Budget Breakdown of An Almost 30-Year-Old Who Makes Not Enough to Brag About and Is Pretty Good With Money

Recently an article by CNBC has been making the rounds on social media for its ridiculousness as a sort of suggestion for all of us millennials who are struggling with money because we just aren't that smart with it.  It focuses on one 25 year old who makes $100k.  First problem.  Most of us are barely making half of what he does.  Yes he lives in a big city, but that is still much more than most, especially at the ripe old age of 25.  Even at 30 or 35, six figures is still a far away dream that can never be reached.

But putting aside how much money he has to spend, people are questioning about the amounts that he supposedly spends.  Some seem extraordinarily high and others laughably low.  See their chart below:



Now most people thought the laughably low amounts were rent (there's no way you can find a place in Boston for that little), cell phone, internet, and house cleaner.  Now if you actually read the article, you see that he has 4 roommates so most of those expenses are split between 4 people.  And he's on his family's cell phone plan (lucky) which is why that's so low.  Of course the biggest thing is, who has $615 to donate EVERY MONTH?  I guess if you live with 4 other people and make 100k you could.  But also, like, he doesn't have any entertainment?  And you're saying he doesn't have student loans he has to repay?  Hmmmmm

Now I'm fine with all of this.  My problem is that it is unrealistic for most people so not really helpful to see what a normal budget should be like.  He makes much more than most of us and it is a bit crazy to expect everyone to live with 4 other people.  And if you are like me and are in a committed relationship, you'd like to have some sort of semblance of a private home for you.  Is that too much to ask for in life?

So it got me thinking, though I'm sort of a stickler for spending money, I don't really "budget".  I honestly had no idea how much we spend monthly on a lot of things.  I keep a record of how much comes in and how much goes out so I know if we can make a large expense or not, but fortunately my husband and I make enough that we don't have to save up for essentials.  We can live comfortably in our somewhat minimal lifestyle.  So I wanted to see how we fell compared to this person.  Here's my breakdown (keep in mind it is for 2 people in the San Francisco Bay Area):

Typical Monthly Spending: $3,209

Breakdown:

Our largest expense is rent. And it's actually going up $100 next month.  It has consistently been raised at least $50 every 6 months.  For perspective, we have a tiny one bedroom apartment, and it is still one of the best deals in our area.

Our smallest expense is health insurance.  You can't even see it on the chart since it's only $2 a month thanks to Covered California.  We bank on the fact that we won't have to go to the hospital much since we are young and healthy and without kids.

Our utilities only average about $50 a month.  The good thing about a tiny apartment, we only have to pay for gas and electric and it doesn't take much energy for the small space!

Our cell phone (for 2 people mind you) is only $80 a month with MetroPCS (read my review here).  That's with unlimited everything.  Seriously people, why are you paying hundreds for your cell phone?

Our transportation costs may be a little higher than most since my husband drives for Lyft.  The good thing is we get a lot of that as a tax deductible expense and we actually make money off of the mileage because we have Priuses.  Read about driving for rideshare companies here.

Most of our other expenses I would imagine are pretty normal.  But I'm curious how others stack up.  What's your spending breakdown like?

My New Favorite Meal Kit

A couple years ago meal delivery kits started becoming popular and, while pretty expensive, they have good deals on your first trial which is a good way to get some cheap food for a while.  I wrote about each of the kits I tried in this post here.

Then almost a year ago, I discovered a cheaper meal kit called Dinnerly that I have been using regularly since and wrote about that here.  About a month ago, I heard about another meal kit that was just as cheap as Dinnerly called EveryPlate.  Well not only do I like to try out new meal kits for the deal you get on your first box, but I was interested to see how it compared to Dinnerly as a regular service.

I actually got a Groupon for my first box that was $17 for my first box of 2 servings of 3 meals (including shipping).  EveryPlate actually has a premium meal option each week of a more expensive meat like steak or shrimp which is generally $3 more per serving.  Since we were saving so much money on this box, I decided to get the premium steak meal so in total, I paid $23 for 3 meals for 2 people and one was a steak dinner.  Not bad at all.  I cancelled after the first box, of course, and right away they offered me $10 my next three meals if I came back so I've been enjoying these for a few weeks now.

I REALLY love this option they have of the premium meats.  After receiving Dinnerly meals consistently for almost a year, we've noticed two things that we don't really care for.  One is they have a lot of burgers as the meal option and since I can be a bit picky at times, we can end up having burgers a lot.  The second thing is they only have chicken, ground beef, ground turkey, ground pork, and sausage as meat options.  We miss having shrimp, fish, steak, and pork not ground so having the option to chose to upgrade to some of these is nice, even if you have to pay a little more for it.  Though I will note that I've had pork chops from EveryPlate that was not any extra. (The best pork chops I've ever had btw!)

The meals from EveryPlate have been much tastier than Dinnerly as well.  Dinnerly is cheaper by having less ingredients so sometimes the meals are a little lacking.  They are good, don't get me wrong but just having one or two more ingredients could make it go from good to great.  I don't know how EveryPlate can offer such cheap meals while still being able to give you more ingredients, but they are, at least for now.

EveryPlate also offers a referral program (get $20 off your first box and I'll get $20 in credit!) which Dinnerly doesn't do so that makes it a little nicer too.  I think I am going to be switching to EveryPlate to be my regular delivery instead of Dinnerly.  Or maybe I'll keep both going every week so I only have to plan one dinner a week.  We'll see.  But either way, I definitely recommend EveryPlate!

Dinnerly is the Cheap and Easy Way to Make Dinner

A while ago I wrote a blog about meal kit delivery services (read about it here).  These are companies that mail you ingredients to make healthy meals.  I love this idea because it saves time by not having to go grocery shopping and it delivers fresh produce but just the right amount needed so nothing goes to waste but most of the services are quite expensive.  When I heard about a new company, Dinnerly, that claimed to be the cheaper option, I was interested.

Dinnerly offers 3 meals of 2 servings for only $30 plus $8.99 shipping.  Most other meal kit services are twice that price.  With the shipping factored in, that's only $13 a meal.  My husband and I often have leftovers as well, usually enough for one lunch.  Granted I can make meals for much cheaper than that, but as I said, not having to buy the groceries or plan saves time and energy which is worth something.  Plus you get to try new things that you might not have before. 

Why is Dinnerly so much cheaper?  They provide digital recipe cards instead of paper and have simple packaging which means less production costs.  They also have fewer ingredients per dish which cuts back on cost.  They also don't spend a lot of money on huge marketing campaigns.

Another thing that I like about Dinnerly is it is simpler than most other services.  With fewer ingredients, the dishes don't take as long to prepare and cook.  Most of their meals can be made in 30 minutes or less.

I have been getting the boxes for 3 weeks now and I have really enjoyed most of the meals.  They are tasty, simple to make, and cost effective! 

If you want to try a free box, comment below and I'll respond with your unique code!

Earn Free Spirit Miles

Airline miles are a great way to be able to travel.  I really love it when you can get them for free so I jumped at the opportunity to earn free Spirit Miles by taking surveys.  Even though it's only a few hundred miles, it can add up over time and may be the difference between being able to get a ticket for free or not.  Sign up today here!

Pet Insurance, A Cheaper Alternative: Save Money and Your Pet's Life!

Our new year did not start out well.  We came home at 4 in the morning Jan 1 after a fun long night out celebrating with friends to find our cat Tybalt crying and having thrown up clear foam several times all over the apartment. We took him to the ER vet and discovered he had swallowed a needle. Their recommendation was surgery which would cost $6,000 - $7,000.  That staggering number forced us to think about how much we were willing to spend on a pet.  Let me tell you, that is not an easy thing to do.  In one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make, we decided it was too expensive for us to be able to afford. We went with plan B, which was still a few thousand dollars, and luckily they were able to get it out by flushing his stomach. He is all better now and is very lucky that he made it through without any damage.

But all of this forced us to think about getting pet insurance.  We have two indoor cats and I never thought they would have any extreme health concerns that would cost that much.  But anything can have accidents.

In looking at all the options, most companies seemed to have roughly the same cost, between $50-$60 a month for two indoor cats.  Yikes!  That's $700 a year.  Considering the lack of need of health services in the years we've already had them and the amount of previous pets, that actually didn't seem like it would save us money in the long run.  Sure that's taking a gamble, but either way we couldn't afford it at this time.

But then I found out about Pets Best accident only insurance.  It is only $6 a month for cats (I think around $9 a month for dogs) and covers the treatment of pretty much all accidents, including exams, x-rays, surgeries, hospitalization and medications because of trauma, poisoning, bites (animal, insects, snakes), hit by car or moving vehicle, foreign body ingestion, bone fracture, laceration, cut, abrasion, wound, torn nail, or medical problems directly attributable to accidental injury.  It has a $250 deductible and 90% reimbursement (the highest I'd seen for pet insurance) and a $10,000 annual limit which was also on the higher end, especially considering the low rates.  This was exactly what we need at a price we can afford!

Of course if they were to get some serious illness that requires constant medication, that would be different.  This insurance doesn't cover cruciate ligament injuries or any illnesses or diseases, including infectious bacterial or viral diseases, parasitic infection, metabolic disorder, or cancer.

But for those people that want a cheaper option than full accident and wellness pet insurance, I believe this is the way to go.  This should help you for those crazy emergencies that pop up out of nowhere and you have to make a quick decision.  Our Tybalt would have been able to receive the surgery and we would have paid less out of pocket than we did for the cheaper alternative.  In fact, we would have paid less than just for the ER visit and examinations alone which were $700.

PLEASE look into pet insurance if you have pets. We never thought a bill would be that high from indoor cats but I would much rather pay a few hundred dollars each year than have to make a decision on how much our pet's life was worth to us again.

If you are interested in Pets Best accident only insurance, click here.

See Unlimited Movies in Theaters for $10 a Month!

My husband and I love watching movies and we especially love seeing them in theaters but it can get very expensive.  I wrote a post a while ago about cheap ways to see movies but I have learned about a new and better way: MoviePass.

MoviePass is a subscription service that allows you to go see a movie in a theater once a day for only $9.95 a month!  While the national average for a movie ticket is $8.61, here in California they are commonly $12-$14 for a regular movie.  That means you save money even just by only going once a month.  But for those that live in areas where it is cheaper than the monthly cost, you will certainly make it up by just going twice a month.  It is a huge savings for people that love to see movies all the time in theaters.

Now here are the restrictions:

1. MoviePass is not accepted at all theaters.  That being said, it is accepted at many large chains and even some local run theaters.  The biggest chain that does not accept it is AMC.  But check their website to see what theaters in your area do accept it.  I still have choice of all of my favorites in my area.
2. You have to be within 100 yards of the theater before you can order your ticket.
3. MoviePass can only be used to buy a standard ticket, i.e. no 3D or Imax.  There is a trick to upgrade your ticket and just pay the difference that MoviePass doesn't tell you about.  See below.

How Does It Work?

Once you sign up for MoviePass, they send you a card.  This card is used to "pay" for the ticket when you have to purchase it at the kiosk at the movie theater.  When your account is activated, you need to download the MoviePass app.  When you want to get a ticket, go to the theatre and "check in" to your movie on the app.  You can either purchase the ticket through the app if it is available at that theater or you go to the ticket kiosk and order a ticket like normal and when they ask for payment, you hand them the MoviePass card which works like a debit or credit card.  It's as simple as that!

Tricks to Upgrade or Reserve Ahead of Time

MoviePass is only for day of standard tickets but there are ways around that.  The first thing to note is that it doesn't really matter what movie you check in to on the MoviePass app.  When you check in, it just gives the okay on your card for one purchase of a standard ticket rate within the half hour time slot.  There is no way for it to specify a certain showing.  That means if you want to make sure you get tickets to a premiere that might sell out, go to the theatre ahead of time and just check in to any movie but when you go to the kiosk, ask for whatever showing you want and use your MoviePass card.  It does mean that you can't see a movie on that day of purchase, but you could conceivably see multiple movies in one day this way.

If you really want to see something in 3D or Imax, you can do a similar trick to "upgrade" and only pay the difference in price from a standard ticket to the other ticket.  Check in to any movie and order a standard ticket.  Then at the theater kiosk, ask to exchange your ticket for the upgraded version and pay the difference.

While these tricks are kind of inconvenient, it is a small price to pay for what money you'll be saving in my opinion!

Sign up for MoviePass today here!