How much money is sufficient for you?

[Gokul43201]

I cannot fathom spending $37US/day on food! I spend maximum $70 per week (Canadian) on food, and I think I eat quite well. I'll eat out for lunch 2 or 3 times a week, the rest is home made (by me). This isn't prime rib or lobster, but it's not ramen noodles either. Cost of living I guess.

As a grad student, I've been getting by on $24k-$30k per year (depending on teaching load) and managing to save a good chunk each year. I don't spend much money, but I don't really feel deprived of anything either. I'm used to living cheaply I guess.

shmoe, there are Universities in Canada that pay Grad students 30K !?

That's it ! I'm heading north.

 

[Evo]

You just told me that she eats all of her entree. Now you're agreeing with my statement that no one can eat all of an entree?

For me, it's at least two large meals. she's an active teenager.

Boy, you're in a mean mood tonight.

This is a thread about "How much money is sufficient for you", remember?

I'm dealing with raising kids that are used to a very affluent lifestyle that is NORMAL to them. I am lucky enough to make a decent living, but the girls have had to make concessions. If money was a problem, I know that they would do whatever was necessary.

Try to take things into perspective. If money wasn't a limit for you, ever, since you were born, how do you think you would view things? Maybe it has never been an issue for you.

 

[chroot]

I'm dealing with raising kids that are used to a very affluent lifestyle that is NORMAL to them.

You're the one making crying faces and complaining about her expenditures, but then you defend them. I'm confused.

- Warren

 

[Evo]

You're the one making crying faces and complaining about her expenditures, but then you defend them. I'm confused.

- Warren

Because I never agreed with my husband's attitude toward money. I don't feel comfortable spending money that way. I wish my girls were more like me, but at the same time I have to realize what they feel is "normal".

His spending was one of the main reasons I left him. He always would blow it off saying that his income would always grow more than enough to compensate.

 

[shmoe]

shmoe, there are Universities in Canada that pay Grad students 30K !?

That's it ! I'm heading north.

That's Canadian...TAships for maybe 150hours and teaching a 1 semester course. Knock off 5.5k or so for tuition here, and whatever for rent (~400-600/month if you share a 2 bedroom apt), and insanely cheap food compared to wherever Evo lives , translate to $US, I'm not sure where we compare to American schools.

There are silly new awards from nserc worth $35k/year (Canadian). Combined with teaching, a phd student with one of these can make close to starting faculty.

 

[Saint]

please tell me:

1) how much to own a 1500 sq feet house or apartment in US
2) how much to buy a car as good as Honda Accord
3) how much to spend on petrol if you travel 300 km per week.
4) how much on food and drinks
5) water and electricity bill
6) telephone bill

Total = ______________ ?

 

[chroot]

1) how much to own a 1500 sq feet house or apartment in US

This varies over an extreme rangle. It could be anywhere from $500 in the middle of nowhere to as much as $3000 in a city.

2) how much to buy a car as good as Honda Accord

Roughly $15,000.

3) how much to spend on petrol if you travel 300 km per week.

Approximately $18 per week.

4) how much on food and drinks

Depends on what kind of food you eat. A cheap meal can be had for around $6-7. People often spend over $30 on a meal at a restaurant.

5) water and electricity bill

Usually around $20 and $50 per person or so. Also varies heavily.

6) telephone bill

Basic local phone service is about $15/month. Long distance (over 50 miles) is extra.

- Warren

 

[Moonbear]

please tell me:

1) how much to own a 1500 sq feet house or apartment in US
2) how much to buy a car as good as Honda Accord
3) how much to spend on petrol if you travel 300 km per week.
4) how much on food and drinks
5) water and electricity bill
6) telephone bill

Total = ______________ ?

Saint, the trouble is there's no single answer to your questions. The US is so large and diverse that the answer will differ by a LOT depending on where in the US you live. My friends on the east coast own a house and property much smaller than mine and theirs is worth about 3 times as much as mine. Their home might be in that 1500 sq ft range, and due to location, it's worth about $450,000! I was shocked (I just found this out because they are talking about moving and got it appraised). Where I live, a 1500 sq ft home might sell for around $115,000 (with a nice piece of property; my friends' have a backyard that turns to a swamp every time it rains). This is why you get such variable replies to such questions. Even the price of food varies depending on where you live.

 

[Zantra]

Evo I understand that everything should be in perspective, and from the sound of things, your family is upper middle class, which makes more sense, and explains why we middle class people are skeptical about the expenditures. It also sounds like you're the financial wiz of the family, so it's up to you to teach your daughter fiscal responsibility(which I'm not saying that you're not) We want to give the children the world if we can, but it's my personal belief that limits need to be set, or we set them up for failure. Because eventually we won't be there to protect them, and they have to be self sufficient. Your daughter may be used to a certain lifestyle, but unless she can generate the kind of income you are as an adult, she will be in for quite a shock and major adjustment as an adult. I always try to make sure my daughter understand the value of a dollar and that money(especially the kind of money we're talking about) doesn't come without sacrifice and hard work. And I'm not insinuating anything about your parenting skills.. Just laying out my perspective as a parent. So that's where I'm coming from. From the sound of it you work long and grievous hours to maintain that lifestyle(and I know how that goes as my cousin is an executive-she lives at work.), and I hope that your daughters truly appreciate how hard it is to generate enough to afford them a nice italian meal each night.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Saint, the trouble is there's no single answer to your questions. The US is so large and diverse that the answer will differ by a LOT depending on where in the US you live.

In some areas you can still buy a 1500 sq ft home for 60 or $70,000. On Maui, you can expect to pay 3 to 4 million for a 1500 sq ft home - adjacent to a good gold course with a spectacular ocean view. It guess it may even be more if you want to live next to Cher.

Personally, Tsu and I can get by on a few million a year. We like to gamble away most of it.

 

[Zantra]

please tell me:

1) how much to own a 1500 sq feet house or apartment in US
2) how much to buy a car as good as Honda Accord
3) how much to spend on petrol if you travel 300 km per week.
4) how much on food and drinks
5) water and electricity bill
6) telephone bill

Total = ______________ ?

I see your point.. to live the kind of lifestyle you're talking about still varies- for instance to rent a house like that here in LA will run you about 2500/month. But if you just want an average, I can guesstimate that if you live in the middle of a range you would need about 2-3000/month to live off of. The average household US income is $42,000. That's roughly 2200/month after taxes. That should be easy to make with a competitive bachleors degree.

 

[cragwolf]

I live contentedly on between $15k and $20k a year. I don't own a car (I walk to work, about 80 mins each way), I don't eat out in restaurants, I don't buy many clothes (certainly not expensive ones), I don't buy DVDs and CDs or any expensive consumer gadgets, I don't use Windows (I'm a Linux user), I don't drink alcohol or smoke, I don't go to the cinema, I don't have a girlfriend, I don't travel or go away on holidays, I don't gamble ... so I tend to avoid the most common drains on people's wallets. My three main expenses are rent ($150/week), food ($100/week) and physics/maths/astronomy books. Oh, and once every 4 or 5 years I buy a computer.

 

[russ_watters]

Regarding food, I eat out at a sit-down restaurant of Applebees, Friday's, Olive Garden, or comparable quality (low-end, but decent sit down) once or twice a week. I always get the most expensive meal of any of my friends. A steak-and-shrimp combo for ~$18 is my usual at Friday's. But that's not a normal thing for me.

On a normal day, I eat a Wendy's, or Subway, or grocery store chicken ceasar salad lunch. I never pay more than $10, often less than $5. For dinner, I'm a little lazy and I never cook for real. Canned beef stew is a usual ($.50 - $1) and if I'm feeling like gourmet, a half a bag of a pre-cooked meal-in-a-bag chicken stir fry or something of the like (~$2.50).

But like I said before: your costs will inevitably expand to fill your money available. If your daughter didn't have the money for a $20 meal every night, she'd eat at Subway. It may feel like a step down for her, and you're right, Evo - people get used to what hey are used to - but I think its better to have it a little tough as a teen because you do get used to it and it makes it easier to live within your means when you are older. Even as a sligtly below average young engineer (I got a late start), my lifestyle feels downright opulent compared to my teenage years.

 

[Zantra]

To Russ' statement I would add that I have BEEN to Olive Garden RECENTLY. It cost me 22 bucks for TWO people WITH tip (and I got a glass of wine I might add). AND it was in L.A. And aside from NY or San Fran, there is no other location in the states that is more expensive to eat out. For 20 bucks I could eat at Cheesecake factory, PF changs, macaroni grill, etc and still have money left over (allbeit not a lot), or virtually any food place in LA that's not "hot" or catering to famous clientelle. I'm having trouble even coming up with a restaurant where I could spend more than $20 on a meal. (well known nationally I mean). Even if we set aside the amount you're spending, I have to take issue with your Olive Garden example. However I don't know if it's a fact, or some vague statistic you pulled off the top of your head which might not be exact.

 

[Zantra]

Personally, Tsu and I can get by on a few million a year. We like to gamble away most of it.

A few million? You've been holding out on us Daddy Warbucks. can I bum a few hundo thou?lol

 

[BobG]

It may feel like a step down for her, and you're right, Evo - people get used to what hey are used to - but I think its better to have it a little tough as a teen because you do get used to it and it makes it easier to live within your means when you are older. Even as a sligtly below average young engineer (I got a late start), my lifestyle feels downright opulent compared to my teenage years.

Yeah, tell me about it. The clothes my parents paid for, they got to pick out. The clothes I paid for, I got to pick out. A $1.25 allowance a week so we could have a drink with the lunches we packed at home? Get real, my mom only bought braunshweigger (or however it's spelled - I try to block it from my memory). Geez, where'd these people come from? You'd think my parents grew up in the depression or during World War II or ... oh, yeah, I guess that explains it.

Anyway, suffice it to say, the kids in my family got part time jobs pretty early.

 

[Evo]

Yes, she's had it good. Fortunately she's very bright and she knows that she has it very easy right now and it will never be this easy again. We've discussed it. It keeps her focused on doing well in school and she understands the importance of being able to get a good job.

If she wants something and I say no, she does not argue with me. If I tell her to stop spending, she does.

It was her birthday on the third and all I bought her was a card. I could tell she looked disapointed, and I reminded her she had just bought herself a bunch of sweaters the week before, so Happy Birthday! She laughed and said "good point".

 

[Moonbear]

Regarding food, I eat out at a sit-down restaurant of Applebees, Friday's, Olive Garden, or comparable quality (low-end, but decent sit down) once or twice a week. I always get the most expensive meal of any of my friends. A steak-and-shrimp combo for ~$18 is my usual at Friday's. But that's not a normal thing for me.

On a normal day, I eat a Wendy's, or Subway, or grocery store chicken ceasar salad lunch. I never pay more than $10, often less than $5. For dinner, I'm a little lazy and I never cook for real. Canned beef stew is a usual ($.50 - $1) and if I'm feeling like gourmet, a half a bag of a pre-cooked meal-in-a-bag chicken stir fry or something of the like (~$2.50).

I can't believe how many folks here are claiming these chain restaurants are "decent quality" food. You could make the same meal at home for about $1, and without overcooked pasta. What it is is overpriced food. I only eat at those places when I'm traveling and just need to find a place to eat. It's barely a step above fast food in my book. And canned beef stew. Russ, gosh, you really need to take better care of yourself. My stepdad eats that stuff and I've always been hard pressed to see the difference between that and canned dogfood.

But like I said before: your costs will inevitably expand to fill your money available. If your daughter didn't have the money for a $20 meal every night, she'd eat at Subway. It may feel like a step down for her, and you're right, Evo - people get used to what hey are used to - but I think its better to have it a little tough as a teen because you do get used to it and it makes it easier to live within your means when you are older. Even as a sligtly below average young engineer (I got a late start), my lifestyle feels downright opulent compared to my teenage years.

When I was in my late teens, my parents would leave me alone for the weekend while they went camping (they went every weekend and I got tired of going...camping to them is a trailer better equipped than most hotel rooms permanently parked in a campground). They would leave me with $20 for food for the entire weekend, and I'd manage to have change left at the end! I guess they expected me to order pizza and stuff like that, but I'd go to the grocery store, buy myself a package of chicken tenders for $2.50, get some vegetables, and make two dinners out of it. Lunches were just sandwiches (sometimes I'd splurge on a package of bacon and make BLTs), and I've never been a breakfast eater. I can't even fathom over $30/day for meals for a teenager! I can't fathom spending that much on myself on a regular basis.

 

[Chrono]

Yes, she's had it good. Fortunately she's very bright and she knows that she has it very easy right now and it will never be this easy again. We've discussed it. It keeps her focused on doing well in school and she understands the importance of being able to get a good job.

So...can I still teach her to cook? :shy:

 

[Kerrie]

For some reason, restaurant food here is not cheap.

But you can't buy it at a restaurant here for that price. An entree at Applebees, TGI Fridays, Olive Garden, etc... which I consider sit down fast food will start around $16. You "can" make healthy choices. Obviously I wish I could be home to make her food, or that she was willing to cook, but that's not going to happen. Since I make enough money that it isn't an issue, it's not an issue.

Now if she wanted to eat at restaurants where a meal for one person was $75 or more, I'd have an issue.

as long as she understands that spending that much money on food alone is not something everyone is able to do (especially if she wants to help those less fortunate then her in her career later in life). how would she be if suddenly the money wasn't there to go out as she does now and she is forced to spend $100 a week on food? the lifestyle change is often the hardest for some to scale down on when things in life put them through difficult situations.

so the question here shouldn't be how much money is sufficient for you, but what kind of lifestyle do you afford?

 

[Chi Meson]

please tell me:

1) how much to own a 1500 sq feet house or apartment in US
2) how much to buy a car as good as Honda Accord
3) how much to spend on petrol if you travel 300 km per week.
4) how much on food and drinks
5) water and electricity bill
6) telephone bill

Total = ______________ ?

What a freakin' hot thread! I guess we logical analytical type like to talk money!

ANyway, I can answer for coastal Connecticut:
1) USD 150,000--1,500,000 depending on neighborhood. Ours was 250,000 for 1700 sq feet. Mortgage 1600/month
2) 25,000 ? We bought used cars and paid in cash.
3) 60--80 ?
4) we don't drink, but food for 4 is 200/week.
5) water and electricity is 100/month for conservationalists, up to ten times that for conservatives.
6) 20/ month if you don't use it, sky is the limit if you make long-distance calls. I've seen a friend's bill that is regularly more per month than Evo's daughters food bill!

Overall our income is about 4000/month and out flow is just a little less.

Now you folks know way too much about me.

 

[Gokul43201]

5) water and electricity is 100/month for conservationalists, up to ten times that for conservatives.

 

[Saint]

in California, about how much to BUY a 1500 sq ft house or apartment?
if you cook at home for 5 persons' dinner + lunch, buy stuff from market or WallMart, 50 dollar/week is enough to get fish/pork/vegetable ?

 

[Evo]

in California, about how much to BUY a 1500 sq ft house or apartment?
if you cook at home for 5 persons' dinner + lunch, buy stuff from market or WallMart, 50 dollar/week is enough to get fish/pork/vegetable ?

Housing in California can be very expensive, but I'm not up to date of housing costs there.

At Walmart, if you shop wisely, buy bulk cuts of meat, use coupons, buy only sale items, I don't know if you could feed a family of five very well on $50/week, but you could do it very reasonably. I actually shop at a couple of different stores for different items because of cost. At Walmart, my favorite coffee creamer costs .98 cents, at my regular grocery store it's $1.58. I often stop at Walmart on the way home from work and pick up a whole roasted chicken for $3.98, some evenings they will mark them down to $2.98 to sell them quickly. At the grocery store they are $5.98. But other items are sometimes cheaper at the grocery store. I can get a 20lb bag of cat food for $5.99 at the grocery store, the cheapest at Walmart is $7.99. Go figure, I guess Walmart is not cat friendly.

 

[Zantra]

in California, about how much to BUY a 1500 sq ft house or apartment?
if you cook at home for 5 persons' dinner + lunch, buy stuff from market or WallMart, 50 dollar/week is enough to get fish/pork/vegetable ?

The overall average home in california is $350K If you buy that house/condo on the coast- you will pay about 5-700k.. further inland away from the coast you can get it for low 300's.

$75-100/week is more realistic to feed 5 people that type of food. Of course sea food is a premium. If you give up that, you can probably spend more like 50-75/week.

 

[shmoe]

I can get a 20lb bag of cat food for $5.99 at the grocery store, the cheapest at Walmart is $7.99. Go figure, I guess Walmart is not cat friendly.

What kind of cat food? Do you know what a 20lb bag of Iams goes for? It's about $33 Canadian here at Walmart or most grocery stores that carry it. Just curious what the cost of living for felines is down there.

 

[Evo]

What kind of cat food? Do you know what a 20lb bag of Iams goes for? It's about $33 Canadian here at Walmart or most grocery stores that carry it. Just curious what the cost of living for felines is down there.

$33? More like $18 here. Cat food isn't expensive here.

 

[cragwolf]

But like I said before: your costs will inevitably expand to fill your money available.

Well, you can repeat it, but it doesn't make it inevitable. In the past year my salary has almost doubled (it was very low), but my spending habits haven't changed. And I don't feel the urge to change them. Like most things, it depends on the person.

 

[Monique]

It's very easy to spend that much on food eating out. Even if she only eats 2 meals a day, staying under $30 a day is difficult. Let's say she eats lunch at Hardee's, a hamburger, fries and drink are going to cost around $6. For dinner, let's say she eats at Olive Garden (cheap), $16.95 for the entree, $1.25 for an iced tea, she splits an appetizer with a friend ($3.50 for her half), that's $21.70 BEFORE tax and tip. Minimum tip (15%) is $3.26, but like me, she always leaves a minimum $5 tip for dinner, so before tax, and no dessert, that's $26.70 just for dinner. Plus lunch that's $32.70. Of course this doesn't include a few sodas during the day, at $1.25 for a small drink at a fast food place that can easily add another $5, if she wants a snack during the day, that's even more.

So, realistically, eating only two meals a day at $37.70 a day x 30 days a month, her food costs are $1,131.00.

Where the heck do you people eat??

Just started reading this thread.. I'm amazed by the lifestyle! EVO! I usually eat at home

But seriously, growing up I always had to take care of my own expenses. I actually always paid my parents for the food/electricity/heat I was consuming when living with them.. isn't that usual? Aren't you worried that letting your daughter consume so much will make her prone to putting herself in debt when living on her own?

 

[Kerrie]

Just started reading this thread.. I'm amazed by the lifestyle! EVO! I usually eat at home

But seriously, growing up I always had to take care of my own expenses. I actually always paid my parents for the food/electricity/heat I was consuming when living with them.. isn't that usual? Aren't you worried that letting your daughter consume so much will make her prone to putting herself in debt when living on her own?

i think her daughter is under age 18 which in America is still considered a child, which by law Evo is required to support her as she sees fit . if she was say 21 and not going to school, then it might be more usual for her daughter to compensate her for food and utilities. i do admire Evo's devotion to supporting her daughter and ensuring she has it good. i think as long as her daughter understands and appreciates what she has (because i do believe many youths her age do not have it this well) she won't take it for granted and expect this lifestyle to be a standard.

i was raised to eat at home as much as possible too. for example, last night i spent $18.00 on food for this weekend on my husband and i (kids are with their dad this weekend) at Trader Joe's (you got to check them out!). the meals i bought included Ahi Tuna steak, cous cous, salad, new potatoes, chicken tenders, eggs (breakfast), orange juice and veggie chips. we eat very healthy with lots of proteins, veggies and "good" carbs. the time it takes to make this stuff is minimal considering how much money we are saving.