So here is my question - there seem to be quite a few people on here who expect to spend $100k + in retirement. Assuming we all have different "base" expenses (utilities, taxes, etc) lets ignore those for now. What I am interested in is understanding the discretionary expenses e.g.
- Cars and motorbikes
- Holidays
- Expensive hobbies
- Eating out
So for the spendthrifts out there - what's your money weakness?
Last year I spent over $100K, although this year I'll come in under $100K.
It's not cars and motorbikes.
$2600 maintenance last year
$600 gasoline last year
$818 maintenance so far this year
$266 gasoline so far this year
It's not holidays.
$0 last year
$0 so far this year
It's not expensive hobbies.
$609 video gaming last year
$39 video gaming so far this year.
(dying to spend more)
Eating out isn't breaking the bank either.
$3636 last year
$2416 so far this year
So what is it? Of course, buying, moving into, and doing extensive landscaping and other fixing up of my wonderful dream house!
To me, this is discretionary because I could have stayed where I was and I would have been absolutely fine. But I wanted to move, just as much as somebody else might want a Ferrari or a summer in Rome. Life being as it is, adding insult to injury, just after moving I had several uninsured dental implants and a bridge, which add up fast, and my entire HVAC system other than the ductwork had to be completely replaced. Hopefully I haven't bought
The Money Pit, but watching that movie is comforting.
Although I love my dream house and adore living next door to Frank, still, spending this much is pretty unnerving. I'm ramping up the LBYM at least a little bit, hoping to return to a more reasonable spending level before the next market catastrophe. But anyway, you wanted to know where all that discretionary money is going, and that's where it's going.