So I've read all the articles/threads talking about differences in expenses for before- and after- retirement. E.g. health insurance/care goes way up, mortgage is paid off (ideally). I'm curious to know what the board members' personal experiences were. I'm somewhat planning that whatever drop in some expenses we'll have will be met equally with a rise in some other area like healthcare. OTOH, we definitely have a lot of expenses that just seem like things we spend to make things smooth for our current situation (2 high-stress jobs, 1 kid). Examples are house cleaning, eating out, paying for home improvement/maintenance that we could probably learn and DIY if we had the time... One of the things I'm looking forward to in retirement is getting away from all that stuff and trying to lead a simpler life. I'm curious to know if others have had experience really downsizing their lifestyle after getting out of the rat race?