brett
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2010
- Messages
- 6,608
What I found interesting is that I used our manual spend number for the five years leading up to early retirement a double check really on what our basic monthly expenses in retirement may look like. We had a 3700 sq foot home at that time. Two trips a year, one of them was always a warm weather cruise. Typical work expenses for me...clothing, lunches, vehicle, etc.
At retirement our lifestyle changed significantly. Homeless, then downsized condo living for four years, then our own home again 1500 sq. ft or so. Plus lots of international travel...on average at least four months per year. Two vehicles down to one.
Amazingly , the base annual spend number remained fairly constant, adjusted for inflation and the some larger travel expenses. Even though the spend was very different in certain areas.
What did change? My retirement calculations greatly under estimated investment returns and over estimated inflation over the past 13 years. Far too conservative but at the end of the day far better than the opposite.
Bottom line. Figure out what best works for you. There is no right answer.
At retirement our lifestyle changed significantly. Homeless, then downsized condo living for four years, then our own home again 1500 sq. ft or so. Plus lots of international travel...on average at least four months per year. Two vehicles down to one.
Amazingly , the base annual spend number remained fairly constant, adjusted for inflation and the some larger travel expenses. Even though the spend was very different in certain areas.
What did change? My retirement calculations greatly under estimated investment returns and over estimated inflation over the past 13 years. Far too conservative but at the end of the day far better than the opposite.
Bottom line. Figure out what best works for you. There is no right answer.
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