Survey says this is costing you $1 per day or $30 per month assuming a normal 2000 calorie diet. Nice job!
If these were more like a dollar per pound they would be pretty expensive per calorie...
Question for you all.
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jeremymday
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A while ago I ran the numbers on meeting all caloric needs with rolled oats, and it worked out to about $20/month. As Jacob said, sacks of rice, beans, lentils, and onions are the way to go. Bulk eggs and flour aren't bad either. Look for recipes where >90% of the bulk comes from staples. A lot of American recipes have rice or beans in the title yet still rely on expensive ingredients for most of the substance or flavor.
If I were on a strict 4-ingredient diet I'd monitor my vitamin intake carefully or take multivitamins to avoid deficiencies.
If I were on a strict 4-ingredient diet I'd monitor my vitamin intake carefully or take multivitamins to avoid deficiencies.
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MichaelAndrewLo
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I don't have an exact budget but largely what KevinW said: I just bought bulk eggs, large bags of rice, potatoes, onions, some mayo, noodles, 5 packs of bulk meat/sausage, 4 lb. peanut butter, bulk jam, flour, baking soda, and oil and black pepper. I drink only water, tea, coffee, and home brewed beer a friend makes and gives me for a small charge. I take a multivitamin a day from a bulk container that I got as a gift. I didn't work it out I just realized I was doing $50-75 a month when 3 months ago I bought $150 or so worth of groceries and didn't need to shop again, maybe ate out 3-4 times in that period. Sometimes I eat 1 meal a day and resist to urge to over eat when I am hungry but staying home all day and doing nothing. I get my fruit and veggies at work with a $4 free meal voucher while at work. Because of this it might be higher for others.
I am excited cause I just found out in addition to overtime at 1.5 hourly wage I also get an additional $100 per overtime shift which can add up substantially. Right now the focus is on me maximizing my income cause there is still large room for growth. Even if I totally splurged I don't see how I could spend more than $1000 a month. I am looking at studios in the future that could be rented for $475 to lower my rent. Right now my only expenses are electricity, internet, rent, and food. Nothing else. I have insurance through my dad till age 26 so I don't even have to pay premiums yet on health insurance. I think I will be FI in 5-6 years especially because I am planning on moving to mexico or thailand for a while and possibly teaching english. I should probably be able to live on 600-700 a month easily. All I want to do is practicing my musical instrument and enjoy life. I even like my job for now though so the next couple of years won't be too bad.
The only problem to solve is how to invest my money to provide me $8000-$12000 a year in living expenses and have that available in 5-10 years. My girlfriend will be contributing money to living expenses as well but I am not counting on that. So, 401(k) w/ 5% match decided. I need to learn now how to invest the rest. saving 70% of my after tax income and hopefully up to 80% if I can pull enough overtime. ERE has kept me hopeful because I usually hate to put off my dreams and goals and doing ONLY what I enjoy (playing music).
I am excited cause I just found out in addition to overtime at 1.5 hourly wage I also get an additional $100 per overtime shift which can add up substantially. Right now the focus is on me maximizing my income cause there is still large room for growth. Even if I totally splurged I don't see how I could spend more than $1000 a month. I am looking at studios in the future that could be rented for $475 to lower my rent. Right now my only expenses are electricity, internet, rent, and food. Nothing else. I have insurance through my dad till age 26 so I don't even have to pay premiums yet on health insurance. I think I will be FI in 5-6 years especially because I am planning on moving to mexico or thailand for a while and possibly teaching english. I should probably be able to live on 600-700 a month easily. All I want to do is practicing my musical instrument and enjoy life. I even like my job for now though so the next couple of years won't be too bad.
The only problem to solve is how to invest my money to provide me $8000-$12000 a year in living expenses and have that available in 5-10 years. My girlfriend will be contributing money to living expenses as well but I am not counting on that. So, 401(k) w/ 5% match decided. I need to learn now how to invest the rest. saving 70% of my after tax income and hopefully up to 80% if I can pull enough overtime. ERE has kept me hopeful because I usually hate to put off my dreams and goals and doing ONLY what I enjoy (playing music).
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jeremymday
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@ Andrew - Thanks for clarifying everything!
$4 per lunch x 20 work days in a month is $80 you are technically "spending" in your food budget. You will have to account for that after you quit your job.
You will also have to account for health insurance eventually, but you will be able to have a high deductible insurance plan at a fairly cheap cost.
Very wise not to count your GF in your living expenses.
Just be realistic and you will be fine.
What instrument do you play, by the way???
$4 per lunch x 20 work days in a month is $80 you are technically "spending" in your food budget. You will have to account for that after you quit your job.
You will also have to account for health insurance eventually, but you will be able to have a high deductible insurance plan at a fairly cheap cost.
Very wise not to count your GF in your living expenses.
Just be realistic and you will be fine.
What instrument do you play, by the way???
"The only problem to solve is how to invest my money to provide me $8000-$12000 a year in living expenses and have that available in 5-10 years."
To a first approximation, with a 3% sustained withdrawal rate to yield $10K per year you need to save $333k. $333k/5 years = $66k savings per year or half that for 10 years.
It will be hard to make a substantial difference with investing until you get into longer timeframes -- especially if you don't have much saved to begin with. That said, once your portfolio gets going, you will be amazed at the effectiveness of compound returns.
To a first approximation, with a 3% sustained withdrawal rate to yield $10K per year you need to save $333k. $333k/5 years = $66k savings per year or half that for 10 years.
It will be hard to make a substantial difference with investing until you get into longer timeframes -- especially if you don't have much saved to begin with. That said, once your portfolio gets going, you will be amazed at the effectiveness of compound returns.
I would put a small amount into the 401k and focus mainly on feeding a savings account to build an emergency savings account and then a portfolio of CDs and stocks. If your goal is to early retire in 5 years, and you are in your 20s, you need to learn to deal with investing your money now and you need to be able to access your money in about 5 years. 401k plans typically limit the number of funds you can invest in and its not easy to get your money out. I don't have one so I don't know the details on 401ks.
I would put 200 a month in the 401k and the rest into savings, getting ready to transition savings cash to CDs and stock investments when you exceed a 5k emergency savings amount. You might be comfortable with a 2k emergency savings account if you don't have a mortgage and you have good health insurance.
I would put 200 a month in the 401k and the rest into savings, getting ready to transition savings cash to CDs and stock investments when you exceed a 5k emergency savings amount. You might be comfortable with a 2k emergency savings account if you don't have a mortgage and you have good health insurance.