Purchase list when approaching RE

[UserRequested]

I actually laughed at this one....until I took a moment to think about what my DW brought home a couple of years ago and put on the front porch for me

Grandpa and Grandma Walton had one each. Mother's day is coming

 

[DeborahB]

While I still had pre-tax medical options, I had a LOT of dental work done - of course that only works if you have 25 year old fillings already - I had them all replaced, with pre-tax money. Any medical stuff you might need - do that. I guess I'm assuming you have good insurance right now.

I didn't do anything to the house. I just figured there would be money when I needed it, and there wasn't anything broken to fix.

 

[Retire44]

I am taking notes! Thanks for all the great ideas and approaches. I see the wisdom of pay as you go on repairs, etc., and will work on budgeting those items into our annual spending.

Thinker 25, funny you mention replacing your dental caps, I just had dentist tell me mine needed replaced and I wanted to ask around and see if that was common or if he was just looking for some extra business; guess you answered my question!

 

[DeborahB]

I am taking notes! Thanks for all the great ideas and approaches. I see the wisdom of pay as you go on repairs, etc., and will work on budgeting those items into our annual spending.

Thinker 25, funny you mention replacing your dental caps, I just had dentist tell me mine needed replaced and I wanted to ask around and see if that was common or if he was just looking for some extra business; guess you answered my question!

Not necessarily normal - do you mean crowns? They don't need replacing very often. I don't have any caps so I can't say on that one.

I had actual fillings that were silver and literally 25+ years old. After a while they do need replacing. I'd check on the caps. I spent 2 years getting this work done - all pre-tax money.

Also it's too late now for you if you're retiring in 2013, but pre-tax money for medical is interesting. I set up to put aside $2500 in pre-tax medical my last year. I spent it all before I left in early July. So I got the full benefit... but didn't actually contribute the full amount. It only works if you spend it before you quit. And it's totally legal.



Having done that, and deciding I didn't need COBRA dental... I cracked a crown 3 months later and cursed a lot as I paid the bill.

 

[Retire44]

Not necessarily normal - do you mean crowns? They don't need replacing very often. I don't have any caps so I can't say on that one.

I had actual fillings that were silver and literally 25+ years old. After a while they do need replacing. I'd check on the caps. I spent 2 years getting this work done - all pre-tax money.

Fillings -- that's what I meant. I couldn't think of the term when I was typing reply, and went with caps! Yeah, we've used Flex Spending Acct for a lot of medical the last few years with contacts, braces, etc., thanks to ObamaCare they changed it from $5k limit to $2,500, but then tell you they didn't raise taxes.

 

[Rustward]

Rustward,

Is remodeling/upgrading a significant part of the $75k?

The reason that I ask is that my maintenance budget is based on past costs extrapolated into the future. In your case the 20k-30k over the past 20 years would not forecast into 75k in the short term, but rather maybe 30k-40k over the next 20 years adjusted for inflation using my mental model.

Since this is my first house (built in the late 1950s) and I have lived in it 14 years, I want to make sure that I am not missing something obvious. (I have done the roof once already. furnace/ac & water heater would not seem be huge costs whenever they are due).

I was estimating $5k/year for replacement items (cars and house) but assuming cars are driven over 10 years and bought with over 100k miles already on them.

Thanks

-gauss

I guess it depends on the definition of remodel / upgrade. The bathrooms have not been touched for 21 years, except for repairs. Faux marble, 21 year old plumbing fixtures, wallpaper all over, etc. The kitchen is in pretty good shape, but we need to replace the laminate countertops (which are in almost new-like condition) with solid surface material, and replace a few appliances (cabinets are custom solid ash and just need some loving care in a few places). There is some masonite siding that has absorbed some moisture and is crumbling, and most of the windows need to be replaced. Only two rooms have carpet. The guest bedroom, which does not get much use, and the exercise room, where the carpet has been totally trashed by heavy exercise equipment. We will probably just live with the exercise room the way it is, because we never let anyone else in there.
These are the kinds of things I am talking about. My $75K estimate is what I think we need to spend now (+- maybe $25K). We have budgeted $6K per year for these items, and that seems to be on target, or close enough.

Edit to add: Cars are separate, and we budget $300/month ($3600/year) for replacements. We are probably budgeting on the high side, but I have never been disappointed by having more available to spend than I actually needed (I know, opportunity cost, and all that).

Edit again to add: A lot of this stuff should have already been done, but we deferred it for various reasons.

 

[LinCella]

Dental work for me as well, an implant $6k! extraction, bone graft, etc. Unfortunately my diabetes is uncontrolled so my surgeon won't do it until I am within a normal range...very hard for me to do. Have 4 months to get it together.

 

[gauss]

I guess it depends on the definition of remodel / upgrade. The bathrooms have not been touched for 21 years, except for repairs. ..

Thanks for sharing the details Rustward.

-gauss