Mortgage – 13545 (12K minimum)
Self/Hobbies/Incidental – 5627 (week-long vacation in NYC, replacement eyeglasses, a weekend getaway, gifts to others, car registration, traffic ticket, clothing, and eating out dominate this category)
Dating – 2597
Auto Repair – 1367
Gas/Tolls – 2327
Power – 1648
Home repair/projects – 877 (2 AC repairs, mostly done myself, yard maintainance, RO water filter replacement)
Groceries – 1109
Water/Trash/Sewer – 1103
Doctor/Dentist – 1004 (five visits to the dentist! Lesson learned!)
Auto Insurance – 586
Phone – 699
Internet – 581
Netflix – 103
Other – 10000 (car purchase)
NOTE – solar panel purchase is a $25,000 expense, of which $18K will be reimbursed, and will eventually pay for itself (5 years), and is not included in these figures
TOTAL – 43173
TOTAL without car purchase – 33173
TOTAL without optional mortgage payments and car – 31856
Financial Independence (FI) Estimations:
1 – FI at 30 (2016)
2 – FI*5 at 40 (SS, pension, 401K, 2 FI-levels of savings). Earliest possible exit vector which includes full pension.
I am on track to be FI at 30 years of age with current spending and savings rate. I find this rate to be acceptable.
My lifestyle mostly in line with MMM standards (although lavish). This year shows inflated numbers for several reasons:
1 – $5763 in ‘windfall’ money was generated, which is allowed to be spent guilt free. The primary generation of windfall is through work-reimbursed travel (8 trips this year?), overtime, and gifts. This spending would simply be cut during retirement, as there is not expected to be travel to fancy Greek hotels and whatnot. Subtracting these from the previous total gives $26,093, which represents my ‘true’ lifestyle better (although admittedly excessive for a single person).
2 – I rent out two rooms. This has utility implications that are more than covered by the rental charge.
3 – My savings goal is 50%. I find that this is a nice balance between “enjoy today”, and “save for tomorrow”. Exempting ‘tomorrow’ expenses (car, solar panels), over 50% of post-tax money was saved. Maximum 401K matching (5%) was contributed, and maximum/mandatory pension was contributed (5%). A total of 15% (5+5+5) of pretax salary was saved, and 50+% of the remainder was saved.
In the coming year, I intend to address the following categories of expense in the following manner:
Auto Repair – currently 1367. I have purchased a ‘car that smart people drive’, and have given up my 1997 vehicle. My 2008 vehicle should require less maintenance, and it should be covered via warranty in the coming year. I expect that this category will be below $200 for this year. ($1100)
Gas/Tolls – currently 2327. I have switched from a 18 mpg V8 to a 40 mpg V4, and I am currently realizing cost savings of over $100/month. I expect this to decrease to 1200 for the year ($1100 savings).
Power – currently 1648. I have installed solar panels on the south-facing roof of my house. I expect this to be below $200 for the coming year ($1400 savings).
Doctor/Dentist – currently 1004. I do not expect to have 13 cavities this year. This is a byproduct of not going to the dentist during college, during house purchase, on in the period of divorce-related depression. I do not expect to contract pneumonia again this coming year, as I have moderated my work and exercise schedule to accommodate for the realism of my mid twenties. I expect this to be under $100 ($900 savings).
Cell Phone – currently $699. I expect this to decrease to $600 in the coming year. I find that the $50/month no-contract unlimited text/talk/web plan to meet my needs. If I were not actively in pursuit of a social life (establishment of new social groups, chasing women), I would expect this to decrease to MMM-levels of expense. ($100 savings)
Spending, not including windfall (free spending! out of control!), and future investments (car, panels), this year is at the 26093 level. Next year, I expect spending to decrease to 26093-100-900-1400-1100-1100 = 21493 level (+windfall).
As long as I am posting my hopes for the future here, I also expect for the year to bring:
1 – A doctoral degree
2 – Increased social connections among friends
3 – Some sort of pretty cool celebration/vacation (castles and scotch of Scotland? Brazilian kayaking? Australian scuba?)
4 – A healthier self (continued thrice weekly workouts)
5 – A resumption of PhD-sacrificed hobbies (juggling, D&D, robotics)
I hope for the year to bring love. Orlando has been extremely kind city to me thus far, and I hope to continue the lifelong trend of increased virtue, productivity, knowledge, frugality, and willpower.
– Keith
