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I have to make a budget. I do allow myself to buy things on line & during the cold spell we are having, have now ordered groceries on line for the first time. I stay within the check I receive from ss but trying to get it down so I am under budget.
I spent my whole life looking for ways to cut more fat from my budget. Retirement is for enjoying the money I worked so hard to save. If I have to try and cut back again, it would have to be from something catastrophic that has happened to me. I will worry about that if it happens and not now.
my view too . retirement is our reward for a life time of saving , investing and not buying or doing some things we wanted .
we always intended to live better in retirement then we did while working .
I don't have a budget, nor have I ever had one. I have always just spent less than I took in, which came naturally to me and still does. However, I know there is some "fat" now, especially since I retired. If push came to shove, I could save money by:
1. Eating out less often (even though I do not presently eat at fancy restaurants).
2. Giving up my excellent seats at the Los Angeles Opera and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
3. Scaling back or eliminating charitable giving.
5. Stop all traveling. (Not that I travel all that much. Last trip was five months ago).
This is a hard question to answer as we could all look at the question differently.
I think you need several parts to the budget.
What you have to spend each year - rent/mortgage, taxes, utilities etc. The ones that are fixed can use the actual costs. Ones that vary can have a safety cushion added for additional use or increasing prices. Lets say 10% fat.
Next comes basic living expenses such as food, clothing, and the basic items you expect to buy. Again add 10% for safety.
Next comes items you can do without. Vacations, gifts to children, entertainment etc. This could all be fat.
You also need a capital budget, new car, home repairs, etc. This is not really fat but you have some ability to postpone the expenditure. This budget can cover a number of years.
I don't have a budget, nor have I ever had one. I have always just spent less than I took in, which came naturally to me and still does. However, I know there is some "fat" now, especially since I retired. If push came to shove, I could save money by:
1. Eating out less often (even though I do not presently eat at fancy restaurants).
2. Giving up my excellent seats at the Los Angeles Opera and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
3. Scaling back or eliminating charitable giving.
5. Stop all traveling. (Not that I travel all that much. Last trip was five months ago).
Same here. We never had a budget and just spent less than we took in. If we had to, we could get rid of one house and two vehicles, as well as cable on the remaining house and a few other things.
I have always absolutely detested the idea of a budget determining how much and on what I can spend my money. Even in the days of barely getting by, I had no budget. I rarely pay any attention to how much I spend in any one month period. I review a few times a year. If expenses are getting too high over a several month period, then it would be time to think about cutting back and postponing future expenses. A general idea of what fits within our income is all that is needed. Some people like to count every penny they spend. I would rather make a major cutback or get a part time job rather than deal with that.
I have always absolutely detested the idea of a budget determining how much and on what I can spend my money. Even in the days of barely getting by, I had no budget. I rarely pay any attention to how much I spend in any one month period. I review a few times a year. If expenses are getting too high over a several month period, then it would be time to think about cutting back and postponing future expenses. A general idea of what fits within our income is all that is needed. Some people like to count every penny they spend. I would rather make a major cutback or get a part time job rather than deal with that.
I view a budget as a tool and not like in government budget where it's a not-to-exceed spending limit by line item.
Sounds like your method works for you and that's what matters. Good for you.
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