I just read this budget in a blog.
“Let me preface this by saying that I have been trying to keep our discretionary budget under $2,000 a month. The budget is like so:
Entertainment – $50
Booze – $100
Other – $50
Clothes – $200
Gas/Auto – $350
Dining Out – $150
Kids – $50
Household – $300
Groceries – $700
TOTAL $1,950â€
This rather long crazy list really struck me for several reasons.
This person has money and they can do whatever they wish, I fully believe that to be the case. However, one reason I enjoy reading blogs is to understand how other’s choose to live and why. This budget for things that are not necessarily necessities (entertainment, booze, other, dining out being those items) is larger than my total monthly bills minus my mortgage each month.
I also find it sad that Entertainment, Booze and Other are more than what they choose to spend on their children for the month. I didn’t include dining out in there because perhaps they do in fact take the children out to eat. Who knows, I’m just reading a blog.
I just counted up all my expenditures for the month of September (yes I have a budget too). My total bills for the entire month were $2490. I might even throw another $200 at that just to be fair and add in things I may have overlooked.
Imagine if people just lived normally instead of having an attitude that “more is better†and “who cares, we work hard for itâ€. Perhaps our economy and the society we live in would be better if we all didn’t think we deserved whatever we wanted and could afford and in many cases things people can’t afford. This person calls this their discretionary budget. How many other millions of people live like that and justify it? Am I the only soul that lives below my means in an effort to ensure a decent future, a future where there is no social security, where there is no guarantee, where the economy is going to total shit and we need to consider a rainy day??
Rick and I live far below our means. I save money, so does he. We have a good life. We aren’t living paycheck to paycheck. We do eat, and I do purchase books. And if something happened to him, I would be able to maintain our life. I might not be able to save as much money as I do, but I could keep what we have and would be ok. We own two cars. Read that correctly, OWN. As in paid for.
My discretionary budget includes books, CD’s, rental movies, etc. And as most of my few readers know, I live 10 minutes from the most beautiful beaches in Florida in a middle class moderate neighborhood. My budget also includes any and all expenses I incur due to being a full time college student.I expect to graduate college in February and when I obtain a better paying job I intend to add nothing to our monthly outgoing bills. IE: I won’t be spending money every month on useless things just because I can. I will just add more to savings and perhaps look into investments.
How much stuff is enough? How much do you spend on unnecessary things? Do you live below your means? Do you live paycheck to paycheck? How do you decide how to spend your money?
I get credit card offers all the time, I throw them away. I have a good life and I don’t spend tons of money to have it. I deserve financial peace of mind. I deserve savings and a safety net. I am working on the latter two. My monthly book purchasing budget equals their booze one and I suppose I could always sell my books and gain back some return. However, I’m fueling my brain not killing my liver.
This is not about that particular family. It’s about America and the financial state we are in and the type of “the world owes me everything I want†attitude that dominates in America. The mere notion that we deserve THINGS and that THINGS in fact make us happy???
The biggest thing I covet is my knowledge that my simple easy going lifestyle is abundant to my soul. My realization that I need for nothing is really a blessing.Â
p.s. I think when my income increases I’ll definitely have a larger “charity” budget.Â
Â
Neither of us are big spenders, so we don’t really have a discretionary part of our budget. Every once in a while we’ll go crazy – birthdays, holidays – but 99% of the time it’s just the mortgage, gas, and groceries. We live under our means, but even those basics alone make the credit card bill scary sometimes.
Thanks for your retort, I found it quite entertaining. By the time I was 36, my house, 2 cars and parents house were paid for. I met my husband at 16, married young and worked our way through college. We have 4 children. We lived on very little and struggled to finish school, took a risk on a start up and found great financial success. I have no budget. I drive a mid priced car for 10 years before trading it in. I recycle, conserve as much as possible and try to leave a small footprint. I devote 30 hours a week to charity work, and donate frequently to the local public schools. I open my home to countless students from here and all over the world. I use coupons, and frequent flyer miles. Sounds like I am a saint eh? Not! I spend a lot of money on making art, entertaining, and entertainment. When you work hard all your life and are blessed with financial success, human nature takes over, and you ENJOY IT! Giving back is a selfish indulgence with rewards that are far greater and long lasting than anything money can buy, but if you can spend, do, its great fun. You assume that Mandajuice has no savings and spends her time in selfish pursuits. Think again. I wish you well, and hope that the little green monster that plagues you will shrink and be gone like the Wicked Witch of the West
You are lucky to be able to do it all without incurring and credit debt. We are careful but still as the other commenter said even the basics that we need to cover can creep up. We certainly have things we could give up – like cable TV and the internet. But they are part of our day to day life so we stick with them.
For us right now buying a home and all those “associated costs” like “oh yes we need some TRASH CANS for outside and need a dehumidifier for the basement are adding up. I am sure though that once we settle in we will spend some time playing catch up! But it will be fun to stay in instead of going out bec we will be staying in happily, together in OUR home.
I kind of feel the need to defend myself here! You’re making some serious assumptions about my life and my spending and frankly, those assumptions are dead WRONG.
That discretionary list you quoted up there doesn’t include my childrens’ activities because they are so important to me that I consider them MANDATORY expenses, not discretionary. They are part of our monthly BILLS (which are also not listed on our discretionary spending account, neither is our mortgage or utilities) and includes things like swimming, soccer, karate, preschool and summer camps. Our “entertainment” budget is mostly the money my husband spends pursuing his hobby of target shooting, which, after working close to 60 hours a week most of the time, he EARNS. That and we rent movies to watch after our kids go to bed, which clearly indicates we’re crazy huge spenders.
I personally stopped buying books YEARS ago because you can save a lot of money just going to the local library instead. We borrow an average of about 30 books every month, which costs us nothing and also helps keep trees alive. I highly recommend it!
As for savings? That list didn’t include our savings at all. Suffice it to say that our total savings is more than our discretionary spending. We have a six month emergency fund and we invest money for college, retirement and to fix up and furnish our home. I will be surprised if I ever see a dollar from Social Security, in spite of the fact that we make the maximum contribution to it every year. I don’t expect to have anyone fund our future except US.
Nothing is more important to me than providing for our future. And don’t even get me started on charity! We give generously! It’s just extremely personal and frankly private.
I was a financial planner/asset manager for 7 years before I quit working to stay home with my children. I am nothing if not financially savvy and well prepared. The idea that my spending is frivolous JUST because it is more than yours is both judgmental and offensive. It makes me think maybe you might benefit from a well-known and well-loved relaxant called BEER.
Why waste your time begrudging us our success?
I would definitely rather have less, than waste a moment worrying about how I am going to pay for more!
Begrudging your success? Where and when did I do that? I simply spoke of your choices versus my choices and how I see the world. Regardless of how much I gain I will never have the attitude that “I deserve every stupid thing in the world that I damn well want.” Incidentally I think it would be far more beneficial if your husband didn’t have to work so many hours and actually spend more of his time WITH his lovely family. I imagine he could do that if you didn’t spend all of his money on frivolity. It’s a choice we all make. You make yours, I make a different one. I don’t have an alcohol budget in my house…my husband occasionally goes out for a few beers at his brother’s house. We don’t have alcohol in our house and it’s not because we want to be fully alert for any small children as we don’t have them.
I would also like to point out that I never pointed out WHO’S blog I read this budget on. I was respectful of your privacy and I approve your comments because I’m ok with you speaking your mind…since you felt it was necessary. It’s funny to me that your beer spending habit is public knowledge but your charity spending is a private matter. Priorities are skewed there..or what? I don’t get it. But honestly that’s ok…I don’t have to.
Thanks for getting my point Mama Zen and others….. It’s about choices. I was simply pointing out how we all make different ones.
I think you are being very judgmental of mandajuice based on assumptions that are probably incorrect.
So what if someone spends $100 on wine, beer and spirits? Really.
She is spending all of her husband’s money on frivolity? Huh? Again, very judgmental and seeping with assumptions.
I think you delude yourself. If you guys earned a couple of hundred grand a year do you think you might spend more on wants as opposed to just necessities? What, you would only spend that extra money on charity and save more? Please.
And frankly who are you to decide that proper priorities should be making charitable donations public over publicizing the amount someone spends on alcohol. I think it is no one’s business how much I spend on charity and I have no problem telling you that we spend probably about $50 on alcohol each month.
I see that you are still in school which has undoubtedly delayed your maturation. I would expect such views from a college student.
KLS
I am 9 credits away from graduating with a duel degree.
You are angry because I suppose she’s your bloggie friend…awww…sweet. However, if you think I attacked her (which is delusional on your part, when I merely discussed my priorities in comparison without even mentioning who’s budget it was) and that attack was wrong, why is your answer to come and mutually attack me? Grow up before you tell other’s to do so. And if you are actually mature, you might want to leave your comments prior to your consumption of alcohol.