Author Topic: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015  (Read 20810 times)

Ascotillion

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #50 on: February 18, 2015, 03:58:47 PM »
Herbert Derp started the first post, and through his original post and a discussion it became a percentage of the poverty level $10,000/$11,490 = 87%.

According to some website, the poverty line for a single person in Australia is $509.53 a week (including housing), or $26,495.56 a year. 87% of that is $23,051.14.

That's crazy. Even counting the high cost of living here, that's almost half again of what I lived on last year (~16k). Does anyone have better figures for Australia?


EDIT: Found a better site. This report gives a 2012 figure of $400 a week for a single person, or $20,800 a year. 87% of that is $18,096. Much nicer number.
« Last Edit: February 18, 2015, 04:04:20 PM by Ascotillion »

Nudelkopf

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #51 on: February 24, 2015, 04:12:25 AM »
EDIT: Found a better site. This report gives a 2012 figure of $400 a week for a single person, or $20,800 a year. 87% of that is $18,096. Much nicer number.
What! That's crazy! That's what I spent last year and I waaayyyy overspent. I have a different rent situation to most (less than $50/wk) but I went on an interstate holiday every 4 months haha. Hardly the poverty line!

johnny847

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #52 on: February 24, 2015, 09:30:39 AM »
EDIT: Found a better site. This report gives a 2012 figure of $400 a week for a single person, or $20,800 a year. 87% of that is $18,096. Much nicer number.
What! That's crazy! That's what I spent last year and I waaayyyy overspent. I have a different rent situation to most (less than $50/wk) but I went on an interstate holiday every 4 months haha. Hardly the poverty line!
If I'm not mistaken they're talking about income in that report, not spending. I don't know Australian tax code so I don't know how much somebody earning that much would pay in taxes, but that's something you need to take into consideration before comparing your spending numbers to the poverty line.

badasswizard

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #53 on: February 28, 2015, 04:04:23 PM »
I'm in!

Currently, I'm at 1574.64 for the first two months of the year.

The Beacon

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #54 on: February 28, 2015, 09:36:45 PM »
10,000 per person is totally doable in my household.  My wife and I spent 22000 a year without a sweat before 2011, when we had our first child. If I were single, i could rent a room here for 350 a month and spend another 350 for everything else without feeling deprived.

Ascotillion

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #55 on: March 01, 2015, 03:56:22 PM »
What! That's crazy! That's what I spent last year and I waaayyyy overspent. I have a different rent situation to most (less than $50/wk) but I went on an interstate holiday every 4 months haha. Hardly the poverty line!

I think you're underestimating how big of a deal that rent is - I would save an extra $6600 a year with my rent cut down to $50 a week, which is more than enough for three interstate trips, and I consider my rent excellent for the area.

MoneyCat

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #56 on: March 01, 2015, 04:02:16 PM »
I can get it below $15k, but $10k in not possible in New Jersey.

Jon_Snow

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #57 on: March 01, 2015, 04:20:02 PM »
I'd really like to try this challenge someday. Maybe if there is another Great Recession I'll give it a shot.

Herbert Derp

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #58 on: April 24, 2015, 11:09:32 PM »
I had pretty low expenses in February and March, aside from a whopping $3,266.02 special assessment on my condo. This brings me to $4,158.79 for the year. I'm currently estimating my 2015 expenses to fall in the $8000-$8500 range.

February 2015
Housing: $204.75 (HOA dues)
Living: $60.31
Utilities: $30.85 (electricity/water/sewer)
Total: $295.91

March 2015
Housing: $3,470.77 (HOA dues + special assessment)
Living: $20.00
Utilities: $27.95 (electricity/water/sewer)
Total: $3,518.72

minority_finance_mo

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #59 on: April 25, 2015, 06:04:45 AM »
Updates from me:
January Expenses:
  • Rent: $430
  • Phone: $180.50
  • Audible: $1.00
  • Food/Eating Out/Bars: $139.24
  • Haircut: $17
  • Coffee Shops: $19.29
  • Transportation: $47.45
  • Stupidity: $1.50
  • Total: $805.98

February Expenses:
  • Rent: $400
  • Food/Coffee: $70
  • Phone: $105
  • Transportation: $100
  • Haircut: $17
  • Medical: $130
  • Misc: $105
  • Travel: $65
  • Total Expenses: $992
March Expenses
  • Rent: $600*
  • Food/Coffee: $233.73
  • Phone: $42.48
  • Transportation: $242
  • Haircut: $20
  • Travel: $1018.55
  • Charity: $28
  • Gym: $30.17
  • Clothing: $$114.98
  • Misc: $134.73
  • Total: $2464.64

Total to date: $4,261

I took two trips so far in the year. A week long trip to California (airfare and hotel paid by employer) in February and a 6-day trip to Austin for SXSW which I paid out of pocket in March, which is why expenses were so high that month.

April should round out at ~$850, barring anything out of the ordinary. I completely forgot about this challenge (ironically), so time to get focused if I have any change at getting back on track! Great to see everyone's progress!!

minority_finance_mo

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #60 on: April 25, 2015, 06:07:00 AM »
What! That's crazy! That's what I spent last year and I waaayyyy overspent. I have a different rent situation to most (less than $50/wk) but I went on an interstate holiday every 4 months haha. Hardly the poverty line!

I think you're underestimating how big of a deal that rent is - I would save an extra $6600 a year with my rent cut down to $50 a week, which is more than enough for three interstate trips, and I consider my rent excellent for the area.

I think most people underestimate the power of "fixed" expenses. Going for the big wins, if you can knock down rent, car, phones, and cable, you're basically guaranteed to save, even if you live like a king and eat out every night. That's been my strategy so far for convincing friends to become more mustachian: "Think about how many vacations a year you could go on if you didn't have that car payment." (We live in NYC, so a car is completely unnecessary, not to mention a car payment on top of that...)
« Last Edit: April 25, 2015, 06:10:10 AM by moe_rants »

Greenbeard

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #61 on: May 15, 2015, 01:22:44 PM »
I like this thread, and the idea of getting below $10k per person spending.

The way I gauge my family's spending is per person but I subtract my mortgage (I discuss why later).  For example, the MMM family spent $25,182 in 2014, they have no mortgage and three people.  Therefore they are at  $8394 per person.

My family spent $53,769 last year (not including the mortgage) and 5 people which puts us at $10,753 per person.  I think for us this year $10k per person is achievable and a good goal.

The reason I don't add my mortgage is: I have the money to pay off my mortgage but it doesn't make financial sense to do so when my investments return more than the interest rate I have on my mortgage, not to mention the tax advantage on mortgage interest.  It would be like counting the money you put in your 401K as an expense when it's merely an investment decision.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #62 on: May 15, 2015, 03:43:52 PM »
My family spent $53,769 last year (not including the mortgage) and 5 people which puts us at $10,753 per person.  I think for us this year $10k per person is achievable and a good goal.

$10K per person isn't nearly challenging enough IMO. Including my mortgage and sizeable SL debt load we are at $36K/5=$7,200 per person.

Challenge yourself!

kathrynd

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #63 on: May 16, 2015, 06:23:18 AM »
I believe the only ones that should be counted, are the adults that contribute to the family, whether by income or 'in kind'.

So a family of 5 which consists of 2 adults and 3 kids, with a family income of $24k,
the cost is $12k per person.

minority_finance_mo

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #64 on: May 16, 2015, 08:03:27 AM »
I believe the only ones that should be counted, are the adults that contribute to the family, whether by income or 'in kind'.

So a family of 5 which consists of 2 adults and 3 kids, with a family income of $24k,
the cost is $12k per person.

It's definitely tough to come up with a standard when it comes to larger families. I think I agree with you that adults should have a greater allowance than the parents (if you are going to deviate from the original challenge). That said, if you are going to deviate, I don't think $0 for the kids makes sense, since the kids are obviously going to cause spending to rise. Maybe a % of the adult $10,000? $5,000 per child? $3,000? As a single adult with no children, I wouldn't know where to draw the line.


Also, I think some of us are making the challenge a bit too easy with the $10,000 per person model. If your current spending is $54,000 with 5 people, shaving off $4,000 is great, but not badass enough in my opinion to really qualify for this challenge.

kathrynd

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #65 on: May 16, 2015, 11:54:10 AM »
In Canada, depending on the parents income, children do contribute financially, in the form of Child Tax Benefit, and GST refund.

So depending on the parents income, that can be a big chunk of money.
This is not taxable.

kathrynd

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #66 on: May 17, 2015, 10:46:26 AM »
In Canada, depending on the parents income, children do contribute financially, in the form of Child Tax Benefit, and GST refund.

So depending on the parents income, that can be a big chunk of money.
This is not taxable.
True. In the states parents get sizable income tax breaks for each child which can save them thousands each year. Don't know if that would cover most extra child-related expenses a family would have to cover but probably not - but it does lower their costs some.

As a mother of 4....yeah, it does cover the expenses.

bb11

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #67 on: May 18, 2015, 01:53:24 PM »
Quote
This one is going to be a little tough, as $10k may be just rent/mortgage alone for many of you. If that is the case (i.e. mortgage/rent is over $10k), you may drop that expense for the purposes of this challenge under the following circumstances:

You reduce your monthly mortgage/rent cost from what it is in January of 2015 (i.e. refinance, or end up moving to a lower rent apartment.)
You're willing to accept $7.5k total spending expenditures for the year, minus rent

Well I'm going for it in New York, NY!! Okay so I'm taking the second cheat you allowed. My rent is $10k per year, with a roommate. The $7.5k for everything else though, I think I can do.

Rodgers12

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Re: Spend less than $10,000 in 2015
« Reply #68 on: July 21, 2015, 07:15:34 PM »
Quote
Well I'm going for it in New York, NY!! Okay so I'm taking the second cheat you allowed. My rent is $10k per year, with a roommate. The $7.5k for everything else though, I think I can do.

I will also shoot for this goal! Based on my first 6 months numbers, I'm on pace for about $11,500 but with this challenge keeping me motivated, I think I can still do it!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!