How much do you live on in retirement?

I currently live on about $24K net excluding health insurance which is deducted from my main job. Basically, on my second part-time job pay about $36K/year which I live on and my day job pays for ex-wife's mortgage, child support and a kid in college. I figured post FIRE would be the same about $36K gross would suffice for my standard of living including health insurance until medicare kicks in.

I'm a small town country boy living in the big city and would most likely move to backwoods of the country during post FIRE. I eat what I grow or raise, I drink what I make, and smoke what I grow. I have my life all figured out.:cool: Only thing that I have not figured out is how to get there faster than projected age 60 at current pace. I wanted to FIRE at 45, then postponed to 50, then 55 when I reached 50. Now I'm hoping for 60.
 
My current retirement spending plan calls for $48K after taxes which is about $25K less than I am spending now. I am forecasting a large drop due to my 3 biggest current expenses (Mortgage, Child Support and Private School tuition) no longer being valid in ER.
 
Most people on this forum seem to live on $40-60k after tax. We spend a lot more than that, and about 50% more than pre retirement. More real estate, cars,and travel as we have more time to enjoy this stuff.
 
Danmar said:
Most people on this forum seem to live on $40-60k after tax. We spend a lot more than that...
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So do we (much, much more), but I don't mention raw numbers. They mean little when you are talking about lifestyle.

Heck, I understand that some members want to live in the woods in an $18K abode when they retire :whistle: ...

That's not our "style", nor our life. That's also why they make different flavors of ice-cream.
 
Thanks !

Thank you for all the good info. My biggest concern is how much my lifestyle will change when I have more free time. DW and I have traveled a fair amount over the last several winters since our kids flew the nest, and while we greatly enjoy it, I seem to have a hard time not treating the time away as a vacation, and spending accordingly. Your comments and insight tell me that it is possible.
I've not set a "date certain", as I mentioned I've got an interest in a development entity and I'm positioning myself hopefully , to live off the income it provides for as long as possible , allowing our portfolio to continue to grow... hopefully ! Thanks again, I'll look forward to other posts as well.
 
Rescueme,
I could not agree more that raw numbers mean nothing. I personally think ours are distorted. If we lived in CA., say around SF then our home would cost us between two and three million rather than the 300k is is valued at in Texas. The raw numbers do not say anything about standard of living, or weather your home is paid off, or if you got money or assets from other sources. The average household income in the U.S. is about $52k, last I looked. I venture to say those of us living around that mark may be living quite a bit above the level the 'average' citizen is.
 
We currently (pre-FIRE) spend $30,000 net. This is set by our plans to be about equal to DW's portion of SS * .75 plus my defined benefit. My SS will be delayed until full retirement age. All of our additional money funds our retirement investments to pay for the time until retirement ages are reached. Should everything go south, we are covered by this fund alone. This is our way of testing the financial waters. Currently, we live in the Midwest. Our future plans include living abroad.
 
I just changed to a more catastrophic and less expensive health insurance plan, so my annual expenses have dropped to about $19k. In my budget, I include a base amount of taxes but if I have a spike in income like I did last year (due to an unexpectedly large short-term cap gains distribution), then my taxes will also rise. However, I know for sure I will have the income to cover the taxes.

I still live the same way I did before I retired in 2008 at age 45. Just better because of all the negatives I eliminated (the commute, the alarm clock, lunches in New Jersey).
 
I moved into my gr's house (mortgage is paid off) and we share the expenses excluding taxes. My annual expenses are about $36,000 per year. Last year I bought a car which I am not including in my expenses. I am debt free and pay cash for any major purchases.
 
Tiger said:
...we share the expenses excluding taxes. My annual expenses are about $36,000 per year. Last year I bought a car which I am not including in my expenses. I am debt free and pay cash for any major purchases.
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So as a "couple" you are spending $72K?
 
rescueme said:
So where do you buy your lunches, now? :whistle: ...

Heck, in NJ you don't have to pump your own gas. Did you give that up, also? :LOL:
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I live in New York (Long Island) so I had a long, exhausting (and expensive, about $20 per day) commute via trains to New Jersey. I eat most of my lunches at home except for a visit to an area pizza joint.

I don't mind pumping my own gas. The last time I bought gas in New Jersey was 8 years ago when I was driving through the state on the way to Virginia. I did like that it was cheaper in New Jersey, though.
 
I plan on 60k-100k per year, with FIRE starting age 47 (next year), SWR = 3.5%. This will depend on whether or not I keep a part time job.
 
scrabbler1 said:
I live in New York (Long Island) so I had a long, exhausting (and expensive, about $20 per day) commute via trains to New Jersey. I eat most of my lunches at home except for a visit to an area pizza joint.

.
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I have not had a decent slice of pizza since I left NJ !:)
 
mh said:
You might be interested in this site.

2stone pizza grill - pizza baking- grill insert- high heat

if you are a pizza fan. I have the grill top one and it i *really* like it.
a bit pricy but it's worth it.
Click to expand...
If you have a bread machine sitting forlornly waiting to be used, pizza crust IS that reason. Throw in the ingredients at 4pm, pizza that night. It is much better than restaurant bought and much cheaper. Who says LBYM means giving up anything?
 
I haven't officially retired yet, but I have based all my planning calculations based on receiving 85% of my current gross income, which will come from a COLA'd pension and withdrawals from retirement accounts. I hope that leaves a good margin, since I live on much less than I make currently.
 
devans0 said:
If you have a bread machine sitting forlornly waiting to be used, pizza crust IS that reason. Throw in the ingredients at 4pm, pizza that night. It is much better than restaurant bought and much cheaper. Who says LBYM means giving up anything?
Click to expand...

good tip re: the bread machine.

when i don't want to/have time to make dough, i go to whole foods.
they have fresh pizza dough balls that are big enough to make 2 pizza's
with. trader joes has them too, but the whole foods dough is a bit better
quality.
 
A lot less. I eat home alot,no train fairs,no clothing for work etc.
I do splurge on good ales.I have my priorities.
 
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