How much do you spend on "going out" per month?
I'd be interested to hear all types of situations but I am mainly looking for some relative comparisons to my personal situation. I am single, 25, I live alone, I make 50k/year before taxes and I live in the same moderately big city that I attended college so I am still close to my friend group.
Hi everyone!
I was looking at my budget excel sheet that I made back in May and have noticed that every month, I haven't been spending my full "fun money" allocation (currently $200 per month on ~$90k annual salary) or if I do, I'm counting household products (e.g. toothpaste, laundry detergent) within this category, which doesn't really count.
My questions: How much do you typically spend on a night out?
Chatting to some people in work, and most of them say £100 is a standard night out for them. This seems at bit insane to me tbh. Most I've ever spent was £60, and I was in the worst state I'd ever been in. £30-£40 is the usual normal for me, including getting tickets for the club and food after.
How much do you earmark for "fun" or non-essential spending every month and what percentage of your monthly take home is it?
How did you decide on this number?
Do you ever feel guilty about spending vs. not spending the money even though you've budgeted for it?
I count "going out" as eating out, concerts, bar tabs, movies, and other activities.
I have student loans and a few credit cards, so I restrict myself to $2000/mo for all living expenses including groceries, rent, insurance, going out, etc.
It fluctuates by month (this month has been through the roof) but I allocate about $140/month to going out. I constantly find myself going over and this budget always dips into my "buffer budget" almost every paycheck. I want to adjust this budget to make sure I am staying within my goals but I don't have a comparative reference point to know if I should adjust it up or spend less. How much do you spend on fun money?
Do you do a percent, or fixed dollar amount? Do you budget it monthly, annually? I'm having trouble not feeling guilty when I buy something I don't need.
Advice is always appreciated but right now I am not looking advice how to stay within my budget, ways to go out without spending a lot, etc. Thanks! How much do you all spend on eating out? How much do you spend (on average) every weekend as a mid-20s adult?
I’m a 26 year old just beginning to earn some “real money” (can spend w/o double checking most times), and I’m curious to know, how much do you spend on most weekends where you live? This question includes restaurants, fast food, a coffee from starbucks, pizza, etc. Not groceries. Also, if you would willingly offer it up, how much money do you earn annually?
How much money do you spend a month (not including rent)
I'm trying to figure out if I'll be 'house poor' if I get a certain apartment. If I took it, it would leave me $1350 to spend each month on everything that isn't rent or debt payments. I make 61k
How much of your net income do you spend on entertainment?
Budgeting I decided this month to fully track all of my expenses, to see how much of my take home pay I spent. I am in the middle of planning a vacation, so these expenses were probably slightly exaggerated from a typical month. Ended up breaking down as such: February Income (after tax): $2710 February Expenses: $2560
Inflation is killing me. I used to spend about $80/per month on gaming but now I have to cut my gaming budget. Do you guys feel the same? How do you spend your money?
This doesn't include 401(k), which is an extra ~500 a month. Just am curious to see what % of people's take home pay they spend on a monthly basis. I live in NYC, which probably skews me toward not saving as much as I should.
Hello! How much do you sp end on books each month on average (over a year)? How many books a month?
On average I purchase 2-3 books per month. As for cost I spend between 20-45$ per month. I was finishing a book and became curious of how many books and how much, others are spending. Some months I buy more books than other months, especially during the winter. I suppose the cost might greatly depend if you are purchasing card-cover, soft-cover, online etc.
As the title says, how much of your net income do you spend on entertainment monthly?
I consider in this category things like, movies tickets, books, Netflix or other similar services, bars and restaurants, etc...
I have been budgeting for a while and I'd like to have some comparison basis. Of course, it depends a lot on your salary but still it would be nice to have an idea.
In my case it's about 20-25%.
How much do you make and what do you spend each month on things that aren't housing or debt related expenses?
A couple my girlfriend knows, claims to spend $10,000 per month eating out. That just seems almost impossible to me. That would require spending approximately $330 between the two of them, every day of the year on food and drinks.
I'm trying to figure out what is a reasonable amount to budget for eating out. I feel like what you find on the internet is all over the map in terms of what others spend, but it seems like MD readers skew female, young, urban, and at least middle class so I'm curious what budgets for users of this sub look like.
How much do you spend a month (not including rent)?
Every month I feel terrible because I somehow spend $1.5-2k, NOT including rent, and I feel like that’s so high. I’ve had a lot of special life events that have made months more expensive (ex family weddings, flight costs, etc), but I’m still curious if this is super high/abnormal.
How much do you spend on food per month?
There's a post in personal finance right now where this guy and his girlfriend spend $1000 a month on groceries, $1300 on food all together if you count going out. The dude is even asking what's a reasonable amount to spend! That's double my entire rent payment buddy!!
My boyfriend and I split groceries/necessities (with the exception of toiletries, we buy our own on those) and collectively we spend $300 a month, $400 if you include eating out (and that's a stretch, we rarely spend a full $100 a month on out food). We live in the southern midwest, admittedly in an area where the cost of living is pretty low. We don't really eat bad either, with strategic shopping at Aldi and WalMart we eat pretty healthy all things considered. This just got me thinking, what does your family look like, and how much do you guys spend a month on groceries? And as others have mentioned, area where you live?
What do your spending habits look like?
So: What do you all spend? And what purpose do restaurants serve in your life? (ie convenience, socializing, a foodie hobby...) Do you have kids? Do you live in an urban, suburban or rural area? And, if you feel comfortable, what is your income? How much money do you spend per month and what do you spend the most money on? How much do you spend on food in a month?
So lately I find that I spend ~$450 for me and my wife on groceries and eating out in a month. That's all the food we eat in a month, and personally I feel like it should be lower (still working on the cooking at home thing since we are newlyweds). But I'm wondering how much you all spend on food in a month? Is $225 a person normal?
Hi, everyone. First post here, but I'm a long-time lurker. I'm turning 30 in May and have a job that pays $67,000 per year, with a bonus usually equivalent to one (monthly) paycheck. I currently pay about 25% in taxes and save 30% of my gross income. So I live on 45% of my gross income. My Roth IRA has about $41,000 in it and my brokerage account (which I'm using as a savings emergency fund, good advice be damned) has about $5,100. I've not always been paid as well as I am now and I got a bit of a late start with investing, which is why my balances are so low. Anyway, my question here is as it appears in the title. When did you finally feel comfortable spending money on non-essentials? By choice, I live a pretty 'bare bones' existence. I live in a studio apartment with no furniture in it besides the air mattress I sleep on. No tables, no couch, no chairs or stools. Nothing. I lived through my first mid-western winter without a winter coat. I don't have a trash can. I just have trash bags on the kitchen good that I take out when full. I need to replace my singular, flat, gross, yellow pillow that doesn't and has never had a pillowcase. I don't have sheets on my air mattress. I cut my food budget from $750 a few months ago to $400, and then to $160 per month after realizing $400 still seemed like too much. So I'm living primarily on rice, beans, and popcorn. I had a gym membership that I canceled to save $80 every month.
Basically, I have a very hard time spending money. In addition to everything above, I don't really take vacations. I'm single and I don't date. My life revolves around earning, saving, and investing money. And I'm not complaining. If it sounds like I am, I apologize. I'm fully aware that I'm living this way by choice. Still, I do recognize that my mindset around moeny is probably not healthy. I have a good, stable job that pays me more than I need. I can save 30% of my gross income. But I'm always pushing myself to save more. Every time I buy something I don't need, I think of the time value of the money I spent. A $2,000 mattress and bed frame would be $20,000 (in 2022 dollars) when I'm 63 if I make 7% CAGR. A vacation that costs $3,000 could be $30,000. For every dollar I don't invest, I'm losing ten times that amount later in life.
But I have $5,000 in my brokerage that's theoretically there for anything. And I think to myself... Why can't I spend 0.8% of that on some pillows. Or 2% of that on really nice stainless steel SimpleHuman trash can? Or 2% for a paid membership on a dating website? And then why can't I spend 5-10% of my income going out on dates if I were to match on someone? It all goes back to that compound interest. All that time I have, while I'm young, for that money to grow instead to be frittered away. $400 a month on dates is $4,800 each year. If I dated for three years and spent $14,400 instead of having $4,800 each year compound at 7% for three years and then grow at 7% for the next 30 years, I would lose out on nearly $126,000 (in 2022 dollars) at age 63. That's nearly one year of expenses. Anyway... I can't seem to get out of the mindset that I need to save every dime I can while I'm young at the expense of pretty much everything else. The only thing I go over my budget on sometimes is food. I hate being hungry and I need to eat to live. So I'll probably spend $250 on food this month instead of $160. But I'm looking for guidance from those older and wiser than me. Is there any way I can break this cycle and get past my hangups?
So PF (the most frugal of all redditers), how much are you spending a month on food? Any tips you've picked up on how to lower the cost? Cooking at home is great but we have a very small kitchen and are struggling finding ideas for meals. Any ideas where we could come up with some?
Hi everyone!
I was looking at my budget excel sheet that I made back in May and have noticed that every month, I haven't been spending my full "fun money" allocation (currently $200 per month on ~$90k annual salary) or if I do, I'm counting household products (e.g. toothpaste, laundry detergent) within this category, which doesn't really count.
My questions: How much do you typically spend on a night out?
Chatting to some people in work, and most of them say £100 is a standard night out for them. This seems at bit insane to me tbh. Most I've ever spent was £60, and I was in the worst state I'd ever been in. £30-£40 is the usual normal for me, including getting tickets for the club and food after.
How much do you earmark for "fun" or non-essential spending every month and what percentage of your monthly take home is it?
How did you decide on this number?
Do you ever feel guilty about spending vs. not spending the money even though you've budgeted for it?
I count "going out" as eating out, concerts, bar tabs, movies, and other activities.
I have student loans and a few credit cards, so I restrict myself to $2000/mo for all living expenses including groceries, rent, insurance, going out, etc.
It fluctuates by month (this month has been through the roof) but I allocate about $140/month to going out. I constantly find myself going over and this budget always dips into my "buffer budget" almost every paycheck. I want to adjust this budget to make sure I am staying within my goals but I don't have a comparative reference point to know if I should adjust it up or spend less. How much do you spend on fun money?
Do you do a percent, or fixed dollar amount? Do you budget it monthly, annually? I'm having trouble not feeling guilty when I buy something I don't need.
Advice is always appreciated but right now I am not looking advice how to stay within my budget, ways to go out without spending a lot, etc. Thanks! How much do you all spend on eating out? How much do you spend (on average) every weekend as a mid-20s adult?
I’m a 26 year old just beginning to earn some “real money” (can spend w/o double checking most times), and I’m curious to know, how much do you spend on most weekends where you live? This question includes restaurants, fast food, a coffee from starbucks, pizza, etc. Not groceries. Also, if you would willingly offer it up, how much money do you earn annually?
How much money do you spend a month (not including rent)
I'm trying to figure out if I'll be 'house poor' if I get a certain apartment. If I took it, it would leave me $1350 to spend each month on everything that isn't rent or debt payments. I make 61k
How much of your net income do you spend on entertainment?
Budgeting I decided this month to fully track all of my expenses, to see how much of my take home pay I spent. I am in the middle of planning a vacation, so these expenses were probably slightly exaggerated from a typical month. Ended up breaking down as such: February Income (after tax): $2710 February Expenses: $2560
Inflation is killing me. I used to spend about $80/per month on gaming but now I have to cut my gaming budget. Do you guys feel the same? How do you spend your money?
This doesn't include 401(k), which is an extra ~500 a month. Just am curious to see what % of people's take home pay they spend on a monthly basis. I live in NYC, which probably skews me toward not saving as much as I should.
Hello! How much do you sp end on books each month on average (over a year)? How many books a month?
On average I purchase 2-3 books per month. As for cost I spend between 20-45$ per month. I was finishing a book and became curious of how many books and how much, others are spending. Some months I buy more books than other months, especially during the winter. I suppose the cost might greatly depend if you are purchasing card-cover, soft-cover, online etc.
As the title says, how much of your net income do you spend on entertainment monthly?
I consider in this category things like, movies tickets, books, Netflix or other similar services, bars and restaurants, etc...
I have been budgeting for a while and I'd like to have some comparison basis. Of course, it depends a lot on your salary but still it would be nice to have an idea.
In my case it's about 20-25%.
How much do you make and what do you spend each month on things that aren't housing or debt related expenses?
A couple my girlfriend knows, claims to spend $10,000 per month eating out. That just seems almost impossible to me. That would require spending approximately $330 between the two of them, every day of the year on food and drinks.
I'm trying to figure out what is a reasonable amount to budget for eating out. I feel like what you find on the internet is all over the map in terms of what others spend, but it seems like MD readers skew female, young, urban, and at least middle class so I'm curious what budgets for users of this sub look like.
How much do you spend a month (not including rent)?
Every month I feel terrible because I somehow spend $1.5-2k, NOT including rent, and I feel like that’s so high. I’ve had a lot of special life events that have made months more expensive (ex family weddings, flight costs, etc), but I’m still curious if this is super high/abnormal.
How much do you spend on food per month?
There's a post in personal finance right now where this guy and his girlfriend spend $1000 a month on groceries, $1300 on food all together if you count going out. The dude is even asking what's a reasonable amount to spend! That's double my entire rent payment buddy!!
My boyfriend and I split groceries/necessities (with the exception of toiletries, we buy our own on those) and collectively we spend $300 a month, $400 if you include eating out (and that's a stretch, we rarely spend a full $100 a month on out food). We live in the southern midwest, admittedly in an area where the cost of living is pretty low. We don't really eat bad either, with strategic shopping at Aldi and WalMart we eat pretty healthy all things considered. This just got me thinking, what does your family look like, and how much do you guys spend a month on groceries? And as others have mentioned, area where you live?
What do your spending habits look like?
So: What do you all spend? And what purpose do restaurants serve in your life? (ie convenience, socializing, a foodie hobby...) Do you have kids? Do you live in an urban, suburban or rural area? And, if you feel comfortable, what is your income? How much money do you spend per month and what do you spend the most money on? How much do you spend on food in a month?
So lately I find that I spend ~$450 for me and my wife on groceries and eating out in a month. That's all the food we eat in a month, and personally I feel like it should be lower (still working on the cooking at home thing since we are newlyweds). But I'm wondering how much you all spend on food in a month? Is $225 a person normal?
Hi, everyone. First post here, but I'm a long-time lurker. I'm turning 30 in May and have a job that pays $67,000 per year, with a bonus usually equivalent to one (monthly) paycheck. I currently pay about 25% in taxes and save 30% of my gross income. So I live on 45% of my gross income. My Roth IRA has about $41,000 in it and my brokerage account (which I'm using as a savings emergency fund, good advice be damned) has about $5,100. I've not always been paid as well as I am now and I got a bit of a late start with investing, which is why my balances are so low. Anyway, my question here is as it appears in the title. When did you finally feel comfortable spending money on non-essentials? By choice, I live a pretty 'bare bones' existence. I live in a studio apartment with no furniture in it besides the air mattress I sleep on. No tables, no couch, no chairs or stools. Nothing. I lived through my first mid-western winter without a winter coat. I don't have a trash can. I just have trash bags on the kitchen good that I take out when full. I need to replace my singular, flat, gross, yellow pillow that doesn't and has never had a pillowcase. I don't have sheets on my air mattress. I cut my food budget from $750 a few months ago to $400, and then to $160 per month after realizing $400 still seemed like too much. So I'm living primarily on rice, beans, and popcorn. I had a gym membership that I canceled to save $80 every month.
Basically, I have a very hard time spending money. In addition to everything above, I don't really take vacations. I'm single and I don't date. My life revolves around earning, saving, and investing money. And I'm not complaining. If it sounds like I am, I apologize. I'm fully aware that I'm living this way by choice. Still, I do recognize that my mindset around moeny is probably not healthy. I have a good, stable job that pays me more than I need. I can save 30% of my gross income. But I'm always pushing myself to save more. Every time I buy something I don't need, I think of the time value of the money I spent. A $2,000 mattress and bed frame would be $20,000 (in 2022 dollars) when I'm 63 if I make 7% CAGR. A vacation that costs $3,000 could be $30,000. For every dollar I don't invest, I'm losing ten times that amount later in life.
But I have $5,000 in my brokerage that's theoretically there for anything. And I think to myself... Why can't I spend 0.8% of that on some pillows. Or 2% of that on really nice stainless steel SimpleHuman trash can? Or 2% for a paid membership on a dating website? And then why can't I spend 5-10% of my income going out on dates if I were to match on someone? It all goes back to that compound interest. All that time I have, while I'm young, for that money to grow instead to be frittered away. $400 a month on dates is $4,800 each year. If I dated for three years and spent $14,400 instead of having $4,800 each year compound at 7% for three years and then grow at 7% for the next 30 years, I would lose out on nearly $126,000 (in 2022 dollars) at age 63. That's nearly one year of expenses. Anyway... I can't seem to get out of the mindset that I need to save every dime I can while I'm young at the expense of pretty much everything else. The only thing I go over my budget on sometimes is food. I hate being hungry and I need to eat to live. So I'll probably spend $250 on food this month instead of $160. But I'm looking for guidance from those older and wiser than me. Is there any way I can break this cycle and get past my hangups?
So PF (the most frugal of all redditers), how much are you spending a month on food? Any tips you've picked up on how to lower the cost? Cooking at home is great but we have a very small kitchen and are struggling finding ideas for meals. Any ideas where we could come up with some?
