# Please critique my spending with a view to reaching savings goal



## Electric (Jul 19, 2013)

I have a few years of Quicken data now, and am trying to curtail my spending with a view to reaching a savings goal of $2000/month. Just wondering if anyone cares to compare my spending with theirs, or could suggest which numbers are too high.

Average saving beyond RESP/RRSP/employer plans over the past 2 years has been $1124/mo. If we manage to increase the $1124 to $2000 per month, I can retire in 15 years, and that is my goal.

This is the actual yearly spending averaged over the past 2 years. It totals $114518. Just wondering if anything leaps out as being something that could be reduced. We are a family of 3.

[details deleted - thanks for the comments]


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

So you are looking to increase your savings from $1124/month to $2000 per month in savings?

Keep in mind that the RESP and RRSP could be considered 'savings' as well. Not to mention any mortgage principal being paid off.

The only way to shrink your spending by $874 is to start cutting. You might be able to make some 'easy' cuts by renegotiating things, picking more appropriate plans etc so there is no pain, but that won't save very much.

You have to decide what you are willing to reduce and/or cut and then do it. Lifestyle costs money, so less of it will result in bigger savings.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Welcome. Leave their hair alone. It probably looks great and keeps everyone happy as you said. 

The obvious things to me are the clothing, books, alcohol, mobile phone, education (what does this mean?), coffee shops. Can these be reduced or eliminated without causing divorce? These seem to be luxuries IMO but there may be valid reasons these costs are so high on a recurring basis. You may be able to reach your goal if the family is willing to cut or eliminate these.

As for costco, don't shop there as you don't seem to be saving anything. Is a lot of food being wasted? Try Sobeys, Super Value etc.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

Alternatively, you could look at making more money somehow. Side business/part-time job, overtime at work?

BTW - You'll need to save about $350-$400 per month for those cars, so that isn't an insignicant cost. Maybe buy cheaper cars if you want to save in that area.


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## Barwelle (Feb 23, 2011)

FP hit the nail on the head... it's all about what kind of lifestyle you want to live, and where you are willing to sacrifice.


My thoughts:



Electric said:


> 1.	Parking Tickets 205
> 
> 2.	Home Phone 536.91
> 
> ...



1. This could be eliminated from your spending :tongue-new:

2. Could you eliminate the home phone since everyone has cellphones these days?

3. Are you on a family plan to save money? Does the plan actually suit your needs? Some people get coerced into buying more plan than they need when they sign up.

4. Can you keep up with BNN/news online? $63 seems like a lot to me to watch one channel. I personally wouldn't have satellite/cable b/c of things like netflix, as you point out.

5. Nice to see such a small fast food bill! :encouragement:

6. Is there a library nearby that you could borrow books from instead of buying?


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I think Shaw Direct offers a basic service for $30/mo and adding BNN might cost another $7. They also offer free service for local channels but without BNN. BNN important stuff is on the web by end of day. Lang and O'Leary in one hour covers the highlights each day on CBCNN.

Look at bundles offered by the mobile carriers. Home phone, LD, Internet, mobile and TV (cable or satellite).


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

Some ideas:
- cut the home phone, switch to VOIP instead if you really want/need a land line
- look at your usage of the cellphones, could you decrease your plans to a lower level?
- stop parking illegally
- cut the cable. you can get business news online easily.
- itemize your cash spending in future (or stop spending so much cash and use cards instead so it will be categorized in mint)
- 1233/mo on groceries is high. Quite honestly, I think Costco is a trap. You need to pay to be a member. Once you're in, you see all these cool nifty things that seem cheap that you want to buy and you impulse buy them. We used to be members and it was rare to get out of there under $200. See if your wife would be willing to switch to a discount supermarket instead (No Frills, Food Basics, Freshco, etc). Or even Loblaws although personally I can't stand paying Loblaws prices - it might prevent some of the Costco impulse shopping.


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## Electric (Jul 19, 2013)

Thanks for the warm welcome and your efforts in replying to my first post on this forum!



the-royal-mail said:


> The obvious things to me are the ... books


Have actually eliminated these. Now zero except for books paid for by work.



> , alcohol,


Just to be clear, that's an annual (not monthly!) expense and includes a wine club (Opimian) that I am thinking of cancelling.



> mobile phone


Yah, 3 phones. One is with Rogers because they are the only provider with coverage where I work. The two others are with Wind, which I suppose will be Verizon eventually. Perhaps I could think about a pay as you go plan for my daughter.



> education (what does this mean?)


Violin lessons. Can't do much about this one.



> As for costco, don't shop there as you don't seem to be saving anything.


Agreed. I have been talking myself into maintaining the membership because we get a cheque for about $300 every year from them, but I don't think I am actually saving anything. No Frills is the new Costco starting this weekend.



Four Pillars said:


> Alternatively, you could look at making more money somehow. Side business/part-time job, overtime at work?


I am actually taking on some consulting that should pay about $10k per year. The plan was to put it against the mortgage, but maybe I should think about investing it instead. Mortgage renews next summer; I plan to do a comparison then.



> BTW - You'll need to save about $350-$400 per month for those cars, so that isn't an insignicant cost. Maybe buy cheaper cars if you want to save in that area.


Agreed. I just finished paying off a diesel Golf after 2 years; this car should last at least 12 more years. Other car should last another 7 years or so. I will have to plan to phase in savings to replace these.



Barwelle said:


> 1. This could be eliminated from your spending :tongue-new:


The parking tickets are the result of a unique situation I am in. A parking pass at my wife's workplace costs $1100 per year. For the past 3 years, we have averaged about $200 a year in parking tickets plus the $425 in daily parking fees. So it is better for me to pay the parking tickets.



> 2. Could you eliminate the home phone since everyone has cellphones these days?


I will look into this.



> 4. Can you keep up with BNN/news online? $63 seems like a lot to me to watch one channel.


This is a good point. I only really watch Berman's Call, and I found out today that it is available online.



kcowan said:


> I think Shaw Direct offers a basic service for $30/mo and adding BNN might cost another $7.


I will have to call Bell today and find out if there is a cheaper option.



Spudd said:


> - cut the home phone, switch to VOIP instead if you really want/need a land line


The current bill, after dropping a LD package that wasn't worth it, is $34 per month - how much do you figure I'd save with VOIP?



> - itemize your cash spending in future (or stop spending so much cash and use cards instead so it will be categorized in mint)


This is a Heisenberg Uncertainty problem with my wife. When I started tracking expenses, she started paying the cleaning lady and buying lunch in cash. I have asked her to use plastic whenever possible.



> - 1233/mo on groceries is high.Quite honestly, I think Costco is a trap.


Yup. Like I said, No Frills is going to be our new Costco.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

We're with VOIP.ms. From Feb 1 to May 30 (a 4 month period) we spent a total of $10.30, which was a total of 15 hours on the phone. 70% of our minutes were used on calls to European countries, the remaining 30% were local.

I excluded June because we were on vacation for half the month so it wouldn't have been fair. 

There was a $100 startup cost to buy the VOIP box but since we were paying $20/mo for Bell before, this paid for itself rather quickly.

VOIP.ms charges per minute, even for local and incoming calls, so if you have teenagers who spend hours on the phone, it may not work out - you'd need to do the math. Oddly the rate is 1 cent/min for incoming, and half a cent/min for outgoing local.


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## Itchy54 (Feb 12, 2012)

just a few questions
how old is your daughter?
under utilities, does this include things like garbage and water or is it just hydro and natural gas?
I think that's it...
now
I am a lady and I say stop the insanity at the hair salon!!! $100 every month is crazy, sorry but I just can't get over that....
You spend too much on food. I go to Costco all the time, it's the closest store to me BUT I never buy all my groceries there. I have set items that cost much less there but I don't go beyond my list. Their stuff can get pricey. Know your prices.
You have activities and education for your daughter. That is over $200 every month!! I sent my son to cadets...he played the flute for free (and whatever other instrument he could...he now has a collection of guitars and he is self taught) and he hiked the local mountains. He was also on the swim team, soccer and more and I never paid that much for activities. I know we all want our kids to have everything but....
$250 a month, every month for clothes....oh my, I might spend that in a year....(ok, I have a son --grown now--and he did t-shirts and jeans, girls are different)
Health and fitness...is that a membership? For how many? Now, no one and I mean no one messes with my gym membership but I pay only $50/month and that includes yoga classes and other group classes along with a full gym.
Lawn? do you pay someone to cut your grass.....?
Entertainment? $170/month is this movies? plays?

What I did not see is travel. You gotta travel!! Keeps me alive.....

Honestly you look pretty good.


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## Electric (Jul 19, 2013)

Itchy54 said:


> just a few questions
> under utilities, does this include things like garbage and water or is it just hydro and natural gas?


Natural gas, electricity, water/sewer. Garbage is embedded in the property tax, but this expense could go up as we have been knocked back to one bag (with no corresponding tax decrease, naturally).



> I am a lady and I say stop the insanity at the hair salon!!! $100 every month is crazy


That's for dearest daughter and dearest wife together. It seems to make them feel good, although as a man paying $15 I think it is the biggest ripoff going.



> You have activities and education for your daughter. That is over $200 every month!!


One thought I had is that we could pay a lower rate to a music student at the local university.



> $250 a month, every month for clothes....oh my, I might spend that in a year


This is mostly my fault. I travel to $$Dubai$$ for project meetings and felt underdressed, so I splashed out on a $1500 suit at Harry Rosen last Fall. I have since found a custom tailor who can make me bespoke suits for $800 if I pay cash.



> Health and fitness...is that a membership?


It is mother/daughter yoga classes and a $1000 bike I bought. This number should be more like $500 this year if I stay off the bike part websites. 



> Lawn? do you pay someone to cut your grass.....?


I put down 3" of fresh topsoil on the front lawn and now all the neighbours' wives are making their husbands do the same, so I am not popular at the moment. My back still hurts. I would never pay someone to cut the grass - my plan is that my daughter will become very familiar with the operation of our Honda lawnmower next year.



> Entertainment? $170/month is this movies? plays?


I'm not sure right now, but I will look it up in Quicken later. It does seem high.



> What I did not see is travel. You gotta travel!! Keeps me alive.....


I get a lot of Aeroplan points through business travel, so we can usually travel for "free," although Air Canada has an increasingly high definition of "free" these days.


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## Itchy54 (Feb 12, 2012)

Sounds like you really do have everything under control. Your ladies are very blessed to have you...
so you are one of "those" neighbours eh?


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Itchy54 said:


> Sounds like you really do have everything under control.


Spending $1500 on a suit and a $1000+ on a bike .... sorry but for someone wanting to save money it sounds like some "control" is missing.


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## Itchy54 (Feb 12, 2012)

Those darn bikes. My hubby is an avid bike rider and $1000 for a good bike is really nothing. Thee last bike my hubby bought was about 10 years ago and it's still going strong. Some things are not worth buying cheap. If this fellow is going to Dubai for business then he might just need that expensive suit...it's a lot for me but I get to wear jeans and a t-shirt to work. BTW, I would really love to go to Dubai...

I do agree though, he does want to save but there are things that don't make sense.....


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

Gotta watch the bike spending. I also bought a bike last year for $1,000. Since then I've spent about another $2,500 on various related items including a 2nd bike.


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## Electric (Jul 19, 2013)

Hee. Tri bikes are amazingly expensive. $2k doesn't even get you a low-end carbon frame and a pure 105 gruppo. I bought mine second hand, and I occasionally suffer from upgrade fever. For example, I know that I can order up a full Di2 servo shifting gruppo for about $1000 from the UK, but I am resisting until next year's bonus lands in my bank account.

Although we have lived like royalty, buying just about whatever fit in the cart at Costco, this weekend is my first trip to No Frills to see how common people shop. (I want to live like common people. I want to do whatever common people do. Remember that song from the 90s?)


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

The obvious one that jumps out at me is private school for $17000.


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## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

It should be fairly easy to cut the grocery bill in half. About $200/mo per person is more than adequate... that's $7200/yr


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## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

It is all a matter of perspective. For me the bike cost is two for $50 at a yard sale almost 10 years ago. Last year one new tire, the rubber on the old one had rotted out. Wife rarely rides her bike, but has all the same basi parts as mine. It is the parts source for mine to allow me time to fix the old bits on an offline basis.

I work on biking 7km round trip to work whenever the family schedule will allow it. 

We feed a family of four, with the two boys, now 10 and 13, for about $6000 a year. We are a lot differnet that you in that department.

We do have the ability to spend more, but focus on saving to pull the pin on full time employment years before the neighbours.

Currently we have the worse yard on the street, but I think we are almost the only ones who do not have a landscaping service lookig after it.
When not working full time the lawn can look nicer if I want to make it one of my priorities.


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## mcoursd2006 (May 22, 2012)

A couple of other points I'd like to make:

1) You life insurance seems high. Is this both LTDI and term life, or are you purchasing whole life? Is this for both you and spouse? Are you in a high risk group?

2) Ditch the cable TV, as others have noted. If you need channels, perhaps go with an antenna. Depending on where you live, you should be able to get most of the local channels. No BNN, but you can get that on the web. OTA is free after initial start up cost--$60 for a decent indoor antenna and that's about it.

3) You have three cell phones AND a landline? Ditch the landline and go with a VoIP such as freephoneline. After the initial startup cost of about $100, you pay nothing else except international calls, which are still dirt cheap. Or if you don't want to bother with the hassle of setting it up, you can always go with an ISP like Comwave or Teksavvy and bundle it. It'd still be much cheaper than what you have now.

It seems like you do quite well for yourself. Saving 20K/yr shouldn't prove too difficult if you are willing to change your mindset. 

BTW, you're posting on a frugality forum and you spent $1500 on a suit recently. Some might find the irony in that amusing.


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## sprocket1200 (Aug 21, 2009)

mcoursd2006 said:


> A couple of other points I'd like to make:
> 
> 1) You life insurance seems high. Is this both LTDI and term life, or are you purchasing whole life? Is this for both you and spouse? Are you in a high risk group?
> 
> ...


The irony is not only amusing, the whole joke is funny!


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