Poll: How much income do you need to retire?

[Mulligan]

I currently operate on about $36k after taxes. My retirement income is 60k after taxes. I imagine in about 5 years I will loosen up the spigot and spend closer to that level after I save up a bit more reserve money.


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[eta2020]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Totoro Including rent last estimate $26k. Excluding rent $15k. Barebones budget is $20k including rent, excluding rent $9k. Single, no dependents.

Is that in Amsterdam Netherlands? Knowing EU that looks unbelievable......

BTW it is wonderful city.

[Major Tom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rec7 I checked 25-75 but 20 would be plenty.

That's pretty impressive for 2 people. (small correction - the category is actually 25-50).

I checked that category too, but am actually below the low end of it (just like you). I'm single, ESR'ed, and living in the SF Bay Area on 17K/yr (15,600 coming from the portfolio). I'm comfortable but then, it takes very little to keep me amused. An increase to 20-25K may well be on the cards at some point, and that will allow me to either fund my full-time RV'ing dream, or move into another apartment at the pricier current market rates.

[Totoro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eta2020 Is that in Amsterdam Netherlands? Knowing EU that looks unbelievable...... BTW it is wonderful city.

No, in Amsterdam (centre where I live now) I pay about $5k more in rent. I live about 5 minutes walking from the "I Amsterdam sign" at the museum square.

The income mentioned is based on a move to Belgium (home country) close to my family. I wouldn't stay in Amsterdam if I perma-FIRE. Either move to family or to a rural area somewhere with cheaper rents.

[NW-Bound]

What I can live comfortably on (I think!) is less than what I planned to spend when I pulled the plug. And the latter is quite a bit less than what I actually spend!

Thank goodness, that last amount is still less than what FIRECalc says I can spend. It's scary to think I have to spend that much, but stuff happens. "If it's not one thing, it's 'nother".

[NW-Bound]

Forgot to add that Quicken said that my medical expenses for the last 12 months ran $19,282.

The above includes $10K deductible, which I hope I will not have to incur next year. However, we incurred minimal dental expenses. That may catch up with us next year.

PS. The exact amount is $19,282.82. Some people here like to count to the pennies, and Quicken does keep track of that.

[Sunset]

Prior to Retiring, I tried to calculate our expenses for a 12 month period. I took our bank account and added up all the withdrawls/payments from it.
Fortunately it allows a person to download it based on selected time period.
I found from that we spent about 50K on everything, since we are now retired and travelling a bit, I estimate we need 76K - 100K for retirement spending as we are looking to enjoy the remaining years.

[RobLJ]

We can get in comfort on 50-60k, if we sold the cabin. With cabin and a lot of travel, then 75k+.

[Gumby]

We divide our expected retirement budget into: (A) dollars to live our life exactly as we do now (except for travel/vacations) - it will be smaller than our current operating budget because our mortgage will be paid off and we won't have commuting and other work expenses; and (B) dollars to travel around. It is our expectation that our two pensions will completely cover category A, and social security will come along after about two years to give us an additional cushion of more than 25%. The amount we spend for category B - travel - will depend on the state of our nest egg. If things go well over the next four years, I expect our annual spending on travel could be about 1.5 times what we spend on our everyday living (if we don't get tired out first). FIRECalc still gives us 100% at that level of spending. If the market crashes, we'll travel less.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby If things go well over the next four years, I expect our annual spending on travel could be about 1.5 times what we spend on our everyday living (if we don't get tired out first). FIRECalc still gives us 100% at that level of spending. If the market crashes, we'll travel less.

When I travel, my total expenses that month don't increase as much as expected, because my grocery, utility and entertainment expenses are much lower, or nonexistent if I am away for the whole month. Of course, fixed costs such as housing remain unchanged while traveling. One more reason to avoid being house poor.

A lot of my friends have pets. Organizing house sitting or kenneling for the pets is an expensive hassle which may limit their travel. One friend flies a dog to another city to board with a relative. This is one reason why I don't have pets.

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh When I travel, my total expenses that month don't increase as much as expected, because my grocery, utility and entertainment expenses are much lower, or nonexistent if I am away for the whole month. Of course, fixed costs such as housing remain unchanged while traveling. One more reason to avoid being house poor.

Both good points. Our single biggest fixed budget item in retirement will be property taxes.

[Surewhitey]

Here's 2013 spending...a little skewed due to our living in LA for a few months and the transition to Mexico.
Taken from Mint

Spending
$36,128 spent

Home: Mortgage & Rent
$5,687 Food & Dining: Groceries
$4,933 Home: Home Improvement
$3,396 Health & Fitness: Health Insurance
$2,932 Auto & Transport: Gas & Fuel
$2,207 Food & Dining: Restaurants
$2,178 Bills & Utilities: Mobile Phone
$1,451 Gifts & Donations: JW Donation
$1,074 Financial: Life Insurance
$640 Bills & Utilities: Utilities
$530 Shopping: Clothing
$162 Travel: Vacation
$145 Food & Dining: Fast Food
$133 Pets
$81 Bills & Utilities: Internet
$45 Entertainment

[Surewhitey]

Here's 2014 (so far) from Mint. Living on the Caribbean coast. Traveled to Cali, TX x2, AR, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres and Belize.

Spending
$27,952 spent

Home: Mortgage & Rent
$5,340
Food & Dining: Groceries
$4,625
Health & Fitness: Health Insurance
$3,136
Auto & Transport: Gas & Fuel
$2,207
Travel
$2,194
Food & Dining: Restaurants
$2,017
Shopping
$1,880
Travel: Vacation
$1,740
Financial: Life Insurance
$1,104
Bills & Utilities: Mobile Phone
$806
Auto & Transport: Auto Insurance
$597
Gifts & Donations: JW Donation
$518
Bills & Utilities: Internet
$414
Shopping: Clothing
$378
Auto & Transport: Service & Parts
$202
Personal Care
$202
Entertainment: Movies & DVDs
$119
Gifts & Donations: Gift
$133
Misc Expenses
$115
Bills & Utilities: Home Phone
$100
Health & Fitness: Gym
$40
Bills & Utilities: Utilities
$69
Food & Dining: Fast Food
$58
Fees & Charges: Trade Commissions
$56
Pets: Pet Food & Supplies
$35
Business Services: Office Supplies
$35
Home: Home Improvement
$34
Health & Fitness: Pharmacy
$29
Entertainment
$20
Taxes
$18
Business Services: Shipping
$18
Shopping: Books
$4
Shopping: Electronics & Software
$3

[FANOFJESUS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Major Tom That's pretty impressive for 2 people. (small correction - the category is actually 25-50). I checked that category too, but am actually below the low end of it (just like you). I'm a single, ESR'ed, and living in the SF Bay Area on 17K/yr. I'm comfortable but then, it takes very little to keep me amused. An increase to 20-25K may well be on the cards at some point, and that will allow me to either fund my full-time RV'ing dream, or move into another apartment at the pricier current market rates.

Thanks we are in the Midwest with no debt. We kind of make a game out of it to see how low we can go. In the late 90's we lived on 10.3k but things have just gone up. You are doing great for the Bay area I know it is very expensive out there.

[FUEGO]

I figure about $24k is our "need" number that would be hard to reduce much without selling the house (and move to a much cheaper apartment/condo/townhouse/smaller house) and economizing in other ways.

$32k is what we are planning on and includes the standard long term costs like replacing cars, major house repairs/replacements over time, and a fat vacation fund. I guess we get by pretty cheap compared to many here. Simple tastes and all that.

$38,000 is 3% of our dedicated FIRE portfolio, so we still have a little fat in the budget between our "ideal" budget and what we can realistically spend. And now that I've played with the Variable Percentage Withdrawal calculator, I'm 95% certain we can spend $32-34k with the possibility that we can spend closer to $60-70k in many years (depending on portfolio performance).

[martyb]

We're feeling comfortable at about $50,000 net. Net to us means after taxes, health & life insurance and also after a survivors benefit for.my wife. None for me, since I'm the one with the pensions. My 2 pensions will provide $46,000 of the net amount mentioned, so any withdrawals will be pretty much discretionary. We'll make withdrawals, but not sure how much yet or when. Guess we'll cross that bridge when we need or want to.

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[ksr]

I live in a relatively high COL area, but have no problem keeping spending within the first category ($25-50K). Like many here, I have a paid-off house and car. I also have simple tastes and fairly low-cost hobbies. But I think the two biggest factors in keeping my budget low are my dislike of travel, and not having children. When I retired, I happily declared that nobody could ever make me fly again.

[Samething]

Wow glad to see more responses in the 25-50k category. I was the first to answer in that range and when I went to bed I was the only one. My have to # was just under 17k for the last 2 years. I will not be able to manage my taxable income next year when I retire (selling company stock in retirement plan) so I will pay just under 5k for insurance. Should be able to reduce insurance cost in 2016 with subsidy. I COULD have another 28k discretionary income so I have some wiggle room. I own my humble but comphy home. Taxes $750 per year. New AC and roof. One year old car paid in cash. Yes I have been planing for awhile.

[Lucantes]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby Both good points. Our single biggest fixed budget item in retirement will be property taxes.

Property taxes and insurance are our #1, 2's, 3's etc.

[scrabbler1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ksr I live in a relatively high COL area, but have no problem keeping spending within the first category ($25-50K). Like many here, I have a paid-off house and car. I also have simple tastes and fairly low-cost hobbies. But I think the two biggest factors in keeping my budget low are my dislike of travel, and not having children. When I retired, I happily declared that nobody could ever make me fly again.

You are a lot like me. I have no real desire to ever fly again, the last time I flew was in 2003 (the longest stretch I have ever gone without flying, including as a kid).The only small difference for me is I live in a paid-off co-op apartment, not a house.