For those of you who are retired, I am curious to know what expenses that you were able to reduce or eliminate when you stopped working? Please be as specific as possible about the type of expenses. Some are obvious, for example, if you don't have earned income, you don't have to pay social security taxes or medicare withholding taxes. In any event, I am curious about your specific experiences. For example.... commuting costs? Clothes? Lunch? Travel? Daycare? Vehicle wear and tear? Gas? Housekeeper? Gardener? Dry cleaning?
Well, clearly we "insourced" all childcare, housekeeping, yardwork, car maintenance, and other chores. Some of them were "child-sourced", but now she's escaped to college so I have them back in my purview again.
Commuting-- I spend less on bicycle repairs and we spend far less on gas/maintenance. We went from driving over 10K miles/year to under 3K/year.
Clothes-- military uniforms & aloha attire were replaced by t-shirts, shorts, and rubbah slippahs. Annual expenses went from $100-$200/year to literally single digits. Military uniforms got a lot more wear-friendly in the '90s so I haven't drycleaned anything in decades. I also haven't polished a pair of shoes in over eight years.
Meals-- I mostly brownbagged. However in retirement we frequently find ourselves uninterested in dining out. It's surprising that although we have more time to go out for entertainment, more often we choose to stay in and enjoy each other's company (and cooking). The biggest impact on our grocery budget has been launching our teen from the nest.
Other areas:
Insurance-- Ask your home, auto, & liability insurers for retiree discounts. Some do, some do not. Make sure your auto policy indicates "Pleasure", not "work", and possibly reflect lower annual miles.
Home expenses-- you're burning the lights at home all day, but you're also more attentive to leaky faucets and other sneaky problems. You have more time to upgrade insulation, lights, and other home features. I think we're ahead on maintenance, although operating costs have risen.
Home improvement-- we do just about all our own projects. In the last eight years that includes a photovoltaic array, solar water heating, solar-powered attic exhaust fans, lots of reflective foil insulation, fixing a nasty little roof leak that eluded two other roofing companies, and untold amounts of painting & primping.
Bargains-- what we might have just bought from Wal-Mart or a furniture store can now be relentlessly stalked on Craigslist & garage sales, and bought used for a fraction of the price. I'll also never buy a new vehicle again.
Sports-- if I was still working then I think I'd struggle to keep up with taekwondo. In ER, however, I find myself signing up for extra clinics & tournaments, so that expense has gone up. However I would need to do something anyway to stave off the effects of aging.
Entertainment-- again we find ourselves enjoying our own experiences more than paying for possessions or for guided tours. Rather than paying for a "resort experience", we're more likely to find a cheap rental condo and spend our time on the beach or driving around.
Healthcare expenses are way down-- I get sick much less often and I'm off the prescription decongestants. Overall health is way better, too, so I'm unlikely to need maintenance meds in the future.
Haircuts-- my last one was 30 April 2002. I have, however, had to invest in a number of hair scrunchies. I think I'm ahead of the game.
Travel-- undetermined. Yes we can pick up and go, but we have to arrange care for a geriatric bunny so that raises all sorts of expenses for shorter trips. Spouse also has this problem with just "picking up and going", so many of our trips tend to be for volunteer work that pays for her plane ticket & accommodations.
When our bunny goes to his great reward, however, we will definitely be spending more on travel, and it will be on our own itinerary.
.. but your intake went up as you perfected drinking OPW (other people's whiskey).
Sounds like a [-]sea story[/-] personal problem! Did he also plug his RV's air conditioner into your driveway's 30-amp receptacle?