Thanks for the compliments. Some responses:
freddie wrote:You need to plot your expenses over time so you can see how they changed for various points of your life. I have a feeling your college costs look different than your current ones
So I do a moving average of specific categories. Here is a moving average with a window of 300 days and a period (y axis) of 30 days for Food, Alcohol, and Utilities. I haven't tracked total expenses as a moving average though.
Toons wrote:Suggestion,invest that after tax 17k spent on alcohol per year in an index fund for a couple years,just sayin
InvestorNewb wrote:17k on alcohol stood out for me..although over 7 years it's really not that bad - especially given you were a student for part of the time. I'm probably up there as well.
$17,500. A lot right? Not really. Over 7 years that's $200 / month. When a round of drinks for 5 friends could be $50... when friends of mine regularly spend $70 per night at a bar... it's not a lot.
This includes bars, clubs, vacations, hosting parties, enjoying some scotch, etc.
Could I have put that $17,500 in an index fund? Sure. Maybe it would have made $11,000 profit. But for what? The amount of memories, excitement, friendships, stories, bonding, girlfriends, etc. I would be giving up would not be worth it. Especially smack dab in the middle of my 20's. I have regrets in my life, but that's not one of them.
So I would have a net worth of $100k right now instead of $80k. Big deal. I am pulling in $10k - $20k per month. I expect that to rise. I might hit the $100k mark a month or two earlier. I might hit $1million a few weeks earlier. So what.
"But assumer, $17k compounded over 30 years is a gajillion dollars!"
I expect to amass and invest millions of dollars over my lifetime. That's a drop in the bucket.
Calm Man wrote:A very unique effort. I hope you stop daily tracking of expenses.
InvestorNewb wrote:In some ways, I'm glad I don't keep track.
Tracking everything is a very laborious task in itself. Are you done tracking? If not, wouldn't it be better to devote energy to something else? I'm impressed that you tracked everything over that many years/days, but it seems overkill to me.
Why do you say you hope I stop, Calmman?
Well, the amount of time it takes at this point, now that my system is in place, is about 15 minutes a night. I think I just spent 5 minutes typing out this post. That's half a sitcom. The amount of time people waste compared the amount of time I spend on tracking my personal finances is nothing.
Also let's be honest. The amount of time and energy people spend discussing the minutia of asset allocation, etc., is no better than the time I've spent on this (forgetting the fact that I actually enjoy it!).
Oh, for the record, I have a 1-fund portfolio for retirement (Vanguard Target Retirement) and a 1-fund portfolio for savings (Vanguard Lifestrategy).
InvestorNewb wrote:Do you have any regrets about keeping track? (i.e. I shouldn't have spent this much on x...)
Hmm there are some interesting things I might regret. Not the amount of money I spent on food, but rather the breakdown. I regret the amount I spent at restaurants rather than putting that money towards gourmet groceries, for example.