jollystomper
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2012
- Messages
- 6,236
So wondering if all this extra money makes any of you change your thinking or budgets?
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So does one recalculate their 2020 budget based on the new balance or do you stick with what it was when you started plus inflations as is suggested and keep letting it grow?
A related question, do you believe it is better to blow a fixed amount on something special, Trip, new car, Kitchen renovation, or adjust your lifestyle?
In retirement I do not so much budget and track cash flow out due to expenses. So far in retirement my outgoing flow has been less than half of what we expected, even with "Blow That Dough" items like using upgraded vacation travel options and buying a 3rd car. Couple that with the market gains this year and yes, I am looking at increasing our projected flow for next next, but not by a lot, maybe 10%.
We did a lot of major home improvement projects in the years before I retired as to not have to worry about them during retirement. We are happy with our lifestyle and most likely will end up being a bit more generous to family and charities. I am also looking at spending on additional items we planned to spend on in later years but may spending on them now when we can enjoy them more. For example:
- Replacing DW's 2011 Toyota Corolla, in solid condition, no issues, and 65K miles, with a new model to get additional safety features that did not exist on 2011 models.
- Paying off our mortgage now instead its planned payoff in 8 years. The rate, outstanding amount and monthly payment is low. But now we could pay it off without having to sell any equities and still have more than enough cash for our plans before we take SS(sometime in 2-7 years).