Money Diary - DINKs, MCOL

[arterr0]

I find what others spend to be fascinating, so thought I would share.

- DH and I are late 30-something DINKs living in a suburb of Nashville
- We have a goal of early retirement at around 50, give or take

Take home - avg. of around $10k (includes two extra paychecks per year per person, annual (both of us) and quarterly (me) bonuses, and my side gig/profitable hobby), this is after 401k contributions (12% for DH, 15% for me), life insurance payment for both of us is also auto withheld from DH's check (this is separate from his employer provided plan) 

Fixed monthly expenses: 

Mortgage/PITI - $2269 - 15 year, 2.875% - 2,400 sq. ft. 3 BR, 3.5 BA
HOA - $68
SL - $800 (will be paid off next year)
Utilities/Cable/Phone - $550
Roth contributions - $960

Other notes
- I have a company car, and all gas/maintenance is provided
- DH's car is paid off
- We both have home-based jobs; I travel to customer locations 2-4 days/week

Saturday, April 8
$32.09 - gas for DH's car
$74.32 - dinner out for my dad's b-day
$9.99 - Washington Post monthly subscription
$85.21 - DH bought a bottle of some special bourbon (bourbon sampling is kind of a hobby for him) 

Sunday, April 9
$11.87 - DH had lunch at a Mexican restaurant with a friend from college
We had our monthly group dinner club Sunday night. Our contribution was beer and wine that we already had on hand.

Monday, April 10
$0
We both ate all three meals at home made from ingredients we already had

Tuesday, April 11
$22 - DH haircut
$80 - mobile dog groomer
$69.96 - groceries

Wednesday, April 12
$31.95 - gas for DH's car
$200 - deposit for a cruise we are taking in Sept for our anniversary

Thursday, April 13
$892.68 (ugh) - vet - our dog had her teeth cleaned, as well as a benign cyst removed from her back, under general anesthesia 
$9.92 - Starbucks - I picked up coffee for DH and I after I dropped the pup off at the vet
$66.35 - I had dinner out with friends to celebrate one who is about to have her 2nd child
$45.45 - card and gift card for the expectant mother
$9.82 - Pei Wei - I picked up dinner for DH on my way home from my group dinner

Friday, April 14
$54.62 - we met a few friends for happy hour, includes a few margaritas and appetizers
$81.28 - went out for sushi with friends after happy hour, brought home leftovers for lunch today

Total spent - $1,777.51
Thankfully, we don't spend almost a grand at the vet every week.
We also spent more on meals out than usual, and less on groceries than usual.
In general, I would say we spend about $100/week on groceries, and $100-200/week on meals/drinks out.