Concerns about money

[RenoJay]

On my monthly Excel balance sheet calculation I include cells that show what things would look like with a 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% stock market decline, and what SWR the current spend would be in each scenario. I find this helps avoid the what if jitters by quantifying it.


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[Dd852]

On my monthly Excel balance sheet calculation I include cells that show what things would look like with a 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% stock market decline, and what SWR the current spend would be in each scenario. I find this helps avoid the what if jitters by quantifying it.


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+1 - I've set up a whole stress testing spreadsheet that also reduces rental income and allows me to feel a level of comfort that I know the parameters. I'm feeling ok down to a 40% drop - beyond that would need real life style changes ... but given history it would probably be only for a couple of years before things stabilized.


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[Navigator]

I'd like to thank everyone for their insights. This has been most helpful. Before retiring, I spent a lot of time learning how to invest, but never gave much thought to how to handle my finances when retired. I like the idea of stress testing a portfolio, not just for market drops, but also for unexpected expenses and tax increases - this will be my next project!

 

[old woman]

I retired less than 3 years ago and so far have had to buy a new roof, furnace and hot water tank. Now doing many thousands in dental work. I have also gifted a lot of money to family and still have much more than I started with.
My comfort is taking SS on my ex's record so half until I am 70. After 70 I could live on SS alone since it will be pretty high. If markets crash I will cut back on spending maybe sell some junk I should sell but don't want to bother. I have about 25K sitting in banks or money market ear marked for dental bills mostly so could put off some dental a few months or years. I had surgery last week so could put off implants or even get more teeth pulled and dentures but I won't need to. If worse came to worse I would sell my house and buy cheaper to save on property taxes and free up some cash.

 

[brucethebroker]

There seems to be some "fluff" in most budgets. We have a certain amount set aside for travel and home improvements that could be delayed a year or two to ride out rough spots. We also could cut back on entertainment & eating out. When we were younger, there were times where we would crop cable for a year or two to save money, as an example.

Personally, I have found that you will have the time and energy to research and save money on ongoing expenses. We cut our cell phone bill by $62 a month last year, and I am saving $1400 by having a routine medical test delayed 60 days until I am on medicare. Back when the big bucks were rolling in, I wouldn't have chased the savings so hard-I had other fish to fry.