What's a good way to arrive at your number?

[masonmcd]

I like www.projectionlab.com . It’s pretty granular, and an easy interface with lots of online help from the community and developer. You can play with it for free, but if you want it to remember your plans, it’s $15 a month.

 

[Koolau]

Good point, I don't know if I will upgrade my lifestyle after the kids are gone. My guess is may be a little but probably not a lot more.. At the very least, $20K a year into college saving will go away along with the $30K morttgage, but a lot of the expense like home repair and property tax will remain. May be my appliance will last longer if it's not running 3x a day.

I look next door and see that all of my neighbor's kids have come back with their grandkids, but I think it's temporary. Boomerng kids are a possibility. A friend's mom actually filled his room with stuff after college graduation so he couldn't come back.

If kids come back, charge reasonable rent.

 

[Yegey]

If kids come back, charge reasonable rent.

I think that depends on the reasoning. Sometimes kids come back so they can live an outsize lifestyle. My neighbor's kids return to live for a while to save for a down payment for a house.

 

[LadyIJ]

If one runs the calculator and sees that the outcome is sensitive to the input, then that means you are sensitive to the input. The calculator is doing its job. I used Firecalc and Fidelity retirement planner to determine when I was FI.

Estimated expenses for the rest of your days is one of the most important factors. I believe it is important to track expenses every year to rerun the calculators, especially if you want to use up all your money (spend, give away). If you are not retired, take a look at health insurance costs and don't forget to include taxes and one off expenses. Our spending has been in line with our estimates. Our lifestyle has not changed in retirement.

When you take SS is supposed to be actuarily neutral. In general, when one takes it has little impact.

I find the 25x expenses to be pretty useless compared to the calculators. Our spend from the portfolio is not constant. The 25x method does not handle that very well.

I second the Fidelity Retirement Planner. It can be very intricate.

 

[AZsniper]

I kept a spreadsheet of my spending for the 3 years before I retired. I tried my best to calculate what expenses would be added/subtracted (ie, Kids club volleyball, sold a home, etc). I came up with that number, and realized I could safely spend double that each year. For me, I needed some cushion to feel confident to retire at 46. 2026 is my first full year of retirement and I am anxious to see if my thoughts and planning are close to the reality of spending.