Cost of Living Day

I've measured the cost of being BU in previous years, but it was always based on a few choice metrics, and about as scientifically accurate as Windows progress bars. This time around, I've data mined all of my non-cash receipts from the year, 2012, to determine my actual expenses (down to the penny). Data is fun!

In 2012, it cost $43,855.76 to live in the manner I have become accustomed to, not including the one-time purchase of the new car last May. This amount is broken down into the following categories:

• Bills / Taxes: $25,514.84 goes towards monthly bills, house insurance, car insurance, and Loudoun County taxes. None of this could be cut if I wanted to pursue an alternate career as a positive thinker while still living where I live.


• Vacation: $5,074.65 went towards our Montreal trip and a few B&R R&R weekends at B&Bs. Worth it!


• Repeat Shopping: $4,459.17 went towards repeat shopping at grocery stores like Safeway or Wegmans, or weekly Costco trips.


• Entertainment: $3,571.33 covers movies, games, music, and the newspaper subscription.


• Dining Out: $2,349.53 was spent on eating out, and not all at Popeyes. Apparently, in March 2012, we went to Pizzario's four times during the single month it was open before it went out of business.


• Gas / Tolls: It cost me $1,401.56 to drive around our road-centric region.


• Uncategorized Shopping: $824.91 went towards miscellaneous shopping, like trips to Target or CVS.


• Computer / Web Hosting: $659.77 went towards buying toner cartridges so Rebecca could print 800 page PT briefs, as well as monthly web hosting so I could tell all of you clowns about my expenses.

Overall, the price of being me was about $120 per day. Were I to lose my job in the redneck apocalypse (because zombies are conceptually retarded, and also highly unlikely), I could easily trim that down to $86 per day without too much hardship. I generally don't stick to a budget proactively -- instead, I'll monitor my expenses on a monthly basis. If I feel like I overspent one month, I'll compensate in the following month!