costs to retire "comfortably" in each state

[ncbill]

For Farmer to live on so little I am guessing no vacations, eating out, experiences you pay for and many other things many of us enjoy doing.

Keep in mind they're retired military, so I'm sure they got to travel plenty while working over a 20+ year career.

I bet they were ready to settle down.

Courtesy of the U.S. military, my kid traveled to several different U.S. states & Spain while still an undergraduate student.

If they get through pilot school & are able to fly the airframe they want they'll be traveling with a carrier-based squadron all over the world.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Average spending doesn't mean much in California. A retiree in Redding with a mortgage free home and a retiree with a $1M mortgage in the Bay Area are going to have really different expenses, but the Redding retiree household may have a very comfortable retirement while being hard pressed to even find ways to spend $85K.

 

[zippy2020]

Oh wow. I guess I can't afford to retire here in SF Bay Area, California because the MoneyWatch author states: and I've never earned more than 60k year and currently only get about 50k (50% investments + pension)

Depends a lot on your cost of housing and total overhead, but yes, we also live in the SFBA over in Alameda County, and $50-85K would only be doable with a paid-off house, reliable car, and manageable healthcare expenses. I retired at 55 in 2006 and spouse retired age 56 in 2009.

Great area and we love it, but there is no denying it is very HCOL.

 

[gayl]

Depends a lot on your cost of housing and total overhead, but yes, we also live in the SFBA over in Alameda County, and $50-85K would only be doable with a paid-off house, reliable car, and manageable healthcare expenses. I retired at 55 in 2006 and spouse retired age 56 in 2009.

Great area and we love it, but there is no denying it is very HCOL.

Alameda County must be more expensive than Diablo Valley. I'm more than fine. But then I have HC @ 280 month, paid off house, and thrive on my pension (net 2535.78 month after taxes / HC) with 3 trips abroad per year.

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

For Farmer to live on so little I am guessing no vacations, eating out, experiences you pay for and many other things many of us enjoy doing.

We usually eat out 2 or 3 times a week.

We have spent Christmas at Waikiki, my wife likes to make one 'trip' each year, last year she spent 2 weeks in Finland. Every year we travel to spend a week with our grandchildren in Kansas and in Kentucky. Otherwise, we stay near home.

We prefer the beaches here.

 

[haha]

Lately I have had trouble reading much on this site. Perhaps it should be retitled-"Virtue Signalling Has Finally Been Perfected, and Here is How"

Ha

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Alameda County must be more expensive than Diablo Valley. I'm more than fine. But then I have HC @ 280 month, paid off house, and thrive on my pension (net 2535.78 month after taxes / HC) with 3 trips abroad per year.

We spend more, but other than housing our expenses don't seem to be too different than average across the U.S. based on the Consumer Expenditure Survey. For us, some things are even cheaper, like groceries (as long as we shop at the ethnic markets and discount stores), entertainment (lots of free and cheap things to do), and with the ACA our health care expenses were $24 last year (plus eye exams and dental checkups).

 

[Teacher Terry]

Farmer, I would love to see a breakdown of expenses on how you do all that on 20k. I am guessing free medical with Tricare.

 

[catii]

We've lived in Hawaii since 1991, & don't spend nearly the average the article states. Little frugality on our part since retirement, either, but we spend on average just $63,333 annually.

Wonder where they get those figures?

 

[SeanPizzle]

Northern CA (suburbs east of sacramento). Assuming 2k/mo for health care and paid off house, cars and college, 7k/mo is what we would be comfortable at.

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

Farmer, I would love to see a breakdown of expenses on how you do all that on 20k. I am guessing free medical with Tricare.

Yes, exactly. US Navy provides my healthcare via Tricare.

Our property taxes for a 2400 sq ft house on 150 acres of river frontage land is ~ $800/year. Our annual fuel for heating is $700/year.

 

[CRLLS]

according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average over-65 household will spend nearly $50,000 a year

Mississippi is the cheapest place to retire comfortably at about $53,000 a year

So the average over-65 household cannot live comfortably anywhere? Click bait!

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

So the average over-65 household cannot live comfortably anywhere? Click bait!

I know a lot of retirees who are over-65. The only thing I can think of that might cost more is the healthcare.

I turned 60 a few months ago. So the thinking is that when I reach 65 my expenses will triple suddenly?

 

[Teacher Terry]

Farmer, I am super curious what you spend eating out and traveling per year. If travel is cheap you will have to share the secret). I don’t doubt you but love learning.

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

Farmer, I am super curious what you spend eating out and traveling per year. If travel is cheap you will have to share the secret). I don’t doubt you but love learning.

We generally eat out twice a week.

My wife likes to drive down to DC to visit her sister twice a year.

We drive out to Kentucky to visit our youngest son and his wife once a year, then on to Kansas to visit our eldest son and his wife.

Once a year my wife's sister goes on a trip somewhere paid for by her company and she brings my wife as her plus-one. Last year they spent 2 weeks in Finland.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Okay I appreciate the response.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Travel does not always mean going overseas.

 

[EarlyBirdly]

Your relative has enjoyed one of the great privileges of upper middle class life - the ability to be mentally lazy about money. He doesn't know how much he spends or where he spends it because there has always been enough to make that effort unnecessary. By contrast, if you are dirt poor and sweating out the last few days until the SNAP benefits hit your EBT card, you know exactly how much money you spend and where you spend it.

From my long observation, most people are mentally lazy about most things, not just money. Not incapable by any means, but totally unwilling to make an effort unless forced by circumstances to do so.

Well said. I would have to agree.

I ( quite cynically ) had concluded that most people were just cognitively challenged in some way regarding money. Or possibly, that I reside in a different Time-Space-Logic Continuum.

 

[SubwaySinger]

Live abroad

I lived in Thailand for 5 years. 2000 a month, you can live comfortably

 

[Rianne]

From my long observation, most people are mentally lazy about most things, not just money. Not incapable by any means, but totally unwilling to make an effort unless forced by circumstances to do so.

Nothing political here, but IMO our country was built on the original immigrants who worked their tails off, never lazy about anything. We are lazy built on the success of our forebearers.

 

[Archman]

Here is an article that I find most interesting, about how much salary is needed to live comfortably in 50 major cities.

https://www.gobankingrates.com/making-money/economy/cost-to-live-comfortably-biggest-cities-us/

The main take away that the median income of the city is way less than what is needed to live comfortably when owning or renting a home.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

^^^^ Soooooo… According to this, no one with a median income can afford to live anywhere if they own a home?

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

Here is an article that I find most interesting, about how much salary is needed to live comfortably in 50 major cities.
.

My anecdotal observations have caused me to believe wages are better in cities, and the Cost-of-living is higher.

Many of these articles are written comparing cities.

But the lower Cost-of-living regions are found 50-miles outside of the city.

 

[jkern]

Living in SF Bay Area (Castro Valley, Alameda Co.) with no mortgage and subsidized medical insurance:

One Person:
Property tax, home ins, HOA, nominal maintenance, utilities, food, medical/dental, car ins, car maint/repairs, and gas = $29,000/yr

Add in second person: food, medical/dental and transportation = $13,000/yr

Total Essentials = $42,000/yr

Add routine spending (travel, entertainment, recreation, gifts, clothes ect.) and non-routine spending (replacing items like cars, appliances, major home repairs ect.. and buying new stuff) = $50,000/yr

Total standard of living = $92,000/yr (Very comfortable, but frugal. Can reduce spending if needed)

The CA average of $86K comes close to us.

 

[CRLLS]

^^^^ Soooooo… According to this, no one with a median income can afford to live anywhere if they own a home?

And not if they rent either.

If this were true, then there are many, many city dwellers living a less-than "comfortable" life. I hardly doubt that. I wonder if it takes into account "household" income or "individual" income?