We have a 1/2 acre and our house is 1,450 square feet with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a 2 car garage. We pay $810 per month (includes taxes and insurance) for our mortgage. The taxes for our house are about $1,450 per year and our homeowner's insurance is currently $460 per year, but I wouldn't be surprised if our insurance doubles or even triples when it's time for renewal because of the property insurance crisis we are having in Florida. Luckily we bought our house when we did because now all of the homes in our neighborhood sell for at least twice as much as we paid for our house 4 1/2 years ago.

Gas currently averages $2.35 per gallon. We never use too much milk, so I only know how much a half gallon costs, which is $2.20. Luckily, my MIL watches our daughter (for $200 per month), but if she didn’t, we would have to pay $400 - $600 per month for child care, depending on if it is in home or a day care.

Minimum wage is currently $6.40 per hour, but as of 1/1/07, it will be $6.67 per hour. I would say the average rent for a 2 bedroom apartment/townhouse runs about $700 - $800. To buy a decent, but older 3 bedroom/2 bath home with around 1500 - 1800 square feet it costs around $220,000 plus. If you’re looking for a newer home, it will cost you at least $250,000 plus (probably closer to $300,000).

$115 - $220 Utilities (electric & water)
$10 – Garbage
$40 – Basic phone + caller ID
$75 – Basic digital cable
$10 – Dial-up internet service (high-speed starts out at $50 - $60 per month around here)
$200 – Car insurance (one car is paid off, the other we have a loan on – no tickets or accidents for almost 5 years)

Our local sales tax rate is 7.5%, but we don’t pay tax on a lot of our groceries (as long as the food is UNprepared). If you buy a loaf of bread, lunch meat, cheese, etc. you won’t pay sales tax on anything, however, if you go to the deli dept. and have them make you a sandwich you pay sales tax. Luckily, we don’t have a state income tax.

I would love to join a health club/gym, but it costs about $50 per month for membership and I think that's just too much.