W2R
Moderator Emeritus
I am not retired yet (so I did not vote), but do plan to retire next November. My investments are pretty much in place. I would have voted "worried but no impact", I guess, though "all of the above" would apply depending on my mood du jour.
Looking at my dividends for the past half year, and assuming no change in portfolio size (yeah, I know....), on just dividends and not dipping into my cash reserves I will be able to spend over 40% more after ER than I have been spending on average during the last few years.*
BUT - - We may not have hit bottom yet. Also, who knows - - dividends might be cut a lot, too, and that could reduce my projected income. So, I will probably try to keep my spending down if the market continues like this, just in case. This is for emotional, not financial reasons since it will allow me to feel like I am doing something about market effects on my portfolio. If the market continues to recover, I'll spend more.
* The exact amount depends on my tax rate. As always, I am only counting on 70% of all income being left after taxes, which is probably way overly pessimistic. And yes, I am not spending much right now but I am used to that and anyway I don't have a lot of time to shop or enjoy my purchases due to w*rk. And, I didn't count the money I gave my daughter a couple of weeks ago for her wedding and/or honeymoon, since we agreed that is a one-time expense.
Looking at my dividends for the past half year, and assuming no change in portfolio size (yeah, I know....), on just dividends and not dipping into my cash reserves I will be able to spend over 40% more after ER than I have been spending on average during the last few years.*
BUT - - We may not have hit bottom yet. Also, who knows - - dividends might be cut a lot, too, and that could reduce my projected income. So, I will probably try to keep my spending down if the market continues like this, just in case. This is for emotional, not financial reasons since it will allow me to feel like I am doing something about market effects on my portfolio. If the market continues to recover, I'll spend more.
* The exact amount depends on my tax rate. As always, I am only counting on 70% of all income being left after taxes, which is probably way overly pessimistic. And yes, I am not spending much right now but I am used to that and anyway I don't have a lot of time to shop or enjoy my purchases due to w*rk. And, I didn't count the money I gave my daughter a couple of weeks ago for her wedding and/or honeymoon, since we agreed that is a one-time expense.
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