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General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: minimalistgamer on January 08, 2017, 01:03:00 PM

Title: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 08, 2017, 01:03:00 PM
So this year, we decided that we are going to live within $2000 per month. Last year, we spent a little over $32000 at an average of $2666.66. This year, we hope to bring that down to $2000. Its going to be a little difficult, but I think we can make it. Looking back at the expenses, there were some bad decisions we made, and this year, I am going to try my best to avoid them.

Between car repair and travel, we spent $2744.41. We need to avoid these big ticket expenses as much as we can.

I will post my progress at the end of each month. So far in January, we already spent $1856.74. We got around $140 to spend before the end of this month. It will be difficult. However, the good thing is, all the bills are paid. The only expenses we anticipate are fuel and food...

So let's see how this goes.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: SingleMomDebt on January 08, 2017, 01:55:47 PM
does this include rent? bills? savings?
or just purely expenses? w/thoughts on your post. i tallied the following for me: $1,799 expenses + savings sans bills, $2,749 w/bills, $4,539 w/bills and rent.

dropping your spending down $666 does sound challenging. but a good challenge can be fun. looking forward to your updates. sounds like cleaning out the pantry and some recipes from budget bytes could help out.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 08, 2017, 03:26:57 PM
does this include rent? bills? savings?
or just purely expenses? w/thoughts on your post. i tallied the following for me: $1,799 expenses + savings sans bills, $2,749 w/bills, $4,539 w/bills and rent.

dropping your spending down $666 does sound challenging. but a good challenge can be fun. looking forward to your updates. sounds like cleaning out the pantry and some recipes from budget bytes could help out.

Thank you, I appreciate your insight.

This will include all expenses, but not savings. I understand that I am kind of going against the norm here by not budgeting savings, but I am tracking those separately. So yes, $2000 will include ALL expenses (mortgage, utilities, cell phone etc.)

I think it can be done. The reason the average was up to 2766 last year was because of some very big expenses towards the end which pushed the total way up. This year, if we are careful, I think we can make it. I will post more updates.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: SquashingDebt on January 08, 2017, 04:16:33 PM
$2,000 per month is what I generally aim to spend, though I mostly failed at it in 2016 (with an overall monthly average of $2,373).  For me, that $2,000 includes all spending - rent, utilities, insurances, food, etc., but doesn't include savings or debt repayment.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: SwordGuy on January 08, 2017, 05:03:04 PM
Absolutely not going to happen for us.

We have a mortgage with a PITA of $1862.   
We're also paying down a HELOC we took out to buy a rental property at the clip of $1000 a month.

We're also cash-flowing renovations for some rental and flip properties.

BUT - we intend to have the mortgage and HELOC paid off when we retire in 16 months. 

And the business expenses associated with renovating those properties are actually a form of savings/investment, so I think we can ignore them according to your rules.

I'm going to aim for that spending level excluding those expenses.    We'll see how well off we do!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: recklesslysober on January 08, 2017, 05:20:20 PM
Posting to follow!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: tortoiseshell on January 10, 2017, 05:00:10 PM
I'm in! My expenses (all-inclusive) averaged out to $2490.00 per month, so I'd love to get it down to $2000.00.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: golfreak12 on January 10, 2017, 10:58:40 PM
If my wife just didn't start the university 40 miles away this year I would totally be in.
The house got paid off last Sept so our fix expenses are only 880/months. That would leaves us with $1100 for food/home/entertainment/gas, etc....
In Nov of last year, you had our lowest month yet of $1843.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: wildbeast on January 10, 2017, 11:04:50 PM
I've been wanting to try this for a while, so I'm in!  Thanks for starting this thread.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 12, 2017, 05:47:12 AM
Thank you for your support everyone. I appreciate it.

I went grocery shopping yesterday. I spent $45.14, and we are up to $1906.70. We are going to have to make it on $93 for 19 days. I don't know...its not looking good! :p

However, considering I spent $12 so far this month eating out...who knows, I might just make it! Will keep you all posted!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: syednaeemul on January 12, 2017, 06:14:47 AM
I will join!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: oldtoyota on January 12, 2017, 06:21:04 AM
does this include rent? bills? savings?
or just purely expenses? w/thoughts on your post. i tallied the following for me: $1,799 expenses + savings sans bills, $2,749 w/bills, $4,539 w/bills and rent.

dropping your spending down $666 does sound challenging. but a good challenge can be fun. looking forward to your updates. sounds like cleaning out the pantry and some recipes from budget bytes could help out.



Thank you, I appreciate your insight.

This will include all expenses, but not savings. I understand that I am kind of going against the norm here by not budgeting savings, but I am tracking those separately. So yes, $2000 will include ALL expenses (mortgage, utilities, cell phone etc.)

I think it can be done. The reason the average was up to 2766 last year was because of some very big expenses towards the end which pushed the total way up. This year, if we are careful, I think we can make it. I will post more updates.

Wow. I can't live on $2K until my mortgage is paid. How much is your rent/mortgage?

My mortgage is the majority of my current expenses.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: tomatops on January 12, 2017, 08:42:08 AM
I'm pretty much in the same boat! My spending last year was about $2250 per month. Hoping to bring it down to $2000 and have started by:

- making coffee at work in the afternoons instead of buying (courtesy of a french press)
- cooking more (I was very wasteful in 2016 with fast food lunches)

I also restocked my wardrobe in 2016 and hopefully that should mean very limited clothing expenses in 2017...
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 12, 2017, 01:07:19 PM

Wow. I can't live on $2K until my mortgage is paid. How much is your rent/mortgage?

My mortgage is the majority of my current expenses.

My current mortgage is $1190.36 per month.

Our utilities and food expenses have been less than $200 for each. So very basic living can be covered for $1600. We need to make $400 last for the rest of the expenses.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: tarheeldan on January 12, 2017, 01:11:26 PM
You are kicking ass. I'm in! As a single person, no kids, I'll say my handicap puts me at $20k/yr ($1,665/mo).
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 12, 2017, 05:47:07 PM
You are kicking ass. I'm in! As a single person, no kids, I'll say my handicap puts me at $20k/yr ($1,665/mo).

Thank you, I appreciate it.

I had to fill fuel. Cost me $14.22. I am now up to $1920.22! Inching closer to $2000!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: oldtoyota on January 12, 2017, 08:27:01 PM
You are kicking ass. I'm in! As a single person, no kids, I'll say my handicap puts me at $20k/yr ($1,665/mo).

Thank you, I appreciate it.

I had to fill fuel. Cost me $14.22. I am now up to $1920.22! Inching closer to $2000!

This is stressful to watch! LOL.

You ARE kicking ass. Good for you!

Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: 2Birds1Stone on January 13, 2017, 06:40:40 AM
I'm in! 2016 I spent $25,277 for the year :)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: TheAnonOne on January 13, 2017, 09:09:09 AM
What does a $2000 month look like? We did our best back in NOV with $2,500 but most of our months are 3 to 4k

Our fixed bills HOA, Power, ect are around $500 and I don't count my $600 mortgage payment as spending.


We could do it if we don't eat out EVER, or do any travel or have any big odd things like car repairs.

Am I missing something? If we could do this reliably we could FIRE very quickly (2 years MAYBE less)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 14, 2017, 03:00:57 PM
Thank you all for your support.

I have a feeling that we may not be able to make it. At this point, we are up to $1956.58, and we are only at Jan 14.

> What does a $2000 month look like? We did our best back in NOV with $2,500 but most of our months are 3 to 4k

I track all my expenses. Here is a screenshot of all the expenses this month - https://sli.mg/BNkYeT

We are trying really hard not to eat out, because we simply cannot afford it. If nothing unexpected comes up, we can afford to make $44 last for 15 days. We have all the basic groceries, but its going to be tough. I am kicking myself for buying $50 worth of computer related stuff at the beginning of the year. I could have waited till February for it. I think the lesson here to make sure I make these unnecessary purchases towards the end of the month, when I know exactly how much we have spent on groceries etc.

Lets see how things go from here on. I will post more updates.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Mezzie on January 14, 2017, 06:48:51 PM
$44 iver 15 days is totally possible, especially since it looks like you only need groceries. If you've got some staples already, you can do it.

Even if you go a bit over, I'm still impressed. :)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 15, 2017, 11:58:46 AM
$44 iver 15 days is totally possible, especially since it looks like you only need groceries. If you've got some staples already, you can do it.

Even if you go a bit over, I'm still impressed. :)

Thank you, I appreciate it.

I am concerned that we will go over, but I think its important that we made this effort. Hopefully we can keep it within $44! :)

This weekend, we spent $0! And the important thing to note is, I am not miserable. I am perfectly happy playing video games, and eating food that is cooked at home!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: SingleMomDebt on January 15, 2017, 12:28:47 PM
If you have a car commute and it is not far, then I would say you could make it work. This is where the fun in a challenge happens - when down to the wire. Finding creative solutions to limited funds.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: ardrum on January 15, 2017, 08:42:59 PM
I have a similar goal of $1500/month, which is easier being single and having set up my life in the mustachian style of moving to walking distance to work while minmizing other life costs while cultivating inexpensive hobbies.  I am more impressed with threads focused on spending less than those based on saving more (since the latter is more income-dependent), so I am looking forward to following this thread!  Good luck!!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: StarBright on January 15, 2017, 09:17:05 PM
Posting to follow only. We have two kids in daycare so no way we can actually partake of the challenge :)

I think this will be fun to read and cheer along!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: ysette9 on January 15, 2017, 10:00:40 PM
Posting because this is an interesting peak into a different world for me. Our rent is $2400/month so there is no way we will be joining you, but I applaud your goal and wish you the best.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: recklesslysober on January 16, 2017, 12:41:18 PM
I was just following along for inspiration because I thought this might be too much for me at this point. This month is going really well so far though! It's looking like I'm going to make it!

$1,174.10 on rent and bills - nothing else to come out

$71.47 on groceries
$21.72 on meals out
$14.38 on entertainment
$11.33 on health

= $1,239.00 so far, or $940.95 USD. Not including student loan repayments of course! Everything extra goes to those.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Stash Engineer on January 16, 2017, 01:03:02 PM
Posting just to say that you rock OP!  I hope to one day join these ranks.  I hit $2k just between rent and groceries.  Gotta have goals!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 17, 2017, 06:07:10 AM
The support in this thread has been wonderful. I appreciate it.

Due to lack of self control and poor planning on my part, I ended up spending $4 on lunch yesterday...this puts us at $1960.92. We have less than $40 to manage for 9 business days. Weekend tend to be less expensive. I have to go grocery shopping this Thursday, so I am going to have to keep it to a minimum. At this point, its not about money anymore. This became personal. Haha!

I am not going to spend a single penny until Thursday. I will post about my grocery expenses when I return from shopping.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: hobbes1 on January 17, 2017, 06:57:14 AM
good luck!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: KBecks on January 17, 2017, 10:02:57 AM
Very interesting exercise and this sounds like great pre-FIRE practice.   When I first joined MMM I made a list of our minimum expenses and should revisit that to see if it's still reasonable.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Toffeemama on January 17, 2017, 12:51:23 PM
This looks like a really cool challenge; I'm in!  What are the rules for this challenge?  When you say that you're not counting savings, do you mean short-term savings like Christmas gifts and home repair-type funds?

Our spending so far this month is $1375(family of 5).  It'll probably hit very close to 2k by the end of the month though; I'm estimating at least $200 for groceries, we need to buy a new toilet and paint for our apartment(roughly $200), and Mr.T plans to spend his birthday money from his parents on fisherman's wool so I can make him a sweater(about $130).  Our water and car insurance bills are nearly due as well, so that's about another $200, which puts us a little bit over unless I can cut down the groceries and supplies.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: westtoeast on January 17, 2017, 05:06:00 PM
Hello, I have been looking at this thread unsure if I should join, but I think I'm going to jump in now. Seems like a positive place to keep myself accountable. Every time I do a low spend challenge I end up wanting to do the next month anyway... so why not a year! My SO & I have separate expenses right now so I am holding myself to a much lower number than $2000. I will aim to be under $1400 each month (not counting savings and student loan repayment). 

Rent/Utilities (my share): $800
Food: $250
Bus/Train/Uber: $85
Everything Else: $265
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 18, 2017, 05:57:56 AM
Good to see a lot of new people here joining. Good luck to everyone!

No money was spent yesterday. I gave up my allowance this month i.e., my fun money budget this month is $0, and my wife used some of her allowance money to buy cheese and lunch meat. We are definitely going to the extreme this month just for the sake of being under $2000. We are still at $1960.92 this month. I think if I can keep the groceries under check tomorrow, we should be able to pull it off.

We are literally eating rice and beans at home. Haha :)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: SingleMomDebt on January 18, 2017, 09:21:39 AM
You and DW can do it!!  There is a thread around with some great bean & rice recipes. You should search it out.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: monstermonster on January 18, 2017, 11:12:21 AM
Is this halved for single people? I probably can't keep it under $1000 consistently (with health insurance at $231 and rent/utilities at $700, that's not enough to eat) but $2000 is way too much. Is it worth it to join the gauntlet if I set my own lower goal?
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: tarheeldan on January 18, 2017, 11:15:59 AM
I think if I can keep the groceries under check tomorrow, we should be able to pull it off.

(http://combiboilersleeds.com/images/you-can-do-it/you-can-do-it-8.jpg)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: zinethstache on January 18, 2017, 03:32:35 PM
I'd love to try this, but healthcare for us is 1k/month:( and living on the road our gas will vary wildly. and DH isn't quite that thrifty.

I will see how many months I can come "close" to 2k, that would be fun.

so if we are in a location we like and we stay a couple of months, gas will be somewhat normal - but not mustachian as our commute car is a 1 ton dually. Our travels will be to disc golf courses and the grocery store, so I could see us getting close.

Our rent has been prepaid for the year (annual dues for TT and RPI paid in December) but I do have a slush fund for camping fees of $200.

No bills, and no utilities so then there's food and propane left. A little discretionary spending here and there.

It will be fun so see how low we can go.

Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: westtoeast on January 19, 2017, 04:26:16 AM
Is this halved for single people? I probably can't keep it under $1000 consistently (with health insurance at $231 and rent/utilities at $700, that's not enough to eat) but $2000 is way too much. Is it worth it to join the gauntlet if I set my own lower goal?

I think it is reasonable to make your own "living within" number that is a challenge for you but also takes into account your fixed costs. My housing costs are very high due to my city, so I went with $1400! It would be nice to see people striving for their own specific number somewhere between $1000 and $2000.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: TightFistedScot on January 19, 2017, 06:30:58 AM
This would be cool to try. I'd have to look a little more carefully at my budget, but 2k per month inclusive of bills is not do-able for me.

Here's a really quick and dirty snapshot:
mortgage: 1761
insurance: 75
electric: typically 100
gas: average 100 (winter more like 175-200)
internet: 55
cell phone: 45
transit pass: 112
city utilities: 200 every 4 months
groceries: around 200

tuition: 8,500 per year

LOL @ 2k per month goal

I think a more realistic goal for me would be about 2,300-2,400 unfortunately. The biggest area I could save on is bringing my eating out to 0-20 per month, and alcohol spending to a similar rate.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 19, 2017, 06:31:53 AM
No money was spent yesterday. We are still on track. Today will be grocery shopping day. We will see how that goes.

I am going to have to reevaluate this goal. Will do so this weekend. I will not be able to stay under $2000 if I have any medical expenses. So I am going to have to come up with categories that I want to control. Also, I have this incredible urge to pay off our house...if and when we do that, I will definitely be able to live for less than $2000 total. Lots of thinking to do this weekend.

Thanks again for all your support, and good luck to those who are joining. One thing to remember is that you will have your own number, $2000 is not feasible for those living on the coasts or in large cities. Feel free to post your own number!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Toffeemama on January 19, 2017, 08:37:52 AM
I'd love to try this, but healthcare for us is 1k/month:( and living on the road our gas will vary wildly. and DH isn't quite that thrifty.

I will see how many months I can come "close" to 2k, that would be fun.

so if we are in a location we like and we stay a couple of months, gas will be somewhat normal - but not mustachian as our commute car is a 1 ton dually. Our travels will be to disc golf courses and the grocery store, so I could see us getting close.

Our rent has been prepaid for the year (annual dues for TT and RPI paid in December) but I do have a slush fund for camping fees of $200.

No bills, and no utilities so then there's food and propane left. A little discretionary spending here and there.

It will be fun so see how low we can go.



Oh, I'm not counting our health insurance premium in my $2k spending; ours is $800.  It's through Mr.T's employer, so that just comes straight from his salary.

Looks like we may go a bit over.  I wasn't counting on Mr.T spending all the money he got from his family, about $90 more than I'd figured.  Today is grocery day, so we'll see how I do out there.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: monstermonster on January 19, 2017, 09:20:54 AM
I'll join with my own goal! $1,666 per month including everything (travel & health insurance) and $1,330 excluding the travel costs (so that I have a clear goal for normal expenses.)

Basic Living Expenses (rent: $615, groceries: $155, household goods: $10 health insurance: $231, utilities/internet: $70, transport: $6, renter's insurance: $11): $1,107

Extra Eat & Drink (Beer/Liquor for home:$25, Bars: $20, Restaurants: $25, Coffee: $10, Soda Stream: $2, Farm Share: $20): $92

Discretionary (Clothing: $62.50, Fitness: $40, Haircut Sinking fun: $15, Gifts: $10, Spending Money: $10, Skin Care: $5, Entertainment: $10): $162.50

(Clothing is very very high - I spent $0 last year - because I gave myself a $750 budget at the beginning of the year to completely redo my wardrobe - turning 30 & starting to get more TV gigs, it's time for a redo. A bit crazy as far as the amount of money, but hopefully worth it.)

Travel Fund: $200
Travel Hacking Fees (credit cards, etc): $20


Travel expenses are so high because I'm aiming to travel on the trans-siberian railway this year for a month (!!) I'll be pretty frugal (no hotels unless couchsurfing is unsafe for a single female, bring own food on train, etc) when I'm out there but it's definitely not the cheapest excursion overall even if you just consider visa costs (I am travel hacking for the flights to/from).

My budget all together stands at: $1581.50, so that leaves me another $1020 annually for unexpected expenses.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Overflow on January 19, 2017, 10:00:37 AM
Posting to follow.

Considering if we can pull this off.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: SingleMomDebt on January 19, 2017, 10:30:56 AM
All I know is I have $100.39 for food and/or discretionary to last until EOM. But I have $147.57 for auto gas. I will definitely have left over with that.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Fish Sweet on January 19, 2017, 06:09:59 PM
I'd love to join this with my own goal!   $1300 or less a month, AND I want that total expenses number to drop every month so that I hit a minimum in December (which is going to be real fun with the holidays coming around).   Hoping for a total expenditure of about $17k this year, and yes, that's including a big fat cushion for international travel.

That said, I'm a childless single pringle with many roommates and no mortgage in an extremely HCOL area, an unmustachian commute, and some expensive hobbies.

General Living Expenses:  $530 Rent + $45 split utilities.  Healthcare covered by employer, parents pay for bottom dollar car insurance and phone plan, though I may be splitting off from this this year (adding to my expenses)

Food:  Averaging about $300-350 a month, split half and half between groceries and eating out.  Hoping to drop that to $250, and maybe even $200 or so as I go a couple months this year without eating out.

Car/Transportation:  $100 average for gas, maybe about $90 average a month for a year's worth of maintenance.  I run an old, old Infiniti that I got from my parents and plan on fixing up and driving into the ground.  That said, maintenance and repair costs are starting to soar and I'd like to A) first start learning some DIY car care, and then B) start exploring my options for a cheap new (to me) car.

Random Bullshit:  $235 worth of clothes, games, books, music, gifts, and hobby crap.  Gifts and hobby stuff (I do amateur costuming and propmaking) are what really drain me dry, so I'm making an effort to shop around for better deals and emphasize to my friends and family that I want small, cheap, and useful gifts this year, and will probably reciprocate in kind.

Travel:  International travel is non negotiable to me, due to family reasons, so I'm budgeting $1400 for that.  However, I'm going to see if I can find a better priced "off season" time to go, and save on the plane tickets (by far the most expensive part)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 19, 2017, 10:05:04 PM
I am going to fail the January challenge.

After today's grocery trip, which cost a total of $23.55, and this does not include milk that my wife is going to buy tonight, the total is up to $1984.47

There is no way we are going to survive on $10 for 10 days. We are going to have to do some grocery shopping next week, and that will put us over $2000. That said, I am going to try to keep it to a minimum. I will be starting a different thread for February shortly. Lets keep this thread going until the end of the month. On January 31st, I will publish the full list of expenses for the month.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: umi on January 20, 2017, 02:18:48 AM
This is my goal too, even though I most likely won't make it all the way this month. My spending this month so far is $1676 and my projected monthly cost at current pace is $2556. I live a nomadic life so I like to distribute my costs on a daily basis, since my rent isn't paid in advance all the time etc. Here's my daily cost breakdown so far:

Rent:        $27
Transport: $16
Food:        $12
Insurance: $5
Misc:         $13
Business:   $10

Business includes coworking spaces and server hosting. I'm not going to separate this from my personal expenses until my business has a decent cashflow. Misc mostly consists of clothes (3), a bunch of subscriptions, and vaccines (5 - rabies shots are expensive!). My goal is to bring this down to roughly 20/10/10/5/10/10.

Rent is on track of ending at a daily $25 when the month is over, and Transport is likely to go down a bunch too (long-haul flight stands for a lot of the the cost in this category). I think I can get food and misc down a few notches too before the month is over.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: andy85 on January 20, 2017, 06:07:34 AM
i should be able to hit this 2k/month most months this year. I know there will be a couple of months were it may be double that due to upcoming house projects. Vacations/travel will also more than likely break this challenge. But keeping my "normal expenses" under 2k shouldnt be much of an issue. So i am semi-in on this challenge.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 20, 2017, 06:35:33 AM
This is my goal too, even though I most likely won't make it all the way this month. My spending this month so far is $1676 and my projected monthly cost at current pace is $2556. I live a nomadic life so I like to distribute my costs on a daily basis, since my rent isn't paid in advance all the time etc.

Do you actually pay rent on a daily basis? Or are you just doing the math in this manner for it to be convenient for you?

I think in my next thread for February, I will qualify this a little bit better. When I am talking about keeping expenses under $2000, I meant regular essential expenses which does not include medical costs, etc. I will post the categories whose sum I intend to keep under $2000.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: umi on January 20, 2017, 06:43:46 AM
Do you actually pay rent on a daily basis? Or are you just doing the math in this manner for it to be convenient for you?

Usually, no. But sometimes if I'm in a place for just a few days I do. It's mostly for convenience and being able to see what my distributed cost is. It gives me predictability rather than lumpy sums that don't make any sense expected when viewed over a long timeframe.

For example, this month I stayed in a few hostels/hotels for just a few nights, but in February I've already booked a place on Airbnb for the whole month. I use Ledger (http://www.ledger-cli.org/) to do my bookkeeping, and there it's fairly straightforward to have a transaction date and then distributed the cost over time.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: monstermonster on January 20, 2017, 08:23:06 AM
I meant regular essential expenses which does not include medical costs, etc.
I'm confused as to why regular essential expenses don't include medical costs? That sounds like the definition of regular essential expenses. Especially given that many folks are reliant on FIRE math, give they'd be paying these expenses at FIRE so it needs to be part of their calculations?

(I am genuinely curious, not accusatory, tone is hard on the internet).
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 20, 2017, 07:47:02 PM
I meant regular essential expenses which does not include medical costs, etc.
I'm confused as to why regular essential expenses don't include medical costs? That sounds like the definition of regular essential expenses. Especially given that many folks are reliant on FIRE math, give they'd be paying these expenses at FIRE so it needs to be part of their calculations?

(I am genuinely curious, not accusatory, tone is hard on the internet).

> I'm confused as to why regular essential expenses don't include medical costs?

I am assuming you are asking me why I am not budgeting for medical expenses each month. If so, then you are right. I should budget for it. I just don't know where and how to start budgeting for it. I will look into it though. Thanks for the suggestion.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: TheBeardandTheBohemian on January 23, 2017, 02:17:39 PM
We are in as well! Just the two of us and a dog so we're setting it up for $1800
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: frugalkristen on January 23, 2017, 04:30:08 PM
Just totaled my bills for January (I'm including credit card bills paid in January for December expenses - There were a couple extra purchases for Christmas so they were a little higher than normal) and I'm at $2100.51.  I think I can do much better!  This makes me realize $2000 is completely doable!  I'm in the middle of a home project (nothing too expensive - just need paint now) so February should be a little better.  Excited to keep my expenses under $2000 every month!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 23, 2017, 07:26:46 PM
Well, I started this challenge for myself, but unfortunately I will definitely not be able to win it.

The main reason is because I decided to pay off my house. I closed my CD account and I had to pay an early withdrawal penalty of $1081. This is worth it for me considering I will be saving close to $30,000 in interest over the course of next 14 years. This also means that I am way past my $2000 spending limit for the month.

Once I pay off the house though, I will set a different target for February. I hope you all can join me on that journey! Thanks for all your support.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: monstermonster on January 23, 2017, 10:55:49 PM
Well, I started this challenge for myself, but unfortunately I will definitely not be able to win it.

The main reason is because I decided to pay off my house. I closed my CD account and I had to pay an early withdrawal penalty of $1081. This is worth it for me considering I will be saving close to $30,000 in interest over the course of next 14 years. This also means that I am way past my $2000 spending limit for the month.

Once I pay off the house though, I will set a different target for February. I hope you all can join me on that journey! Thanks for all your support.

Congrats on paying off the house! What prompted you to do it now? (And when was the CD matured?)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 24, 2017, 05:43:07 AM
Well, I started this challenge for myself, but unfortunately I will definitely not be able to win it.

The main reason is because I decided to pay off my house. I closed my CD account and I had to pay an early withdrawal penalty of $1081. This is worth it for me considering I will be saving close to $30,000 in interest over the course of next 14 years. This also means that I am way past my $2000 spending limit for the month.

Once I pay off the house though, I will set a different target for February. I hope you all can join me on that journey! Thanks for all your support.

Congrats on paying off the house! What prompted you to do it now? (And when was the CD matured?)

Thank you very much. I posted about it here - http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/i-am-going-to-pay-off-my-house-in-a-few-days!-i-am-a-nervous-wreck/

Basically, I am tired of paying a lot of interest to the bank. I am not earning as much as I am paying, so I liquidated the CD, and decided to pay off the mortgage. I contemplated investing the money into the stock market, but I know I will be happier without a mortgage. I am now going to invest the money I would have paid to the bank into an investment account.

The CD was paying 2.30% APR, for 5 years. It was set to mature in 2019. I just didn't want to wait that long because we paid $3500 on mortgage interest and earned $2200 in CD interest. So yeah...I felt like it will be a big burden off my shoulders.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Toffeemama on January 24, 2017, 10:16:56 AM
Congratulations, minimalistgamer!

----

We're at $1990, with our car insurance still due at the end of the month.  So if I can be careful with groceries, we'll go a little over, but it'll be less than $2100 for sure!  I'm actually very pleased with how this month turned out, especially our groceries(est $500) and dining out($15).  And there's still plenty of room to improve :)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: minimalistgamer on January 24, 2017, 09:39:16 PM
Congratulations, minimalistgamer!

----

We're at $1990, with our car insurance still due at the end of the month.  So if I can be careful with groceries, we'll go a little over, but it'll be less than $2100 for sure!  I'm actually very pleased with how this month turned out, especially our groceries(est $500) and dining out($15).  And there's still plenty of room to improve :)

Thank you very much! I appreciate it! :)

Also, good on you for staying within the limit! Way to go!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: recklesslysober on January 31, 2017, 02:51:35 PM
I was just following along for inspiration because I thought this might be too much for me at this point. This month is going really well so far though! It's looking like I'm going to make it!

$1,174.10 on rent and bills - nothing else to come out

$71.47 on groceries
$21.72 on meals out
$14.38 on entertainment
$11.33 on health

= $1,239.00 so far, or $940.95 USD. Not including student loan repayments of course! Everything extra goes to those.

January total: $1,455.01, or $1,117.59 USD.

$173.46 on groceries
$21.72 on meals out
$14.38 on entertainment
$11.33 on health
$38.39 on household items

The rest to rent, bills, and misc. fees/interest.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: SquashingDebt on February 01, 2017, 08:27:38 AM
$2,000 per month is what I generally aim to spend, though I mostly failed at it in 2016 (with an overall monthly average of $2,373).  For me, that $2,000 includes all spending - rent, utilities, insurances, food, etc., but doesn't include savings or debt repayment.

Hit my goal for January with $1,844 total spending!  Now to be fair, I live alone, so I'm really impressed by all of you who can hit those kind of numbers for 2 people or even with a larger family.  But, I came in $529 under my average monthly spending for 2016, so not too bad.

For those who are interested, here's where the money went:

Rent/rental insurance/utilities/internet:  $851
Groceries:  $94
Dining out:  $50
Alcohol:  $85 (included treating some co-workers while on a business trip)
Car-related expenses:  $65
Entertainment:  $105
Health-related (insurance, gym, etc.):  $295
Travel:  $167
Household goods:  $52
Personal (toiletries, haircuts, clothing, etc.):  $76
Cell phone:  $4 (rest reimbursed by my employer)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Toffeemama on February 01, 2017, 10:36:31 AM
So a couple last minute bills(not due till Feb, but husband wanted to pay them early), and a larger-than-expected grocery shopping trip put my family's spending total at $2434.  That's the bad news.

The good news is that it was still $1498 less than our average monthly spending last year!  Whaaaaaat?!  That's ridiculous!  I am more motivated than ever before to get that number to below $2000!

Are we starting a new thread for February, or continuing with this one?
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: tortoiseshell on February 02, 2017, 04:56:54 AM
In January, we spent $1626.82, but I think I will have to pay both my February and March health insurance invoices this month, which is going to make staying under $2000.00 in February much more difficult. I'm still going to try to do it.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: bugbaby on February 02, 2017, 06:10:01 AM
I'm in. I'm single but have to travel a lot, about $6-700/month (personal). And i plan to give 200-250 charity. But I'm paying​ off CC, saving $100 interest, and car insurance isn't due till May. So goal of $2000 it is for Feb.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: tomatops on February 03, 2017, 02:03:04 PM
$1885.88 for January. Just snaked under! Part of it was making my own coffee at work through my French Press Christmas Gift and eating out less.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Fish Sweet on February 03, 2017, 02:25:06 PM
$1135 for the month of January, a little over $150 beneath my minimum!  Not sure how it happened, but I have ever intention of keeping it up.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: tarheeldan on February 03, 2017, 07:03:00 PM
$1,828.09 for January, and that included booking at trip to Florida for my Grandmother's 95th birthday :-)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: umi on February 04, 2017, 10:44:41 PM
January: $2666.

Daily breakdown:

Code: [Select]
CATEGORY   SPEND  BUDGET
Rent:        $26    (+6) !
Transport:   $17    (+7) !
Food:        $17    (+7) !
Insurance:    $6    (+1)
Misc:        $12    (+2)
Business:     $8    (-2)

Monthly breakdown:

Code: [Select]
Rent:       $819
Transport:  $514
Food        $528
Insurance:  $171
Misc:       $378
Business:   $256

Big ones are the big three: rent/transport/food. Outside of this, I have an outstanding medical bill that my insurance should cover 100%, so I'm counting this as a liability for now.

Looking forward, I know my rent will be $24/day for February, barring any day trips. I haven't found any good coworking spaces, so I'll be working from home and coffeeshops, hence part of my business budget will instead be spent in rent (good working desk) and extra food costs. Adjusted daily budget is as follows: Rent $24, Transport $10, Food $13, Misc $10, Insurance $5, Business $3. Transport should be easier as I live now live centrally in a walkable city with good public transport (Taipei).

Food will be the hard part for me, and I will focus my attention on this number. My average the last week is already way too high (lack of kitchen, expensive to eat out, drinks with friends), so I need to be more mindful of this number, especially on a daily basis. Specifically: buy fewer coffees/teas/drinks; figure out grocery situation (investment cost in foreign country); cook at home. Another thing I'll do is keep my food budget in the local currency in mind. In order to have some small buffer, a maximum of 300 TWD (~10 USD) seems like an appropriate number, and ought to put those 100 TWD coffees in the right perspective.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Morning Glory on February 05, 2017, 06:10:04 AM
I would love to do this challenge but my fixed expenses are already over 2000:
Mortgage 1550
Electric 178
Gas 100
Trash 27
Car insurance 60
Health insurance 125
Internet/Netflix 65
Cell phones 25
Total 2130
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Kaybee on February 05, 2017, 04:18:21 PM
I would love to do this challenge but my fixed expenses are already over 2000:
Mortgage 1550
Electric 178
Gas 100
Trash 27
Car insurance 60
Health insurance 125
Internet/Netflix 65
Cell phones 25
Total 2130

Do you want to do a slightly higher cap amount and just tag along with the thread with me?  My mortgage is high too and wouldn't leave me enough funds for everything else...
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: bugbaby on February 05, 2017, 07:28:49 PM
I would love to do this challenge but my fixed expenses are already over 2000:
Mortgage 1550
Electric 178
Gas 100
Trash 27
Car insurance 60
Health insurance 125
Internet/Netflix 65
Cell phones 25
Total 2130
Do you eat food?

Never mind! *Fixed* expenses

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: umi on February 05, 2017, 10:56:51 PM
I would love to do this challenge but my fixed expenses are already over 2000:
Mortgage 1550

Do you want to do a slightly higher cap amount and just tag along with the thread with me?  My mortgage is high too and wouldn't leave me enough funds for everything else...

When you say mortgage, do you mean both interest payments and paying off the principal? You could consider treating paying off the principal as not an expense, since you are financially speaking just using a liquid asset (cash) to pay off a liability (mortgage), keeping your total assets and liabilities balance the same.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Kaybee on February 06, 2017, 09:50:08 AM
Umi, that's a good point to consider.  I'm out of town for a few days so don't have access to all my figures/info but that *might* make it do-able for me.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: swick on February 06, 2017, 09:57:35 AM
Umi, that's a good point to consider.  I'm out of town for a few days so don't have access to all my figures/info but that *might* make it do-able for me.

Also, if you are comparing Apples to Apples, that's over 2600 CDN ;)
 
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Fire2025 on February 06, 2017, 10:43:09 AM
Well, I started this challenge for myself, but unfortunately I will definitely not be able to win it.

The main reason is because I decided to pay off my house. I closed my CD account and I had to pay an early withdrawal penalty of $1081. This is worth it for me considering I will be saving close to $30,000 in interest over the course of next 14 years. This also means that I am way past my $2000 spending limit for the month.

Once I pay off the house though, I will set a different target for February. I hope you all can join me on that journey! Thanks for all your support.

Is there anyway that you can do an average of $2000.00/ month?  I don't think I can make $2000.00 this month because of property taxes, but I think I maybe able to make it as an average, if I tighten my belt a bit.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: boomer7407 on February 06, 2017, 02:30:15 PM
I'm down for this challenge. I make approximately $2600-$2800 per month at my full-time job (depends on whether or not I have call pay. Yay for healthcare call shifts!) and this does not include anything from my part time gig because some months I don't work there and some months I do. I'm currently trying to live under $2000 so I can bank the rest of my earnings for a possible move to Colorado later this year! I added it up and my approximate living expenses are around $1950 and that includes my "Blow Money" and eating out.  Hopefully this will be able to help keep me accountable. 
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Toffeemama on February 08, 2017, 02:32:55 PM
Looks like February is going to be harder than I thought.  We're already at $1571, after having paid all bills except car insurance and trash pickup, and spent an additional $213 on stuff to renovate our apartment and another $98 on vehicle maintenance.

Since the apartment will be rented out, should I consider renovations to be an investment, and leave that out of my monthly spending calculations?  That sounds like the correct thing to do, but I don't want to use that as a cop-out.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: jim555 on February 12, 2017, 08:14:35 PM
My total expenses last year were $13,000.  Paid off condo, car and on Medicaid.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Morning Glory on February 16, 2017, 05:15:16 AM
I would love to do this challenge but my fixed expenses are already over 2000:
Mortgage 1550

Do you want to do a slightly higher cap amount and just tag along with the thread with me?  My mortgage is high too and wouldn't leave me enough funds for everything else...

When you say mortgage, do you mean both interest payments and paying off the principal? You could consider treating paying off the principal as not an expense, since you are financially speaking just using a liquid asset (cash) to pay off a liability (mortgage), keeping your total assets and liabilities balance the same.

Sorry I took so long getting back on here. I can tag along here, MMM himself suggests that principal on debt is a savings rather than an expense. We are only about 4 years into our mortgage so the principal was $541 this  month,  bringing fixed expenses down to $1609.

I will have to ask the husband about our spending, as he does the majority of the shopping around here. He works 1 day/ week and is a SAHD most of the time, so I transfer $1000/ month to him for groceries, gas, and other expenses (pet food, hobbies, etc). Half of his income from paid work goes straight to the 401k.  What he doesn't spend he uses to buy stocks (he likes stock picking, and it is a very small percentage of our total savings). I do not usually ask for details on his spending each month, as long as he gets the groceries on my list and doesn't need extra to pay his credit card.

 My own discretionary spending so far has been $10 (my old Fitbit broke while under warranty and they sent me a gift card for the full purchase price, I upgraded to a newer model and $10 was the difference in price, including sales tax).
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Drifterrider on February 16, 2017, 05:18:45 AM
does this include rent? bills? savings?
or just purely expenses? w/thoughts on your post. i tallied the following for me: $1,799 expenses + savings sans bills, $2,749 w/bills, $4,539 w/bills and rent.

dropping your spending down $666 does sound challenging. but a good challenge can be fun. looking forward to your updates. sounds like cleaning out the pantry and some recipes from budget bytes could help out.

Seems like a red flag to me :)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: LindseyC on February 21, 2017, 08:37:14 AM
I just posted this in the Uber Frugal February thread, but then I saw this one and realized it was relevant.

********************************************

My goal is to always have my monthly bills at $2000 and under, with the exception of money I throw into savings and at debt. This month for me ends on the 23rd (because I track by my credit card statement) and I don't intend to buy anything in the next two days so I am reporting a little early.

Monthly spend $2029.50. (I can post an exact breakdown if anyone is interested)

I technically spent $74 on items I did not need to survive, but nothing ridiculous.

LED lights $15.00 
Candle $5.00 
Plants $12.00 
Wire $2.00 
Vase (thrifted) $3.00
Pens $2.00 
Socks $24.00 
Winter hat (thrifted) $4.00
Purse (thrifted) $2.00
Random item $5.00

Wins for Uber Frugal Friday: I spent ZERO on eating out, takeaway and/or convenience food. A huge win for me!!

I also count my principle of my mortgage in my $2000, but I don't count money I pay towards other debt which I am aggressively attacking or any savings. Do I fall into the rules? Should I post my breakdown of all expenses for the $2029.50?
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Zamboni on February 26, 2017, 09:35:40 AM
I am going to try for this minus the mortgage related costs. I've been tracking expenses for a long time, so I just took a break for January and February to see what it would feel like to not track . . . the result is that I don't think I need to track anymore, but that I like the tracking.

So, Shooting for under $2K spending in March. We'll see how it goes.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: SquashingDebt on March 03, 2017, 01:13:14 PM
$2,000 per month is what I generally aim to spend, though I mostly failed at it in 2016 (with an overall monthly average of $2,373).  For me, that $2,000 includes all spending - rent, utilities, insurances, food, etc., but doesn't include savings or debt repayment.

Hit my goal for January with $1,844 total spending!  Now to be fair, I live alone, so I'm really impressed by all of you who can hit those kind of numbers for 2 people or even with a larger family.  But, I came in $529 under my average monthly spending for 2016, so not too bad.


Did even better in February with $1,460.50 total spending!  Some good self control plus some good luck.

For those who are interested, here's the updated numbers on where the money went:

Rent/rental insurance/utilities/internet:  $851 $863
Groceries:  $94 $106.50
Dining out:  $50 $22
Alcohol:  $85 $30.50
Car-related expenses:  $65 $55, or -$29.50 including mileage reimbursement
Entertainment:  $105 $45
Health-related (insurance, gym, etc.):  $295 $312.50
Travel:  $167 $11.50
Household goods:  $52 $4
Personal (toiletries, haircuts, clothing, etc.):  $76 $57
Cell phone:  $4 $4 (rest reimbursed by my employer)
Misc.:  $0  $34
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: JAYSLOL on March 31, 2017, 08:38:52 PM
I finally get to join this club :)

I just had my lowest spending month in over 2 years, since I started tracking spending/ found MMM. I totalled $1899(CAD) for this March for family of 3 in western Canada, (yep, including rent).  It was a fairly average month for income, so I managed to save well over 50% after tax).  I didn't have any big one-time expenses this month (yearly car insurance, dentist visit, vacation etc) so that helped, but we also did better in most regular categories like food, eating out, clothes spending etc.  Last year I averaged over $2500/month, and I'm hoping to bring that down to less than $2200 this year. 
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: haypug16 on April 02, 2017, 10:37:25 AM
I'm in! My budgeted expenses (not including Savings) is $2,220. Cutting out an additional $220 for the month will be tough but I'm sure I can think of some ways to do it. :)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: recklesslysober on April 03, 2017, 11:55:59 AM
I'm back. January was about $1,460 - February $2,020 - March $3,140. Aiming for $1,400 CAD this month or around $1,000 USD. (Not including student loan payments - that's the bulk of my expenses right now.) 
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: haypug16 on April 12, 2017, 10:00:42 AM
April is looking pretty good. I'm at $1,227.77 with just my cellphone, gym, food, and CC interest left to add. I got the budget down to $2,125 but I think the interest on my CC is going to be lower than budgeted because I was able to pay down quite a lot of that debt this month.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: zinethstache on May 24, 2017, 04:20:00 PM
I have an update of my post in Jan (#38). I was hopeful I could meet this challenge. We started slow travel in March. Living exp=$1625 and Discretionary exp=$333.April Living exp=$1716 and Discretionary exp=$258.  Medical subsidy of $554/mo. Was approved which helps greatly dropping our premium down to $526/mo.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: haypug16 on October 05, 2017, 12:51:40 PM
I finally did it! My living expenses for the month of September were $1,960.90 Just barely made it under $2K but I did it!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: StarBright on October 06, 2017, 08:34:21 AM
I finally did it! My living expenses for the month of September were $1,960.90 Just barely made it under $2K but I did it!

awesome! I was pretty psyched to see an update on this thread :)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: andy85 on October 09, 2017, 01:13:37 PM
I forgot all about this thread...so it just made me go check my spending and i may as well update what i've done for the year

Jan: $1,474
Feb: $1,688
Mar: $1,780
Apr: $2,262
May: $1,990
Jun: $2,950 (travel spending)
Jul: $1,712
Aug: $1,987
Sep: $2,264

So i am 6/9 so far, with an average spending of $2,012 per month. There is one LARGE caveat to this spending...and that is a kitchen renovation. That alone will run around $10,000 for the year, but i've kept that as it's own line item on my spending. The above spending is literally everything else i have spent other than the kitchen renovation, which is truly a one-off expense.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Rosy on October 09, 2017, 01:50:38 PM
This is such a cool challenge.

I do think setting it up as living within an average of $2K a month (or whatever your monthly goal is) is a more flexible way to go about it.
Budgets need to be realistic to work - I love a challenge, but I do hate to set myself up for failure.
Just finding a side gig that will add as little as $50 or $75 a month to the budget may solve a problem.

@the OP - you took a big, surprise step by paying off your mortgage instead - it solved all your problems. There is now sufficient income each month and you've saved yourself $30K in total. Amazing how we trick ourselves sometimes - zeroing in on goals that are unachievable in our present circumstance - but we forget that we can nicely sidestep our circumstances and simply take a step in a different direction.

It carries the possibility of opening our eyes to the larger picture of our lifestyle and financial life - instead of agonizing over a grocery shop of fifteen bucks, you've moved on to a paid off home and have become an investor:) Not a bad outcome!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: haypug16 on October 31, 2017, 08:33:11 AM
Hit this goal for October! Total spend was $1,634.85 :)

Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: ACyclist on November 03, 2017, 09:20:36 PM
This is a fun exercise. This was my first month living on a real budget of about 2000 a month.

I'll play.

Oct 17

Home with taxes and insurance:  $550
Utilities:  $300 month average (2 cell phones, garbage, gas, electric, water, internet, Netflix)
Vehicle Insurance for one truck: $70
Haircut:  $14
Gifts and donations:  $83.81
Groceries and home items:  $494.71
Gym: $6.25 (work gym)
Dining out: $32.20
Gasoline:  $95.50
Washer part: $7.95 (little stupid latch)
AAA policy renewal $138.00
Total spending:  $1792.42
Saving pre-tax: $2434
Saving post tax: $2068
I also saved 100% of our rent money $850, this month (that home is paid off).

Note:  My insurance cost comes out pre-tax.  I only did this exercise with my post tax spending, as I attempt to live under 2000. Everything in excess of this amount is saved in pre-tax and post tax accounts.  We max out the 18K and the roth contributions.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: haypug16 on December 01, 2017, 08:48:22 AM
November was even better! Partly due to DH owing me for prior Vet bills so he paid the Mortgage.

Total spend was $1,166.63! I have December budgeted as $1,800. DH will still be covering the Mortgage this month and probably Jan too (Vet bill was super high!) So $1,800 should still be doable even with the Holiday's. I had started a Holiday savings account a couple months ago so some of the gifts will be purchased using that money plus a little extra from this months budget. Thankfully I don't have too many to buy for. 3 kids and 5 adults. Should be able to keep it to $250. Other than that there shouldn't be any out of the ordinary expenses *knock on wood*
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: frompa on December 02, 2017, 09:40:16 AM
Okay, on the theory of "better late than never," count us in.  My partner and I are both retired as of May of this year, and still finding our sea legs.  $2k per month is exactly our goal, and other than last month, when we really started paying attention, we spend probably twice that, many months, and surely at least $3k/month.  Although these colder months are generally more expensive for us, given the costs of heating, this will far be outweighed by the positive benefits of life being slow enough that we are paying attention. 

Last month, we had, roughly:
housing (ins and taxes) - 260
utilities (gas, phones, elec, netflx, garbage) - 285
transportation (gas, ins, maint, bicycling stuff) -- 210
health ins -- $410
food & household necessities (includes T'sgiving for 20!) -- $550
entertainmt -- $130
clothes -- $85
TOTAL:  $1930
Thanks!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: 2Birds1Stone on December 02, 2017, 10:28:32 AM
Averaged $2005/month for first 11 months of the year.

December will unfortunately be around $2800 with Xmas and travel, putting us squarely in the range of what we spent last year.

There's always 2018 lol....
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: ACyclist on December 02, 2017, 10:55:49 AM
Nov 17

Home payment with taxes and insurance:  $550
Utilities:  $267 (2 cell phones, garbage, gas, electric, water, internet, Netflix)
Vehicle Insurance for one truck: $70
Groceries and home items:  $533
Gym: $6.25 (work gym)
Dining out: $35.59
Gasoline:  $0
Total spending:  1461.84
Saving pre-tax: $3728
Saving post tax: $3855
Additional savings this month $3081 (cashed in some rewards & had $0 in emergency expenses.and my spouse worked an extra shift or two).
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: haypug16 on January 15, 2018, 02:44:22 PM
December was another great month. Even with Christmas I came in at $1,465.45.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: ACyclist on January 21, 2018, 08:30:34 AM
2000 a month is our usual target that we live within.  This month we overspent.  We went on vacation and bought a used travel trailer that we have been saving up for.  So that cost a few thousand bucks out of savings. Our spending this month looks terrible. Next month we are back on track for this target.

Hitting that is pretty easy for us, because our mortgage is very inexpensive. Our entertainment costs are quite cheap.  We just ride our bikes for fun.  Outdoors things don't cost a dime, after you get your equipment all dialed in.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Tris Prior on January 21, 2018, 10:33:44 AM
I should join this - I just got my first paycheck after upping my 401k contribution so that I'm maxing it out to the limit, and my take-home pay is just a hair over $2,000 now. OUCH.

I honestly don't know whether I can manage this and still also max my Roth. My share of rent is $950 so that's nearly half gone right there. I wrote down my share of our fixed expenses and I'm left with $82/month left over, to cover anything I might need. That's if I'm putting $458/month into my Roth each month, though.

We went out for a rare dinner out last night and it was my turn to pay, so there went $57 after tip. Oops.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: monstermonster on January 21, 2018, 11:48:44 AM
I should join this - I just got my first paycheck after upping my 401k contribution so that I'm maxing it out to the limit, and my take-home pay is just a hair over $2,000 now. OUCH.
My paycheck before any retirement contribution (we don't have them at work) is $860 a month ;) $2000 sounds excellent :-P
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Tris Prior on January 21, 2018, 01:42:57 PM
Yeah, on paper it sounds like enough, right? Especially since Boyfriend and I split the bills (not equally, though, we do it according to our incomes and I outearn him).

Actually, I'm wrong. Boyfriend recently upped his contribution to rent by $50. So actually $950 of that is rent. $458 of that needs to go into my Roth. $160 for groceries, $200 for medical expenses, $100 for both our phones (yes, I know that's high but for family reasons I am stuck in my plan). So I have $132/month left over. Boyfriend pays the other utilities.

That still feels not-doable to me, though. Sooner or later I'm going to need something outside of this budget. Like, Boyfriend and I recently got the flu. Nyquil and Mucinex and a trip to urgent care (for him, necessary because his work threatened to not pay him for his sick time without a doctor's note) and kleenex and prescription cough suppressant really add up, it turns out! Or, like, we recently had a mouse problem and had to buy traps and steel wool to plug up the holes where they were getting in. Well, I guess we didn't HAVE to, we could've let mice run amok through our apartment, but I was too freaked out to do that.

I think I will start fresh Feb. 1, since this month's almost over and my first paycheck of the month was bigger. And see how it goes.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: mountain mustache on January 21, 2018, 06:58:37 PM
$2000 would be great to me, but my take home is a little less than that from my main job. I have a few side things that I do to bring in an extra $200 a month or so, give or take the month. But usually paychecks range from $850-$950, unless it's summer and I get tons of overtime, and then they are $1100-1200. I save all of that extra in the summer, but it's much harder in the winter.

My goal is to keep it under $1500 a month in expenses. I live in a very small town in the mountains, and food and gas is super expensive so my grocery/gas total is always bigger than I want it to be. I make frequent Costco trips though, and stock up, so some months are much lower! I also bike to work every day, the gas is that high right now because I have to drive an hour to see my physical therapist once a week, and I take occasional weekend trips to other towns.

In General:
Rent (includes all utilities): $500.00
Health Insurance: $277.00
Gas: $100.00 max
Car Insurance: $61.70
Groceries: $400.00ish
Misc: $100.00

I will have some big medical bills coming up that will disrupt my budget a bit, but my goal is to pay for them mostly out of my side income (dog sitting and eBay selling) so they don't cut into my normal finances too much.


Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Urchina on January 21, 2018, 10:06:29 PM
I think I might dip my toes in the water here, but ours would be expenses in addition to mortgage (HCOL area).

My added challenge is that I'm going to try for it without telling the DH and kids. I'm going to try to ninja-sneak us lower. ;)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: haypug16 on January 22, 2018, 12:49:07 PM
Not going to make it this month. Already hit $2,279.09. The last 10 days of the month will be damage control to keep this number from getting to high. On a positive note January 2017 (prior to finding MMM) total spend for the month was $4,414.42 so I think it's very safe to say I am doing much better than I was this time last year.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Hula Hoop on January 22, 2018, 02:24:32 PM
Many of you don't mention the size of your family.  Is it just 1 or 2 people living on $2000 a month or a family with kids? 

We are a family of 4 and, unfortunately, there's no way we'd be able to keep expenses, including bills and mortgage, under $2000.  Housing plus bills is already north of $2000 before adding in food and everything else.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: haypug16 on January 23, 2018, 10:06:19 AM
@Hula Hoop - I'm a household of 2 but my finances are separate so for this challenge the $2K is just for me.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Hula Hoop on January 23, 2018, 12:41:57 PM
@Hula Hoop - I'm a household of 2 but my finances are separate so for this challenge the $2K is just for me.

Oh now I feel better.  I assumed that the $2000 was for a family.  How do you manage to keep finances separate?  Do you just halve your food, bills and mortgage costs?

Anyway, I realize that I made a typo above - I should have said that with mortgage, bills and food we're already well over $1000.  But then there are kid activities, travel to see my elderly parents (which I consider essential) and other stuff.  I could easily stay under $2000 if it was just me but with 4 people - no way.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: 2Birds1Stone on January 23, 2018, 01:14:48 PM
I'm in! 2016 I spent $25,277 for the year :)

Success! Well, close enough......$24,600 was final spending for 2017

Shooting for sub $24,000 in 2018.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Tris Prior on January 23, 2018, 02:17:29 PM
We are a 2-person household but Boyfriend and I have separate finances so the $2,000 is for me only.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: haypug16 on January 23, 2018, 02:35:53 PM
@Hula Hoop - I'm a household of 2 but my finances are separate so for this challenge the $2K is just for me.
Oh now I feel better.  I assumed that the $2000 was for a family.  How do you manage to keep finances separate?  Do you just halve your food, bills and mortgage costs?

Yup pretty much. We track the mortgage, utilities, and medical insurance in a google sheet and then halve the totals. All those bills come to about $1,000 and then food we sort of alternate who gets the groceries for the home and I buy my breakfast/lunch on my own for the workweek, this is typically $200-250. All the other items in my budget are for me such as gas, car insurance and maintenance, clothes, etc which come out around $750 sometimes more (if I have a vacation to pay for for example) and sometimes less (If I'm super frugal)
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Tris Prior on January 23, 2018, 02:48:35 PM


Oh now I feel better.  I assumed that the $2000 was for a family.  How do you manage to keep finances separate?  Do you just halve your food, bills and mortgage costs?


We wrote down all of our shared expenses and added them up for a total household expense number. Then we figured out what % of the household income each of us was providing (I outearn Boyfriend by around $20k so it seemed to me that I should contribute proportionally more) and figured out what that translated to in dollars, as each of our shares of the total household expenses. I forget what the exact percentage split ended up being but, like, let's say I earned 60% of the household income - then I pay 60% of the shared expenses. That's probably needlessly complicated but it works for us.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: galliver on January 23, 2018, 08:11:45 PM
I was reading this thinking as a member of a couple I should be able to be so much more badass than this...and then I looked back at Mint and on average I'm not :/ Even excluding irregular payments of partial health insurance costs, travel, etc. I'm only getting close. So I should try this... I think $2000 will be the "shame if you don't make it!" goal; $1600 the doable stretch and $1800 a realistic compromise.

Bf and I share joint expenses 50-50. We basically both contribute $1200/mo. This covers $1250 rent(+water, trash); ~$210-250 power, internet, car insurance; $500+ grocery/beverages; leaving $400+ for other household/together spending. Eating out used to be included and we'd sometimes go over the $2400, but bf wanted to put it on his card for points...long story short now I give him $125/mo (half of our long-term average), he floats any fluctuations, and we have peace (he is the higher earner, and I cook more). Yes, it can definitely be argued that we can improve in the $500+$400 categories but that's an interpersonal problem that I am tackling much more slowly than a challenge like this allows for. ;)

Anyway, that gets me to $1325 (unless we renegotiate it, which is possible). $85 covers some individual monthly expenses: phone, dropbox, netflix, temp CBS (Star Trek is a need, thank you ;) ). So, based on the various goals I'm left with $190-390-590 discretionary for any incidentals just for me (bus, clothes, copays, lunch or coffee alone, etc). Which *should* be totally doable; objectively I think I've a pretty good thing going with the first ~$1500! So we'll see... Right now I'm at 1739 (329 discretionary). Only expected expense is lunch with a friend Thurs. Main offenders: a couple Amazon purchases, loading bus card, and haircut=268. Womp.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: galliver on January 29, 2018, 05:43:12 PM
I killed the thread! :(  How is everyone doing with the month wrapping up!?

I'm at $497/$475 individual spending, so $25 over my $1800/mo goal. Thought I was doing well but I had forgotten my phone had changed to charging at the end of the month when deciding how much to indulge in two lunches with friends. :/ Still better than I might have done if I wasn't thinking about it. And I deposited 38% of my stipend in my savings today; felt good!

We'll see if I can abstain from any stuff purchases next month and keep up my lunch-packing streak!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: jim555 on January 29, 2018, 05:58:34 PM
I'm at $1,150 a month on a six month rolling average.  Some bills are semi-annual or quarterly so that is the only fair way to measure it.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: I'm a red panda on January 29, 2018, 06:24:40 PM
This thread is amazing. We couldn't come close.
Mortgage is $1100, taxes/insurance another $600. Daycare is $1040... And we are over and haven't paid electricity, gas, water, waste, phone, car insurance, food, etc
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: galliver on January 29, 2018, 06:39:14 PM
This thread is amazing. We couldn't come close.
Mortgage is $1100, taxes/insurance another $600. Daycare is $1040... And we are over and haven't paid electricity, gas, water, waste, phone, car insurance, food, etc

What if you leave those out and set a sub-$2k goal on the "small stuff"?
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: Shelley on February 19, 2018, 11:51:32 PM
I’m another one who can’t do this for the whole budget, mortgage alone is $1700. But I’m trying to keep discretionary spending to under $1200 a month for a family of 4 (2 kids 17 and 13). This includes :
Groceries including toiletries etc < $880.
Doctor and pharmacy varies, was $109 last month.
Clothes etc for the kids although this is normally less than $20 a month.
School stuff such as school photos, university text books, was $185 last month but that’s unusual due to university starting.
Renovation supplies as we are refinishing disgusting black oiled floorboards throughout the house. Was $277 last month as I had to buy a sander. I’m doing it using a small sander to save money.

So I was over last month, by about $300, I think it’s easy enough to get it down to my target, barring emergencies.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: galliver on March 01, 2018, 12:59:13 AM
I killed the thread! :(  How is everyone doing with the month wrapping up!?

I'm at $497/$475 individual spending, so $25 over my $1800/mo goal. Thought I was doing well but I had forgotten my phone had changed to charging at the end of the month when deciding how much to indulge in two lunches with friends. :/ Still better than I might have done if I wasn't thinking about it. And I deposited 38% of my stipend in my savings today; felt good!

We'll see if I can abstain from any stuff purchases next month and keep up my lunch-packing streak!

I'm calling it at $508 discretionary for the month, putting me just over the $1800 goal again (boo!)...I'll be honest, Mint actually totals it as $608, but I'll be returning $100 of stuff to the store (intentionally bought several versions of something online, knowing I'd only keep one, and I only opened it today so I didn't have the chance yet). $508 also includes spending about $100 on Lyfts to get to/from my friend's wedding, which is a very unusual expense (we wouldn't normally Lyft for that much, but it was a wash relative to ripoff parking, and less concerning from an intoxication standpoint!) Oh well, should have bought less stuff and lazy food to compensate! Will try again next month (And in the meantime, I'm still doing much better than if I wasn't paying attention! And under easy, for me, goal of $2k!).

How is everyone else doing?
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: mountain mustache on March 01, 2018, 07:59:23 AM
Well I did not meet this challenge this month. My mint account says I spent $2900, which I'm pretty bummed about. I actually kept to my budget super well, but had an unexpected dental emergency, and giant medical bills to start paying off. So there went an extra $1200 of my income. All of the medical debt should be paid off by August, which seems forever away. My new goal is to get as close to $2000 as I can, and if the medical bills are the only thing pushing me over, at least I know that's temporary!
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: neophyte on March 01, 2018, 11:03:30 AM
This is my goal, but I'm a chronic overspender!  January was dental, February was utilities and credit card fees, and I'm predicting March will be taxes.  So far I'm $329 over for the year.
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: neophyte on March 02, 2018, 11:23:25 AM
I lied about taxes being my overbudget category in March. Roof started leaking this morning. That's gonna be what puts me over budget this month. *sigh*
Title: Re: Living within $2000 per month - 2017 Budget Challenge
Post by: monstermonster on March 21, 2018, 03:13:09 PM
Current average is $1,227.45 per month for this year for a single person, but one of those months included my annual $250 farm share, so the average should come down as that's my largest annual expense.