Final 2022 Cost of Living - Total Household Expenses (Not Including Travel)

[Teacher Terry]

Koolau, wow that really sucks. Our halls and the hallways in our units all have fake ceilings so pipes can be easily assessed. If a pipe from the common area causes a leak in a condo the association pays the owner for repairs to everything damaged. If my unit leaks onto the one below I am responsible but my insurance will pay. This has happened to people and their insurance always pays.

 

[Koolau]

Koolau, wow that really sucks. Our halls and the hallways in our units all have fake ceilings so pipes can be easily assessed. If a pipe from the common area causes a leak in a condo the association pays the owner for repairs to everything damaged. If my unit leaks onto the one below I am responsible but my insurance will pay. This has happened to people and their insurance always pays.

Our insurance ONLY covers "negligence" if our pipes flood someone else's unit. If we flood our own, we're covered but gravity being what it is, you know what runs down hill. A rusted out old pipe is not considered "negligence" by the insurance co. but IS considered negligence by the HOA. A "can't win" situation. Oh, and those "rules" were instituted after we bought in. It's sort of like the way they punish 3rd graders and military recruits. "We can't make you do anything but we can make you wish you had" sort of attitude. Welcome to condo life.

Yeah, the common drain pipes (owned by the HOA) in our building are all straight up and down, so no water collects. So, they never leak. Even the pressurized pipe stacks were built to last (those owned by the HOA) while the taps to sinks/toilets/showers are more or less all on borrowed time. When our leak happened, the building mgr. said there were 9 leaks in the building at that time. I'm thinking we just need to go in and tear out everything and redo it, starting at the top and w*rking down. BUT, of course, a leak costs the HOA nothing, so they won't consider it. Just part of the cost of Paradise, I suppose.:cool smiley:

Returning you now...

 

[MC Rider]

More reasons to not buy a condo, imho.

 

[foxfirev5]

Just returned to the "frozen Northern wasteland" after a couple of weeks in Key West. While nice it has become more of a hassle each year. On top that the weather back home is definitely becoming more mild over the years. The cold snaps, while more severe are shorter and at the same time it's colder down South.

If I can further rationalize this hypothesis my cost of living should be reduced by over 20k.

 

[aaronc879]

Just returned to the "frozen Northern wasteland" after a couple of weeks in Key West. While nice it has become more of a hassle each year. On top that the weather back home is definitely becoming more mild over the years. The cold snaps, while more severe are shorter and at the same time it's colder down South.

If I can further rationalize this hypothesis my cost of living should be reduced by over 20k.

You spend $20K for a couple weeks in Key West??

 

[Koolau]

More reasons to not buy a condo, imho.

Heh, heh, you should have seen the first house I remodeled. We spent $30/SF in 1982 dollars remodeling an old farm house. At one point, you could see outside through the walls. You could look up at the ceiling and see the sky and you could look down and see the dirt. The term "gutted" comes to mind.

I just hope we are finished with leaks for a while at the condo.

 

[foxfirev5]

You spend $20K for a couple weeks in Key West??

Actually it's 4 weeks spread over 3 trips. 93 yo DM requires care meanwhile. Getting old ain't pretty.
On the other hand she's remarkable. The latest was an emergency tooth extraction. Her first ever. Made it 93 years with ALL her teeth. Delta airlines loves us. But as usual I digress.

 

[Koolau]

But as usual I digress.

Heh, heh, we'll let it go this time.

 

[Digger1000]

I dont know my exact spending but I know my total spending including everything was under 15k last year. This year I have been keeping exact track of spending for fun. In January I spent $1,112. My February spending will be under $1100, likely between $1060 and $1070. I am a renter in a large city. I have Directv satellite. I do have $0 healthcare premiums and I pay $0 in both federal and state income taxes.

 

[flyingaway]

Ours does not include working either, and definitely not living in a frozen wasteland ....... at any time of year. It does include living by the ocean though.

We could afford to live in Hawaii, but do not want to invest OTT in a home. Sooooo NW Florida fits the bill.

We like to travel a lot, so living in a particular place does not matter very much. After retirement, I just don't want to do anything, including moving to another place.

 

[RonBoyd]

I do have $0 healthcare premiums.

How did you manage that?

 

[Digger1000]

How did you manage that?

ACA. My income is low enough. 2023 is my 5th year with $0 premium. I've been doing a Roth IRA conversion every year since 2018. For 2023 I will be making the conversion about 3k smaller and that made my health insurance deductible $0 for 2023 in addition to the $0 premium. Before this year my deductible was 7-8k with the $0 premium.

 

[Koolau]

I dont know my exact spending but I know my total spending including everything was under 15k last year. This year I have been keeping exact track of spending for fun. In January I spent $1,112. My February spending will be under $1100, likely between $1060 and $1070. I am a renter in a large city. I have Directv satellite. I do have $0 healthcare premiums and I pay $0 in both federal and state income taxes.

This spend level is getting pretty close to our low here on the Forum if memory serves. If not too personal, is this because you CAN or because you MUST live at this spend level? Sorry, but enquiring minds, etc...

By the way, I am impressed.

 

[Digger1000]

This spend level is getting pretty close to our low here on the Forum if memory serves. If not too personal, is this because you CAN or because you MUST live at this spend level? Sorry, but enquiring minds, etc...

By the way, I am impressed.

I posted in the swr thread that my swr is 1.3%. And I'm 100% in stock index funds. I am living like I have my entire life, very frugally and very happily. If the stock market goes down 67% my swr would be 3.9%,

I have posted my yearly spending on here before. I usually show up on this forum in the winter after not being on here much at all for 6 or more months.

In my 6 years of retirement I have spent less than 85k total. Thats less than some people spend in one year.

 

[Koolau]

I posted in the swr thread that my swr is 1.3%. And I'm 100% in stock index funds. I am living like I have my entire life, very frugally and very happily. If the stock market goes down 67% my swr would be 3.9%,

I have posted my yearly spending on here before. I usually show up on this forum in the winter after not being on here much at all for 6 or more months.

In my 6 years of retirement I have spent less than 85k total. Thats less than some people spend in one year.

That is truly amazing. If you are happy with your spend level, then I say "more power to you.!"