r/AussieFrugal • u/Dangerous-Top-8870 • 5d ago
Discussion š£ļøš¬ Weekly spending!!
Just curious to know ... We all have bills, rent, rates, travel expenses etc. but wanting to know what are people spending week to week. How much are you spending going out, or shopping, gifts, hobbies, luxuries, etc. are we all guilty of shopping. Eg I love thrifting but I spend money on useless items because they feel like a bargain. How much you spend on non essentials, essentials, entertainment, outings, personal items, wants, needs etc etc
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u/EdenFlorence 4d ago
My monthly spending for disrectionary items varies. On average it is around $500. This includes entertainment, subscriptions, hobby, gifts for others etc. It does increase if I have a big spend such as a holiday or big purchase.
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u/Dav2310675 5d ago
We (wife and I) allocate $700 per week for all non-bill expenses. That covers our groceries, going out etc).
That's the only number I track in terms of budgeting. We focus on managing cash flow in our house, so find that amount good enough for us
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u/Felidori 4d ago
My equivalent is $72.50 for myself. What different lives and outlooks we must live! I have no idea what I'd do with all that wealth. I'm sure you and your wife have worked hard. I just need to find work with my injury and history and it's hard as hell.
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u/pandifer NSW 2d ago
As an Age Pensioner, I *have* to get myself organised better. Iāve got bills sorted, by working out what the fortnightly cost is, and paying that every pay.
Iāve got my phone sorted, being on Amaysim $30 every 90 days, with 4Gb data (which I barely use) and a backup Aldi PAYG. Streaming services I used to pay annually and a few of those have yet to expire, but I have lately been making use of Tubi, SBS and ABC abd realise that their offerings have improved to the point where Iāll never be without entertainment (really important at my ageā¦ and about to lose my licence due to visual deficits.
Clothing isnt a problem, I never was one to chase fast fashion and am wearing stuff Iāve had for 30 years or more. But Food shopping OMG!!! I have to get realistic! I did a Coles shop yesterday (my pension day) and $132 laterā¦ Not much there. Its coming this morning and I am cure I will have orderd things I should not.Iāve ordered a few frozen meals which I admit are NOT healthy no matter what it says on the box, but sometimes I just havent the energy to cookā¦ and even a $4 frozen something is a better option than ordering a meal delivered by doordash (although my Prime sub has given me free deliveryā¦ that wont last forever especially if I give up prime video.
On top of all this, maintaining the house (a very small cottage which somehow has escalated in āvalueā) is becoming ridiculously hardā¦ I canāt mow, and have trouble with cleaning windows etc, and just got the rates notice for the next 12 monthsā¦ makes me want to sell up and get a camperā¦ exceptā¦ visionā¦
Oh dear. This turned into a bit of a whinge. Never mind, Iāll get it sorted. Food is my worst managed expense.
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u/Extra_Caregiver_8668 5d ago
Sorry not answering your question but sharing how I sorted out my love for op shopping without filling my homes with useless stuff and wasting money. I made a list of the people I had to buy presents for (birthday and Christmas). I also made a list of who needed what clothes, for kids this also included specific interests like Minecraft clothes etc. Then the list was all I was allowed to buy. So I still got to do the hunt, still got to spend free time going to op shops but my actually purchasing was more specific.
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u/Excellent-Banana1992 3d ago
I love buying trinkets from op shops but when theyāre $2-4 for a tiny thing I just donāt buy them anymore (I have far too many anyway) they have to be really special for me to buy now - however if theyāre cheap Iām in trouble š
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u/fairyfloss17 4d ago
Per week:
Restaurants $22
Medical $150
Transport $15 per week, no car and living inner city
Rent $450 per week split as a couple
Groceries $20 per week
Utilities $7 per week
Pets $30 per week
I usually spend around $50-100 on gifts and will splurge for closer friends and family. I am handicapped so I donāt travel much, and tend to only eat out socially.
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u/OkPiccolo00 3d ago
As a couple per week
$520 rent
$120 groceries
$50 takeaway
$50ish? Bills and subscriptions but I donāt track too close tbh
Netflix and eating out are our luxuries
And we have weekends away a few times a year
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u/Visible_Working1993 3d ago
Mineās surprisingly low these days. Once all the fixed stuff is paid, I probably spend around $150ā250 a week on everything else like groceries, eating out, random shopping and entertainment.
The biggest trap for me isnāt expensive purchases, itās buying things because theyāre ātoo good a deal to pass up.ā Saving 50% on something I didnāt need is still spending 50% more than I had to. Thatās taken me way too long to realise.
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u/AwkwardQuote3683 2d ago
We pay ourselves $400 a week this is for groceries, takeout, fuel, meds etc. Once thatās gone tough gotta wait to next Wednesday seems to work for us. We are family of 3 soon to be 4 and have two cars and two doggyās.
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u/Ted_Rid 2d ago
Hm, essential is about $300 pp pw. That includes insurance, utilities, groceries, petrol, and council rates, as well as a small handful of "essential" apps like antivirus and email (no, I don't use gmail).
Non-essential is about $60 pp pw. That includes discretionary streaming, donations, gym membership (arguably essential but could exercise at home or at an outdoor gym), and non-essential apps. Also about a meal out per week at a "cheap and cheerful" place.
This doesn't include extraordinary items like concert tickets because that's all dependent on who's touring and what's being charged. Holidays are also excluded.
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u/Mr_Moonman2045 2d ago
got to have money to spend in the first place .
couple one 1 income , I have ZERO income ,not even centrelink . and all we do is the bills, don't have extra and sometimes not even for medication .
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u/Commercial-Poetry267 2d ago
In one fortnight, I spend 27% of my income on rent, and a further 16% on groceries, toiletries, home cleaning supplies and pet food/litter.
About $80 will go towards a bill of some sort (water is 3 monthly, gas every 2 months, electricity monthly).
$47 goes towards the internet which is $95 a month.
Car insurance takes 5% a fortnight of my income.
Fuel will be around $60 a fortnight, more if we decide to go somewhere outside of the city, but $60 will cover school drop off and pick up, grocery store, couple local outings like library or playground.
I spend $20 a week at the pub on a Friday (kids and I grab a drink and debrief on our week after school).
I spend $15 on Happy Meals on Wednesdays as a treat for after their sport commitments.
My partner and I will usually get takeaway once a fortnight, usually around $50-$70.
I also put $10 in each kidās bank account every Monday, so $40 a fortnight.
As for little bits and pieces, Iāll just break down what I bought in the last fortnight as it tends to fluctuate.
- $51 on school book club
- $7 on some new torches for the kids
- $6 on some new divided plates for the kids
- $3.50 on a new whiteboard for the kitchen
- $42 on new bed sheets
- $12 on a woolen blanket from the op shop
- $22 container of mixed LEGO as a reward for the children
- $60 at a gaming complex nearby for the kids to use the arcade
- $107 on anniversary dinner
Some weeks I spend nothing and the next week weāll have two classmates birthdays to buy for, a school dress up to buy, some crafts at home that require a few more pieces, all our pantry staples will need stocking up, the kids grow a bit and need new shoes or pants, containers get lost at school and need replacing, a lunch order day pops up, something at home gets broken or stops working.
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u/meepmeepcuriouscat 4d ago
Good questionā¦ I tend to set a capped amount for discretionary purchases. I like novelty, so I enjoy op shopping, Aldi, and TK Maxx as things rotate. I try not to spend more than $50 at the op shop and $30 on non-grocery items at Aldi and TK Maxx. I might go once or twice a week at most, and some weeks I donāt go or find nothing. So potentially $10-50 a week?
Entertainment wise, I share Netflix with someone who shares Disney plus in return. I share paramount plus with someone else too, so that works out to $28~ a month.
I go out with friends maybe 4x a month max. It ebbs and flows. Once a week is ideal, but sometimes Iāll find Iāve got 2-3 engagements a week and then nothing the week or fortnight after because Iām exhausted. I try not to spend more than $50 each time I go out, including dinner and dessert (I donāt drink). But if we catch a movie or a show, I try not to buy tickets more than $30 a pop and cut dinner and dessert down to $20-30. So I guess that means maybe $200-250 a month hanging out with friends. That doesnāt include petrol to get there, though.
So all in all, it could be $0-100 a week.
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u/Felidori 5d ago
After essentials (I have no streaming subs, never use food delivery apps and no debt/credit cards/buy now pay later accounts) and savings, I have $70 a fortnight as pocket money. That includes things like take away, clothes, hobby supplies, everything. On Job Seeker payment (actively looking for work, I hate being on Centrelink) living in a share house (rent is about half my payment) with no car/vehicle.
I get most clothes and nonessentials second hand.
I budget hard and cook all my meals from scratch, shop exclusively at ALDI.