How has your spending changed with increasing income?
I come from humble beginnings, and never thought I would be earning as much as I am today. Initially all my focus was on saving as much as possible. But after hitting my first savings target, I reduced saving% and increased spending. I was curious to know how spending habits have changed for you with increasing household income. For me: - College/just after graduation: Broke af. Cheapest food+motels. Few trips. - 150K: Rented closer to work. Started going out more. A couple of trips with cheapest flights (red eye are the worst). Bought a car. Weekend road trips every other month. - 250k: started eating out in fine dine restaurants. At least 3* hotels on trips or nice Airbnbs. Got subscriptions for all steaming services/yt. Started spending money on hobbies. Better clothing brands (e.g. adidas/nike instead of old navy). Stopped looking at prices when buying groceries. - 400k: Bought a house. I still price shop, but go for convinient flights even if they are expensive. Upgrades to premium eco sometimes. Hotels in central location/downtown. Road trips every month. Flying somewhere every other month. (Sadly few international trips because somehow you always need to get visa stamped). Experiences and tours (helicopter/whale watching/etc). Monthly cleaning service. How is it going for you, and what are some things that you enjoy and spend money on? Hopefully the post will result in some good vacation ideas! TC: 270k Household TC: 400K Yoe: 5 years #personalfinance
Easily pay for convenience or time savings or education. Especially since I have 2 kids now. TC: $430K
Can you share a bit more? How do you make your life easier apart from cleaning/nanny/daycare? Also, do you take vacations with kids?
Simple daily stuff. like if they have an interest in tennis or ballet we sign them up for a class without blinking. Willing to pay for them to explore interests. Buying flights at more convenient time for naps. Paying for larger hotel rooms or suites. Paying to park in a lot for $20-30 Close to our destination instead of driving around looking for parking. We have taken vacations with the kids.
If my income increases i’d have more spending power to spend more.
You'll get there. Keep at it!
Switching out Ikea furniture for West Elm/CB2 type furniture 🤓
Haha. We did the same and didn't take any furniture when moving from apt to house last year.
Spending money to make ones life fun , convenient and luxurious is easy 😀
curious if adidas / Nike is considered a premium clothing brand in your country Op , in Canada its not that expensive compared to old navy / gap with all their discounts .
Interesting question. I haven't seen old navy in my home country. In US, there's is definitely some difference. I have seen old navy in a lot of strip malls, but haven't seen nike/adidas
Those are not considered premium, but definitely good athletic clothing/shoe brands.
I’ve always been a big spender, ever since I was making minimum wage in high school. I’ve just never seen the point of living life on a budget.
Depends on your goals. I am a bit risk averse and feel much more comfortable with having savings to cover any unforeseen expense. Visa has always been a cause of worry and we might have to pack up and leave if something goes wrong. If it happens, now at least I can move/figure stuff on my own pace and not have to worry about work/salary. What do you spend on?
My spending at different income levels over the last 15 years: $100K: bought a 25K car (1 year old used). Flew coach, cheapest flights everywhere, including to home country. Booked a few motels, but general stayed at cheap Sheraton. On trips to Vegas, stayed off strip. Ate out 1-2 times/week at mostly cheap places. Maybe go out clubbing once a month. Trips are usually to national parks. Deal hunting while buying electronics or high cost items. $250K: Bought a nice condo downtown. Flew coach direct domestic. Business class for trips to Asia, but E+ for trips to Europe. No qualms about traveling cross country or a random weekend or doing a trip to Caribbean or Hawaii when I felt like it. Mostly stayed at budget hotels. At at a Michelin star restaurant for the first time. Started shopping for clothes at Nordstrom. Bought a $2500 suit for a wedding. Cleaning service monthly. $500K: Bought a house and a Tesla. Book whatever flight I feel like. Vacations abroad always business class. Occasional stays at St Regis, Four Seasons etc. 3-5 vacations abroad a year. $1M+: not that different from 500k, but generally stopped budgeting. Buy whatever I feel like I want - now I'm more constrained by my time and clutter than by price of anything. I have a cook, home gym, cleaning services. Can't travel anywhere due to COVID :(
We have been spending less than $50,000/yr in the SF Bay Area for at least the last 5 years. There was a period of time when I was really cheap but those days are long gone. I just prefer the flexibility of minimalism. Besides, not having expensive stuff means I don’t have to worry about it getting broken. TC: 450k earned + 200k passive income
Is that including rent? We generally spend on experiences and not things, so totally onboard with minimalism. Is your passive income coming from rentals?
$50,000/yr includes housing cost of $24,000/yr. Living expenses are under $950/month, and after school activities are around $1200/month. I used to own real estate, but found dividend and interest income a much easier approach.
I bought WinRAR
What do you even zip these days?!?
I'm the real baller here, I bought the license for Sublime.