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)