We’ve reached the halfway point of 2018 and I thought it would informative to check in on our monthly spending thus far.
So I exported our bank records as well as the credit card statements from 4 different credit cards into my trusty ol’ Excel spreadsheet and started categorizing each expense. Let me tell you, I am happy to be done with this.
A few disclaimers on the numbers to follow:
- Comparing half a year to a full year of data is not exactly apples to apples. Some costs are seasonal like utilities, personal property taxes and #PrimeDay, but overall this comparison represents the best data on how things are going so far.
- We paid off the last of the student loans in 2017. If you are wondering where that money was going this year…
- … it went towards the new car I bought this year and paid if off in 3 months.
- Last year we had to get tubes in our youngest’s ears and we bought both of the kiddos a playset. Expenses we haven’t seen this year, thankfully.
- We switched insurance providers and should see about $700 in annual premium savings. As part of the switch; however, we paid ahead for the second half of the year, which skews the numbers much higher for now.
- We have booked a trip this year to Disney World. That is one pricey mouse house to be sure!
I’ve tabulated our spending in general and sub categories and broken everything down into per month spending. Then I’ve listed out the 2017 spending for each category and highlighted the difference in spending so far (negative numbers denote reduced spending). For the full 2017 spending breakdown, please see my previous post. For 2018 I’ve broken out Fast Food from the Dining Out category. It’s easy to track them separately and provides good information on behavior trends.
The Numbers
Without further adieu, here is the Heartland on FIRE spending for 2018 thus far: ***Drumroll***
| General Category | YTD | Per Month | Sub Category | YTD | Per Month | 2017 Monthly Spending | Difference from 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto | $24,228.12 | $4,038.02 | Auto | $21,853.96 | $3,642.33 | $18.00 | $3,624.33 |
| Gas | $836.36 | $139.39 | $254.00 | -$114.61 | |||
| Insurance | $1,537.80 | $256.30 | $83.00 | $173.30 | |||
| Parking | $0.00 | $0.00 | $1.00 | -$1.00 | |||
| Bills | $4,249.33 | $708.22 | Electric | $448.00 | $74.67 | $92.00 | -$17.33 |
| Gas Bill | $602.48 | $100.41 | $83.00 | $17.41 | |||
| HOA | $160.00 | $26.67 | $13.00 | $13.67 | |||
| Internet | $389.94 | $64.99 | $66.00 | -$1.01 | |||
| Phone | $498.68 | $83.11 | $129.00 | -$45.89 | |||
| Security | $99.96 | $16.66 | $25.00 | -$8.34 | |||
| Sewer | $130.50 | $21.75 | $22.00 | -$0.25 | |||
| Taxes | $1,234.76 | $205.79 | $104.00 | $101.79 | |||
| Trash | $183.45 | $30.58 | $38.00 | -$7.43 | |||
| TV | $311.75 | $51.96 | $84.00 | -$32.04 | |||
| Water | $189.81 | $31.64 | $37.00 | -$5.37 | |||
| Daycare | $9,674.32 | $1,612.39 | Daycare | $9,674.32 | $1,612.39 | $1,714.00 | -$101.61 |
| Dining & Entertainment | $1,800.43 | $300.07 | Fast Food | $658.43 | $109.74 | $342.00 | -$112.49 |
| Dining Out | $718.65 | $119.78 | |||||
| Entertainment | $328.55 | $54.76 | $128.00 | -$73.24 | |||
| Streaming Services (Spotfiy Audible) | $94.80 | $15.80 | $0.00 | $15.80 | |||
| Dog | $262.50 | $43.75 | Dog | $262.50 | $43.75 | $54.00 | -$10.25 |
| Donation | $95.00 | $15.83 | Donation | $95.00 | $15.83 | $13.00 | $2.83 |
| Drinks | $404.37 | $67.40 | Booze | $338.88 | $56.48 | $51.00 | $5.48 |
| Soda | $36.89 | $6.15 | $3.00 | $3.15 | |||
| Gas Station | $28.60 | $4.77 | $41.00 | -$36.23 | |||
| Groceries | $3,021.26 | $503.54 | Groceries | $3,021.26 | $503.54 | $681.00 | -$177.46 |
| Grooming | $89.00 | $14.83 | Hair | $89.00 | $14.83 | $10.00 | $4.83 |
| Health | $285.46 | $47.58 | Health | $285.46 | $47.58 | $157.00 | -$109.42 |
| Home Improvement | $1,213.13 | $202.19 | Home Imp | $1,213.13 | $202.19 | $161.00 | $41.19 |
| Kiddo Activities | $711.10 | $118.52 | Clubhouse | $0.00 | $0.00 | $255.00 | -$255.00 |
| Dance | $220.00 | $36.67 | $34.00 | $2.67 | |||
| GymBus | $144.00 | $24.00 | $22.00 | $2.00 | |||
| Gymnastics | $287.10 | $47.85 | $18.00 | $29.85 | |||
| Swim Lessons | $60.00 | $10.00 | $5.00 | $5.00 | |||
| Loan | $0.00 | $0.00 | Loan | $0.00 | $0.00 | $3,338.00 | -$3,338.00 |
| Misc | $470.48 | $78.41 | ATM | $260.00 | $43.33 | $71.00 | -$27.67 |
| Blog | $0.00 | $0.00 | $14.00 | -$14.00 | |||
| Fees | $0.00 | $0.00 | $1.00 | -$1.00 | |||
| Gift | $0.00 | $0.00 | $37.00 | -$37.00 | |||
| Interest/Fees | $161.48 | $26.91 | $7.00 | $19.91 | |||
| Membership | $0.00 | $0.00 | $14.00 | -$14.00 | |||
| Photos | $49.00 | $8.17 | $57.00 | -$48.83 | |||
| 529 | $200.00 | $33.33 | 529 | $200.00 | $33.33 | $0.00 | $33.33 |
| Mortgage | $9,916.19 | $1,652.70 | Mortgage Home | $9,916.19 | $1,652.70 | $1,670.00 | -$17.30 |
| Rental | $5,301.96 | $883.66 | Electric Rental | $0.00 | $0.00 | $19.00 | -$19.00 |
| Home Imp – Rental | $0.00 | $0.00 | $82.00 | -$82.00 | |||
| Mortgage Rental | $5,125.20 | $854.20 | $908.00 | -$53.80 | |||
| Painting – Rental | $0.00 | $0.00 | $42.00 | -$42.00 | |||
| Sewer Rental | $176.76 | $29.46 | $34.00 | -$4.54 | |||
| Water Rental | $0.00 | $0.00 | $7.00 | -$7.00 | |||
| Retail | $4,585.03 | $764.17 | Misc Retail | $0.00 | $0.00 | $14.00 | -$14.00 |
| Retail | $2,408.31 | $401.39 | $608.00 | -$206.62 | |||
| Target | $2,176.72 | $362.79 | $370.00 | -$7.21 | |||
| Vacation | $5,312.62 | $885.44 | Vacation | $5,312.62 | $885.44 | $145.00 | $740.44 |
That there is a bunch of numbers… let me point out some key takeaways.
Key Takeaways
Our monthly spending year to date is $11,970. Last year this was $12,175. Thus, spending has dropped about $205 per month.
If we look at these expenses more closely we can get a picture of what our spending would be when we are financially independent. Subtracting out expenses that we would not have when we “retire”, such as the car payment (which is now gone), daycare, kiddo activities (we’ve got a ways to go to reach FI so they will be several years older), and rental house costs (these are covered by the rent check) then our spending is:
- $64,926 annually/$5,403 monthly compared with the 2017 numbers of $66,926 annually/$5,577 monthly. Trending in the right direction!
If our mortgage is paid off:
- $45,007 annually/$3,750 monthly compared with the 2017 number of $46,892 annually/$3,907 monthly.
Overall, our utility costs are very similar to last year. At first blush, this seems not worthy of mention; however, we had a brutally cold winter, which has been followed by a scorching hot summer (and essentially no spring). It would stand to reason that these costs should be much higher. Perhaps the weather stripping has been paying off.
I am very pleased at the progress we’ve made in the Dining Out/Fast Food and Retail categories which are both down about 33%!
Grocery spending has also dropped with a difference of approximately 26%. I feel as though we have been eating as well, if not better than, last year, so this savings appears to come with no tradeoff in flavor.
Also, by trading in the gas guzzling truck for the comparatively fuel-efficient Accord, and using it for nearly all our commuting (outside of my wife’s work commute) we have chopped fuel costs by 45% per month!!
In Summary
I honestly was surprised by the improvements because I don’t feel like we are pinching pennies any harder than last year. In fact, in many regards we are still living quite luxuriously! (Disney here we come!)
While we’ve made good progress, we might still wring out some additional savings from the Fast Food, Retail, and Target (mostly household items) categories.
So, what do you think about these numbers? Do you see any categories that are way higher or lower than yours? I always welcome suggestions on how we can improve! Thanks for reading!