What do you do, where do you live in, and how much is your annual income?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Age 25 – living in Durango, Co
My salary is ~90K and I’m looking at about 15K or so in bonuses for this year. I get a 100% match up to 6% on my 401K. I also drive a company truck and gas is free (which is a bigger and bigger bonus every day). I’m a Drilling Engineer.

I own a condo which I rent out for my mortgage payment and association dues and a Town home that I live in. I got the down payment for the condo from a lawsuit coming out of high school and made payments by having roommates. I used my signing bonus for the down payment on my Town home. Total mortgage and association dues are about 2800K/month.

As for my budget; I contribute $1060 in my 401K every month, $100/month for cell phone, $21 for natural gas, $43 for garbage and water, $34 for electricity, $315 for student loans, $55 for broadband, $320 for my motorcycle, and $200 for all my insurances. I spent about $600 on food and $400 for a maid.

I owe about 5K on my credit card, 3K on my line of credit and 17K on my bike. But since I’m still trying to get my house in shape so the excess of my budget is going there for now; fencing, landscaping, furniture.

22

I’m a film archivist and make roughly $43K/year. We live in the SF Bay Area (NorCal).

We have two mortgages–our house ($5K/month) and my MiL’s condo ($2K/month). This doesn’t include utilities, etc. for each place.

We own both our cars and pay off our credit card each month, so we have no other outstanding debt (and no kids). We have 401Ks, IRAs, and other modest investments.

Needless to say, we could not afford to live where we do and the way we do on my salary. Good thing my wife owns her own consulting company (I’m not going to say how much she makes, but it’s enough to live comfortably).

23

Female, late 20s, living in PNW.

90K+ before taxes as a technical writer doing developer documentation for a large software company, not counting bonuses and benefits.

Own a condo in a fast-growing area, $225K that my parents and I went in on to decrease the down payment. Mortgage is slightly over $500/mo.

No CC debt. A big splurge for me is buying books or a console game once in a blue moon – most everything else gets socked away for the metaphorical rainy day.

Car is a 2003 Honda Civic hybrid, about to be paid off in October :smiley: It gets about 35-38MPG with the current tires – with the previous set it was getting about 41MPG. I fill up maybe once every three weeks or so since I use it pretty much exclusively for commuting at offpeak hours (Y HAI THAR 520) and combine errands when I can.

24

Female, age 50, living in New York City

Self-employed with a steady sales/consulting gig.

Last year I made $72,000.00 in consulting fees and $103,625.00 in performance bonuses ( the bonuses are based on the profitability of the business that I run and are calculated from a set formula ).

Not bad considering I can work out of my home and set my own hours.

Mortgage and co-op fees (same as condo maintenence) are $1600.00 a month. My car is old because I just don’t care much about cars, I will probably buy a “new” used one sometime this year but I will pay in full up front.

No other debt except the mortgage. I like nice vacations and intend to retire at or before 65 so I am saving up for that.

25

Female, 27, Calgary, Alberta. I live with my fiance.

I am an Environmental Analyst for an Oil and Gas Company. $65K/yr plus bonus of $6500, 10 flex days (extra vacation days), $1000 health spending account, 100% match into savings and RRSP up to 5% of my salary, stock options annually.

He is a Firefighter. His salary is about $46K.

Two vehicles, both owned outright. 2002 Toyota Tundra and 2004 VW Golf TDi.

House - worth about $600K, mortgage of just over $375K, monthly payments of $2400/month. Utilities, including cell phone - about $1200/month. Insurance for vehicles, house, etc. - $400/month.

In all, our monthly expenditures for everything, including food, entertainment and fuel, is about $4600.

Edited to add: We also have investments of about $25K in a just starting up gold mine. This is our golden ticket! Hahaha!

26

Age, Sex, Location, Occupation, and Income

37-year-old male, Social Worker (not exactly, but it would take too long to explain it, so let’s just say “Social Worker”), about $28K give or take a few hundred

Car
1998 Saturn SL2, bought used in 2004, payments $209.15 per month, will be paid off next summer.

Rent and Utilities
I own a mobile home that I dearly wish I hadn’t bought. Paid c. $28.5K for it.
$335/month mortgage
$240/month lot rent
$167/month electricity (level payment plan, otherwise I’d pay about $90 in the summer, about $240 in the winter, and about $45 in the spring and fall)
$100/month cable TV + cable internet
Water is included in my lot rent; if I lived in a house that I owned I’d be paying c. $15 per month

27

24 year old recent male college graduate. Living at home in Winter Park, Florida near Orlando. My income is 10$/hr that my parents are paying me to fix up our old house. I’m currently saving up money to go to Japan to teach English. Then I’ll be even poorer but at least I’ll be out of the house.

28

40 y/o Male, Denver, CO. Got 3 kids.
I work for an insurance company settling total loss claims. Additional duties include evaluating and streamlining the total loss claims process in 6 states to maximize efficiency and customer satisfaction and minimizing controllable costs (storage fees, rental expenses, expediting sale of salvage, etc). In exchange for my services I get $60k/year, 401k match up to $900 annually, pension, medical/dental/life/disability.

I drive a $2,500 car (by choice, it’s the car I want and that’s all it costs!) that looks reasonably sharp, gets about 30 mpg, and costs $40/year to license because it’s old (1986). My total commute is about 5 miles/day and takes 10 minutes each way.

Beginning next month I will be paying $1,500 a month in alimony, $1,200 in rent, about $120/month total for gas/electricity/water. $300/month in unsecured, revolving, toxic debt. Student loan was paid off in exchange for 4 years of military service. Cell phone & DSL comes to about $100/month. Auto/Life/Home insurance is about $120/month.

I will be getting a second job to get rid of the revolving, unsecured, toxic debt.

29

37 year old female. Purchasing for a large winery in the Bay Area/wine country, California. I’m also a part-time student at our local JC working towards earning an AS in Enology & Viticulture (and possibly a BS after that.) Mom of two, a 17 year old HS student and a 21 year old also working towards obtaining his AS (computer/software related, I think) at the local JC. Happily married, and for the most part our finances are completely separate, which works very well for us. So all of this refers to me personally, my income and expenses only. I can’t really speak for my husband, but he does earn a fair bit more than I do.

My income hovers right around $50,000/year. Usually just under that, but can pop just over it with bonuses. I also have a 401K matching program at work and the last time I checked my balance was just under $30,000. It is currently the only savings I personally have. (My husband has his own savings/retirement savings.) Hopefully I can earn a little more and start saving a bit more aggressively once my kids and I finish school.

I have a very good medical/dental/vision plan through work as well as life insurance and disability, but it seems to cost more and more each year. I am currently paying about $450 per month for all benefits for my entire family. Just a few years ago it was half that or less.

My husband and I own our condo, and as I said, we keep our finances separate. We’ve split household expenses, so there are some that I do not have, such as our homeowners and car insurance, property taxes, cable internet, HOA fees, and a couple of other things that I am sure I am forgetting because I never have to think about them.

My personal household expenses are -

Mortgage (3BR/ 2.5 bath townhouse not far from downtown Santa Rosa) - We split it down the middle. My payment is $700/month. A portion of my paycheck is directly deposited into my husband’s checking account since he is the one that actually makes that payment.
Electric/Gas - It varies but averages around $120/month
Garbage - About $20/month
Water/Sewer - $75/month or so

I pay about $80/month for cell phone service for 2 lines. The second line is for my 21 year old son.

Gas is currently costing me close to $200/month. I drive a 2002 Ford Escape that I paid off a few years ago.

I started orthodontic treatment a few months ago and those payments are $160/month for the next 2 years.

I have no credit card debt, no student loans, etc.

I am paying my son’s JC tuition as well as my own, but the fees are ridiculously cheap. Costs have been between $400 - $1000 per semester including unit fees, class fees, books, etc. for both of us.

30

I’m an engineer, my wife is an Engineer and together we gross 250K per year.
Live in Orlando, with 7 Jack Russells in a 3000+ sq ft home with a nice pool, bought a house for my two kids in virginia 3 years ago and a condo for my youngest in orlando last year.
Got enough to retire on but haven’t decided what to do yet. we’re mid-50’s. Moved to orlando after our office in Virgnia got struck by a plane.
Other than a mortage (1900), don’t have any bills.

31

I said I would contribute:

Male, early 50’s, IT Infosec Project Manager/Financial Industry. Salary + bonus around $103k last year. Live in Texas. Married. Mortgage ~ $900 mo. Cars paid.

32

Male. General Contractor (Hitman).

Earn in six figures, but can’t mention it due to IRS concerns.

In addition to my fee, all expenses are added, so it is pure profit.

Travel a lot by various means. My current car is a Bentley Continental, but never use it for work.

My only problem is not being able to get life insurance.

33

Male, 25 years old, Lloydminster Saskatchewan, Canada

I’m a teacher and make about 47,000 a year plus another 3 - 5k on music gigs and private lessons.

My car is paid for, rent is 700

I’m paying off a computer at about rough 100$ a month

Trying to save 400$ a month

Cel phone is 60 a month, power is 80 - 120 a month

34

No phone, cellphone, electricity, or internet bills? How does one get this kind of deal?

35

39 year old male. I live with Tigger the cat.

I live in Silicon valley.

I’m in sales, 95k+/year.

400k small house. $2500 mortgage.

91 chev pickup. looks bad, runs good. paid off.

Harley Lowrider almost paid off

Buell 99 M2 paid off

Yamaha Vino. 80 mpg. paid off

36

43 year old male, married, 3 kids living in (surprise) suburban North Carolina.

Occupation: Technology company (wife is SAHM)

**Annual Comp: ** Between $125k and $150k depending on bonus/profit sharing. Expect to be closer to the upper end this year.

Monthly Budget

House is 3000sf brick home we bought in 1998

**Mortgage: ** $1,400ish (includes property tax and insurance)
Cars: Both paid for. Probably will pick up a hybrid in the fall to help with gas expense
**Gas: ** $750 a month (company pays more than half for business use)
**Cell: ** $150 (company pays $125 of this, too)
**Utilities (elec/gas/water): ** $260ish
**Sat TV/Internet: ** $150

I also give my wife $400 a week for her own spending money. She pays groceries out of this, but I pay all other bills.

Everything else we save.

37

OK, I’ll play.

Male, just hit 34, single, Corporate Travel Agent working for a company that has a long term contract which affords job security.

43K with bonuses and overtime.

Rent 650 per month, includes electricity and water (heat is electric so that’s covered).

No cell phone.

Bills are: Landline $33/mo; Cable, $80/mo; Internet $31/mo; food $125/mo

The rest goes on travel and books (and gifts for my nephew, the “little dude”). My sister and brother in-law own the house that I rent an apartment in, so not anticipating any rent increases for a few years - I do shovel in the winter, though.

Like a friend said the other day, you make choices. I have one friend who has a “suburban mansion” who would like to travel more. I travel a lot (4-5 times per year), but have no house of my own. It seems to work for me.

38

28 year old lab tech in Iqaluit, Nunavut
I make a little over $100k a year. Rent is $1000/mo (my gf pays for half)
Phone/internet is $110/mo
cable is 80/mo
power is $100/mo
Groceries are probably $600/mo
I bought a 98 Toyota RAV4 for cash
I owe $40,000 in student loans. It’s a race to see how fast I can pay them back. Currently paying ~$2000 a month on it.

39

Well since y’all are being so candid:

42, M, LA (lower Alabama)

I’m living off of savings (by choice) for a while but live frugally.

Budget $1000/month broken down as follows:

$150 - utilities (water/elec/garbage)
$105 - cell phones (4 cells - I pay for my Mom’s and bro’s, and SO’s)
$40 - internet (share a sat connection with a sis)
$300 - food (make our own bread, buy on sale and freeze other stuff)
$110 - gasoline (boy is this one hard to hit with current gas prices, but we don’t have anywhere we have to be —so we aren’t going out as much, i.e. combining our errands before we run to town)
$165 - auto insurance
$20 - dvd rentals
$110 ( the rest for incidentals, but if it’s not spent that’s great --however with current inflation this mostly gets spent)

Situation:
Live in a barn (actually a duplex, a metal building the shell of which my sis and I had constructed for about $50K. She and her hubby completed their half, and my SO and I completed our half (demising wall, interior walls, plumbing, electric, electric svc, etc.) Costs for materials for interior of barn were ~ $12K. So the total cost of the dwelling for me was ~ $37K. Total Square footage for our half is ~ 1900 with 2BR/2 BA. We have no debt nor children, and three old cars ('96 Neon, '97 Civic, '03 Corolla). It’s hard to estimate the value of the barn being an unconventional living structure. I would guess less than the cost of construction actually.

We have no health insurance but would use up our savings if something catastrophic should happen (You probably think we’re crazy). We have about $255K in savings.

I am vested in a retirement plan but intend to look for work in a few months. Mainly I am looking for work to stay employable because I don’t want to be out of the market too long. I have taken the past year off to finish the interior of our domicile. (Boy this thread reminds me of a past thread asking something like, “Could someone tell who you are from your posts?” Well if they couldn’t before, they sure can now!

40

How does everyone have such low grocery bills? I swear I spend 300$ a month everytime!