Budget - how much makes sense

amother

Hawthorn

Tue, Dec 12 2023, 11:18 am

This is really something that only you can know and usually it'll take a couple months until you see how much you're actually spending.

I have a family of seven so it doesn't make sense to post how much I'm spending but I can give you a list of categories that you should be setting aside money for if you're really budgeting and keep in mind that some of these are extras so you can definitely skip them if you don't want to and also some of them are things a good budgeter is going to put aside for each month so that when they need it months down the line they have the money already in their Bank.

Also obviously some of these are location dependent, like in Israel I'm assuming you don't need to pay for health insurance.

Rent
Utilities (water, electricity, heat)
Car payments
Car insurance
Car gas
Health insurance/therapies
Food
Dry goods
Clothing for u & spouse
Yom tov
Vacation
Cell phone/phone
Cleaners
Cleaning help?
Maaser

Once ppl hv kids you add:
Childcare
Tuition
Summer camp
Life insurance
Gifts & tips

If you're in a family that has lots of simchos you might want to set aside money for that- gown/makeup/Sheva brachos & gift contributions.

Good luck!

shabbatiscoming

Tue, Dec 12 2023, 11:23 am

amother OP wrote:

How much do you pay for monthly expenses aside from rent/mortgage?

I am a newlywed in Jerusalem and trying to figure out what makes sense.

If you can post your budget, family size and spending habits (luxuriuos lifestyle, very very pennypinching etc) it would be a very big help for me.

Thanks!

Op, only women in the same financial and family matzav as you would help to know.
I personally live outside of jlem, with a child and pet, own my home and definitely have different expenses than you do.
So you knowing my spending habits will not help you at all.

For what purpose so you want/need this information?

amother

Tue, Dec 12 2023, 1:10 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I have no idea at all what food would cost. Or any other expenses.
I'm trying to figure out if we could afford to move to a nicer apartment but I don't know where to go from.
I have about 8k shekel to spend on expenses aside from rent. I want that to cover utilities, transportation (public, occasional taxi based on need), food (groceries and takeout once or twice a week), gym membership, phones and any other expenses I can't think of. And I would want to have money saved each month so that I'm not stuck yom tov, vacations, flights back to family etc.
Is that realistic at all? If not, we can keep a cheaper place and have a bit more money towards the other expenses.
Do I make sense?

Elfrida

Tue, Dec 12 2023, 3:03 pm

How much are you currently paying in rent, and what would the more expensive apartment cost?

You really want to track your expenses for about three months, to get an idea 9f your expenditure, and then see if it would be reasonable to cut that down. Imported food products and eating out will cost more. Cooking at home and buying local products will be cheaper. There are a lot of ways to adjust your budget, but you need to know how you are spending first.

amother

Aquamarine

Tue, Dec 12 2023, 4:22 pm

As Elfrida says, tracking your real time expenses for a time, will allow you to get a realistic picture of what you're spending each month. And remember each month will often have that other higher expense you weren't always planning on. Like there was my sister's birthday and we ended up spending more on a party. And then the other month we needed to pay for something else.
I would personally stay in the cheaper apartment as long as possible and save the difference. Why spend more unless you need to.

amother

Moonstone

Tue, Dec 12 2023, 9:33 pm

We're a family with a couple of kids, USA

Rent 1500
Utilities (water, electricity, heat) 300
Car payments 600
Car insurance 100
Car gas 60
Food 1000
Cell phone/phone 240
debt repayment 1000

total outlay per month: about 5000

debt: about $150,000

we don't have health insurance currently and we don't have tuition/daycare expenses currently.
we never vacation or have cleaning help, etc. No mortgage or savings.

amother

Cerise

Wed, Dec 13 2023, 6:35 am

amother OP wrote:

Like everyone said, you have to write things down for a few months to know how much you spend.

But an approx idea acc to this
utilities - gas 100 electricity 400 water 150 phone bills 100 (cellphones only) vaad bayit 150
transportation - 150 on ravkav plus 80 taxis
food - 2000 per month plus 800 takeout if you go twice a week
gym 250 each so 500
clothes/shoes etc 250
kupat cholim etc 120
arnona 250
toiletries etc 100
miscallaneous 500
maaser 800
saving for vacation 1000

total 7280

this is only approximate - you have to see what yours costs.

ChalieB

Wed, Dec 13 2023, 6:52 am

OP, obviously everything is individual, but I can tell you that I've been married for two years in a similar COL area. We kept our expenses very low, because we were both students. Rent was a little more than half our expenses.

Now, with a baby, a bigger apartment, and being significantly less frugal, including rent we spend about 10k (shekels) a month. I think having 8k on top of rent puts you in a great position to have all the things you listed and save as well Smile

If you want a better breakdown, feel free to PM

amother

Wed, Dec 13 2023, 8:55 am

Thank you all for your help I really appreciate it!
It's hard to track expenses when we use cash - I always try cards when able but sometimes I can't and then it's very hard to remember to write it all down. But I think my biggest grey area is food and that I basically only use my card so I can track it over the next few months.
I really appreciate all the answers it's a huge help to me!

Elfrida

Sat, Dec 16 2023, 1:14 pm

A big question is how you define luxuries.
When you say food, does that include eating out? That's going to push the expenses up.
Are you buying precooked Shabbos food? That's another high budget item.

Have you only just got here, and this month you were buying g a lot of kitchen staples? That's a big expense, but it won't come up again. When you replace them, it won't be all once.

When you say food, does that mean supermarket shopping? That's more than food. Cleaning supplies and disposables (if you use them) would also be on that bill. Not using disposables saves a fair amount of money.

Imported American products cost a lot more. Try experimenting with Israeli products, which are normally cheaper.

Where are you shopping? Small makolets are expensive, particularly those that cater to a chutznik population. Try to do most of your shopping at big supermarket chains.

Take note of prices when you buy food. If it's expensive, look for an alternative, or keep it for a special treat. Stick to produce in season. Don't expect to eat meat on a daily basis.

Bear in mind that you're still learning the local markets, and there's always going to be a process of trial and error!

amother

Sat, Dec 16 2023, 4:19 pm

I really appreciate your responses!

Food does include eating out. Most of the time it was cheaper stuff, like pizza, falafel etc. Sometimes cheaper fleishig takeouts. Once a nicer place.
Most shabbos meals we were invited out, when I cooked myself it was all from scratch, only bought dips.
So we did just get here so yeah we did get a lot of kitchen staples, I didn't think of that. And I bought a lot of spices and sauces. I'm a very impulsive buyer so I see something that looks cool and I don't look at the price at all. I'm buying mostly Israeli companies and shopping in the big supermarkets, makolets just for things I run out of and need then and heavy stuff like water.

My weekly food looks something like this:
Breakfast - cereal and milk, yogurt
Lunch - bread and protein (tuna, egg, cheese, avocado), approx once a week I bought ready made food (sometimes expensive)
Supper - once a week ground meat, once a week chicken, once a week fish (usually salmon), once a week meat, twice a week takeout (once pizza/falafel type, once fleishig)
Snacks
Shabbos - all basics. Fish is salmon and main is chicken. Liver, dips, challah and dessert bought.

How can I save more?

LovesHashem

Sat, Dec 16 2023, 4:33 pm

amother OP wrote:

1. Learn to stretch veggies and use less protein.
2. We don't even have salmon on shabbos every week. We have meat maybe once a month. We use tilapia which is cheaper.
3. Are you buying individual yogurts flavored ones? Those add up fast. We buy jugs of plain yogurt or the 500 ml strawberry/peach one. What cereals are you buying?

Alot of sauces you can make yourself. Or cook with spices and basic ingredients. We make our own tomato suave from tomato pate for example.

Why are you buying water? You should get a brita or use tap. Do you buy sweet drinks too? Do you buy coffees out? Go out to each with friends?

What snacks do you buy? Are you buying expensive ones? In bulk? Candy? Chips? Baked goods? Everything adds up....

Do you buy kedem? Buying liver, dips, challah and desert alone can easily be 150 shekels a week. (depending on how many dips and if you are including Herring as a dip.) That's 600 a month.

Success10

Sat, Dec 16 2023, 4:41 pm

I'm going to be the voice of dissent here. You should enjoy being a newlywed and not budget like crazy. You are entitled to eat out, order in, sip iced coffee and buy a few American products. Don't overdo it, and bear in mind you can't live like this until 120. As life goes on and IYH there are more mouths to feed, you will have to shop simply. But you're only a newlywed once, I'd live it up while you can.