tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post4776941771638163786..comments2023-11-18T01:21:55.631-05:00Comments on My Open Wallet: 2007 Expenses vs. BudgetMadame Xhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11536189690094235926noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-26010758055971250452008-01-14T17:08:00.000-05:002008-01-14T17:08:00.000-05:00Wow your tax rate is great! $29,070 on $126k of t...Wow your tax rate is great! $29,070 on $126k of taxable income is 23%. I just checked my pay stub and I also made $126k of taxable income but I'm paying $36.5k in taxes (29%). Congrats sending less of your money to the govt. than me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-89557260945857730902008-01-14T16:17:00.000-05:002008-01-14T16:17:00.000-05:00$343 to charity on a 90k salary is mighty low. Ho...$343 to charity on a 90k salary is mighty low. How much to donate to charity is a personal decision<BR/><BR/>Still, at 90k/year you are making more than most people if not most households, yet may be donating a lot less than them. It just appears troubling that on your list of expenses, charity is scraping bottom. Food for thought.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-58106506768146732232008-01-14T01:07:00.000-05:002008-01-14T01:07:00.000-05:00that's a very detailed list. I wonder how could a ...that's a very detailed list. I wonder how could a Filipino afford to the same budgetting. Or if we can have the same budget as yours to manage.<BR/><BR/>Thanks anyways, I learned a lot from just understanding the importance of which should come first to my budget list.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-36927776143878465162008-01-12T15:32:00.000-05:002008-01-12T15:32:00.000-05:00I have a very minor complaint. I'm a statistician...I have a very minor complaint. I'm a statistician and the word variance has a very particular meaning in statistics which doesn't apply here. A better word for what you're calculating here is "difference." This is purely cosmetic and you should feel free to ignore me if you have a strong preference for the word variance for some reason.Andrew Stevenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13453328821252013152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-2897657756581964272008-01-11T09:26:00.000-05:002008-01-11T09:26:00.000-05:00Subscriptions includes delivery of the New York Ti...Subscriptions includes delivery of the New York Times every day, which is about $40 a month. Internet access also goes in there, at $20 a month. Then I get the New Yorker and TimeOutNY, which I think I may have renewed for 2-year periods this year, and I tried subscriptions to Blueprint, Domino, and Real Simple that I just let expire. And I bought maybe 2 or 3 random magazines on news stands, and occasionally the Wall St. Journal. It all adds up fast!Madame Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11536189690094235926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-15740757908616922412008-01-11T09:17:00.000-05:002008-01-11T09:17:00.000-05:00What falls into the subscriptions category? It see...What falls into the subscriptions category? It seems impossible that you could spend $969 on magazines alone!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-74261828403065278782008-01-11T09:05:00.000-05:002008-01-11T09:05:00.000-05:00Yes, I did know my household budget was going to b...Yes, I did know my household budget was going to be way off-- I guess I sort of mentally budgeted for having to buy more furniture, and I did have some money left over from last year's budget, but I never actually committed to it in Quicken! Which is sort of a dumb way to handle things, I guess!<BR/>And yes, the gym budget was a fluke! It includes things beyond my annual gym membership so it's not like I knew it would be a specific amount.Madame Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11536189690094235926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-31325407198806674912008-01-11T00:57:00.000-05:002008-01-11T00:57:00.000-05:00Wow, thanks for sharing this. Its really great wo...Wow, thanks for sharing this. Its really great work and gives me some insights into my own budgeting tasks.<BR/><BR/>One comment though...I don't think you are budgeting enough for household and home repair. Even if your place is new now, there are always things that will need to update/replace. You've got a total of $600 for the year for both categories...unless you beef up that budget you're always going to overspend (as the previous poster mentioned...everyone underestimates these things when they buy their home...but its also one of the joys of owning vs. renting, getting to change stuff to how YOU want it vs how the landlord wants it!) I usually budget $1000 for misc home repairs, and think of one or two upgrades/home projects I want to do, and budget the costs for them in as well. For example, this year I want to replace the interior doors of my condo with paneled doors, and get new shutters made for the windows. I've got at least a rough budget in there to cover these. Any other projects, will wait for 2009!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-37751225086265866872008-01-10T19:47:00.000-05:002008-01-10T19:47:00.000-05:00I laughed at your gym budget. You estimated perfec...I laughed at your gym budget. You estimated perfectly!!<BR/><BR/>I also like your comment about colorful feathers. In the animal kingdom the male always has more colorful "feathers" than the female, but as humans, the females are always the ones being colorful. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for sharing your income/expenses.<BR/>-TashaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-22138884416054293912008-01-10T17:57:00.000-05:002008-01-10T17:57:00.000-05:00If you take out Household, you did really well!Ev...If you take out Household, you did really well!<BR/><BR/>Everyone underestimates what it will take to run and be in a new house.<BR/><BR/>Good job!Noel Larsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04101799343286185259noreply@blogger.com