As others have said, this thread contains a wealth of info. Like many others, I started a spreadsheet a few years before retirement and tracked my expenses to arrive at an understanding not only of how much they were but where the money was going. I've been using Quicken for years, and it was fairly painless to do the work. But putting it all into that spreadsheet gave it a more meaningful context that related directly to my retirement goal.
I've led a pretty fulfilling life so far, and didn't plan on any major changes in retirement, other than getting out of a major urban area. I happened to find a nice house in a great location in an area with a significantly lower cost of living. At least for most things, as my auto insurance went up because people here are more likely to drive drunk or hit a deer, and my house is more likely to burn down if a wildfire comes my way. I was able to take advantage of the housing bubble bursting because I had my spreadsheet and knew what my expenses would be. A good realtor helped me understand what my old house was worth, and when I found a retirement home at half that price I knew I was capable of retiring. A micro managing manager and a string of unhealthy checkups were enough to close the deal, and I retired at age 54.
Fast forward 6 years next month, and things are still on an even keel. My expenses have tracked pretty true to the old spreadsheet, and though my portfolio hasn't exactly set the world on fire, it's still managed to grow a bit in that time. Like many here, I have no trouble staying busy, but now it's doing things I mostly enjoy and quite a few things I never would have had time for before retirement. And that's probably the biggest return I've realized from retirement, finally getting around to all those wishes while I'm still healthy enough to enjoy them. All that time chasing a paycheck obscured that reality. Usta be I had more money than time, now it's reversed. But the important thing is that I have more time and enough money.
Going forward, my biggest concern is keeping up with medical expenses. Once I qualify for Medicare, my employee health insurance stops and I'll be at the mercy of whatever cockeyed scheme our so called leaders have dreamed up. I have no doubt that my premiums will increase well beyond the $140/month I pay now, and on a fixed income (no COLA with my pension) that's a daunting prospect.
I'm getting a bit of a preview of how it might look at the end, as my deceased mother's 87 year old partner has recently moved into an assisted living facility capable of caring for those afflicted with dementia. His pension and SS come to about $1500 a month, and the cost of his care is more than double that. With only about $100K in savings, it won't be too long before it's gone. But when he gets down to $80K he'll qualify for a veteran's benefit that will make it last a bit longer. I'm helping to sell off a piece of land he owns as well as most of his other possessions to further strengthen his financial position. The only saving grace is that he retired about 20 years ago and has had some time to enjoy life. And at the end, that's what really matters, isn't it?
