Moemg
Gone but not forgotten
My expenses have been creeping up in the last few years so I went over my spending carefully . Surprise , It is being a grandmother that has caused the spending . Lego's are not cheap !
I also track expenses with Quicken.
I haven't figured the annual spending yet as we had a few big expenses this year: New house A/C ($6K), new roof ($12K), Two new mattresses ($3).
We also increased granddaughter's college expense help since her parents were not able to handle very much. We paid her tuition and books for one semester and provided $100/month for spending throughout the year. This amounted to about $3,700. She has a job at the college, but it doesn't pay much. She graduates this year (yeah!). I also covered the A/C repair cost to her aging Ford Focus ($1200 repair).
For some reason, DW is one of those people who absolutely HAS to HAVE cash in her wallet at all times. That irks me to no end as I can go for months without cash in my wallet and not care. So our "Misc" category is filled with ATM entries from her use of cash. The story line is "lunch with the girls (church group), a few things at Walgreens, I picked up the dry cleaning, I don't remember, etc". Needles to say, it's a good thing I keep the reins tightened or I wouldn't be typing this.
Your wife is a sensible woman.... I always have cash in my wallet...cash in my car...cash in my house... You never know when you might need some cash! I even have useless cash...I started a winter project rolling change that has accumulated in a bucket... Rolled $150 worth today before I got bored...
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Hey, if I need cash (rarely do), I ask her for some!
I also have an ATM card I carry, but I don't remember the PIN!
My expenses have been creeping up in the last few years so I went over my spending carefully . Surprise , It is being a grandmother that has caused the spending . Lego's are not cheap !
+1 I love that this gets its own budget category!Video gaming | ..2%
+1 I love that this gets its own budget category!
This is what I keep trying to explain to my wife (just kidding actually, she has no problem with me playing games)!
As long as it was not augmented by an intelligent woman spending a bundle to live near her best friend!my entire withdrawal went to support a poor little old unemployed lady surviving in hurricane devastated New Orleans. ..
Same after 13 years of retirement (1.2%), after 5 pensions (incl. DW).2015 was my first full year of ER. Our spending for DH and I was 32K, which after my tiny VA pension comes out to a WR of under 1.2%.
That is TMI... You gave yourself away... You have too much money...Us "wealth confiscators" are coming by to pay a visit today.
As long as it was not augmented by an intelligent woman spending a bundle to live near her best friend!
It is amazing how words can be spun to tell any story....
BTW congratulations on the good luck in finding the perfect house! Sounds like a much more practical solution than moving north.
I also admire the folks on this board who are able to live on less than 30k for a single person and less than 50k for a couple.
One of these years I will increase our budget. Our annual withdrawal less estimated taxes has been exceeding our target budget by quite a bit for many years now. Knock on wood!!! - hopefully that continues.
Actually - my comment meant that I hope the portfolio doesn't shrink so much that the withdrawal less taxes owed is less than our target budget. My income goes up and down depending on the year end portfolio value. I could potentially take a 40% hit to my income but (hopefully) it will still fund our target budget.I'm confused. Your plan is to withdraw a lot more than your annual spending budget? Why?
Yeah - that's really the crux of the matter.Audrey - thanks for explaining. I forgot you were on a variable WR. Now it makes sense.
W2R any pics of the new house? I thought your old one looked sharp by the way.
Thank you! Here's one. I love the fact that it has an oversized two car garage with workshop and storage rooms, that it has a wonderful shower like I always wanted, and above all a great next door neighbor.
Thank you! Here's one. I love the fact that it has an oversized two car garage with workshop and storage rooms, that it has a wonderful shower like I always wanted, and above all a great next door neighbor.