Item | Monthly |
Jacinto Income | 3729 |
Mrs. Jacinto Income | 3640 |
VA Disability | 136 |
Bank Interest | 20 |
Gross Income | 7525 |
Income Tax | 290 |
SS/Medicare | 537 |
Healthcare Premiums | 89 |
HSA/FSA Contributions | 256 |
LTD/STD/Other | 68 |
Giving | 75 |
Emergency Fund | 100 |
529 | 100 |
Vacation | 50 |
Christmas | 15 |
Mortgage P&I | 1573 |
Property Taxes & Insurance | 259 |
Home Maintenance/Projects | 481 |
Gas/Water | 65 |
Electric | 70 |
HOA | 30 |
Phone | 60 |
Internet | 60 |
Daycare | 225 |
Baby Misc | 50 |
Fuel | 160 |
Car Maint/Replacement | 50 |
Registration | 16 |
Auto Insurance | 120 |
Groceries | 350 |
Restaurants | 90 |
Dog Groomer | 50 |
Dog Food | 35 |
Vet/Misc Dog | 25 |
Jacinto Spending | 80 |
Mrs. Jacinto Personal | 120 |
Misc Items | 70 |
Life Insurance Fund | 47 |
Dental Plan Fund | 9 |
Total Expenses | ~5683 |
401(k) | 737 |
Roth 401(k) | 1105 |
Usually you don't count retirement contributions, savings, and taxes as part of your expenses. But it looks like you're trying to account for every dollar of your income, which makes sense.
I tallied up a total of $4,070 in categories that could more traditionally be considered expenses. This is not too terrible, especially considering a decent chunk of that is likely going towards mortgage principal (which is essentially savings). But of course there is always room for improvement.
Vehicle fuel looks like an easy target. $200/month is 76.2 gallons of gas per month (assuming national average price). Assuming 30 mpg from a reasonably efficient vehicle that means you're driving over 27k miles per year. You can find some pretty significant savings here if you can reduce your driving, switch to a more efficient vehicle(s), or both.
You list $50/month for dog grooming but then you say this is every other month? Is the actual expense $25/month?
$250/month on combined personal expenses seems very high to me. Is that just the upper limit budget or are you actually spending nearly $4k/year (including misc category) on uncategorized expenses? That's 8% of your total expenses, which seems too big to not be tracking if you're looking to be more efficient with your money.
At your income level you should probably be contributing normal 401(k) plans, and not the Roth versions. Switching to that should save another $177/month (assuming 12% tax bracket).
https://www.madfientist.com/retire-even-earlier/
Usually you don't count retirement contributions, savings, and taxes as part of your expenses. But it looks like you're trying to account for every dollar of your income, which makes sense.
I tallied up a total of $4,070 in categories that could more traditionally be considered expenses. This is not too terrible, especially considering a decent chunk of that is likely going towards mortgage principal (which is essentially savings). But of course there is always room for improvement.
Vehicle fuel looks like an easy target. $200/month is 76.2 gallons of gas per month (assuming national average price). Assuming 30 mpg from a reasonably efficient vehicle that means you're driving over 27k miles per year. You can find some pretty significant savings here if you can reduce your driving, switch to a more efficient vehicle(s), or both.
You list $50/month for dog grooming but then you say this is every other month? Is the actual expense $25/month?
$250/month on combined personal expenses seems very high to me. Is that just the upper limit budget or are you actually spending nearly $4k/year (including misc category) on uncategorized expenses? That's 8% of your total expenses, which seems too big to not be tracking if you're looking to be more efficient with your money.
At your income level you should probably be contributing normal 401(k) plans, and not the Roth versions. Switching to that should save another $177/month (assuming 12% tax bracket).
https://www.madfientist.com/retire-even-earlier/
1. Wife dives 516 miles/week for work, and I drive 585 miles/week for work. Add in 10 miles per week for errands and 2-3 hockey games per month (60 miles round trip) for a monthly total of $142-$148. I could add a little cushion and make this $160/month. I'll try to cut out unnecessary driving and see if we can get to that.
2. We have two dogs and alternate months for each dog to smooth out the expense.
3. I agree that $250/month is high for personal expenses. I have $100 for myself, while Mrs. Jacinto gets $150 (she loves to eat out). I might try to get her down to $120 and myself down to $80. I should note that we pay for our clothing out of our personal money as well.
4. That is a great article. However, I love travel and plan to retire on a higher income than I currently live on. For that reason alone, I think Roth is going to benefit me more. I am going to have to do some calculations on it though.
Thanks for the input! That's at least $210 more saved.
One can make reasonable cases for either traditional or Roth at 12% marginal, depending on expectations for future marginal rates both while working and in retirement.4. Why do you need a higher income in retirement? You're only spending ~$50k/year now on a $90k income and the mortgage will be paid off eventually, dropping your expenses to ~$31k, just a third of your current income. You'll likely need to triple your current spending in retirement for a higher income to be required. You can probably retire in 20 years with this approach, changing almost nothing. But if you want to replace your current income and then some then your stated 25 years is not going to cut it. Unless you have some generous pension or something?At your income level you should probably be contributing normal 401(k) plans, and not the Roth versions. Switching to that should save another $177/month (assuming 12% tax bracket).4. That is a great article. However, I love travel and plan to retire on a higher income than I currently live on. For that reason alone, I think Roth is going to benefit me more. I am going to have to do some calculations on it though.
https://www.madfientist.com/retire-even-earlier/
Misc Items - This covers items that fall through the cracks when planning, items that don't fit in other categories, or areas where we exceed the budget. For example, in the current month, it included movie tickets, drink at movie, and a couple signed hockey pucks to collect.