Even though I believe I have done well in my spending this month - having spent much less than I have taken in AND saved $100 more this month AND completely cleared the CC's, I still have managed to spend double, nearly TRIPLE of my allocated fun money. What the?!
And I have hardly bought anything really. I bought a season of a TV series at the start of september, I bought a couple of accesories for my birthday party (all under $6 each, total spent $30) , I bought two books (total: $43) and we ate out a couple of times.
I would hardly call that splurging. Infact, for me, that's holding back quite well.
This week I actually AM splurging. And I know it's a splurge. I am going to a day spa with a friend. I've been there twice before and it's gorgeous, and I mentioned it to my friend and she wanted to go, so I suggested we go one day after work.
So I guess my thoughts are, am I splurging every week, or am I just living like a normal person? Should I increase my 'budgetted' fun money, or should I be kicking myself when I spend say, $13 on a vegetarian cookbook, or $30 on a seven-disc, second hand television season on dvd???
After all, I did EARN the money. I guess I have a hard time about this because while I AM saving, and trying to save more (and succeeding! if just a small amount), I really have cut back on a lot of things. Am I setting my expectations too high? Or am I underestimating the costs of things these days?
While I understand that there are truly frugal people out there who would gasp at my spending habits, I need to clarify that I will never, could never, be the type that watches every penny like a hawk. True, I tally all my expenses, but I really believe life is for living.
How much in total do YOU spend per week/month (on average), on the following:
alcohol
takeaway beverages
takeaway and/or dining out
magazines
books
gym memberships
car washes
clothes
shoes
accesories
hair care & products
professional grooming
massage
makeup
chemist stuff
health
entertainment (ie. dvd's, cable, video rental, movies, memberships, online gaming, admissions etc)
lotto/gambling
house appliances
technology
electrical goods
charity
These are all the categories that I class under 'Fun'.
Currently I am spending on average $84.81 per week on 'Fun'.
(btw: I personally do not have cable or gym membership, online gaming or pay for car washes - but if I did I would class them in the Fun category)
how much do YOU spend on fun?
September 23rd, 2008 at 02:42 am
September 23rd, 2008 at 02:49 am 1222138170
alcohol: $20
takeaway beverages: 0
takeaway and/or dining out$150-200
magazines 0
books 0
gym memberships $22.00
car washes 0
clothes 30
shoes 0
accesories 0
hair care & products $120 haircut every 8-9 weeks
professional grooming 0
massage 0
makeup 0
chemist stuff ?
health 0
entertainment (ie. dvd's, cable, video rental, movies, memberships, online gaming, admissions etc) $10
lotto/gambling 0
house appliances 0
technology 0
electrical goods 0
charity $25
But just one big splurge throws that all off. I tend to have one or 2 big splurges (spend $50 or more on a want)a month. Like, I tend to go on about 4 or 5 vacations a year (ridiculous I know) and each vacation is several hundred dollars...so I am saving weekly for a big upcoming vacation.
September 23rd, 2008 at 02:53 am 1222138422
I don't really think there is a right or wrong amount to spend in these areas. What it really depends on is if it is in your budget. If you see that you average approx. $81.xx/wk, then set your budget to that (if it works) and don't feel guilty as long as you're staying within the constraints of the budget you set for yourself.
September 23rd, 2008 at 03:23 am 1222140211
takeaway beverages : 10$
takeaway and/or dining out: 10$-20$
magazines: 0$
books: 0$
gym memberships: 0$
car washes: 0$
clothes: 50$
shoes: 0$
accesories: 0$
hair care & products: 30$ (once every two months)
professional grooming: 0$
massage: 0$
makeup: 0$
chemist stuff: 0$
health: 0$
entertainment (ie. dvd's, cable, video rental, movies, memberships, online gaming, admissions etc): 10$
lotto/gambling: 0$
house appliances: 0$
technology: 0$
electrical goods: 0$
charity: 5$
September 23rd, 2008 at 04:39 am 1222144793
Obviously we can't do everything each week: If we buy clothes we usually cannot afford to order a pizza. If we go out for drinks we usually don't buy a CD or whatever that week. If we want something bigger we have to save up the weekly allowance.
We also get cable TV, high-speed Internet and Netflix; that comes to $90 per month.
We get our hair done every 5 weeks; that's $20 per person, or about $60 per month.
I recently decided that vacations are very important to us, so I'm currently putting away $600 per month for that. (I just started putting that much away; before we put away less but scrounged money with garage sales and such to raise the needed funds for trips.)
Sometimes if one of us gets a bonus or OT at work, we divvy that up to do a bit of clothes shopping; or if there's a surplus in the household/grocery budget we might go out to eat. Other times we put that money to necessities such as extra debt repay or medical bills.
But just trying to count up the above-listed regular fun expenses, it comes out to approximately $120 per week per person. (The travel savings is the biggest part of that.)
I agree with frugaltexan; just find what you're comfortable with and don't worry too much about others. I can't really talk, though; I'm currently fixated on the percentages of my income that go to different categories, and trying to get those right. Currently 20% of our income goes toward fun stuff, and I feel that's a little high, but not strongly enough to cut back on anything at present. LOL.
September 23rd, 2008 at 02:12 pm 1222179128
gym memberships $29
entertainment $20 rentals
I didn't have spending in most the categories.
So about $100/month on your categories. Not sure I'd list gym as fun. Hehe. I LOVE the gym and we love the "free" daycare as well, but I consider it more necessity and luxury that we have a safe, climate controlled place to work out and drop the kids off year round. But it is only something we could afford in the last year so I agree it is more luxury, in that regard.
I think I missed cable - that may be another $40/month.
On top of that though, dh and I both get a $50 monthly allowance to spend on whatever. It's the "no nag" money. & I budget $150/month to miscellaneous. Sometimes it goes to necessities, but more often than not it goes to some activities with the kids, etc.
So add all those up and we spend almost $400/month between the 4 of us.
September 23rd, 2008 at 02:15 pm 1222179351
I budget my gym membership seperately and it comes to $44/month. I also have a "personal care" category which covers skin care, hair cuts, and miscellaneous personal items. That is $30/month.
I am paid biweekly, so twice a year I get an "extra" check. That check gets used for bigger purchases such as clothes shopping, electronics, long weekend type trips, and other bigger ticket wants. However, I usually don't spend the entire extra check and whatever is left gets put into savings.
September 23rd, 2008 at 04:22 pm 1222186973
It is really hard for me as I went a few years without much entertainment to get my head above water. Now that I am smooth sailing for the moment, I want to make up for "missing out" on my entertainment and binge!
September 23rd, 2008 at 05:24 pm 1222190674
alcohol - $0
takeaway beverages - $0
takeaway and/or dining out - $10/weekly
magazines - I subscribe to any/all mags I need/want
books - $20-50/monthly (my HUGE weakness)
gym memberships - $0 (as if lol)
car washes - $5/monthly
clothes - $ varies (I have gone years, yes years, without buying any clothes) (that's what my birthdy and Christmas are for LOL) (but, lately I have been finding some hellaciously GOOD sales....sooooo)
shoes - $ varies (see clothes, LOL)
accesories - no set amount/varies
hair care & products - I only buy/use shampoo, so maybe $2/month
professional grooming - $50/year
massage- $0 @@
makeup - $0 (don't wear it often enough)
chemist stuff - $0
health- $0
entertainment (ie. dvd's, cable, video rental, movies, memberships, online gaming, admissions etc)- $20/month
lotto/gambling - $10/year
house appliances - not my problem LOL
technology - not interested
electrical goods - ditto
charity - varies
These are all the categories that I class under 'Fun'.
September 23rd, 2008 at 07:06 pm 1222196817
September 23rd, 2008 at 07:18 pm 1222197519