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you bring up a good point that is only now starting to come up in the retirement equation.
retiree spending patterns are belived to shift over time.
they buy and do less stuff as time goes on and are less effected by inflation. the fall off in what they aren't doing or spending has been greater then inflation increasing what they do buy. this becomes even truer when a paid off home is involved.
the result is while all these calculators plan for a yearly raise by inflation that hasn't been the case. retirees more or less have been spending at a constant rate offsetting the increases with less doing and buying.
you actually may need 20-30% less then these calculators tell you that you need.
My husband is 64, I'm 65. We got married later in life and neither one of us knew much throughout our lives about saving or investment. So here we are. If we're lucky we might end up with $250,000 in investments, $300,000 when we sell our home plus $3000 approx. from SS per month. We live in CA but are planning on moving to a small town in TN. I wonder if we can manage? I mean we have to manage but it is scary.
You can pay cash for a $30,000 house in parts of Ohio. That way you can still draw a decent amount of income from your remaining funds without having to pay rent or mortgage.
Is your retirement income much less than what you were use to having?
I pay more rent than you but it includes utilities. If I had wanted to travel, I would have rented a studio as a home base, but I like being home. so I have a large two bedroom in a nice, older neighborhood.
Is location the difference between your needs and those of myself and others like aquablue?
I know people here who live on ss only of less than a $1,000 a month, but they use the government and family help available. I wouldn't want to have to do it, but its doable. For some people, its not much different from the way they have lived throughout their lives.
Its never too late to start saving and trimming the fat. I saved enough this summer to buy myself a laptop. I rarely dip into my savings.
I think the OP will be fine. We can't see the future. There may be rough times ahead, but I don't want to spend the good times worrying about them.
I put over $20,000 a year in savings. (That's after a massage every week and Tai Chi Lessons every week.) I'm not 'tight' -- I'm generous. And I think I live a very good life. I just don't need a lot of things anymore.
You can pay cash for a $30,000 house in parts of Ohio. That way you can still draw a decent amount of income from your remaining funds without having to pay rent or mortgage.
Who would want to live in Ohio. Or any place with brutal winters/summers.
actually it includes healthcare but not long term care.
our spending through retirement for the group is smile shaped.
we spend more early on ,doing ,going and buying , then after 70 spending starts to taper down plunging after 75. at 80 healthcare costs , gifting and charity start upward again.
over all spending drops more then inflation has driven up what was still having money spent on it.
It is not how much one makes as much as it is how much one spends.
Spreadsheet out your living costs versus anticipated income. Some income can be counted on (secure) like SS, government pensions, etc. and other income (investments) cannot be as securely counted on.
I know some with no debt structure living large on $25K a year income. I know others with a large debt structure starving on $100K a year income.
At your ages and if you have doubts, one answer might be keep working (assuming you like your jobs and they fit your life) and retire at a later age. My wife and I retired at age 62, but another/our story.
It is not how much one makes as much as it is how much one spends.
Spreadsheet out your living costs versus anticipated income. Some income can be counted on (secure) like SS, government pensions, etc. and other income (investments) cannot be as securely counted on.
I know some with no debt structure living large on $25K a year income. I know others with a large debt structure starving on $100K a year income.
At your ages and if you have doubts, one answer might be keep working (assuming you like your jobs and they fit your life) and retire at a later age. My wife and I retired at age 62, but another/our story.
Say what???
I don't know anyone living large on $15K a year income.
People manage on a lot less. They don't necessarily live on a lot less. Something always gets shoved aside -- an adequate diet and/or less heat in the winter and/or less medical care (can't fill Rx) and/or dental care and/or car upkeep (or no car at all). I forget what politician said that $22/hr. is a liveable wage, but I think it is -- and that comes out to $45,760/yr. before taxes. I'm a single person, retired, and I need AT LEAST $30,000 to live a decent life (IMHO). I don't travel, I rarely eat out, I don't buy clothes very often, I don't get my hair colored (just cut), I have no Rx meds, etc., etc. That $30,000/yr. does include taxes -- fed and state -- but it does not include any kind of savings -- no 'cushion' at all. And my current rent is under $500/mo. and my utilities run an average of $55/mo. (total). So tell me how someone lives on $20,000/yr. (and often less).
If I sound angry -- I am. This is a real concern of mine, because I know a lot of seniors who are doing without necessities. REAL necessities.
Buddy, you're preaching to the choir here. You'd be amazed on how little money I've "managed" on in my lifetime. You do what you have to to make it work, or you get out there and earn more if you're that unhappy at what you perceive is being "deprived". Or is it that you believe others owe it to you?
My husband is 64, I'm 65. We got married later in life and neither one of us knew much throughout our lives about saving or investment. So here we are. If we're lucky we might end up with $250,000 in investments, $300,000 when we sell our home plus $3000 approx. from SS per month. We live in CA but are planning on moving to a small town in TN. I wonder if we can manage? I mean we have to manage but it is scary.
For goodness sake. There are plenty of cheap places to live in CA with way better weather than TN. I grew up in CA, lived in TN,too. Hot, very humid summers, and cold and icy in the winter.
Find somewhere cheap to live in CA.
Either way, you make me laugh wondering if you can live on what you have. Sheesh. I'd feel like a millionaire. I live on $877/month SSI and I'm doing just fine.
If you can't make in on your "millions," I don't know what to tell you.
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