Total amount spent on bills each month

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Total amount spent on bills each month
45
Wed, 11-23-2005 - 10:39pm

Hi everyone! I just have a general question...no answers are needed if it's too personal.

What is everyone's monthly "outgoing" number? I'm including everything in mine, all debt and other expenses. I don't even own my own home yet!

Right now, mine is about $1900.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 11-30-2005 - 6:44pm
I was just wondering why everyone doesn't include everything in their monthly totals. Makes me think that most don't know for sure how much it is and I think this could be a problem in their finances. Anyway, I realized another huge item I left out of my earlier post: property taxes,$5000. How could I have possibly missed that! I'd also like to thank purl2 for her thorough explanation of her food budget. Makes me feel totally inadequate in this area of my budget and I couldn't agree more about her thoughts on a college education. As for my DS, he has always wanted to be a gym teacher, so he's now majoring in health and physical education. We just hope and pray he'll get a decent paying job somewhere when he gets out!
Avatar for cl_beckymk
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 11-30-2005 - 8:08pm

I didn't include groceries on mine because we get help with that, so it doesn't all come out of our pocket (I have tracked it though in the past so know my estimate and Aldi's is a wonderful place :) ).

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-10-2003
Thu, 12-01-2005 - 9:39am

I don't include all my expenses in my budget, just my fixed expenses, those things thatt stay the same every month. When we have less money, less money gets spent on the other things, like food and gas for the car. Our income is quite sporadic some we budget so that our fixed expenses are never more than my salary. I also stock up on food, and non-persishables when my DH is working, and then only buy perishables when he is not.

This is the only way I have found to make a fluctutating income work.

Avatar for itsmylife2001
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-17-2003
Thu, 12-01-2005 - 2:54pm
Here in Belgium you pay about 50% taxes, even more, so my gross income is 36.000 a year (and that is not a small income) but after taxes I have 22.000 left. When you need a mortgage, the bank allows you to get as much as you can pay back for with maximum 30% of your income (after taxes) - that means about 600 for me. No need to say I am horrified when I see some of you are paying 1400 or more for the house!! On the other hand, with such a small mortgage I could only afford a small old house at least 50 miles away from Brussels.
But I'm not going to think anymore that life is more expensive here!
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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-16-2003
Thu, 12-01-2005 - 11:06pm

I would be curious to know where everyone is from, because I can tell you I haven't seen an electric bill for under $100 since 1995 or so, and that goes for EVERYONE that I know! Currently, ours is $225/month, and that's JUST the electric. Our mortgage, however, is only $360, so I feel we get a break here. I think houses are so "cheap" here because the economy SUCKS big time. Upstate NY, I can't say much good about it except geographically it's pretty. Politically...they all need to get voted off the island. Anyhow, after that rant, here goes:

Mortgage: 360
Electric: 225
Phone/Cable/Internet: 150
Cell Phone: 45
Heat (fuel oil): 250
Gas: 280
Propane: 10
Garbage (we haul it ourself): 8
Car/House Insurance: 180
Groceries & Incidentals (Walmart stuff): 640
Childcare: 60

Total: 2208

We never go out to eat, and if we do it comes out of our grocery money. We don't go to movies (the last one I saw in a theatre was Anger Management, and before that the Perfect Storm). Our kids are not in sports because we can't afford it, but we're not eligible for any offered scholarships because we make too much. As for student loans, I'm still enrolled in college and I'm accumulating them as we speak!

We do not have a car payment, nor do we have any credit card debt (thank God!). The reason I found myself here, though, is because my unemployment ran out, so "our" income (really only DH's) has dropped considerably..down to like $1500 a month (net, that's all I count 'cause that's all we can use). Right now around the holidays, it's just gotten me down to lower than I've ever been. I keep telling myself that with a degree in Computer Information Systems (the degree I'm seaking) we'll never be in this position again, but it's the getting there part that worries me. I still have another year to go! I just don't know how we're going to do it.

Chrissy

Avatar for sohappilyme
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 12-02-2005 - 12:05am
My mom's electric bill runs from $50 in the spring and fall up to $125 during winter or summer (heat and a/c).
Sarah
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-06-2003
Sat, 12-03-2005 - 12:04pm

Well I'm still working based on the budget for two people but because of the separation of the dh and I things will drastically change. We will be signing over the condo to the new buyers at the end of January 2006.

Currently this is how the budget is - we live in Quebec:

Mortgage = $1014 (includes property & school taxes/life and disability mortgage insurance)
Car Insurance = $58.22 monthly
Food = $240.00 monthly
Gas = $160 - $200 monthly
Gym Fees = $73.62 (dh & my membership fees)
Telus = $100.00 (cellphones)
Hydro = $65 monthly (includes heat and water - we're on a budget plan reviewed twice yearly)
Wal-Mart = $40 monthly (cleaning agents/personal care items)
Condo Fee = $50.00 monthly
Train pass = $94.50 monthly
Videotron = $105.00 (includes digital cable, phone, High-Speed Internet)
WSPA = $50.00 monthly (charitable donation to animal wefare society)
Home Insurance = $18 monthly
Allowances = $300 monthly (divided in half for each person)

This comes to a little over $2400/mth for two people but doesn't include what we are paying to service our debt...we would usually pay $400-$500 over the minimums required.
There are some things that don't happen monthly like car tags/drivers' licences/presents etc... that I save on the side for. Our salaries cover all the above but the income taxes we pay is ridiculous - but it subsidizes important services...

All this is about to change though...as I'll be dropping to only my income when I move.
My expenses will be under 1000 dollars not including debt repayment but that is because I will be rooming with a friend for the next year in order to save to buy a new home once the divorce will go through. We have to be separated for one year before we can petition the court with the motion.

Kassandra

Kassandra

"It is said that life has its peaks and valleys.  The challenge is to accept them equally and experience them

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-12-2005
Sat, 12-03-2005 - 10:15pm

I live in Texas and for some reason I feel that everyone is managing a whole lot better than I am. My expenses break down like this:
House 1027.
Honda 347.
Mustang 278.
Insurance 157.
Electric 350.
Water 70.
Cable 110.
Cells(2) 80.
Phone 35.
Credit cards 500.
Child care 200
Gas(2 cars) 260 Total: 3414 a month

This does not include groceries, thrift shop clothes, DD mall clothes, DH computer expenses, DS video rental. I really need a plan.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Sun, 12-04-2005 - 9:36am


Your electric bill seems very high. Are there any ways you could bring that down? Maybe make sure all TVs, radios, and computers are off when not in use? We saved a lot of money by doing this. We left our computers on all the time since we had high-speed internet access and wanted to be able to just sit down and work on our computers without waiting for them to boot up.

Turning off lights or moving to lower wattage bulbs? If you have electric heat in your home, maybe setting it lower so it won't come on as much and then wearing sweaters and using blankets for warmth?

Maybe do less loads of laundry per week? Wear a pair of jeans a couple of times before laundering if they're not visibly dirty?

Hope some of these ideas help. We're in the south also with a 4 bedroom/3bath home, 4 tvs and 3 computers, and our bill is only $80 a month.

Pat :-D

Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
Mon, 12-05-2005 - 12:11pm

I live in a major metropolitan area in the northeast and have 3 children, so my number appears to be higher than just about anyone else's (though I've only skimmed). I included EVERYTHING, since that's what you've asked - house, car, bills, debt payments, insurance, entertainment, new soccer gear, DirecTV, you name it. It's about $8000, which includes a mortgage/tax payment of over $2800 and about $1900 in various types of credit.

Looking at anything other than the total number means you're not looking at your real situation, IMO.

Kelly