With another year in the books, it’s good to look back and see where all the money went. This is my second year of tracking spending by detailed categories and my second year of posting our spending online. You can check out our 2017 Spending here.
I got to say, that putting all this information out there feels a bit like standing in front of a group of people in my underwear. I feel a bit exposed!
So without further ado… how did we, ehhh, do?
| Category | Annual Total | Per Month 2018 | Per Month 2017 | Monthly Diff |
| Auto | -$21,875.21 | -$1,822.93 | -$18.00 | $1,804.93 |
| Gas | -$2,069.67 | -$172.47 | -$254.00 | -$81.53 |
| Insurance | -$2,970.02 | -$247.50 | -$83.00 | $164.50 |
| Parking | $0.00 | $0.00 | -$1.00 | -$1.00 |
| Electric | -$1,119.00 | -$93.25 | -$92.00 | $1.25 |
| Gas Bill | -$910.99 | -$75.92 | -$83.00 | -$7.08 |
| HOA | -$160.00 | -$13.33 | -$13.00 | $0.33 |
| Internet | -$745.40 | -$62.12 | -$66.00 | -$3.88 |
| Phone | -$958.49 | -$79.87 | -$129.00 | -$49.13 |
| Security | -$274.89 | -$22.91 | -$25.00 | -$2.09 |
| Sewer | -$261.00 | -$21.75 | -$22.00 | -$0.25 |
| Tax | -$1,887.82 | -$157.32 | -$104.00 | $53.32 |
| Trash | -$692.45 | -$57.70 | -$38.00 | $19.70 |
| TV | -$311.75 | -$25.98 | -$84.00 | -$58.02 |
| Water | -$441.28 | -$36.77 | -$37.00 | -$0.23 |
| Day Care | -$17,204.26 | -$1,433.69 | -$1,714.00 | -$280.31 |
| Fast Food | -$1,644.17 | -$137.01 | -$342.00 | -$93.63 |
| Dining Out | -$1,336.30 | -$111.36 | ||
| Entertainment | -$849.68 | -$70.81 | -$128.00 | -$57.19 |
| Streaming Services | -$421.70 | -$35.14 | $0.00 | $35.14 |
| Pet | -$948.00 | -$79.00 | -$54.00 | $25.00 |
| Donation | -$537.00 | -$44.75 | -$13.00 | $31.75 |
| Booze | -$536.09 | -$44.67 | -$51.00 | -$6.33 |
| Soda | -$116.13 | -$9.68 | -$3.00 | $6.68 |
| Gas Station | -$28.60 | -$2.38 | -$41.00 | -$38.62 |
| Grocery | -$8,321.80 | -$693.48 | -$681.00 | $12.48 |
| Hair | -$197.00 | -$16.42 | -$10.00 | $6.42 |
| Health | -$569.73 | -$47.48 | -$157.00 | -$109.52 |
| Home Improvement | -$7,136.94 | -$594.75 | -$161.00 | $433.75 |
| Clubhouse | $0.00 | $0.00 | -$255.00 | -$255.00 |
| Dance | -$220.00 | -$18.33 | -$34.00 | -$15.67 |
| GymBus | -$144.00 | -$12.00 | -$22.00 | -$10.00 |
| Gymnastics | -$457.10 | -$38.09 | -$18.00 | $20.09 |
| Girl Scouts | -$142.21 | -$11.85 | $0.00 | $35.69 |
| Swim Lessons | -$60.00 | -$5.00 | -$5.00 | $0.00 |
| Loan | $0.00 | $0.00 | -$3,338.00 | -$3,338.00 |
| ATM | -$580.00 | -$48.33 | -$71.00 | -$22.67 |
| Blog | -$14.88 | -$1.24 | -$14.00 | -$12.76 |
| Fees | -$69.80 | -$5.82 | -$1.00 | $4.82 |
| Gift | -$126.99 | -$10.58 | -$37.00 | -$26.42 |
| Interest | -$161.48 | -$13.46 | -$7.00 | $6.46 |
| Membership | $0.00 | $0.00 | -$14.00 | -$14.00 |
| Photos | -$128.90 | -$10.74 | -$57.00 | -$46.26 |
| 529 | -$200.00 | -$16.67 | $0.00 | $16.67 |
| Mortgage | -$20,296.55 | -$1,691.38 | -$1,670.00 | $21.38 |
| Electric Rental | $0.00 | $0.00 | -$19.00 | -$19.00 |
| Home Imp – Rental | $0.00 | $0.00 | -$82.00 | -$82.00 |
| Rental Mortgage | -$10,249.80 | -$854.15 | -$908.00 | -$53.85 |
| Painting – Rental | $0.00 | $0.00 | -$42.00 | -$42.00 |
| Sewer Rental | -$176.76 | -$14.73 | -$34.00 | -$19.27 |
| Water Rental | $0.00 | $0.00 | -$7.00 | -$7.00 |
| Misc | -$20.00 | -$1.67 | -$14.00 | -$12.33 |
| Retail | -$7,020.75 | -$585.06 | -$608.00 | -$22.94 |
| Target | -$4,889.12 | -$407.43 | -$370.00 | $37.43 |
| Vacation | -$10,109.48 | -$842.46 | -$145.00 | $697.46 |
| Total | -$129,953.19 | $(1,376.57) |
That’s a grand total of $129,593.19 for 2018. Which is about $16,000 less than 2017. Monthly spending clocks in at a very un-Mustachian* $10,799 per month! Yikes! The rental costs are covered by rent, which drops these numbers down to $119,167 annually and $9,931 monthly.
Financial Independence Implications
If we look at these expenses more closely we can get a picture of what our spending would be when we are financially independent (FI). Subtracting out expenses that we would not have when we “retire”, such as the new car cost, daycare, kiddo activities, reduced home improvement costs (I don’t renovate bathrooms every year and cut down monster trees) and rental house costs (these are covered by the rent check) then our spending is:
- $73,766 annually or $6,147 per month
- $53,500 annually or $4,458 per month if the house is paid off.
- These numbers are actually up compared to 2017. Largely due to vacation spending. We are trying travel hacking this year, so I expect this to drop back to normal in 2019.
Using 25X** our FI spending yields a FI goal of $1.8 million (25 x $73,766.) Based on our current investments and rental equity of approximately $334,000, we have a FI number of roughly 4.5… essentially 18.6% of the way to FI.
Consolidating some categories gives us perhaps a better view of our spending. The table below shows our 2018 spending vs. 2017. A positive value in the 2018 vs 2017 column means we spent more in 2018.
| General Category | 2018 Annual Total | Per Month | 2018 vs 2017 |
| Auto | -$26,914.90 | -$2,242.91 | $22,642.90 |
| Bills | -$7,763.07 | -$646.92 | -$552.93 |
| Daycare | -$17,204.26 | -$806.19 | -$3,363.74 |
| Dining & Entertainment | -$4,251.85 | -$354.32 | -$1,388.15 |
| Pet | -$948.00 | -$21.88 | $300.00 |
| Donation | -$537.00 | -$7.92 | $381.00 |
| Drinks | -$680.82 | -$56.74 | -$459.18 |
| Groceries | -$8,321.80 | -$251.77 | $149.80 |
| Hair cuts | -$197.00 | -$7.42 | $77.00 |
| Health | -$569.73 | -$23.79 | -$1,314.27 |
| Home Improvement | -$7,136.94 | -$594.75 | $5,204.94 |
| Kiddo Activities | -$1,023.31 | -$85.28 | -$2984.69 |
| Loan | $0.00 | $0.00 | -$40,056.00 |
| Misc | -$1,082.05 | -$90.17 | -$1,329.95 |
| 529 | -$200.00 | -$16.67 | $200.00 |
| Mortgage | -$20,296.55 | -$826.35 | $256.55 |
| Rental | -$10,426.56 | -$868.88 | -$2,677.44 |
| Retail | -$11,929.87 | -$994.16 | $25.87 |
| Vacation | -$10,109.48 | -$442.72 | $8,369.48 |
Highlights
As you look through the table a few “crooked numbers” stand out. Let me speak to these.
- Auto – I bought a new Accord this year, hence the massive line item here.
- Tax – As a perk of buying a new car, I had the pleasure of paying sales tax on the purchase.
- Insurance – we added term life insurance for my wife and I this year, so the overall number jumped. This was counted somewhat by lower premiums in the second half of the year due to savings from switching carriers.
- Home Improvement – We remodeled our spare bathroom which accounts for about $3,000. Additionally, we spent $1,400 to remove a large oak tree.
- Pet – Our doggo needed a dental cleaning which turned into pulling 6… SIX! teeth. Hence the jump in that category. While painful (for her and our wallets), I am happy she’s feeling better.
- Health – We were fortunate in 2018 without much in the way of health issues. Our youngest had tubes put in her ears in 2017 which represents most of the savings in 2018
- Loan – We paid off our student loans in 2017 and spent a lot ($40,000) in the process.
- Vacation – We took the girls to Disney World this year. It was a memorable experience. It was also freaking expensive! We also had trips to Huntsville, Alabama and Nashville. Additionally, this includes the deposit on our beach house rental for later in 2019.
Wins
- Utility Bills – Overall we dropped approximately $550 in utility spending (heating, electric, water, sewer, phone, internet, etc…). It should be noted that last winter was bitterly cold here and we seemingly skipped spring and fall… which led to the infamous Midwestern tradition of turning the furnace off and flipping the AC on in the same day! Savings here are mostly due to spending less on phones, TV and on the heating gas bill.
- Gas – I traded in my gas guzzling F-150 and bought a Honda Accord. We use the Accord for most of our family’s driving. As a result we saved nearly $1,000 in fuel costs for the year.
- Fast Food/Dining Out – In 2017 this was a single category, but I wanted to track them individually moving forward. In all, we reduced combined spending here by a little over $1,100.
- Gas Station/Soda – A couple weird categories to be sure. We had a habit of buying drinks and packaged beer from gas stations out of convenience. We made an effort to cut this back and did so to the tune of $380.
- Day Care – We can’t take too much credit here, but our oldest started Kindergarten in August which meant that day care costs for her dropped substantially.
Retail Surprise
My wife commented that 2018 didn’t feel as strict in comparison with 2017. We both commented that, “If I wanted it, I bought it”. So, I expected to see a big jump in the retail category. Besides, we both lost a bunch of weight at the end of 2017, which necessitated new clothes for both of us. I started laughing when I saw that spending went up a whopping $25!
So, I’ve shown you mine? How ’bout yours? Thanks for reading!
- *Reference to Mr. Money Mustache’s Mustachianism movement.
- **Flipped, this is the 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate
Thanks for sharing. It’s embarrassing sometimes to pull your pants down publicly, but it can be such a useful tool to hold yourself accountable. Great work – I love the detailed categories, I thought I was the only one who drilled down that far!
Thanks Joel!