I just read a great article about how income is distributed to different parts of a typical budget. Check it out here.
How do your finances stack up compared to others? What percent of your income do you spend on your different bills? I think this is a great article to compare your finances to others, and to kind of see where you should be.
For me, these amounts will all be averages and after tax.
- I spend around 21-24% on my mortgage payment, home insurance, PMI
- 18% on my car payment, car insurance, maintenance and gas
- 15% on food
- 0% on health insurance since we are both very fortunate to have free very good health insurance
- 5% on entertainment (the 15% we spend on food can also be considered entertainment, since we like to go to bars and eat as well)
- 2-3% on clothes
- And the rest on saving, miscellaneous, etc.
How do your expenses add up?
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Shoe.Gal says
August 23, 2011 at 4:02 amI feel like I do not normally compare to these budgets well because I still live at home…plus it usually makes me feel bad if I do not stack up.
Michelle Parker says
August 23, 2011 at 4:21 amI agree. When I first bought my house, my mortgage was around 30-35% of our take home pay, and I felt bad. I'm glad it's lower now.
Stephanie says
August 23, 2011 at 4:58 amHmmm, I didn't see whether the article you linked to specified whether the percentages were gross or net income, but I'll go with net since that's what you did!29% – mortgage payment, home insurance, PMI 8% – car insurance, maintenance and gas (no car payments!) 8% – gorceries (food and non-food)3% – health insurance premiums (this is deductive from my paycheck and is pre-tax, I believe) 10% – entertainment (we've been going over budget this summer, ugh!)2% – clothes
Michelle Parker says
August 23, 2011 at 5:10 amThanks Stephanie! And yes I agree, we have been spending too much on food/entertainment also. I think I need to have a talk with the BF about our bar problem.You have also made me motivated to find a part-time job just so you know. I make around $200 a month from secret shopping and online surveys, but I want to make around $500 a month altogether from side jobs.
Stephanie says
August 23, 2011 at 6:05 amHaha, yeah, I just commented over on Daily Worth that I was considering taking out all our spending money in cash at the beginning of each month. I think putting dinners out on the debit card has been our main budget downfall. I think if we can see how much money we have left just by looking in our wallets, it'll keep the spending in check. All our other spending is pretty much where it needs to be.And yay for side jobs! The money I make at the library is such a tremendous help with our budget, and having multiple income streams definitely makes me feel more secure. 🙂
Michelle Parker says
August 23, 2011 at 6:09 amI agree, that would be a great idea for us also. That would help us limit our spending by a LOT!And I just don't know what to do! I've been thinking about getting into bartending, but I just don't know. My friend is a beer cart girl at a golf course and makes a couple hundred dollars a day for just a couple of hours, so I'm hoping she can get me a job there.
Eric Finlay says
August 23, 2011 at 5:22 pmI'm definitely not qualified to answer until I get a job/get out of school.Ballpark:40% Debt25% Rent15% Food10% Entertainment10% Misc + Beer
slobely838 says
August 24, 2011 at 4:13 amI still live at home.I spend around 30% on food, going out, entertainment.20% on bills.And I'm still not sure where the rest disappears.
South County Girl says
August 25, 2011 at 2:05 pmI have no clue because my hubby just got a job so we are still working on our new budget