In 2006, our rent was $788 for a 2 bedroom apartment, our monthly grocery bill was under $300, and I started tracking every cent we spent. I’ve tracked my household finances for 20 years – not as an experiment, but as part of real life. When my husband and I got married in 2006, we were on a very tight budget. I started tracking everything to keep an eye on our costs. I wanted to keep track of where our money went and how our expenses changed over time.

It has turned out to be a wonderful history log of so much more than just the numbers. I can look up when we went to that one restaurant with our friends. Where did we buy such and such? How much did it cost to fly to Orlando in 2018?

Why I Started Tracking Our Spending

This isn’t about budgeting or getting rich – it’s about understanding how our financial lives evolve. It will be personal, humbling, and surely sometimes embarrassing. I’ll do deep dives into categories like groceries, travel, and utilities. I’ll compare costs as we grew from newlyweds to a family of four, from renting an apartment to owning a house. We’ll look at the impact of inflation across the decades. I’ll reflect on our lifestyle changes as our income grows. And I’m still tracking – I’ll be able to continue updating as the years come and go.

Who We Are

We’re a family of four — two adults and two kids — living in the Midwest. We own our home, have no debt other than the mortgage, and value experiences like travel and good food.

We’re not tracking this to compare or brag — the goal is to build a transparent record of what life really costs for a middle-to-high-income family in America right now.

A Recent Monthly Spending Snapshot

Category	Monthly Cost	Notes
Housing (Mortgage, Insurance, Taxes)	$3,038
Utilities	$768	Gas, Electric, Water, Internet, Phones, Garbage/Recycling
Groceries	$1,315	Prices have jumped noticeably over the last two years
Dining Out	$389	A mix of takeout and restaurant meals
Transportation (Gas, Car Payment, Insurance)	$325	No car payments – mainly gas
Kids’ Activities & Sports	$610	Sports, lessons, and clubs add up fast
Vacations / Travel	$1,605	We value family travel
Subscriptions & Streaming	$142
Miscellaneous	$1,892	Clothing, gifts, home supplies

What I’ve Learned So Far

• Groceries are up 64% from four years ago! Our groceries averaged $800 per month in 2021. (Disclaimer: our kids are now 11 and 8, they were only 7 and 4 in 2021.)
• Our vacation budget is almost out of control – but this is a high priority for our family.
• Auto/Transportation expenses have been surprisingly stable for us.

What’s Next

In future posts and videos, I’ll dive into specific categories — from groceries to home improvement to vacations— and share what’s changed, what hasn’t, and what surprised us most. As I write I’ll share more about my family, how we live, and you’ll learn about our spending habits. More importantly, I want to answer your questions! Are you curious about certain spending amounts or categories? Send me your questions and comments!

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