Major life changes requires changes to your budget. My wife and I are getting used to being empty nesters as both our kids are now away at college. Since it’s just the two of us, our needs have changed so we’re reevaluating all our spending and adjusting our budget accordingly.
Below are four expenditures in our budget that I believe are going to change now that neither of our kids are living at home.
Groceries
Food is the obvious one. The grocery cart differs not only in how much but also what food I purchase during a typical shopping trip. Meals are now for two, not three so I don’t need as much food. But also gone are the foods only my daughter eats such as Hot Cheetos, popcorn chicken, single serve pizzas and specialty popcorn seasoning salts.
Utilities
We now have one less person taking showers, washing clothes, and using electricity. I’m not sure if we’ll see a noticeable difference in our utilities, but I’m definitely keeping my eye on them.
Personal Care Products
While our daughter was at home, sometimes she would buy her own body wash, razor blades and hair care products, but many times I would pick them up when running errands. Now that she’s at college, she’s responsible for picking up her own supplies. Unless mom and dad happen to bring her a care package from home. 🙂
Gasoline
Sometimes my daughter would come home from work and mention she had to get gas soon because her car was running on empty. I would tuck this information away and when I had a few free minutes I would take her car and fill it up just to be a nice daddy. She’s not here, her car isn’t here, and so I don’t have the opportunity to do this anymore.
It’s too early to have a clear picture of how our daughter being away at college will affect our spending, as it’s only been two weeks. But the listed expenditures will be affected by having one less person living in our home. Over the next weeks and months we’ll get a clear picture of how our spending is affected, and how our budget numbers can shift accordingly.
How about you, EOD Nation, have you had a child move away to college this year? How has it affected your spending and budget?
