Casey 1,680 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) I was just busy working out my monthly budget when I decided to work out the percentage of our income that went on insurance. This led to me working out the percentage of everything we spend per month. We live fairly predictable lives so this is pretty accurate. I was wondering how this compares in different countries. Mine reads as follows Mortgage 38% Insurance 12% Savings 17% Food 8-12% depending on weeks in pay month Council Tax 6% Power 3.1/2% Petrol 2% Phone/Internet 2.1/2% Charity 1% (shocking I know) TV Licence 1% and a few pennies left over Edited January 30, 2015 by Casey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey 1,680 Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 When I was 18, this would have read Alcohol 50% Clothes 50% 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrel 5,180 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Rent: 30% Bills: 30% Supporting my lad: 15% Food: 10% Beer fund: Whatever is left over. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronin 596 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Biggest spend: TAXES ! 65% (at the very very least !) of my gross salary goes entirely to taxes of all sorts (healthcare, social contributions, 'extraordinary' (lol?) social contributions, VAT, federal government tax, regional government tax, local council tax, ... ). What else to expect in an artificial country the size of a hankie with 6-7-8 governments and 25 years of socialist governance. Belgium has one of the highest tax rates worldwide. We do get something in return for it, but there is still a ton of wasted money (e.g. Brussles has one politician per 1000 habitants, Paris has one politician per 1.000.000 habitants !) -.- /rant over From what is left, most is spent on the house. I have a reasonably low payback rate on the loan for the house, but the most money is going into the restoration costs (if all goes well, part of the house will actually be completely flattened and rebuilt later this year, eeek). I don't really see it as a spend though, more of an investment in the future. And the return on investment is bigger then putting it in a bank, where the interest rate is actually lower then the inflation rate. With money losing value and future pensions at risk, I'm not taking any chances. Other then that, there's the usual expenses: - I have the impression insurance is not that costly over here. 12% is a lot of money, unless it covers health as well. In that case, it would be relatively cheap, compared to Belgium, that is. - Food. Not that I eat foie gras and drink champagne, but I try not to cut back on good food. Doesn't have to be the most expensive stuff, but if I'm in the mood for something, I will buy it. Nah ! - Electricity/wood/fuel/water for cooking, hot water and heating the house. The fuel is by far the big one and is very dependant on the international oil prices. I use around 1500 liters per year, but the cost can vary by several hundreds of euro's year by year. E.g. this year I paid 500 EUR (five hundred !) less for the same quantity then the year before, because prices plumeted due to the Middle East crisis. - Internet/TV: no idea how it turns out percentage wise, but I pay about 110 EUR/month for internet/tv and some added sports channels. It must be said that the internet connection and the overall quality is very decent. No idea how this compares to other countries, though consumer organisations here claim it's more expensive then abroad. - clothing, electronics and random stuff of all sorts: not interested at all in having the latest of the newest iFruit or ProLapse whatever, but if I do buy something, I do try to get something of decent quality so that it lasts. - what is left, gets saved, but that gets invested into the house again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggy 2,811 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I'm not one for sharing personal finance information, but a majority of our money goes to our mortgage and bills. We're working on becoming debt free. Almost there--minus the mortgage and new car payment. We have disposable income that is used for wine (haha) and mini vacations whenever we have the time to squeeze them into our schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey 1,680 Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) Biggest spend: TAXES ! 65% (at the very very least !) of my gross salary goes entirely to taxes of all sorts (healthcare, social contributions, 'extraordinary' (lol?) social contributions, VAT, federal government tax, regional government tax, local council tax, ... ). What else to expect in an artificial country the size of a hankie with 6-7-8 governments and 25 years of socialist governance. Belgium has one of the highest tax rates worldwide. We do get something in return for it, but there is still a ton of wasted money (e.g. Brussles has one politician per 1000 habitants, Paris has one politician per 1.000.000 habitants !) -.- /rant over Oooh, I didn't work out my tax, just take home pay but that sounds Hellish Ronin. Ours is no-where near that unless you earn mega bucks and go up into higher tax brackets. You can earn £10.500 per year (I think) here before you start paying income tax. 12% covers house, car, life/mortgage for both of us, income (for hubby) and pet insurance for the pussys By far the most is the income insurance but as he is the highest wage earner, if he had an accident or illness we could lose the house so it's a big expense but worth the money in case the 'what if' ever happens. Edited January 30, 2015 by Casey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustHatched 12,103 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 That's a long list for us when you add in the shop (taxes, employees, wholesalers, etc..) Otherwise pretty much the same as anyone. Been putting some back for a crew thing as well. Quote The funniest thing about this particular signature is that by the time you realise it doesn't say anything it's to late to stop reading it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey 1,680 Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Been putting some back for a crew thing as well. Aww, you paying for us all to come to yours for a big old shindig I'm not one for sharing personal finance information, And rightly so, hence the percentages. I don't want everyone to know I'm a billionaire in real life as well! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pb76 3,951 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I'm not sure, my accountant handles my finances. The gardener, butler, chef, maids, nannies and chauffeur all get a sizable percentage though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey 1,680 Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 I'm not sure, my accountant handles my finances. The gardener, butler, chef, maids, nannies and chauffeur all get a sizable percentage though. As does your accountant no doubt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronin 596 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I'm not sure, my accountant handles my finances. The gardener, butler, chef, maids, nannies and chauffeur all get a sizable percentage though. Don't get me started on my 'personal assistants' ... really Oooh, I didn't work out my tax, just take home pay but that sounds Hellish Ronin. Ours is no-where near that unless you earn mega bucks and go up into higher tax brackets. You can earn £10.500 per year (I think) here before you start paying income tax. 12% covers house, car, life/mortgage for both of us, income (for hubby) and pet insurance for the pussys By far the most is the income insurance but as he is the highest wage earner, if he had an accident or illness we could lose the house so it's a big expense but worth the money in case the 'what if' ever happens. I guess in the long run it all levels out. We do pay a stupid amount of taxes over here, but from what I've learned after talking to my UK, French and Dutch colleagues is that the purchase prices of houses and cars in Belgium are way lower and far more stable then abroad. And I'm not talking about a few %, it's actually a massive difference. As for the life and car insurance thing combined with the house, I reckon we're getting a much cheaper deal here then in the UK. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newyork-nightmare 698 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I would share my thoughts but they would expose my prostitute addiction. 2 Quote "You have enemies? good, that means you stood up for something in your life" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no_snacks 3,345 Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 (edited) I spent about half my income on women & booze.......yeah, and I just waste the other half. In reality, our income varies so much from month to month. That makes it quite hard to stick to a proper budget. Some months you barely have enough to cover the mortgage, other months you're rolling in cash. Paying for past sins is my biggest problem. Spending too much when times are good, then not having enough to cover the expenses when things are slow. It's like being on a roller-coaster. But they're fun, right? Edited February 6, 2015 by no_snacks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurf 947 Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 (edited) I was just busy working out my monthly budget when I decided to work out the percentage of our income that went on insurance. This led to me working out the percentage of everything we spend per month. We live fairly predictable lives so this is pretty accurate. I was wondering how this compares in different countries. Mine reads as follows Mortgage 38% Insurance 12% Savings 17% Food 8-12% depending on weeks in pay month Council Tax 6% Power 3.1/2% Petrol 2% Phone/Internet 2.1/2% Charity 1% (shocking I know) TV Licence 1% and a few pennies left over What the hell is TV license?????? Edited February 7, 2015 by smurf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey 1,680 Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 In the UK you have to pay a licence fee to use a TV. When you buy a TV you even have to give them your name and address. It's a criminal offence not to pay it and it funds the BBC which is a channel that has no adverts so no funding other than the license. Draconian but we have no choice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pb76 3,951 Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 In the UK you have to pay a licence fee to use a TV. When you buy a TV you even have to give them your name and address. It's a criminal offence not to pay it and it funds the BBC which is a channel that has no adverts so no funding other than the license. Draconian but we have no choice! they also have TV detector vans that know if you're watching the Telly without a license, men with moustashes (sometimes beards) storm into your house and take away your TVs (sometimes women) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido_le_muet 5,197 Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Same system here in France. You have to pay for public television, even if it's crap 95% of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronin 596 Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 We used to have a similar tax here. You had to report your TV and car radio and then pay a tax. However, they never bother to check anything, so basically nobody was paying the tax (Belgians, u know ...) Eventually, they did the smart thing and got rid of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey 1,680 Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31151821 It was almost decriminalised a few days ago but lost by 3 votes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lann 10,838 Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 In sweden we also pay a tax for the public tv/radio, but I have to say those 3-4 channels are way better than all the rest (and no commercials). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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