@rescueme Great post. We are at least as anal as you. I take it your employment did not provide pensons? What proportion of your spending requirement is covered by the SPIA?
Currently, about 33%.
PROI (Personal Rate of Inflation), as computed against both of our expenses over the last four years) has run 2.1% annually, which is in line to the current 2.3% rate in the FIDO RIP forecast tool.
Major increases were due to dereg of local energy (electric - and our home is all electric) and slight property tax increases (of course) each year, and a cash purchase of a vehicle for my Meals on Wheels volunteer activity. BTW, I traded in an 18 year old vehicle (Olds) to buy the (used) SRX. I buy "cheap" and run them into the ground.
Since I have retirement health insurance (at the same rate I paid during employment) for both of us, a large drop is anticipated for the end of next year when I get on Medicare (supplement is still via retirement benefit, but at a much lower rate) along with DW who will be on Medicare in early 2013.
Travel expenses since my retirement are the greatest "flux factor", year to year. 2007 was a Danube cruise, along with a cruise from NYC to Canada (and return).
2008 saw us in the Benelux countries along with a CONUS west coast trip.
2009 was a month in Australia. This was one of our more expensive ventures.
2010 was a few days in London, followed by a 15-day Baltic cruise (Nordic countries, Germany, Russia, et al.) In September, DW went with her "travel buddy" (a women she met in Australia) for a few days in Cairo (before the "troubles"), followed by a Nile cruise.
2011? DW (again with her friend) spent a week on tour "down south" on an escorted tour and in September they are off for two weeks to Switzerland (we've already been there together, in the past).
BTW, our travel is not done on the cheap. Nothing wrong with that (and we did it that way to save $$$ at an earlier age), but since we're in our early 60's, and lucky to have the funds, we're willing to spend a bit for travel "quality". For instance, I always drove to the airport we used most often (Newark/EWR, about 75 miles from our home); now we let the car at home and use a limo. That's also a safety issue to be on R78 (much traffic) when we spent most of the day in the air, from another country.
Where am I this year? I'm taking a break and staying home with the "kids" (see my avatar
)...
And no - no pension for me. The first company I wor*ed for back in the early 70's had one, but federal rules at that time said you had to be at the company for 10 years before you were vested. I left after eight years, for a much better opportunity at a company that I spent close to 30 years with. They also had a pension, but it was eliminated 2+ years after I started. DW will have two small pensions (couple hundred $$/month) in two years, at age 65. She will be taking single life only since it provides a few dollars more and I don't need the income if she would pass before me.