Expenses of a small family

[planter]

We are a 1 daughter, one grandparent household. We live in a Tier 2 city. After noting down ALL our expenses for the past 4 months, this is what we got:

Monthly Expenses(some quarterly and annual expenses are divided to get this)-

FOOD: 31,000 (includes groceries+takeout+dining out)

Petrol: 13,000 (2 petrol cars)

Maids: 9,000 (one cook, one cleaning, one gardner/handiman, one nanny)

Daughter School++ : 11,000(school related everything)

Medicines/health reports : 9,000 (mom has psychiatric issues+ supplements etc etc)

Insurance: 4,000(Health, car, life)

Gifts: 2,400(birthday gifts and sweets for friends and family)

Groceries: 2,000(soaps coffee filter cellotape etc)

Electricity: 3,500

Clothes: 1,500 (excluding school uniform)

Phone bill: 900

Entertainment:700(netflix+++)

Gas: 400

Internet:400 (broadband)

Rent:0 (we own our house)

EMI: 0 (no loans)

Then we are estimating the following:

Travel: 16,000 (2,00,000 worth of travel throughout the year)

Repairs: 3,000 (car service, repair and maintenance at home etc)

Party: 5,000 (birthday parties and other occasions)

Others: 1,000

Total Rs.1,10,000/-

I was shocked to see the Food expense as 8k per person. It feels very high.

Could the wise readers of Reddit let us know if this looks okay?

EDIT: our take home income is about ₹1,30,000. So we are not in the red.

Edit : Vadodara, Gujarat

 

[daveautumn2]

@planter Food at 31k in Tier-2 City is actually on the higher side. Although the post doesn't mention what kind of food incurs this expense, but

• Can dining out be reduced? As in, not going every weekend but alternate weekends
• Avoid fine-dining. In case a family get-together on dining out is absolutely necessary, can it happen in Haldiram's or McDonald's atleast once a month? This would cut-down the cost by some percentage
• Or high food costs are because of some dietary restrictions/preferences for elderly?
• Do you order fruits/vegetables online? It costs a bomb. I have saved a huge chunk from making it a habit to go out and purchase than to order it online

It's okay to indulge in guilty pleasures if you can afford it. But it's okay only upto a certain extent.

 

[planter]

@daveautumn2 Basic food groceries - ₹18,000/-

Food delivery-₹7,000
Eating out - ₹6,000/-

 

[sherrick0915]

@planter Hmm, interesting that you have higher amount spend on groceries. It means either you are eating well, organic, reputed but expensive brands or on unnecessary junk food. I'd assume the former and say that you are eating healthier. In this scenario, I'd recommend looking at the top 10 items that is most expensive. Then see if you can be frugal there.

Take out also seems a bit high, close to 230 per day. If you are spending so much on grocery, the take out shouldn't be so high unless ordering from expensive place.

 

[planter]

@sherrick0915 We are using things like cold press oil, chhia seeds etc.

But, as you pointed out, I will have to look at the most expensive items and check if we need it or if we can do it cheaper.

 

[resjudicata]

@planter If you are not spending money (on what you consider important) what is the point of earning money ? Only you can tell if 31k is more or less for food…

 

[planter]

@resjudicata The main reason to do this was that we thought we were saving a lot, but the savings were close to non-existent.

So this shows me where the money goes. Even if Netflix is not important, eliminating it won't save much.

The main expense (30%) is on food. I didn't think it would be that high, so I decided to post here and see other people's opinions on this.

 

[mpm163]

@planter Bro mere ghar mai bhi 4 log hai but i think we never spent more than 5k on food .
Kya kha rahe ho bhai mera question ye hai ?

 

[planter]

@mpm163 Lol
Bread eggs milk paneer dahi vegetables corn flakes dal atta oil etc etc. We eat about 4 eggs a day.
Nuts fruits also in this. All is about ₹18,000/-

Apart from this ₹7,000 was swiggy and Zomato (icecream cookies and idli etc)
And ₹6,000/- eating out.

I think yeh sabzi wala loot raha hai.

 

[mpm163]

@planter Apart from swiggy and zomato we also eat the same .
I think 30k can be reduced to 20k and then 10k easily without any pressure ..

 

[planter]

@mpm163 Yeah we took those swiggy and Zomato expenses casually. They add up quickly.

Just spent ₹755 on swiggy for today's dinner. I got late from work and can't cook now. I'll discuss with the whole family on how these add up.

 

[mrdean36]

@planter

Maids: 9,000 (one cook, one cleaning, one gardner/handiman, one nanny)

Seriously? Why can't you ask your cook to make 2 time meals.

We only order stuff which is too much hassle to make, like grill chicken, momos.

 

[planter]

@mrdean36 The maid comes in the morning. The thought of making dinner in the morning feels wrong. Feels like stale food. The grandparent wants fresh food.

 

[nzgrills]

@planter Similar problem with dinner (late after work) and I don't have a maid. I just discovered frozen parathas last week and it's been a godsend. Now I'm thinking of freezing homemade chapatis.

In your case, you could get the cook to roll out the chapatis or filled parathas in the morning and put in the fridge.Use butter paper to avoid sticking. You can cook them fresh at night. Also get the maid to store cut and marinated veg, paneer etc in fridge for quick dinner curries. I've been storing homemade tomato onion gravy cubes in freezer. Homemade food with some technological assistance ( fridge, freezer ) is healthier and cheaper than ordering outside food.

 

[planter]

@nzgrills The grandmother prefers fresh food. I think its time to convince her to accept frozen food.(I am sure many restaurants we order from also freeze food)

 

[lazyitis]

@mrdean36 Moreover which city are you living in?

How come your maid expense is only 9k with so many maids?

Please OP! Tell me

I can nowhere see any kind of savjngs in the breakdown. You need to save atleast 20% of your salary. You have got to make some cuts here and there.
Sudden inflation can easily eat you up if this goes on.

Not to mention, higher education is costlier.

 

[planter]

@lazyitis Vadodara.

Yeah we never ended up saving money. We would save and then something would come up and it's gone. We need to make a few changes to the lifestyle to get future proof.

 

[lazyitis]

@planter Oh Vadodara

If you end up spending saved money, you need to invest or save in products having lock-in periods like NPS or PPF (for long terms 10-15 years at least). Maybe gold bonds (SGB) for short terms (lock in period is 8 years) .

I do know MFs have lock in periods too but don't know which one's or what types.

You can even use RDs for ultra short term goals (1-2 years) for your travels and trips or maybe special Bdays or anniversaries.

Also, once you get your salary your spending priorities should be in following order

1. Savings (strictly putting 20% away on the day you get salary) (this includes your short, mid, long term goals; depending on your goals divide the 20% )
2. Needs (groceries, all types of insurance, maids, kid's school fees etc)
3. Wants (swiggy, zomato, dine ins, pampering you kid's wants etc).

Sorry for the long boring comment.

 

[joseph36]

@planter I you have hired a cook , why are you required to cook a meal?

 

[planter]

@joseph36 She comes in the morning only. She doesn't have time for the evening. We don't cook dinner in the morning as it feels wrong to have stale food. The grandmother wants freshly cooked food.