Senator
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I see you retired today! Congrats!
Actually last year. One year anniversary. Thank you.
I see you retired today! Congrats!
1+.My expenses have actually turned out to be much less than I anticipated because I now have the luxury of time to scrutinize and reduce every one of them.
1+.
Plus finding great deals on clothing, eating out, etc. with early bird specials and senior days, because you have "flex" time for shopping.
Do you mind sharing a range on how much HVAC costs were? I'm looking at 11year old system and am trying to save for replacement.. Just not sure what an approx target might be. Thank you!Most individual spending categories such as food, utilities, fuel, and similar quantifiable expenses have been +/- 10% of what we expected. Even our "rainy day" expenses have been about what we expected. However, what we spend our rainy day fund on has almost always been a surprise.
We didn't realize we were going to spend many $$ on a new HVAC system. We knew the HVAC was 20 years old but we were hoping for a few more years. Another surprise was many, many $$$ on "waterproofing" the basement. Yes, we knew we had a wet basement now and then but didn't realize a 100 year rain would cause such a problem. Other surprises are $ here and there for automobile repairs. Our plan allows for up to $10k per year on such expenses so spending the money wasn't a surprise, it's what we spend the money on, and when, that's eluded us.
A former co-worker initially retired at the same time as me in 2011. However, he went back to work because he didn't feel comfortable with rising medical insurance costs and was equally uncomfortable with unplanned expenses such as a new water line from the water meter to his house, a new water heater, and the possibility of more unforeseen outlays. I suggested that he plan for the unexpected but that just didn't sit well with him.
As braumeister said, you need a cushion. You don't want a modest withdrawal rate increase to kill your plan.
Do you mind sharing a range on how much HVAC costs were? I'm looking at 11year old system and am trying to save for replacement.. Just not sure what an approx target might be. Thank you!
Beachfire - thanks for posting your estimated expenses in a simple format very similar to what we use.
Let's see can I correctly insert the link / pic this time....
We are looking to retire in about 2 years and have been tracking expenses for years now.
We wanted to toss our estimated expenses for our retirement planning out to the forum for review and comments. these are our estimated expenses for After Tax, i.e., Net dollars per month needed
What do you you and the Forum think?
Beachfire - thanks for posting your estimated expenses in a simple format very similar to what we use.
Let's see can I correctly insert the link / pic this time....
We are looking to retire in about 2 years and have been tracking expenses for years now.
We wanted to toss our estimated expenses for our retirement planning out to the forum for review and comments. these are our estimated expenses for After Tax, i.e., Net dollars per month needed
What do you you and the Forum think?
I think that's a lot, especially for Texas. Here's my post on a thread about how much we spent in 2016. I listed spending for only a few (but not all) categories. This year's spending has been about the same so far. Still, my expenses are probably not comparable since I live alone.
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/2016-spending-84736.html#post1817863
I think you have done a fabulous job of cutting back on spending, especially given your SF location. I haven't lived in Texas for 21 years, but back then the COL there was surprisingly low. Maybe it has gone up since that time. It's got to be so hard for gamboolman and his wife to plan this since they are living elsewhere most of the time.Ir seems like a lot to me now but we used to spend more, so I've been on both sides of the spreadsheet. We just got interested in sustainable living and expense optimization a few years back and now that has become kind of a hobby in itself. We cut our grocery budget to $10K a year (with kids) to retire early and now that seems high, but it took me awhile to figure out how to lower it.
View attachment 26279. Thanks for all the insights. Very helpful. I am not sure if spreadsheet will come through on this post. We have about 20% of our budget that is quite flexible. For about 2 years we will have 2 houses, then the property and utility costs will come done a good bit. Any thoughts on big gaps?
I think that's a lot, especially for Texas.
Do you mind sharing a range on how much HVAC costs were? I'm looking at 11year old system and am trying to save for replacement.. Just not sure what an approx target might be. Thank you!