Weekly budget / spending money?

Same here, I find the older I get also the less stuff I want anyway. Rather spend money on experiences and eating out than more "stuff".

 

The CBA platform is similar to the pocketbook one.
The benifit of the pocket book app is that it works across all of your banks - not just CBA accounts.

Blacky

 

I'm not a spender so never had the need for a budget. Then I started going to financial advisers and they started asking "how much do you spend on food?' etc.
I had no idea.
For one year I wrote EVERYTHING I spent. It was interesting but no real shocks.
I did find out that 30-40% was spent on travel though.

 

Interesting...did FA manage to work out what you needed net??

For that matter do you know?

I am curious...because I found myself an observer in an interesting conversation. The person was saying that they needed 70k PA net to live on....they have quite a bit in super (just above $1m) and have fully paid off PPOR. They are of the opinion upon retiring the next 9 months at 60.5years of ago this will be enough to draw down about $5800 pm till they go to the almighty!

Unfortunately..I happened to mention the 4% rule and said that they might need more like $1.8m...that did not do down to well. They assured me their FA had it all on hand....left the convo there.....

Finding that FAs are great on knowing the intricacies of the rules ...but very poor on getting you to the destination...some can't even develop a reasonable plan...my experience anyway. Some of them with CFPs want 5k for the plan....no thanks...

 

that's insulting! Or was it supposed to be sarcasm?
I'm a number cruncher remember and yes I know exactly what I need to live on and where it is coming from.

I had no interest in discussing what I live on with a financial advisor.

What do you mean by- you mentioned the 4% rule?
Many people are misinformed that you MUST draw down 4% of your Super. You actually have to draw down 4% (or up to 10%) of the amount you put into the streaming account (not the total of your Super account).
In the above example he would have to draw 7% which means he would be depleting the base. So yes he would eventually run out of money.

 

Would love to know how to only spend $100-$200 per week in discretionary.

- Midweek Lunch $30 ( yes, I take leftovers from time to time)
- Midweek Dinners Monday to Thursday - $0 (sourced from grocery shopping, below)
- Midweek Dinners Friday - $50
- Weekend Brekkie - $30 (if the kids spend more than 5 minutes in the house they go stir crazy)
- Weekend Lunch - $30 (see Weekend Brekkie comment)
- Weekend Dinners - $100
- Weekend Socialising (aka drinks and stuff) - $100+ easily
- Midweek Socialising - $50 on and off
- Weekly Groceries - $150-$200 per week

I can't see how my wife and I with 2 little ones can do less than $500 a week unless we want to sit at home and watch the paint dry.

Frugality is a very obscure notion for my family, sadly.

 

Not a stupid question....the FA will be able to advise on how to make it tax effective...you need to grow a thick skin. Too many people in West with thin skins.....

But based on the Jaw Boning Scott Morrison is doing...he is looking for you Travelbug....he has his sights on people like you...

As for the 4% rule...research has shown that drawing 4% of your asset base will leave you with an income indexed to inflation.

The real issue will any Super draw downs be tax exempt in the future...me thinks that with the shrinking tax base...they will tax super earning but will provide a reasonable tax free amount.

 

I have spoken to the people I need to for the right advice. FA have only ever tried to get me to sell all my property and invest in a managed fund so don't bother with that now.
I guess I'm just used to you questioning what I'm doing and telling me what I'm doing wrong and telling me what I should do. So forgive my jumping to conclusions when you ask "For that matter do you?". Yes I do find that insulting that you think I would retire not even knowing how much money I spend each year.

People like me??

Yeah I agree. I'm not planning on using my Super but it's there as a backup. As my properties have been CF+ for quite a few years I've been pouring more in to Super.
Yes the future is certainly questionable where Super is concerned.

 

Yep that's a lot of money on eat out food. And you are using that as entertainment.

There are lots of things you can do with kids other than go to restaurants (and kids would enjoy more).
Play cricket, go to the park, beach, make and fly kites, ride bikes (not outdoor people?). With the extra money you'll have you could buy some craft items and make Christmas decorations or presents. There are often free things for kids put on by councils. Go to Bunnings kids workshops. Lots to keep kids from watching paint dry that don't cost money, especially when kids are little.

 

You must have really cheap local cafes and really well behaved kids.

Its not often that i can offer tips on budgeting.

What about picnics in the park or back yard bbqs at the weekend? Get a membership for a local zoo or museum, take a packed lunch and just buy everyone an icecream at the end of the day. Out kids also love a sausage and a trip to ikea or bunnings.

Basically, swap the cafe meals for coffee and an ice-cream.

How old are the kids? Are they at school or childcare all week?

 

Yes...that is the problem with FAs...I got exactly that you are over invested in properties and need to more invested in properties. You can certainly retire.....the question is will it last that is the 64k question even for me??

As for being insulted.....remember this is internet forum? People share all the time.....who know your experience or even mine may turn on a light for someone. Just yesterday @euro73 turned on a light about NRAS and he thought I was taking the ****....

Yes self funded retirees are definitely being looked at....they are trying you guys to pay tax. And guys you and I are also being looked at as to how they can get access to or income pool further....be it some sort of land tax...or other means.

As for super...i am definitely pouring more money there....things may change there...but the govt will still offer quite a bit of tax advantage there. To use and example I know someone who sold his properties and put it in super. He now has over 1.5m there. He is single and comfortably lives 65k-70k per year. He does know what he doing with swapping in and out of managed funds. He sold his properties over 8 years ago. My target is $1m in super for extra insurance.

 

I'm after something like this pocket book... But free is a little concerning when it comes to your finances. is the first app free then pay for the good stuff once you're in

 

My partner and i spend about $120 a week between us on groceries and cook big batches of foods on sundays to last the working week. Fuel will always vary depending on where you live, where you work and what you do in your spare time.

We have $75 a week each for what we call "fun money" whether that is coffee, eating out, movies, entertainment. Sounds measly but we always manage to enjoy ourselves!

Budgets are awsome! Once you set one up properly, and stick to it, you'll be amazed with the results aswell as impressed at savings which in turn will be investments

 

I'd vote, but I can't find the "I don't have a budget" option.

I'm always comparing what the cheapest option is at the shop (volumes and brands), but I do buy things if I really want them irrespective of price (but that's pretty rare).

 

The kids are 4 and 2, so the real fun hasn't even begun budget wise We are based OS in Mauritius, a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, so a lot of time is spent at pools, beaches, nature parks, so trust me, plenty of free activities are being done already.

Given the communal style of living here, a lot of the expats congregate for "sundowners", so it's quite social. But there's definitely room to trim fat of the bone. One less Piña Colada from Wifey and one less beer from me every outing

 

Yeah - there are in-app purchases. Plus they are now selling tax returns. Basically you load your data in, and they complete your tax return based on that. Probably cheap as chips and misses 99% of potential deductions.

Blacky

 

Must be hard being you, but someone's got to do it!

 

We are very lucky one local bar has a 25m infinity pool, the other pub is 5 steps away from the beach. If this was your "local", below, how often would you pop-in?

So we're always trying to balance the financial with "living in the now", and generally the living in the now is winning. What's making things a little easier atm is the AUD depreciation is doing some saving for us at the moment.

 

I don't have a set budget.
I spend what i want when i want.

However my spending is quite low because I generally find excuses not to buy things

 

I voted for $100-$200 per week. Saved every cent I could when starting out and the lifestyle expenses haven't really gone up that much over the years as my cash flow/assets grew. Never felt like I was missing out on anything. Just keep on doing what I'm doing because it works. Not for everybody though.