What's Eating Your Wallet?

[Mercenary]

What are the day-to-day increases in expenses that are eating into your paycheck? Here are mine:

Utilities. 10 years ago when I moved into my house it was poorly insulated, had an old inefficient heat pump and leaky plumbing. My monthly water/electricity bill on a bad month was $100. Since then I've put in hundreds of dollars in insulation, new windows, new plumbing, etc. My bill this month is $280. Granted, I'm also married and we do cook & do more laundry, but every time I manage to do something that cuts down my usage, the utility company raises rates again. 8.8 percent according to their latest promise.
Plus a $2.15 charge per 1k kilowatts "Fuel Surcharge" fee due to a "rise in fuel prices"
Yeah, I pay more in fuel prices too. Gas was about $1.57 in 2000. Now I pay $3.08

Water/Sewer - 10.3% increase in rates
10 years ago property taxes were around $860. Last year they were $1060. This year they are $1235. Last I checked my lot size hasn't gotten any larger. :s10:

New Impact fees - Let's see, there's a new Garbage fee and a new water runoff impact fee for having paved or roofed areas on your property. But guess what, the nearby river is still polluted and the paper mill upstream has a cozy deal set up with the city....

Drivers License renewal - the fee has doubled
Tag renewal - it used to be around $35, now it's doubled.

Weekly grocery bill:
Bread: 90¢ in 2000, now it's $1.40
Milk: was $2.78, now $3.32
Ground Beef: was $1.90/lb. now $2.97
Eggs: was 97¢/dzn now $1.45
Chicken: was $1.05/lb now $1.30
Hell even Deli Bologna is pushing $5/lb.

Property insurance - hurricane deductible is now up to $3,400.
Health insurance - copays and deductibles up

Cable/internet phone - it seems to go up a buck every month. What started off asa $100/month bill is now $118

Death by a thousand cuts. Retirement doesn't look pretty. :s10:

On the good side -
I got rid of all my credit card debt. I pay any balance off within 30 days.
I paid off my house. No more interest, no more mortgage insurance. :p

[Irons]

Gold...................not complaining

[Usury]

To the OP: Although Gold is Money, Money only used to be Gold.

[Mercenary]

Irons, you appear to be saying you spend your fiat on gold and thus have no complaints. Are you indifferent? Who pays your light bill? Do you sell your gold for fiat to pay it? Or do you make enough fiat you have the luxury to exchange it for gold?

Usury, that's a true enough historical observation. I don't understand how it contributes to a here and now cost of living thread though.

[Irons]

Irons, you appear to be saying you spend your fiat on gold and thus have no complaints. Are you indifferent? Who pays your light bill? Do you sell your gold for fiat to pay it? Or do you make enough fiat you have the luxury to exchange it for gold?

Usury, that's a true enough historical observation. I don't understand how it contributes to a here and now cost of living thread though.

I have no bills, besides utilities. So Yep, I'm indifferent. So according to general wisdom I'm a wierdo who actually pays off thier debts early and in full.

[andial]

What are the day-to-day increases in expenses that are eating into your paycheck? Here are mine:

Utilities. 10 years ago when I moved into my house it was poorly insulated, had an old inefficient heat pump and leaky plumbing. My monthly water/electricity bill on a bad month was $100. Since then I've put in hundreds of dollars in insulation, new windows, new plumbing, etc. My bill this month is $280. Granted, I'm also married and we do cook & do more laundry, but every time I manage to do something that cuts down my usage, the utility company raises rates again. 8.8 percent according to their latest promise.
Plus a $2.15 charge per 1k kilowatts "Fuel Surcharge" fee due to a "rise in fuel prices"
Yeah, I pay more in fuel prices too. Gas was about $1.57 in 2000. Now I pay $3.08

Water/Sewer - 10.3% increase in rates
10 years ago property taxes were around $860. Last year they were $1060. This year they are $1235. Last I checked my lot size hasn't gotten any larger. :s10:

New Impact fees - Let's see, there's a new Garbage fee and a new water runoff impact fee for having paved or roofed areas on your property. But guess what, the nearby river is still polluted and the paper mill upstream has a cozy deal set up with the city....

Drivers License renewal - the fee has doubled
Tag renewal - it used to be around $35, now it's doubled.

Weekly grocery bill:
Bread: 90¢ in 2000, now it's $1.40
Milk: was $2.78, now $3.32
Ground Beef: was $1.90/lb. now $2.97
Eggs: was 97¢/dzn now $1.45
Chicken: was $1.05/lb now $1.30
Hell even Deli Bologna is pushing $5/lb.

Property insurance - hurricane deductible is now up to $3,400.
Health insurance - copays and deductibles up

Cable/internet phone - it seems to go up a buck every month. What started off asa $100/month bill is now $118

Death by a thousand cuts. Retirement doesn't look pretty. :s10:

On the good side -
I got rid of all my credit card debt. I pay any balance off within 30 days.
I paid off my house. No more interest, no more mortgage insurance. :p

Mercenary, believe it or not according to the many deflationists on this board what you are experiencing is NOT INFLATION! We have a deflationary monetary condition at the present time here in the U.S. so you should be noticing INCREASED PURCHASING POWER of your monies. According to the resident deftionists on this site.

[MoMoney]

Irons...
I applaud you but insurance co-pays, car insurance, veterinarian bills, hair cuts, sugar and food hasn't gotten cheaper.

[Treasure Searcher]

About three years ago, I replaced several windows in my house. I actually save $100.00 a year in heating costs. The previous windows were from the 1940's and 1960's, so they were energy inefficient and leaked water, when it rained.

Any insulating will pay off in the long term.

[Meliorist]

I must say your increases seem quite reasonable over a 10 year period, especially given the devaluation the dollar had 2000-2008. I would fight that property tax valuation though; it's hard (politically) to get away with a 20% increase when RE has been stagnant or falling, even if it was undervalued before.

My expenses aren't eating my wallet; I save 80% of my take home. I wouldn't invest in insulation because I don't use AC or heat. I'm single, if you couldn't guess :)

[TomD]

I don't have a mortgage or car payments, just utilities + home taxes and insurance. Around $470/month for the last two items. The locals are serious as hell about the taxes, they WILL repossess if you quit the payments. Not to mention insurance is a little pricey near the gulf coast.

[<===Foolsgold]

Mainly property(real estate) taxes.

Though food and gasoline get honorable mention.

[CiscoKid]

Mortgage and personal property taxes. Living in Northern Virginia can be murder with property taxes on your vehicles every year. Just shelled out $1,600 for three pickups, a gooseneck stock trailer, a Corvette, and a sport bike. Funny they don't charge me for my tractor though. Besides the taxes the only bills I have are mortgage and utilities and I have a seven year plan on the former. I raise my own beef and pork so the only meat I buy in the store is chicken and I wait for good sales on that. I do my own vehicle maintenance and my own home repairs and upgrades. Cutting corners where I can so I can buy more PMs.

[Lt Dan]

No debt here, just utilities plus semi-annual insurance and annual RE taxes. Almost forgot, feed for the animals.

[5150female]

Even my kids are noticing food prices going up. Two years ago, $500.00 used to be the budget for 2 weeks (2 parents, 1 adult son, 3 daughters, dogs & cats). Now I am pushing over $600.00.
Thankfully our Property Taxes are fixed (under Prop. 13). Earthquake insurance was up almost $1000.00 over the year before, can't wait to see this year. We did wrap all the duct work, new windows, new roof, heavy insulation & did the solar. Electric biils used to range from $250.00 to $500.00 plus - now $180.00 fixed. Car registration doubled - $500.00 plus for a pick-up, sales tax at 10% on everything. Death by a thousand cuts is indeed the truth.

[keepitlow]

About the same boat as you. Sugar has gone up 60% these last couple years alone. Breyers Ice cream has been downsized twice and priced hiked as well. VAT may be coming, higher taxes, individual mandate, taxes on employer provided healthcare...blah...blah...blah. Yes retirement is tough for many.

[5150female]

Let's not forget the "Means Testing" that is coming along with the VAT.

[ArkWv]

Food, gas, utilities, insurance, property tax, and chicken feed. Oh and snuff and dog food. And the ole lady's toilet paper addiction. And the satellite dish bill ( wv state flower ). And 150 pair of shoes that get looked at once and then given away 2 years later. And every kind of scented candle you can think of. And 200 different colors of fingernail polish. Ut oh her she comes, bye. :-)

[andial]

Living in Northern Virginia can be murder with property taxes on your vehicles every year. Just shelled out $1,600 for three pickups, a gooseneck stock trailer, a Corvette, and a sport bike.

You learn something every day. I have never heard of this property tax on vehicles and I live in the high tax state of NY.

[elroy]

You learn something every day. I have never heard of this property tax on vehicles and I live in the high tax state of NY.
Indiana has a similar deal. There is an excise tax on vehicles that is added to the cost of license plates.

The tax is based on the value of the vehicle. The excise tax on a new vehicle can be $300-$400 or even higher. This is paid every year when renewing plates.

This has been reduced some since the implementation of the state lottery. The state used some of the lottery proceeds to lower the excise tax. I paid $500 excise [on top of the sales tax] in 1994 when I bought a new Oldsmobile.

Regarding the OP. I suppose income taxes and the cost of gas.

[Hasenfuss]

Spend most of my money on hookers and blow, the rest I waste on gold.

[Merlin]

Indiana has a similar deal. There is an excise tax on vehicles that is added to the cost of license plates.

The tax is based on the value of the vehicle. The excise tax on a new vehicle can be $300-$400 or even higher. This is paid every year when renewing plates.

This has been reduced some since the implementation of the state lottery. The state used some of the lottery proceeds to lower the excise tax. I paid $500 excise [on top of the sales tax] in 1994 when I bought a new Oldsmobile.

Regarding the OP. I suppose income taxes and the cost of gas.

If you itemize your deductions, excise taxes are deductible from income on Schedule A. Every little bit helps. Just keep the receipt that you get every year when you renew your plates; it documents the amount of the excise tax. The excise tax on my 1999 Chevy is down to $26 now. But I claim the deduction anyway. F the IRS.

[TomD]

In Georgia, that type of tax is called ad valorum which is applied to cars, boats, aircraft, etc. The amount of the tax varies from county to county and can be vicious in the Atlanta metro counties, especially Fulton. I've had single tags cost me over $500 and that wasn't for a super high buck vehicle though it isn't too bad for older vehicles in the outlying counties. None of that BS here in Florida.

[Irons]

Irons...
I applaud you but insurance co-pays, car insurance, veterinarian bills, hair cuts, sugar and food hasn't gotten cheaper.

You're right of course, nothing is getting cheaper but there are ways to keep costs down. Property taxes we set aside a little each month to cover all year and we live very rural by choice.

Auto, boat and cycle insurance, everything is paid for so we have comprehensive and catastropic on vehicles and toys. If I put my stupid car in the ditch I pay for it, if a deer commits suicide I'm covered.

If I sink my boat, you guessed it. I pay for it. If some fool smashes it off my trailer or rams it on the water I'm covered.

My wife cuts my hair, my garden pumps out a lot of food and we shoot 2 or 4 deer a year and rarely eat out, we both pack lunches for work and always have.

As for cars and trucks we buy used and let the first owner eat the 50% loss.

We have always hated the idea of debt in any form and busted ass to pay the house off before the ink was dry on the mortgage. Always have been frugal as a way of life and damn of it glad now.

While many of our friends and relatives struggle to adapt to this awful economy and the way it is forcing them to change the way they live, nothing has changed much around here.~:cool:

[Gcubed]

New York strips were ten bucks a lub today. WTF!?!? Good burger was $5. Chit.
P.S. Gas was an even $3

[Irons]

New York strips were ten bucks a lub today. WTF!?!? Good burger was $5. Chit.
P.S. Gas was an even $3

Got any amish in your neck of the desert fluffychops? Meat and eggs organic and cheap. Cash only, no sundays!

[Gcubed]

Got any amish in your neck of the desert fluffychops? Meat and eggs organic and cheap. Cash only, no sundays!

Nah, Just Albertson's. I wont do Wal-Mart since our ex-gov took over.

[Concours14]

What's eating my wallet? Inherited money. I dunno whether to buy more Siler, or whether to buy more Palladium. But folks, since Jimmy-Earl-Carter, I have not seen a more destructive attitude towards business.

May I suggest the purchase of another 7,000 ounces of bar-based Silver? The floor seems to be a nice, firm, 29.10/ounce.

Who's with me?

[Dude]

What's eating my wallet? Inherited money. I dunno whether to buy more Siler, or whether to buy more Palladium. But folks, since Jimmy-Earl-Carter, I have not seen a more destructive attitude towards business.

May I suggest the purchase of another 7,000 ounces of bar-based Silver? The floor seems to be a nice, firm, 29.10/ounce.

Who's with me?

You inherit a quarter mil?

[Concours14]

You inherit a quarter mil?

Classified. I could tell you, but well, you know..

Silver eats my wallet. Times are good, but I've been responsible. My siblings bought Rolexes, Jags, Mercedes, stupid $5000.00 weekends, idiotic crap like that. They actually laughed in my face about the Silver thing. They cashed inherited ASEs by the thousands 10 and twenty years ago and got jack for them. They said I was a moron for not selling them when silver was 12 because it would be a matter of time before silver was 5 again. Me? I kept every one of em. When Ma and Uncle passed, THEN I splurged. I upgraded my Hyundai sedan to a Hyundai wagon to make working easier and my Suzuki 1200 sportie upgraded to a Kawasaki 1400 Super Sportie. Hence, the Concours14. And that's it toy-wise. Bought more silver. A little gold. The rest, I invest in other stuff and carry a couple of annuities/money market things for some liquid dough, a lot of which I kept buying silver with. I can't bring myself to piss it away buying stupid stuff. Such a piker I am. Still on the same 150.00 Seiko Kinetic and 150.00 Citizen Eco-Drive as I was ten years ago. Meanwhile, the spendthrifts are whittling it away fast as they can while they laugh at the silver bug..
:banana: