Comparison Monthly Expenses List

Hello everyone,

we have created our list of expenses and just wanted to throw it out here to the wider group. I would find it interesting to compare where you might have more or fewer expenses/saving volume, etc. Of course, when it comes to saving, it’s always possible to do more; we have calculated it for ourselves assuming that one of us works only 20 hours/week. If both work full-time, naturally much more can be saved.

House Utility Costs Electricity -100.00 € Gas -240.00 € Wastewater/Freshwater -50.00 € Taxes (monthly) -52.00 € Chimney (monthly) -5.00 € Household contents/legal protection/liability insurance -63.00 € Building/liability insurance -65.00 € Broadcasting fee (GEZ) -20.00 € Entertainment/Media Entertainment programs -33.00 € Internet/Telephony -25.00 € Mobile contracts + phones (2 people) -70.00 € Car Car insurance -100.00 € Fuel -200.00 € General car expenses (classic car expenses/MOT/taxes) -140.00 € Loan (Car 1) -200.00 € Loan (Car 2) -200.00 € Miscellaneous Union -37.00 € Household money -500.00 € Activities -100.00 € Children -300.00 € Savings/Reserves Vacation -150.00 € General savings (house/car/devices) -100.00 € Clothing -50.00 € Total expenses -2,800.00 € There are certainly regional differences and also differences in usage behavior. But maybe some items can still be compared. The car loans would also be gone, but we wanted to keep them in case a new car needs to be bought or something like that. So topics like MOT and taxes I have calculated on a monthly basis since these amounts are set aside every month anyway. One-time payments/Christmas bonuses/vacation pay I have completely excluded from our calculation and see them more as a nice bonus.

Comparisons with others bring very little apart from entertainment value. Everyone lives individually.

I lack savings for the house, if ownership, it will be an old building after all. With the "somewhat" high heating costs, there is probably potential for reduction.

So gas is really very expensive. We heat a moderately insulated old building with 140sqm with gas for 91/month.

It's crazy what insurance costs for an old building. Heating costs of €240 per month are really high. Even with your 200 sqm living space. I would also build higher reserves for the house here. It's just built in 1938, there's always something that can come up and become expensive.

Hey,

personally, I always find such threads quite interesting. A few weeks ago, I also gathered our expenses to see what we need monthly to get through life comfortably since we plan to both work only 6 hours a day in the near future. Our current expenses are as follows:

Mortgage: €734
Electricity: €61
Water: €18
Private health insurance incl. [DU]: €488
Mobile phone: €40
Internet/phone: €35
Heating oil/pellets: €85
Sky: €35
Private pension: €110
Building savings contract: €200
Living expenses (food, fuel, other): €1,000

Annual costs amount to roughly €250 per month (car tax/insurance, ADAC, legal protection, accident, household, building insurance).
Quarterly payments equal about €70 per month (GEZ, property charges, garbage, sealed surfaces).
That results in expenses of €2,926 for us.
To live really comfortably, about €3,500 would be enough.
If we reduce to 6 hours next year, the monthly net income would be around €4,700. So, everything would fit comfortably and there would still be enough buffer for new purchases.

Regards

Comparisons with others bring, aside from the entertainment value, quite little. Everyone lives individually.

I lack reserves for the house, if owned, it will be an old building. With the "somewhat" high heating costs there is presumably potential to go down.

Well, I do think you might get one or two hints or hear experiences. Sure, everyone lives individually. One person needs €50 for clothes and another €100. But some reserves and saving behavior are sometimes quite similar.

Reserves for the house were basically included in the €100 per month. It also says car there, but if no loan is needed like currently for the car, essentially another €200 are added.

It’s crazy what an old building costs in insurance. Heating costs of €240 per month is really high. Even with your 200sqm living area. I too would build higher reserves for the house. It’s built in 1938, there’s always something that can be expensive.

I have to say, currently grandpa lives in the house and before with the parents they heated a lot and the windows were open. I think we will definitely have less (currently 50,000 kWh gas), especially after the renovation with a new heating system, insulation and windows. We still wanted to assume the higher amount in case electricity becomes more expensive or so.

What would be your recommendation for reserves for the house? We calculated with €100 and an additional €200 if the financing for one car is no longer needed. Since we are completely renovating the house and at least hope that the next few years will be relatively quiet.