Sample family budgets?

Asset allocation, risk, diversification and rebalancing. Pros/cons of hiring a financial advisor. Seeking advice on your portfolio?
HardWorker
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 2564
Joined: 31 Dec 2006 10:49
Location: Southern Ontario

Re: Sample family budgets?

Post by HardWorker »

SQRT wrote:
HardWorker wrote:
Any other suggestions on how you get your spouse/partner involved in household finances?
I think this can be a real issue for many people. My spouse is also an accountant and has a deep personal need to plan and track(like me). I doubt this would be typical. Why don't you try to have a monthly "budget" meeting with your spouse to go over the "results" and make plans for the future. You could present the data and make recommendations as to future plans.
If your spouse refuses to engage, you might need to somehow allocate some of the budget for him/her to control.
This was a real problem for me in my first marriage. She refused to engage or control her spending. Not sure if she is any better at it now. Not my problem any more.

I definitely see it being an issue, especially when the partners are on different wavelengths. By having my wife more engaged I'm hoping she'll handle things well if something happens to me. I can't even imagine the stress she'll be under, or the vultures that might surface .

There's definitely a good amount of efficiency and streamlining when one partner is the "accountant", but it has pitfalls.
hamor
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 1225
Joined: 09 Mar 2013 23:12

Re: Sample family budgets?

Post by hamor »

I use mint.com
one needs to be comfortable with the service being 'online'
I put everything on credit cards and they pull and categorize transactions, it's customizable and has budget function (that I don't use). I have about 3 years of records and it's interesting to slice and dice the data.
I know how much I spent and on what.
"Speculation is an effort, probably unsuccessfully, to turn a little money into a lot. Investment is an effort, which should be successful, to prevent a lot of money from becoming a little." Fred Schwed " Where are the Customers’ Yachts?"
planB
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 153
Joined: 16 Mar 2013 19:23

Re: Sample family budgets?

Post by planB »

My bank has FinanceWorks (a Quicken product) online for budget tracking. Once an expense is assigned a budget category (utility, food, auto etc.) it will remember the vendor and assign the correct category in the future. Expenses can but put into multiple categories manually for those Costco runs. It only takes a few minutes a month to track things and there have been a few aha moments. The motive is to get a handle on my spending for some very very early retirement planning.

Note the Firecalc site (thx to Monte Carlo thread) provides a budget example based on a $70,000/yr couple (US data). However, when I see motor oil itemized and not computer or smartphone, the budget is likely a little dated... Cheers

http://firecalc.com/real-cost-of-living.php
HardWorker
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 2564
Joined: 31 Dec 2006 10:49
Location: Southern Ontario

Re: Sample family budgets?

Post by HardWorker »

hamor wrote:I use mint.com
one needs to be comfortable with the service being 'online'
I put everything on credit cards and they pull and categorize transactions, it's customizable and has budget function (that I don't use). I have about 3 years of records and it's interesting to slice and dice the data.
I know how much I spent and on what.
Looks like a neat concept, but I certainly wouldn't be comfortable with that stuff online. It might be baseless fear, but I'd rather not find out.
HardWorker
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 2564
Joined: 31 Dec 2006 10:49
Location: Southern Ontario

Re: Sample family budgets?

Post by HardWorker »

planB wrote:My bank has FinanceWorks (a Quicken product) online for budget tracking. Once an expense is assigned a budget category (utility, food, auto etc.) it will remember the vendor and assign the correct category in the future. Expenses can but put into multiple categories manually for those Costco runs. It only takes a few minutes a month to track things and there have been a few aha moments. The motive is to get a handle on my spending for some very very early retirement planning.

Note the Firecalc site (thx to Monte Carlo thread) provides a budget example based on a $70,000/yr couple (US data). However, when I see motor oil itemized and not computer or smartphone, the budget is likely a little dated... Cheers

http://firecalc.com/real-cost-of-living.php

That's not a bad list at all, but it's geared towards a retired couple.

This has been a bit of a funny exercise. I'm trying to slowly get my wife involved and not bog her down, so I'm trying to think back to when I first started reading about personal finances. Then I quickly get side tracked in trying to examine what worked and what didn't work for me, then I have to remind myself I'm trying to help my wife, then once again I slowly get side tracked in reviewing what was good and was bad over the years, and again I remind myself about my wife :rofl:
User avatar
CROCKD
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 3343
Joined: 15 Aug 2008 16:59
Location: GTA

Re: Sample family budgets?

Post by CROCKD »

MARGARET WENTE
How to make ends meet? Look in the mirror

I don't always agree with her columns but a lot of which she espouses here is correct. People get into trouble because they don't understand the basics about managing money, they lack discipline or don't care to know ie it is someone else's fault. Many of the members on this forum are in enviable situations. They can afford foreign holidays and the like. However it was probably not always like that. I suspect that in an earlier life many mostly knew they couldn't (or shouldn't) spend money that they did not have and were frugal if necessary.
This does not ignore the fact that there are folks out there who are genuinely in difficult circumstances struggling to get by. But even they can benefit from some education of how better to deploy their resources.
" A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it is written on " Samuel Goldwyn
"The light at the end of the tunnel may be a freight train coming your way" Metallica - No Leaf Clover
Shine
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 2022
Joined: 13 Dec 2010 01:32

Re: Sample family budgets?

Post by Shine »

CROCKD wrote:MARGARET WENTE
How to make ends meet? Look in the mirror

I don't always agree with her columns but a lot of which she espouses here is correct. People get into trouble because they don't understand the basics about managing money, they lack discipline or don't care to know ie it is someone else's fault. Many of the members on this forum are in enviable situations. They can afford foreign holidays and the like. However it was probably not always like that. I suspect that in an earlier life many mostly knew they couldn't (or shouldn't) spend money that they did not have and were frugal if necessary.
This does not ignore the fact that there are folks out there who are genuinely in difficult circumstances struggling to get by. But even they can benefit from some education of how better to deploy their resources.

Good Grief!

Some people have entirely different lives and live with seriously different economic challenges than " Aunt Marg" suggests, and live elsewhere than in her trendy and exotically carpeted neighbourhood where she and her friends think about how to better deploy their resources.

What a patronizing and slipshod and under-thought article by this woman.

Perhaps she can provide advice on how someone working at minimum wage, maybe at two jobs, and with kids, can attain "some education of how better to deploy their resources" (my bold)

A stunningly stupid statement!

edit: no criticism meant to you CROCKD.
User avatar
CROCKD
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 3343
Joined: 15 Aug 2008 16:59
Location: GTA

Re: Sample family budgets?

Post by CROCKD »

Well Shine no offence taken. As I said I often don't agree with what Aunti Margie writes.
However did you even read the article? Your bolded words do not appear in her article. They are mine. If I want to take some else's words I put them in Quotes. Too bad that you think them stupid.

I stand by what I said. I do not have a car. I grocery shop every other day and cook most nights.
If you see people as I do daily not buying the specials but rather high priced items, loading up their carts with non essentials etc. it is not surprising that some people with limited resources run out of food money.
During the ice storm power outage the local TV was full of interviews with people in assisted housing bemoaning the fact that they had a freezer full of spoiled food. Of course they couldn't grasp the fact that they had a natural freezer right outside their door.
And her article is correct in that a lot of people are spending on things they do not need or can't afford. If you can't afford cable TV, don't have it. If you can't afford a TV, join the library and read a book. Entertain your children as well as yourself with books and games.
And this goes for all the non essential consumer toys , smart phones etc.

I grew up in a working class family with 5 kids and only one wage earner. We knew what it was like not to have much but my parents always managed with what they had.
We did not have a car until I was over 20 and our first TV in my late teens. I was the only member of my family to get a university education and only because I won a goverment scholarship at a time when less than 5% of high school graduates went to university. I still needed to work part time to supplement our resources.

As for education to learn how to budget and manage money there are community based programs that can teach them that - but they have to want to find them.

People often reach out to Gail Vaz-Oxlade for advice on stuff such as this.

The Financial Facelift in the G&M often has cases of couples with combined incomes of $150,000 who are in financial trouble because they do not understand money management. And of course as a result they could double their income and still be in financial trouble.

The article is outlining the fact that people do not know how to manage their money. Do you disagree with this?
Rather than objectively consider the subject matter your response indicates an emotional reaction because it is written by 'our Auntie Margie" :wink:
" A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it is written on " Samuel Goldwyn
"The light at the end of the tunnel may be a freight train coming your way" Metallica - No Leaf Clover
like_to_retire
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 5923
Joined: 27 Feb 2005 07:14
Location: Canada

Re: Sample family budgets?

Post by like_to_retire »

CROCKD wrote:However did you even read the article?
Yep, and the article is right on, IMO.

It's amazing the things that people feel they need, or that their children need, as necessities today.

I've watched a few of those TV shows by the likes of 'Gail Vaz-Oxlade' and even though they're goofy and tailored to be entertaining for television, they do offer an interesting insight into how dumb people can be with their finances.

ltr
User avatar
LadyGeek
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 1975
Joined: 26 Oct 2011 16:51
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Contact:

Re: Sample family budgets?

Post by LadyGeek »

finiki has some background info: Budgeting

Check the references at the bottom of the article.
Imagefiniki, the Canadian financial wiki To some, the glass is half full. To others, the glass is half empty. To an engineer, it's twice the size it needs to be.
Shine
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 2022
Joined: 13 Dec 2010 01:32

Re: Sample family budgets?

Post by Shine »

CROCKD wrote:Well Shine no offence taken. As I said I often don't agree with what Aunti Margie writes.
However did you even read the article? Your bolded words do not appear in her article. They are mine. If I want to take some else's words I put them in Quotes. Too bad that you think them stupid.

I stand by what I said. I do not have a car. I grocery shop every other day and cook most nights.
If you see people as I do daily not buying the specials but rather high priced items, loading up their carts with non essentials etc. it is not surprising that some people with limited resources run out of food money.
During the ice storm power outage the local TV was full of interviews with people in assisted housing bemoaning the fact that they had a freezer full of spoiled food. Of course they couldn't grasp the fact that they had a natural freezer right outside their door.
And her article is correct in that a lot of people are spending on things they do not need or can't afford. If you can't afford cable TV, don't have it. If you can't afford a TV, join the library and read a book. Entertain your children as well as yourself with books and games.
And this goes for all the non essential consumer toys , smart phones etc.

I grew up in a working class family with 5 kids and only one wage earner. We knew what it was like not to have much but my parents always managed with what they had.
We did not have a car until I was over 20 and our first TV in my late teens. I was the only member of my family to get a university education and only because I won a goverment scholarship at a time when less than 5% of high school graduates went to university. I still needed to work part time to supplement our resources.

As for education to learn how to budget and manage money there are community based programs that can teach them that - but they have to want to find them.

People often reach out to Gail Vaz-Oxlade for advice on stuff such as this.

The Financial Facelift in the G&M often has cases of couples with combined incomes of $150,000 who are in financial trouble because they do not understand money management. And of course as a result they could double their income and still be in financial trouble.

The article is outlining the fact that people do not know how to manage their money. Do you disagree with this?
Rather than objectively consider the subject matter your response indicates an emotional reaction because it is written by 'our Auntie Margie" :wink:
Yes CROCKD it was my bad in misreading the quote and the quotation marks.

I agree that many people don't know how to manage their money - especially those who have no money and are living within the margins of minimum wage ...they have not the luxury to even think about the concept.

With regard to "Gail_Vaz-Oxlade" a poor family would require either cable television or an internet connection to generally access such material would they not?

And homeless people would certainly require an outlet into which they could plug in the laptop they don't own in order to be instructed how to manage the money they don't have.

Meanwhile Aunt Marge can order another another glass of Pinot Gris and use an app to order her forthcoming cab.

There are many people out there who don't even know where their next dollar is coming from - some of them in grim straits - but to suggest that perhaps if they could simply take a course or two in financial management or - hey! why not buy a mutual fund _ is utterly daft.

Your personal story is commendable.

On the other side, I recall reading an article years ago that put forth a metaphor about International representatives, and delegates, driving in air-conditioned limos, across an African desert on the way to a conference about famine.

Sorry I have taken this off topic.

regards
Post Reply