Luck_Club
Full time employment: Posting here.
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2016
- Messages
- 733
I already have the thermostat at 65 degrees during the day and I'm always freezing.
After summarizing our 2017 spending I looked at the number with a bit of disappointment. We live in a paid off home in a low cost of living area, with 2 paid off cars and employer healthcare, and we still managed to spend more than $37000 this year.
But what could I cut?
- $3000 on home improvements, $2000 was necessary but could’ve been delayed
- $5000 on “personal purchases”. This is everything from clothes to going out. DW and I each get half of that per year. We could probably cut this in half, but it wouldn’t be fun.
- $2000 on travel. A lowball, all of the airfare and most of the hotels were paid for with points.
- $1000 on booze
- $700 in union dues. $200 on Spotify.
- We’ll move in RE and save $1300 on neighborhood fees.
- We don’t have cable, our hobbies are cheap/free, we eat out maybe 5 times a year.
So we’re looking at $35k a year (plus healthcare & taxes) in retirement. We could trim down to about $30k a year while still covering needs and most wants. Down to $24k if we had to scrape by for a bit for some reason.
What about others? How much wiggle room do you have?
A big thank you to the OP and all the respondents. This kind of thread is gold for a pre-retiree. For me right now, it's a higher priority to get a handle on future outgo than future income.
Seems like you could squeeze a little extra $$ into the heating budget, no? That's one area where I don't mind spending what it takes to keep it comfortable in our hot, humid summers and our cold winters. Going from uncomfortable to comfortable adds maybe $200-300/yr to our heating/cooling budget (aka about the same cost as one day on a family cruise or 2-3 days of family slow travel).
I know- I can be cheap in silly areas like this, then spend a few thousand $$ for the comfort of Business Class on a transatlantic. This is my first year of keeping the thermostat that low and I plan to compare it to last year when I have a full heating season behind me. (I know it won't be perfect due to temperature fluctuations.) I kept the A/C off till it hit 80 and that didn't bother me at all.
I was thinking about that Biz Class seat when I wrote my comment I'd gladly "save" $3-4k by spending an uncomfortable 8-16 hrs in coach and use that to have 10-15 years of very comfortable indoor temperatures for the entire family and all guests. Or spend the same $ on 5-10 years of hiring out the mowing in the summer. Or hiring a housecleaner 1-2x/month for several years.
I'm taking baby steps and have decided to contract out some of the HVAC and plumbing chores that I used to do myself (and still fly coach ).
Can any of y'all cut back enough to live on 0.5% WR, as we talked about in another thread?
That's what I've been effectively doing over the past few years. I'm still working but if my W2 income and its associated taxes both go to zero and my living expenses don't change, my spend rate would be below 0.5% per year. So no wiggle room for me, I'm living small enough already.
The OP did not say why to cut back. I might have missed it among the posts. Is it just on principle? We spent freely last year (more than double the OP) on 1.5% WR + a small pension. I do not see a reason to cut back or go to .5% WR. Why not enjoy the resources that you have?
Ironically, Danmar and I are looking for ways to increase our spending!
Ironically, Danmar and I are looking for ways to increase our spending!
Good for you. I got some criticism for my .5% WR in an other thread. I'm still not sure why it is such a bad thing. LOL