After mortgage/rent/property-tax, what are your biggest expenses?

[Blue3]

After mortgage/rent/property-tax, what are your biggest expense? (If you pay bills... or vote for what's most expensive for your parents/caregivers, if you know).


For me, my top 5 (after property taxes) are...

1. home heating in the winter is by far the biggest, going through $250-$300 a month for a small, 2-bedroom, 1-story house that used to be my grandparents'

2. next is house insurance combined with car insurance

3. then my 4GB data plan for 1 cell phone with Verizon, around $120

4. then Food/Groceries

5. then Credit Card


Thankfully, despite $60,000 in student loans, I'm on the IBR plan, so I'm not paying anything right now.

Also on Medicaid right now until I get a better job.


Gas for the Car would be next around $80,
then Electricity at $61,
Internet (no landline or cable) at $60,
Water/Sewer combined around $55.

Yard work and House maintenance has been high for me lately, after moving in to my grandparents' old house last fall, getting new sinks and stuff like that, but they're more one-time expenses.

Taking care of my parents' dog for a couple months also isn't free with food costs, and I can't imagine what having a kid on this budget would be like.

And I have various miscellaneous fees like Microsoft Office, Netflix, Gym membership, etc. But they don't amount to too much.

[dead0man]

car, the 2 insurance ones, food, loans and kids are the ones I voted for.  Health insurance is tops (by a lot), over a grand a month.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Cocaine and high class escorts.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Obviously clothes. Not sure how that's missing. Easily rivals rent. My dashboard says 15% of my spending, but it's a lot more with gift card reward bonuses.

Internet is a distant 3rd

[Tender Branson]

A tie between food+groceries and various insurance payments for the car/household/accident and legal insurance.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Tuition, then groceries.

[DINGO Joe]

After mortgage/rent/property-tax, what are your biggest expense? (If you pay bills... or vote for what's most expensive for your parents/caregivers, if you know).


For me, my top 5 (after property taxes) are...

1. home heating in the winter is by far the biggest, going through $250-$300 a month for a small, 2-bedroom, 1-story house that used to be my grandparents'

2. next is house insurance combined with car insurance

3. then my 4GB data plan for 1 cell phone with Verizon, around $120

4. then Food/Groceries

5. then Credit Card


Thankfully, despite $60,000 in student loans, I'm on the IBR plan, so I'm not paying anything right now.

Also on Medicaid right now until I get a better job.


Gas for the Car would be next around $80,
then Electricity at $61,
Internet (no landline or cable) at $60,
Water/Sewer combined around $55.

Yard work and House maintenance has been high for me lately, after moving in to my grandparents' old house last fall, getting new sinks and stuff like that, but they're more one-time expenses.

Taking care of my parents' dog for a couple months also isn't free with food costs, and I can't imagine what having a kid on this budget would be like.

And I have various miscellaneous fees like Microsoft Office, Netflix, Gym membership, etc. But they don't amount to too much.

You spend less than $120 a month on food?

My wife and I probably spend 800-1000 month on food and booze.  Housing costs aren't too bad because I own the house outright, rent out the other side and don't carry hurricane or flood insurance.  Health insurance for my wife and I is only about $300/month and even with a series of unfortunate events this year my out of pocket will be about $2500 total.  Cable internet and other entertainment is probably around $400.  My wife works from home so we only have one car which we own outright and unless we take a trip somewhere I spend about $50/month on gas.  I do put about $2000/month into retirement accounts because I turn 50 this year and I ain't got no kids.

[Smash255]

Car payment, though will be paid off soon

[Maxwell]

food-o

[Boston Bread]

When I'm at school it's tuition, at $2000/month (including books and other fees)

Otherwise it's food, but it's that's small in comparison to rent.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

1. Food
2. Airplane Tickets
3. Clothes
4. Water

[mvd10]

Tuition, groceries and the books.

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

The ones that come to mind are: automobile costs, insurance (home & auto), cell, grocery, and student loans. Without going too personal, cutting back on booze to 2 drinks a week average saved a TON of $.

[RINO Tom]

Groceries/Restaurants/Bars

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Groceries/Restaurants/Bars

Does your bar/restaurant tab really equate to everything you grab at a grocery store (including, perhaps, liquor)?

Without going too personal, cutting back on booze to 2 drinks a week average saved a TON of $.

You are who we wish we were.

[Santander]

Luxury goods and travel

[Mr. Reactionary]

Fed loans

[RINO Tom]

Groceries/Restaurants/Bars

Does your bar/restaurant tab really equate to everything you grab at a grocery store (including, perhaps, liquor)?

Without going too personal, cutting back on booze to 2 drinks a week average saved a TON of $.

You are who we wish we were.

No, I just grouped 'em together.  My girlfriend and I do a good job of splitting the grocery trips (she is a nurse, so she has entire days off, and when she works I get done with work well before her so I go), though, so my restaurant/bar tab is actually pretty close.  Going off of Santender's comment, though, I probably spend the most on travel, even if it's not cool/exotic travel.  We are going to go meet my sister (lives in Indy) in Champaign just for dinner and drinks on June 2nd, and that will be about $130 for the hotel room and then dinner and bar tabs ... I don't want to think about it, haha.

[HillGoose]

1. Palladium
2. Copper
3. Rough rice
4. Lean Hogs
5. Lumber

[fhtagn]

1. Student Loans
2. Healthcare
3. My dogs
4. Food
5. Car stuff (insurance, gas, maintenance, etc)

[HagridOfTheDeep]

1. Student Loans
2. Transportation
3. Food
4. Phone/Internet

I also have some forced savings and benefits that I'm fortunate to have shaved off of my paycheck, but  I'm not sure if I should count those or not, because I never actually see the cost of it in my take-home pay.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

Groceries/Restaurants/Bars

Does your bar/restaurant tab really equate to everything you grab at a grocery store (including, perhaps, liquor)?

Without going too personal, cutting back on booze to 2 drinks a week average saved a TON of $.

You are who we wish we were.

No, I just grouped 'em together.  My girlfriend and I do a good job of splitting the grocery trips (she is a nurse, so she has entire days off, and when she works I get done with work well before her so I go), though, so my restaurant/bar tab is actually pretty close.  Going off of Santender's comment, though, I probably spend the most on travel, even if it's not cool/exotic travel.  We are going to go meet my sister (lives in Indy) in Champaign just for dinner and drinks on June 2nd, and that will be about $130 for the hotel room and then dinner and bar tabs ... I don't want to think about it, haha.

I agree on the travel thing, but it depends on if you lump it all together or not. For example, I probably spend a few thousand a year on airplane tickets, but when divided out amongst 12 months, it comes in below $200 a week in groceries or so.

[Del Tachi]

After my rent it goes

1) Transportation (gas and car payment)
2) Groceries/restaurants/booze
3) Electricty/home heating
4) Cable/Internet

After that all of my expenses are pretty miscellaneous (mom and dad still cover all of my insurance and cell phone costs) 

[Meclazine for Israel]

1. Palladium
2. Copper
3. Rough rice
4. Lean Hogs
5. Lumber

If you have been stocking up on Palladium and Platinum over the last 20 years, you would be a wealthy young man

[The Dowager Mod]

My kids.