{"id":2780,"date":"2020-09-16T23:38:14","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T05:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernfimily.com\/?p=2780"},"modified":"2020-12-09T23:17:20","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T06:17:20","slug":"how-a-family-of-3-happily-lives-on-25000-per-year-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernfimily.com\/how-a-family-of-3-happily-lives-on-25000-per-year-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How A Family Of 3 Happily Lives On $25,000 Per Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
When we say we spend under $25,000 CAD per year for our family of 3 and are perfectly happy and content many people don’t believe it let alone can’t fathom how we do it.\u00a0 Last week we covered MANY line items that come at no cost<\/a> and to be honest, this post is a lot lighter than that previous post as we keep the things we do spend money on to a minimum.\u00a0 It’s all about figuring out what YOU value and cutting out the fluff.\u00a0 Let’s dig into the nitty gritty examining what we DO spend our money on.<\/p>\n Please remember, this is in no way a competition nor are we judging you if you spend over $100,000 per year.\u00a0 There is no right or wrong way of living life.\u00a0 As long as you are on the pursuit of happiness, contentment, & gratitude while also maintaining a high savings rate you’re winning in my books.\u00a0 We are simply illustrating our lifestyle to anyone is interested.<\/p>\n We’ve split this post up between the bare-bones fixed expenses and cushy discretionary expenses that we could carve out if need be.\u00a0 All figures below are in CAD.<\/p>\n Let’s dig in!<\/p>\n Total Annual Fixed Expenses: $19,401<\/strong><\/p>\n Total Annual Discretionary Spending: $5,532<\/strong><\/p>\n Overall, we currently spend a total of $24,933 CAD per year for our family of 3.\u00a0 If for whatever reason things got tight, we could shave off $5,000 of our spending if needed to be close to $20,000 for the year.<\/p>\n There we have it, it’s pretty simple really and thus why we do not budget.\u00a0 Everything is pretty much on autopilot at this point and well under control.\u00a0 I do still track all of our expenses in a spreadsheet which I log into monthly at this point and started in 2009 when I started by first “big girl” job.<\/p>\n We have friends over for supper.\u00a0 We get out to the beautiful Canadian Rockies.\u00a0 We spend weeks out at the cabin.\u00a0 We travel multiple times a year.\u00a0 We soak in the community hot tub as much as possible in the winter.\u00a0 We constantly learn by reading books and listening to podcasts.\u00a0 We cook hearty meals.\u00a0 We access free resources such as the library, walking paths, parks, and science center passes.\u00a0 And best of all?\u00a0 We spend time together as a family.<\/p>\n Expenses are everything when it comes to reaching FI.\u00a0 In order to reach FI, you\u00a0must\u00a0<\/strong>know what your current and projected expenses will look like.\u00a0 And the lower you can keep this figure, the faster you’ll get to your goal.\u00a0 However, it’s also important to note that we are not suggesting that you obsess over your FIRE number.\u00a0 You must enjoy the journey along the way.\u00a0 Figure out your balancing point and work towards your personal goal.<\/p>\n Thanks to our low annual spend and our diligent savings over the years, we’ve been able to shift from two full time employees to one retired parent and one part time parent for our little monster. And with a family of 3 living on this one single part time income, we’re still able to save and invest half of this income.\u00a0 It’s been such a great transition to the RE part of FIRE.<\/p>\n We became wealthy by not caring about looking wealthy.<\/p>\n Now, before you start screaming “there’s no way I could do that” let’s take a look at some reasons why you may think you can’t lower your expenses:<\/p>\n If your spending looks very different from ours, I hope you didn’t take this post as judgmental!\u00a0 The main goal here is to demonstrate that it is possible to design a happy life on less money that the typical North American consumer spends a year.\u00a0 By figuring out that our society overall consumes WAY too much, you’re able to lower your expenses, and thus able to reduce the amount of time spent at your cubicle – and that’s the goal most of us are chasing!<\/p>\n How much do you spend per year?\u00a0 Do you think you (and your family, if you have one) could live on $25,000 a year or does it seem to extreme \/ bare bones to you?\u00a0 How do your fixed expenses compare to your discretionary expenses?\u00a0 Are there items on your list you couldn’t imagine living without (no judgement!)?<\/p>\n If you liked this article and want more content like this, please support this blog by sharing it.\u00a0 Not only does it help spread the FIRE, but it lets me know what content you find beneficial. Writing is NOT my strong suit and it honestly takes me hours to write each post so the more encouragement the better! Engaging in the comments below keeps me motivated.\u00a0 You can also support this blog by subscribing to receive emails anytime a new post is published.\u00a0 Thank you FImily!<\/p>\n We believe in stacking up life hacks to keep your enjoyment levels to the max without depleting your bank account.\u00a0 Here are some ways to further educate yourself and save thousands of dollars over your lifetime by making some simple adjustments:<\/p>\n When we say we spend under $25,000 CAD per year for our family of 3 and are perfectly happy and content many people don’t believe …<\/p>\nFixed Expenses<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Discretionary Expenses<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
Total Annual Expenses<\/h2>\n
I Could Never Do That!<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Support This Blog<\/h2>\n
\n