Our 2023 Spending Revealed

Another year has passed and The Spreadsheets are brimming with the financial details of our life. It is often said that if you want to see what a person truly values, look at what they spend their money on. If that’s the case, let’s take a glance at our values with our 2023 spending revealed!

But first, if you remember back to 2022’s spending recap, we came in nearly dead-on. For 2023 we established a total annual budget of $52,500. So how did our spending compare to that goal?

Drumroll, please…

Well that doesn’t look pretty. Having spent 8 months gallivanting around the world with no rent or mortgage, one would think we could have kept our spending under control. Here’s the silver lining: despite not working for most of the year, we still made some money in the form of tax refunds, interest, gifts, etc. Let’s factor that in, shall we?

Total Expenses	$61,815
Less: Unanticipated Income	($10,713)
Effective Total Expenses	$51,102

Am I rationalizing again? Maybe. But as I’ve stated in previous years, I wouldn’t have been comfortable overspending the budget so significantly without this extra cash already in our pockets. Besides, in a full year of early retirement with no earned income, the most important detail would be how much we withdrew from investments. If 2023 were such a year, we would have needed to withdraw $1,400 less than expected. That’s a win.

Let’s review the details by category:

2023 Spending Analysis

Home & Utilities

We set the 2023 budget assuming we would enter the renting world mid-year. Actually, it wasn’t until September that we moved into our new apartment, having traveled and stayed with family for the other 8 months of the year. Not only that, we secured 6 weeks free as part of a promo our apartment complex was running at the time. The net effect on the budget was far less in home expenses and far more in travel, which you’ll see later on.

Utilities were included in the “Home” budget for simplicity. So far, they have not been too exorbitant.

Automotive

Before the ink had even dried on the 2023 budget, we ended up purchasing a brand new vehicle. We put no money down and financed it all with the intention of paying off the loan before the next time we leave the workforce.

We did save in the areas of insurance, maintenance, and gas. Since we were traveling internationally for a good chunk of the year, our new car was in storage at a reduced premium. Of course, maintenance was almost zero for our new ride.

Groceries & Dining Out

Consistent with previous years, we spent less than anticipated on groceries and more on dining out. Similar to 2022, this year was heavy on food and drinks with friends while visiting the Midwest over the summer. Pretty close to budget overall between the two categories.

Health & Beauty

The majority of this overage is due to the timing of leaving our previous ACA health insurance plan. Since the original budget was set not knowing when we would be able to secure new jobs, it encompassed an entire year of paying out of pocket. In actuality, we joined my workplace insurance plans in October, at which point I no longer tracked it as an expense.

Cell Phones

This category was nearly dead on, since we renewed our plans for another 12 months as expected.

All in all, owning unlocked cell phones with Mint Mobile data plans continues to be a source of significant savings compared to the average consumer with little to no difference in service.

Travel & Entertainment

This is where most of the savings in Home expenses above comes into play. The less time we spent with a permanent residence the more time we had to travel!

2023 spending included the following trips:

• a 6-week jaunt through Southeast Asia last January-February, including a stopover in the Middle East. We spent time in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Bali, and Singapore.
• a weeklong Caribbean cruise with friends in March. Ports included Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados.
• 1 raucous long weekend in Nashville with family on the heels of our cruise.
• 1 weekend visiting family in San Diego.
• an entire month(!) on the Big Island of Hawaii where we rented an Airbnb.
• 2.5 weeks in various parts of Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
• Girls’ trips to Vermont and Texas for Mrs. FIby35.
• a guys’ trip to Las Vegas to see the Green Bay Packers play for Mr. FIby35.
• 1 weekend in Minnesota for a friend’s wedding in July.
• 1 weekend in Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL.
• a few days at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL for Mrs. FIby35.

That doesn’t even include expenses for 2024 travel plans: rest and relaxation at all-inclusive resorts in Mexico and Jamaica.

So did we overspend the budget again? Yup. But we consider travel a true necessity for our happiness and sanity. That also doesn’t consider how much money we saved by travel hacking – our 2023 spending could have been so much worse!

Pets

Unfortunately, our dog ran into some unexpected vet visits in 2023. Fortunately, it seems as though they were temporary ailments and he should be just fine. For his troubles, he was handsomely rewarded with a year supply of dental chews on Black Friday.

Merchandise

We figured at some point we would have to furnish an apartment in 2023, although the uncertainty of it all kept me from actually including it in the budget. All told, over $7,000 of our spending came from that life change. On top of that, a partial wardrobe refresh was in order once we secured new jobs.

I’m happy and hopeful that spending in this category will be minimal in 2024, as we will go back to focusing on experiences over material things.

Other Expenses

This category includes credit card annual fees, income taxes, and a contingency buffer of $2,500. That contingency was used up rather quickly and then some this year.

For comparison, here’s a running tally of how we’ve fared compared to budget over the years:

YEAR	BUDGET	ACTUAL	(OVER)/UNDER
2020	$60,000	$67,119	($7,119)
2021	$57,000	$73,108	($16,108)
2022	$55,000	$55,370	($370)
2023	$52,500	$61,815	($9,315)

Conclusion

There were plenty of moving parts in 2023, not least of which was us. We spent a good chunk of the year traveling again, which has only fueled the desire to continue to see all the world has to offer. Finally settling back into a permanent residence had a huge impact on our spending, but hopefully that’s just a one-off.

Interestingly, our budget decreased again for the 4th consecutive year, though we have overspent in each of those years. However, when considering the effective spending after netting against unanticipated income, we did pretty well in 2023. I’m sure I could go back and amend previous years for such a calculation, but that seems like a lot of work.

Though we were extremely budget conscious during our travels in the first 8 months of the year, I certainly don’t feel as if we’re limiting our happiness by not spending more. Fun stat: we spent the equivalent of $218 across 6 different meals at our favorite restaurant, Din Tai Fung, while traveling in Asia. We visited 16 different countries/territories, met plenty of amazing new people, and spent the interim enjoying priceless time with family and friends in 2023. That brings our 18-month total to 38(!) countries/territories outside the United States.

All in all, we again prioritized what was important to us instead of what was expected of us by society. Ultimately, we decided that we needed a home base rather than living a fully nomadic lifestyle, but we never would have known that without giving it a try. Almost 1/3 of our spending for the entire year was on travel and another 10% was on our health. I’d say that’s a pretty good indication of what we value.

How did your 2023 spending end up?