We're familiar with money breaking up marriages, but this episode of Maxed Out featured another type of relationship threatened by debt: best friends. Christine and Meredydd bought a condo together so they could build equity and eventually get their own condos, but their debt is taking away from any equity and Christine says in six months they might not be friends if they keep fighting about money. These two 27-year-olds spend an insane amount of money on restaurants and take-out each month and both admit that it's their biggest spending weakness. Find out how much they're spending on food when you read more.
Financial guru Allison Griffiths breaks down each woman's monthly spending and discovers that Christine's $70,000 salary isn't getting her anywhere because she's spending $1,478 on restaurants and take-out each month, while Meredydd's $58,000 salary is causing her to come up short because she spends $1,944. Their grocery budgets for the month barely exist — Christine spends only about $16 on groceries and Merredydd spends about $45. Allison calculates Christine's total debt to be $57,800, which is 20 percent more than Christine had estimated. Merredydd's debt is $33,641 and $3,200 of that is owed to Christine.
When Allison reveals that after five years of spending recklessly on restaurants and take-out they'd have eaten their way through $205,000, which is about the size of their whole mortgage. This hits home for them and they diligently follow Allison's instructions to take a two-week detox from restaurants, only take $20 out in cash each week, open a joint account for monthly bills, and to decide whether or not to sell or refinance their condo. They decide to refinance and will be able to pay off their personal debts while keeping the condo, and Allison gives them a spending maintenance plan so they don't go back to their old ways.
Temperley London
Birkenstock
Gucci
i think that this is a great lesson on things -you don't realize how much you're throwing away until someone breaks it down for you - and although they went into this condo with the right intentions, obviously it's not going to the right way. i think that it's kind of like what breaks up marriages and relationships. you fight about money when things are combined like this - but i guess there's a solution from the financial counselor.
1That is crazy, I can't imagine only spend $16 on groceries a month and the rest on eating out! I admit we eat out a lot, but we have a budget that I did on excel and I know exactly how much we can. I think having a budget has helped me with money SO much. I actually have a couple hundred dollars in savings now! Hooray!
2I feel guilty spending twenty bucks on take out once a month... granted im not making 70 k, but if i want to save enough to have a house/down payment mortgage, that wouldn't be the way to do it. I think of the latte factor from the automatic millionaire when I read stuff like this.
3That's unbelievable - all that money and they don't even have anything to show for it! They literally ate it.
4$1K+ per month eating out?! yikes!
it's also stupid - imo - to buy property with someone who isn't your spouse and isn't family (and even family)... too risky.
5Bad move to even buy the condo together
but it's obvious they're not the brightest bulbs
on the block.
6I wonder how much of the food bill is alcohol. That is a lot of money to be spending on take away.
7I wonder how much of the food bill is alcohol. That is a lot of money to be spending on take away.
8Total madness if you ask me. The money they spend on take-out for one month could cover my husband and I BJ's bill for about 5 months and we have dinner every night and lunch for work the next day.
9There's take out food bills are ridiculous. I eat out but I keep it to a minimum and I try to cook more at home.
10$1478? thats about 50 bucks a day on food? how much do these girls eat?
1150 a day for food isnt that much. $10 for breakfast (Starbucks coffee and breakfast sandwich) $15 for lunch, depending on whether they're hitting McDonalds or an actual sit down restaurant and then $25 on dinner is pretty average as far as I can tell. $50 a day on good if you're never making anything at home really isnt that much... though it really puts things in perspective.
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