Okay, no one asked, but I'd like to share, and the thread is open to anyone else who wants to share. These numbers represent spending for one adult in an HCOL area (I'm married but we have separate finances, which helps to keep the joint expense numbers low.) These are
yearly totals.
- Savings: $36,715
- Debt payments: $13,828
- Total savings and debt repayment: $50,543 (59%)
- Necessities: $18,905 (22%)
- Discretionary spending: $10,336 (12%)
- Travel: estimated at $5000 (6%)
- Charity: $720 (<1%)
Now, here are the average
monthly numbers, with more detail.
Total necessities: 1576
Rent: 878
Medical expenses: 289
Health insurance: 122
Groceries: 211
Gas: 47
Car insurance: 29
Total discretionary excluding travel: 861
Purchases: 209
---Clothes/shoes/jewelry: 96
---Cosmetics/grooming: 34
---Tattoo: 30
---Household: 26
---Books/music/software: 23
Alcohol: 193
Restaurants: 172
Events: 121
--includes museums, theatre, parties, work events, races, concerts, shows
Gym: 60
Discretionary transport: 55
--public transit, Uber, bike rental
Home internet: 43
Netflix: 8
Travel: 416 (estimated)
Charity: 60
I'm not looking for comments along the lines of "here's how you can save money!" I'm already saving plenty, thank you, and all my luxuries are well-thought-out. My goals for 2019 are basically to keep going like I'm going, except that I'm going to put more money into debt repayment and less into cash savings. And, I'm quitting drinking, which should lead to a lower discretionary spending total (not to mention fewer drunken late-night Uber rides!)