Post FIRE Major Expenses

[ferco]

Trying to get an estimate of post FIRE outlays that others have had and what it cost , specifically those listed below ( or any others you can think of ):

Water Heater

AC Unit / Furnace

Roof

Washer / Dryer

Dishwasher

Electrical Panel

Plumbing

Electric Stove Top

Refrigerator / Freezer

Painting ( Indoor / Outdoor)

Concrete replacement ( e.g. driveway )

 

[DFA]

Trying to get an estimate of post FIRE outlays that others have had and what it cost , specifically those listed below ( or any others you can think of ):

Water Heater: $3,000 50gal installed

AC Unit / Furnace: $3,200

Roof

Washer / Dryer: $1,200

Dishwasher: $750

Electrical Panel

Plumbing

Electric Stove Top: $2,500

Refrigerator / Freezer: $2,000

Painting ( Indoor / Outdoor): $3,400

Concrete replacement ( e.g. driveway )

Added prices above

We had some of these since I retired in 2013.

We also had:

New carpet: $5,000

Yard Cleanup and some landscaping for sale of house: $600

Hobbies have also started to cost some $8,800 for telescope and accessories for astro-photography.

 

[REWahoo]

My post-FIRE major expenses look a lot like my pre-FIRE major expenses.

Anything you own can and will break down and need to be repaired or wear out and need to be replaced. Nine years into retirement our costs are averaging ~1.5% of our home value. Of course that has varied widely from a few hundred dollars some years to many thousands when something major is needed. Plus, as time goes by I'm less able (and willing) to do things myself and would rather hire someone, so that % will probably move up to the 2% range in the future.

 

[Midpack]

Of course you'll have to assume a frequency for each category, some may occur once during retirement, others more often. And I'm sure you'll add an inflation factor for each unless you plan in constant dollars.

We also include periodic car purchases in our long term expenses, you may be accounting for that elsewhere. And finally we've planned something for periodic remodeling, I'd be surprised if kitchens and baths could go 30-40 years without remodeling and they can be a major expense. Our total annual accrual expenses are budgeted for $10,000/yr in 2011 dollars, though they'll fluctuate dramatically each year.

Good luck with your estimates. You're smart to plan on those major expenses that will occur infrequently. If anything planning for the expected non-annual big ticket items may be just as important as planning for routine budget expenses.

 

[martyb]

$3000 for a 50 gal. water heater??

 

[REWahoo]

$3000 for a 50 gal. water heater??

Yikes! Plumbers must be expensive in your earth neighborhood.

 

[eytonxav]

$3000 for a 50 gal. water heater??

Yeah, but he is getting a good deal on the HVAC.

 

[papadad111]

Few more to add to budget--

How about medical expenses - things not covered by health insurance or Medicare ?

House remodel to accommodate older age- walk in shower, accessibility ramp,

Expensive prescription medications ?

Dental work or eye glasses ?

Computer upgrade/ replacement
TV replacement

Insurance increases - health insurance, car insurance, homeowners insurance adjustment to premium /coverage

accident deductibles on car or home

Liability insurance premium increases

New septic system

New propane tank

Home health care - nurse support

Unpredicted defense - legal fees- traffic ticket / accident

 

[KingB]

Major Post Retirement expenses:
50 gal water heater - $900 installed by Lowe's. 11 year warranty.
Refrigerator - LG, $2100.

Coming up soon:
Car - last one is 8 yo.
A/C-Furnace.

 

[MichaelB]

My post-FIRE major expenses look a lot like my pre-FIRE major expenses.

+1

 

[martyb]

Re the water heater: Previously, I could have replaced it myself for about 1/2 what it costs to have it done by a plumber. However, in the house we just bought 6 months ago, the water heater is in the attic, instead of the garage, and is in a real PITA location. Therefore, I will be hiring a plumber when it needs to be replaced. It's around 7 yrs old now, so probably not too much longer IMO. I'm expecting the cost to be between $800 & $1000. Besides the fact that it's in the attic, it's also a gas unit, & I'm not crazy about fooling around with natural gas. So....plumber it will be.

 

[Bestwifeever]

We have been retired almost six years. In that time we have bought a new car, replaced our deck, replaced all our windows, painted the house, replaced the roof, rebuilt the front porch, and gutted the kitchen and remodeled the rest of the first floor so they are more in harmony with the feel of our 125 year old house.

Things we know we will need to deal with from the nest egg: Our water heater, furnace, air conditioner, and washer and dryer are eight to twelve years old. Our second floor needs redoing. We could use a new garage. Wood fence has maybe two more good years. A big ash tree needs to come down. Cars are now ten and five years old but well maintained. Little granddaughters need plenty of spoiling. Vacations.

Concrete driveway still looks great after 30 years.

We pushed out projects other than maintenance (and college tuition and a wedding) while we were still working and accumulating, so our post-retirement major expenses have been much much higher than pre-retirement level. Once retired, we knew what we could spend on the above from the nest egg.

 

[NW-Bound]

... replaced our deck, replaced all our windows, painted the house, replaced the roof, rebuilt the front porch, and gutted the kitchen and remodeled the rest of the first floor so they are more in harmony with the feel of our 125 year old house.

Things we know we will need to deal with from the nest egg: Our water heater, furnace, air conditioner, and washer and dryer are eight to twelve years old. Our second floor needs redoing. We could use a new garage. Wood fence has maybe two more good years...

Boy, it may be cheaper to build a new house all over.

Concrete driveway still looks great after 30 years.

Ah, there's the saving grace. Remodeled old homes are still less expensive than new ones.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Boy, it may be cheaper to build a new house all over.



Ah, there's the saving grace. Remodeled old homes are still less expensive than new ones.

Yeah, at least we only have the one house . Running the rent vs own calculation for us is painful too.

 

[Major Tom]

-Vet bills for 2 cats (the 3rd has her bills covered through a special deal with the adoption agency).


That's it. I'm a renter who doesn't own a car and is on Medicaid with no co-pays due to dividend and savings account interest <133% of the FPL. Not your typical board member here.

Oh, hang on - just thought of something. A major repair on my bicycle can cost anything up to $100 including labor No need for anyone to be envious though. My material standard of living is well below that of most folk here. It's tough living in a small apartment with 3 kitties, an internet connection, and a bicycle

Actually, it's heaven. Sorry I can't be of help guys. Please carry on................

 

[NW-Bound]

Eh, traffic is so bad where you are that the chance is high that you would beat a motorist getting to the library or on a grocery run.

 

[Major Tom]

That, plus the ease of parking can make driving something of a disadvantage.

If I lived in NYC, I would definitely not drive.

 

[meierlde]

On at least the appliance front it depends on what you buy. For example if you want a new fridge you can spend from $500 up to the sky on the fridge. Of course one thing you should do before starting is to find out how much space you have. In my case just having bought one, I was limited to a 22 cubic foot side by side due to the limited height where the fridge sits. That unit ran about $1200. (The old one was 27 years old). 2 years ago a new 50 galelectric water heater ran about $750 installed.
Replacing the 3 heat pumps and inside units ran about $14,000 (seer 15), of course you can spend far more on these if you go to top of the line units. Washer dryer from 800 up depending on if you want a front or top load washer.
So you would have to first decide what level of appliance you want and then go to lowes or home depots site and do a bit of shopping at that level.

 

[W2R]

My post-FIRE major expenses look a lot like my pre-FIRE major expenses.

Anything you own can and will break down and need to be repaired or wear out and need to be replaced. Nine years into retirement our costs are averaging ~1.5% of our home value. Of course that has varied widely from a few hundred dollars some years to many thousands when something major is needed. Plus, as time goes by I'm less able (and willing) to do things myself and would rather hire someone, so that % will probably move up to the 2% range in the future.

+1

In my case, I hire people to do everything because I never knew how to do any of it and have no desire to acquire this type of knowledge and/or skill.

 

[Ronstar]

I have a massive cottonwood tree that has roots heading into my septic field. Too big for me to take down. Cost to remove - $2500. And that's the cost after I removed the retaining wall planter around it, cleared an area for wood chip disposal, and restored the lawn.

 

[rodi]

Now the DH is retired we're hitting our deferred project list pretty hard. But saving on labor since he does most of the work.

We've had about $200 in materials for the raised garden beds he put in.
Just ordered the next set of windows - about $2000 total.

On the plan near term:
- Master bath remodel (budgeted about $3500 for materials.)
- New driveway out of pavers. (will hire out the concrete removal, will rent a compactor, labor will be hubby and sons.) I think it will cost about $5k.

When those projects are done:
- metal roof
- solar panels

We did an on demand water heater a few years ago. Love the efficiency.
We replaced our nat.gas furnace a few years ago. Much more efficient than the 1960's model it replaced.

 

[Kaufmanrider]

I retired in January and have spent way too much, most unplanned. But of course we decided to do it with the hope we won't need any major repairs for the next 10 years?

Son's car (college student on VA benefits) has cost me about 2500 dollars. It's on 07 Chrysler but only has 62000 miles on it. We gave it to him to use. New shocks, struts, 60,000 mile service and then some misfire fault code showed up which cost to replace sensors. Tires were replaced a year ago, so now it runs like new, or at least that's what my mechanic told me.

Updated our ten year old inground pool with a new control panel and salt chlorinator and a fancy wireless PDA controller. $4300. Pool deck resurfaced Kool Decking, $1500. Replaced some windows, $1,200. New carpet in bedrooms, $1700. Misc. repairs (painting, trim, etc) another few hundred.

The Air Conditioning System was replaced in April 2013. I figure Hot Water tank, but that'll only be $500 bucks or so.

Ouch, easy $15-20 grand spent so far. Now I'll rebuild my emergency fund back to 4-6 months cash. I'll live on a budget, after two more trips that is, South Padre in June and Vegas in August.

Next project, 3-5 years a new roof, $6-8000 dollars per the roofer I talked to depending on three tab shingle or fancy shingles. I need some hail damage so my insurance will cover most of the cost.

 

[braumeister]

New septic system

I don't want to even contemplate this.
In my area, due to the local codes, replacing my septic system would cost at least $20K.

I take very good care of my 35-year old system.

 

[NW-Bound]

I hit the $10K annual deductible for health insurance two years in a row, so that's $20K.

That's just a small portion of the total bill of 6 figures, so am not complaining.

I would rather have the choice of complaining about the cost of a new roof or septic system.

PS. I should not incur that kind of expenses next year. I already have enough surgery scars on my body.

 

[Options]

Reviewed my outlays for last 20 years and currently budgeting $5K year for one time big ticket items as that's what everything has come out to. I almost never go over budget, and if I do, I make up for it elsewhere. As I've said before, I've most likely oversaved based on the calculators and 38x expenses (when totalling everything and including SS @70) but that's a good thing as it's bought/buys peace of mind.