Retired Folk... what are you spending a month?

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dd564

Recycles dryer sheets
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I realize this is a personal question, so only reply if you are willing, but I'm curious what the retired monthly budgets look like.

I'm assuming many are without housing payments which is a large part of my current budget.

I'm curious on what people budget for travel, hobbies, etc.

Thanks to those who are willing to share.
 
$1349 a month for two as long as nothing big breaks. We don't travel much and our hobbies are free.
 
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REWahoo said:
http://www.early-retirement.org/for...-do-you-actually-spend-each-year-63780-2.html
Click to expand...

I have already answered in the above poll.

In terms of WR, in the past 12 months, I spent 3% compared to the planned 3.5% WR, because I was recovering from an illness and did not travel much. It would be lower if gifts and charity donations were excluded.

But then, my homes need work, and I will be up to 4% this year when I write these checks. And I still want to travel before the year is over. Oh well! At least the work on the homes will not be incurred next year (or something else like that!).

It is always easy to overspend, so one must plan for a low number, then it might just work out right.
 
I don't spend much on hobbies, maybe a few hundred dollars a year (hiking gear, art supplies, etc...). And I don't travel much. Usually one trip to Europe per year to visit family (<$5K all in).

Housing payments are up there since DW and I have decided to remain renters for the foreseeable future.
 
Oops! Forgot that my daughter's wedding is next year. There goes my planned 3.5% WR for next year too.
 
Our pensions are $40,000 and after you subtract taxes & health insurance that leaves 25,000 which we spend it all. We also both work for ourselves p.t. and together earned about another 29,000. This is what we travel with, fix our home and save. Our house is paid for and the only thing left to do is our backyard which will cost about 3,000. WE are trying to do everything low maintenance ( replaced wood fence with metal fence, etc) so our maintenance costs will be lower in the future.
 
I don't know. My account balances are getting bigger. Must be spending less than what comes in. AKA LBMM


By the way, need a toongue in cheeck smiley.
 
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Though I am spending more than I wanted to and planned, my account balances are getting bigger too.

I dunno either. The market god has been too generous. But of course, a single "Wh***" would cause all that to evaporate [-]overnight[/-] over a single trading session.
 
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Why is it depressing? I recall that you were having fun surfing and ordering from Amazon to stimulate the economy, and most importantly you were underspending your purchasing power. We cannot take it with us either.

As for me, it is truly depressing because I am incurring unexpected expenses on home repair that I should not have, if the right building material was originally used. Now, that was a waste.
 
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I have been retired 2 years. So far I have been able to pay ALL my bills, save $100/month for some nice travel every 2-3 years and generally save 10% more for when the xyz breaks down on an annual income of 30k.
 
We have lowered our spending after starting SS, getting Medicare, and having son graduate from college. Fun spending as opposed to basics can go up to 1.5% of portfolio now.

The following chart shows spending percentage (left scale) and inflation adjusted portfolio percentage relative to 2003 ER portfolio (right scale).

104gigm.jpg


Courtesy of Pretty Charts, Inc. :flowers:
 
Essentials: $2250
Discretionary: $2250 (about $500 for travel and hobbies)

Total: $4500

House paid off.
 
I just retired.
I budgeted our TOTAL monthly spend at $7k/month. That includes taxes, COBRA premiums, etc.

Because I don't have retiree healthcare, and need to insure my family of 4, healthcare alone is half of the amount some folks spend.

This is without mortgage payment - since I paid off the mortgage right before retirement.

Time will tell if this is an over estimate or under estimate. 84k/year was based on income prior to retirement, less mortgage, less SS and Medicare taxes, less 401k contributions, then adding in hefty health insurance premiums. I have no idea if taxes will be higher or lower in retirement - so I left them at the working/high rate.
 
I would be interested in any advise about budgetary surprises after ER. I have a budget set, and will ER in September. I have tracked my expenses to date and realize that many will reduce, but expect that some will increase. Anyone run into the unexpected? Pls tell us about it.

We will be working off of a $3200/month budget with no debt and one vehicle.
 
Ticker said:
I would be interested in any advise about budgetary surprises after ER. I have a budget set, and will ER in September. I have tracked my expenses to date and realize that many will reduce, but expect that some will increase. Anyone run into the unexpected? Pls tell us about it.

We will be working off of a $3200/month budget with no debt and one vehicle.
Click to expand...

You will want to do a search on this subject. We had an excellent, lengthly thread covering this not too long ago. It will supplement anything that's mentioned here.
 
ls99 said:
I don't know. My account balances are getting bigger. Must be spending less than what comes in.... .
Click to expand...

Us too. We did start withdrawals from DW Roth IRA last month. Partly because we could, and partly to move it into the "gonna spend it on something" bucket.
 
$6K month after tax-over the past 30 months. But it will be going up because of upcoming travel plans.

Our lifestyle and spending habits have changed. Our diet is more Med now. Less meat, nothing fried, no processed foods/bread, much more salad and fruit. We feel much better for it. One car given away, more travel. No fast food. If we eat out it tends to be upscale dining that we cannot/do not prepare at home. Less clothing. Lots of travel.

Some expenses have increased, others have decreased. On balance it has been a wash.
 
I spend about $1,800 a month. I generate around $2,300 a month from monthly and quarterly dividends from my mutual funds, not counting cap gain distributions. Therefore, I can reinvest excess dividends if I do not spend them.
 
Ticker said:
I have tracked my expenses to date and realize that many will reduce, but expect that some will increase. Anyone run into the unexpected? Pls tell us about it...
Click to expand...
Other posters have mentioned previous threads on this subject.

As for me, I am too lazy to make a spreadsheet of all that, so I just try to shoot for a low WR for essential expenses, and with future SS as reserve. That should leave enough room for surprises. I also try to balance discretionary expenses like travel and other splurges against unexpected expenses like healthcare and home repairs.

I have always lived LBYM when working and never needed a precise budget, and am not going to do that now in retirement.
 
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Our monthly income (from pensions &SS) is $7001. That is what we spend. If we had to, we could live on about half that amount (no mortgage or other debt).
Annual international trips are funded by withdrawals from the IRA accounts. Usually $15K to $20K
 
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