Actor Freddie Smith's $7,100 Monthly Expenses Breakdown Shocks Internet; Too Much or Just Right?
"Days of Our Lives" actor Freddie Smith recently took to TikTok to share his monthly expenses in Orlando, Florida. "With the cost of living being so high, millennials get a lot of crap for overspending," Smith states. "So I figured, being a millennial of 35 and my wife being 35, I want to go over what our bills are, and you can let me know if we’re overspending or if we’re kind of right in the pocket," he adds.
The amount that he spends, which was $7,100 per month, is way too much, viewers said.
He said that he spends most of his money, like anybody else, on rent which is around $3,300 per month, for a not-so-fancy house that is spread across a 1600-1700 square foot house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Then, he talks about how he spends around $1,200 per month on groceries, household supplies include, paper towels, soaps, and food for his dog. He spends around $850 per month in car payments for his two leased 2023 Volkswagens, which according to Smith is "not too shabby."
Next, their accumulation of debts runs about $574 per month. Other than this, the actor also mentioned that their personal care budget is around $350. This includes the cost of his wife's hair, nails, and eyebrows. The family also spends around $200 on car insurance, another $200 on grooming and medicines for their 15-year-old Shih Tzu, $173 monthly on cellphones, $150 on gas, and $80 on subscription services.
All of that totals around $7,100; however, Smith says that there are other costs that bring this total closer to $8,000.
"That doesn’t include date nights, savings, investing, dues that we owe, or accountant or gifts or weddings or anything like that, so, technically it’s about $8,000 that we need, and then everything over that we put into savings and investing," he says in the video.
People in the comment section were taken aback upon learning that they were spending so much for just two people without kids. According to a Forbes study, the average monthly living expense for a family of two in 2022 was $6,372. This means the people in the comment section were not absolutely right when it came to the average living expenses in the state.
Moreover, as per Unbiased, the average cost of living in Florida per month is around $4,224 per person. It's also important to know that in terms of Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE), Florida saw the third-largest increase between 2021 and 2022. According to this logic, the actor and his wife are spending less than most other people living in the state.
As of 2024, the state comes in the 22nd rank when it comes to the cost of living, meaning that it is pretty much in the middle of the pack when it comes to living a comfortable life using the "50/30/20 budget rule" — with 50% of income for basic needs, 30% on wants, and the remainder for savings.