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Monthly Spending

June 25th, 2012 at 02:24 pm

I went through monthly spending and categorized the totals. I came up with the following:

Amount spent on:

Housing - 22%
Other Needs - 35%
Wants - 12%
Savings - 10%
Debt Repayment (or largely past wants) - 20%

According to Disney Steve in the forums the benchmark is 50% Needs, 30% Wants, and 20% Savings. In those terms my breakdown would be:

57% Needs
32% Wants
10% Savings

2 Responses to “Monthly Spending”

  1. snafu Says:
    1340649750

    Good job creating a plan to examine & identify where the money goes + a plan to eliminate CC debt. Have you named the few overages that take you over the ideal 50% in the 'needs' category?

    We found it immensely helpful to create a 'thermometer' looking poster which we tacked up in the hall private space adjacent to the bedroom door which was colored in each payment. It was beneficial because it was a visual for each of us to see and helped us remember and understand why other spending was deferred until the debt was g-o-n-e. It helped assuage those feelings of being deprived or hard done by.

  2. ceejay74 Says:
    1340670385

    I count EXTRA debt repayment in the "savings" category when I'm looking at these benchmarks. This is according to "All Your Worth" by Elizabeth Warren.

    If you divide your minimum debt payments (needs) and your extra payments to principal (savings), your ratios are outstanding. Paying off debt faster is a contribution to the future, so it kind of makes sense.

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