My electric bill is probably lower that most other people's - $440.95 (average $36.75 a month).
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That's exactly my cable bill. A lot of money, I thought it was because of where I live. My provider is Optimum (Cablevision).
 
Wondered how I came out even though we budget and have for many years.

Annual Expenses

AARP $16.00 (for senior discounts)
Auto Insurance $425.00 (1 auto Full/$1,000 Ded)
CostCo $65.00
Amazon Prime $119.00
Netflix $168.00 (2 screens)
Amb Ins/copays $65.00
1st HO Ins $320.00
1st HO taxes $414.00
2nd HOA Fees $325.00
ISP $480.00
Health Ins Rider $393.00

Sub Total $232.00/$2,790.00

Monthly Expenses

Auto Loan $222.00
Wireless $54.00
Utilities $121.00
Rent/Fees/Dues $750.00

Sub Total $1,540.00/$21,270.00

Food/Trans

Food $600.00
Trans $20.00

Sub Total $620.00/$7,440.00

Total $2,392.00/$31,500.00 Net monthly income $5,270.00/$62,000.00 (wife's inc/expenses excluded)
 
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Pepper said:
That's exactly my cable bill. A lot of money, I thought it was because of where I live. My provider is Optimum (Cablevision).
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We like most began cable service with bundle & save. Didn't take long to discover that we didn't watch 99% of the bundle. Toss in modem rental, landline phone & the monthly bill was high.

Looking long term investing in a one time purchase of

1.NETGEAR
NETGEAR Nighthawk Cable Modem Wi-Fi Router Combo C7000-Compatible with Cable Providers Including Xfinity by Comcast, Spectrum, Cox for Cable Plans Up to 400 Mbps | AC1900 Wi-Fi Speed | DOCSIS 3.0

2.NETGEAR Nighthawk X6 Smart Wi-Fi Router (R8000) - AC3200 Tri-band Wireless Speed (Up to 3200 Mbps) | Up to 3500 Sq Ft Coverage & 50 Devices | 4 x 1G Ethernet and 2 USB ports | Armor Security

3.New Type TV Antenna-Detachable Amplified HD Digital Antenna 240 Miles Range Indoor Outdoor TV Antenna-36ft Coaxial Cable Support 4K 1080p and All TV's -Smart Amplifier Signal Booster for Local Channel

Might seem like a big expense to convert but thinking long term Cox internet Preferred 150 $49.99/mo. Seems almost free.

Landline phone a thing of the past two cell phones with all the services we need for $70.00 a month & keeping our landline #.

Indoor antenna makes it possible to watch programming on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, But we prefer to use Netflix & HULU for movies, special coverage of news events.

AS for other expenses have no clue what we spend. Just know we end the year with a lot more than we spend.
 
Found some more receipts for my car - had to have a new battery about a year ago and more gas purchases.


Car Expenses​
gas 131.84​
maintenance 199.52​
insurance 540.20​
other 39.00​
total 910.56​
 
Our groceries per month seemed high at nearly $700. DH said that includes any other sundries I buy when shopping. In the summer I willingly pay more for fresh vegetables at the Farmers Markets. This has been an unusual year and instead of shopping sales, I grab whatever I need and get out as quickly as possible.

Monthly gas averages out to $65. That’s for heat and hot water. It’s cold here in the north. Electricity is $50. Sewer & water, $100.

Car insurance & maintenance for 2 vehicles runs $150, gas less than $60. Considering we have no place to go, it explains low cost for gas.

Our 2 cell phones and internet are outrageous. That may be because we just bought two new phones and that’s included. Telephone & internet in Canada are some of highest in the world.

DH is an engineer and loves to track everything. He says he doesn’t, I know he really does.
 
debodun said:
I do. I like to know where my money goes.
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If you had a cash back credit card your expenses would be a breeze to know where & what you spend your money on. You would even get some of that spending back depending on where & what you spend on.

Like the outline of how to save about $125.00 a month on cable service & pay off the purchases to bring you into the 21st. century ignoring this will be the norm.

Heck who knows maybe you will get to the point most of the rest of us are with no need to track every dollar.
 

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