Thinking about getting one...for those that have one or had one, would you recommend? I'm thinking the following might work:

Mortgage/Rent - $2000
Gas - $150*
Electricity - $150*
Internet - $99
Cell phone - $100
Food - $400
Car fuel - $80
TV - $80
Tidal/Spotify - $20
Pets - $100
Entertainment - $200
Hookers/Blow - $60**
Flowers for wife - $60**


*Bills are inverse, depending on time of year.

3/17/2025 12:45:35 PM

gonna need to pump up those hooker/blow numbers.

3/17/2025 1:14:03 PM

I don't budget I just continuously earn more money

3/17/2025 1:19:59 PM

^

3/17/2025 2:31:16 PM

You should consolidate and reduce internet/TV/Tidal/Spotify/Entertainment so you can increase Hookers/Blow and your quality of life.

3/17/2025 3:44:28 PM

why break entertainment into sub categories?

clearly TV, Tidal/Spotify, and Hookers/Blow are all Entertainment line items

go ahead and call it $400/month

3/17/2025 3:46:09 PM

3/17/2025 4:17:34 PM

I still use toilet paper

3/17/2025 5:12:31 PM

Mortgage/Rent - $1450
Electricity - $90(avg over 12 months just a guess)
Internet - $70
Cell phone - $21ish
Food - $250(guessing)
Car fuel - $5
TV - $3.25 assuming the service is around for the next 5 years. Paid $197 for lifetime
Entertainment - $50
Car payment- $200
Student loan- $45
Car insurance- ~$100
La Fitness- $32

Also pay IRS $200/month for next 6 months or so, have a personal loan of $71.xx/month for next like 16 months, and 4 cc payments per month. That will be 3 cc payments soon, and one of those is no interest til like june of 2026

3/17/2025 9:22:06 PM

Mortgage - $2000 ($1300 required, $700 extra toward principal)
Gas - $150 ($80 in summer, $250 winter)
Electricity - $200 ($300 summer, $150 winter)
Internet - $90 (TimeWarner) and $160 (Starlink mobile)
Cell - $190 (Me, Wife, Kid)
Groceries - $500
Eating out - $200
Streaming - $60 (Paramount, Netflix, Amazon)
Pets - $200
Hobbies - $500
Fuel - $400
Home Equity LOC payment - $400

$4300/Month base living expenses for a family of 3.
No car payments (6 months left on one and then its done)

Wife and I have run continuous budgets for almost 15 years. It helped us a lot keep track of where our money was going as sometimes it feels like it just evaporates.

3/17/2025 10:32:58 PM

Quote :

"Food - $250(guessing)"

I wish I could only spend $250 a month on food. Shit, some weeks I have spent that much. Fuckin Doordash

3/17/2025 10:41:19 PM

Just did a more accurate thing on calculator guestimating and got about 409. But thats including coffee expenses and those sparkling ice drinks that i love. Without that, around 340. Gonna average what i have in freezer to see how much, and then i can be even closer. I did 9.25x4x4 but might be off. Don't normally have as many as pic, that was after like stocking up one particular weekend

But usually about 10-15 at all times, wonder what it averages...

I put about 32/month strawberries, apples at 20/month. Bananas about $7/month. Cheese $15/month. Etc etc etc

3/18/2025 12:55:40 AM

3/18/2025 1:07:16 AM

Lol i prob have same bag in freezer, that was october 9th

3/18/2025 1:10:54 AM

my budget is save 10% and dont buy shit i dont need with credit

[Edited on March 18, 2025 at 7:59 PM. Reason : g]

3/18/2025 7:58:40 PM

I sometimes take for granted that my food expenses are significantly lower than most people's because I cook from scratch, cook in large batches, and shop sales.

No hate on the convenience shoppers. I know I'm still paying -- in my labor.

For example, I just did a large batch of the gravy needed to etouffee some shrimp for this shrimp and grits dish my wife and I are into. It's portioned up into 3 bags. Each bag is something we will eat twice in the same week. So that's 6 servings of it, in addition to the 4 servings we had since I cooked it on Sunday. It's portioned out and vacuum sealed in the freezer. Defrost the night before and bring to a simmer in a dutch oven on the stove. Smother raw shrimp in the gravy, as is the style of an etouffee. I'll get 10-12 servings of a restaurant-worthy dish for around $3-5 per serving (depends on the seafood I choose).

I put in, maybe, 2-3 hours of labor spread over 4-5 hours chopping onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic. I also made the stock from scratch. This time it was a seafood stock made from King crab shells, lobster tails, shrimp tails, and clams. I do that in the pressure cooker. Takes about 2 hours. Using kitchen scraps for stocks and broths is a real money saver, especially if you're already prepping vegetables en masse.

3/18/2025 11:44:58 PM

Admirable.

3/19/2025 6:37:13 AM

It's pretty relaxing, honestly. On a Sunday afternoon I'll put a vinyl record on and start chopping vegetables. I used to have a glass of wine while doing that but I quit for health and monetary purposes. (I don't need a $60 bottle of wine to save money. Just some good old fashioned .)

I use techniques like vacuum chamber sealing and sous vide to simplify preparation and improve my outcomes.

We eat things like fish, shrimp, crabs, scallops pretty regularly. 1-2x weekly. We have beef once a week. Tuesday is always some kind of taco. Caesar salad plays a big role in what we eat, too. Romaine is inexpensive, especially in bulk from Costco. I'd like to go back to making the dressing from scratch each week.

3/19/2025 9:50:26 AM

It's always special when the eclipses the authentic thread

3/19/2025 6:45:56 PM

Quote :

"For example, I just did a large batch of the gravy needed to etouffee some shrimp"

Why not a roux?
Props to you on the food prep. I wish I had the patience.

3/19/2025 6:58:14 PM

oh I definitely used a roux in this gravy

3/20/2025 8:49:55 AM

y'all aint got car insurance payments?

3/20/2025 9:53:48 AM

It went from DINKS budget: 10% living expenses, 10% food and shopping, 40% hobbies and 40% savings.

Then with three kids:

25% blueberries and blackberries
25% living expenses
20% doctors visits
10% kid entertainment (play places, preschool for fun)
20% savings (half of which is kids)

We pay ~$1600 for two cars on insurance (which I'd put in living expenses).

[Edited on March 20, 2025 at 10:47 AM. Reason : A]

3/20/2025 10:46:22 AM

I love blueberries and blackberries

3/20/2025 4:21:10 PM

Car insurance! How could I forget?!

Car and motorcycle insurance - $175

3/20/2025 8:59:38 PM