Episode Summary:
In this week’s episode, we do a full-year expense review and share what each of our families spent this past year. We share our total spending for the year and break down our top spending categories, which areas we’re feeling good about, and where we’d like to improve in 2023. We also share additional reflections and financial goals as we kick off 2022.
Episode Notes:
We always find it interesting to learn what other families spend in a year, so we’re sharing what it costs our families of 4 and 5 to live for a whole year. First, we remind everyone why and how we track our expenses and some details on what’s included, and then we dig into the details.
Top 3 takeaways:
- It’s an important investment in your finances and relationships to track and review expenses with your spouse.
- There’s no perfect way to do this. You can be as detailed or as high-level as you want to be. It’s called personal finance for a reason.
- It can be fun and helpful to review and discuss this with another family.
Show references:
- Friends on FIRE episode #109 | Talking to your partner about money
- Friends on FIRE episode #27 – Why Tracking Net Worth Matters
- Friends on FIRE episode #15 – Expense Tracking Gone Wild
- Net worth tracking spreadsheet
- Expense tracking spreadsheet