Monthly expenses in Bay area.......

Hi,

I was taking stock of the monthly expenses today and I realised that we end up spending on an average approx $3000 per month ( this includes rent) and this for a family of two in the bay area!!
Just curious to see what would be the average monthly expenses for other households. It always seems that there is some unexpected exp like car repairs, out of state travel, social commitments like b'day parties etc each month. Just wanted to share my experiences....Its just that inspite of being careful abt spending, it just seems to go way beyond the budget...what with increasing fuel prices, grocery etc....

Hope all can share your posts here!!!!!!

Lucky you! $3000 is pretty reasonable! Our rent for a 2 bed has gone up from $1450 in 2002 to $1985 right now. Despite my best intentions and curbing back on non-essential expenditures, our monthly expenses are atleast $3750.

Rent	$ 1,985
Gas / Electric	$ 75
Cable and Internet	$ 100
Cell Phone	$ 80
Home Phone	$ 40
Gas for 2 cars	$ 300
Monthly Groceries	$ 500
Eating Out	$ 300
Car Insurance	$ 120
Misll	$ 250
Total	$ 3,750

$3000 for the Bay Area is pretty good.
pmahensa has a really neat breakdown. So I'll use it too. when we lived in Los Altos this was our expenditure.

Rent (1bedroom) ---------------------------------- $1515
PG&E (electric) ----------------------------------- $70
Comcast (Cable wDVR/Internet/Phone)-- $150
Cingular (Cell for both of us) ------------------ $80
Car Payment --------------------------------------- $400
Car Insurance (for both the cars)------------ $150
Car Gas (for both the cars) -------------------- $200
Credit Card Bill (groceries, eating out etc) $1500

The total comes out to $4065 a month. The Bay Area is known for its really really high cost of living. This is actually cheaper compared to living in San Francisco itself.
This is why there is such an exodus from CA to other states. I still think CA is the greatest state in the country though :)