Hi Julie, I'm proud to say that I will be retiring in 8 weeks and will be receiving social security at that point, balanced my check book today and realized that I started receiving my pension this week. Life is good
Hi, Julie! Great video; you're doing great! Like many people who grew up poor, I'm frugal to a fault. I watched my income and outgo like a hawk all throughout my time in the Air Force and then teaching high school and now in my retirement. I always was one to know exactly where every single dollar of mine went. Now I've got a good nestegg, a reliable retirement income, and not very many expenses. I'm living in a tall building downtown and what with grocery delivery, I decided I didn't need my truck anymore and sold it! No more gas, mx, or insurance for me, heh! I've got about 6 months left on my lease here and I'm ramping up now to go live overseas for a while, where I will self-insure for medical, which is a bit risky, but (a) I'm extremely healthy at 63 with no chronic conditions, (b) health care is available and super cheap in Southest Asia if I do end up needing something, and (c) I will sign up for Medicare when the time comes. I have Tricare from my military retirement, so if something were to happen, all I have to do it get myself back to the US to use that.
Julie, I really like your approach. I track my expenses but did not think of separating fixed and variable expenses, this makes sense. Thank you for sharing this !
My mother sent me a spiral bound budgeting book when I got married. (There were no spreadsheets back in those days). Anyway, it was crucial, because I really was a fish out of water. So knowing how to budget turned out to be very important. Hence, your spreadsheet link could be very helpful for people who do not know a lot about living expenses during retirement.
Love that budget spreadsheet. I put all my monthly expenses on it. I’ll be retiring in May, so I should start practicing now budgeting and tracking every single expense. I’ll start that in Jan. after the holidays. Thanks for sharing. You are a wealth of knowledge.
I love how you track your spending. I am still trying to track food spending. I fell off the wagon on food tracking when was traveling. Some meals out were $250.00 so I just had fun🙂. I will start again in January.
Looks like you are right on track! I seem to spend much more money around the holidays and monthly in general. My partner and son spend a lot of discretionary money. It just adds up. Your bills seem much lower than mine per month on average and I live in a modest 1560 square foot home. Live close in to Portland. I’d like to retire sooner rather than later, but fear my spending will need to come down much more before that becomes a reality. Cheers!
Thanks! Yes, I spend a lot on holiday stuff too. I tracked my spending for a whole year to make a really accurate budget and see where I could cut down. ☺
I don’t budget either. I just have a rough estimate of what I want to spend. I do seem to have unexpected bills about once a month. Currently I’m treating my dog for a UTI at $1200 so far. Before that was a car window motor that went out so had to pay $350. I had to replace the wheels on my vehicle due to corrosion at $800 too.
Do you use LED lights? Or had your house checked for energy saving tips like more insulation, weather strips for your windows and door frame?? Etc.. Blanket for your water tank? Unless you have a tankless water heater!
I always wanted to get an energy audit on my home so i know where to focus on saving energy. Anyone ever done that? I want to know how expensive that is.$$$$$
Not sure what this means. Because saying that a tax cut has a cost to it implies that you have already decided how much money to spend and you’re trying to come up with that amount. A tax cut is just letting people keep more of THEIR OWN MONEY. Whether they are a billionaire or not shouldn’t matter at all.
for irregular expenses like house maintenence - how are you approaching budgeting? while we’re still working we put money aside monthly and if there are no costs, it builds up in case of something bigger. but when you’re retired I’m not sure how to approach those kinds of sinking funds. Maybe something like ‘if its income from social security treat it like a salary so try and put some aside each month to avoid surprises’ but ‘if its money drawn down from retirement savings, just leave it where it is, let it grow’?
I tracked my spending for over a year, so my monthly budget amount is pretty accurate for house maintenance. If a big, unexpected expense comes up I would pull that money out of bucket #1. It's like a cash emergency fund (HYSA, I bonds). ☺
How different would your situation be if you had to pay rent or a mortgage? Would you be in trouble? Also, seems that you live in a low cost of living area. Is that so? This is so helpful. Oh, BTW, if you have an Aldi's near you, you might check them out. My hubby and I love this place. We just got a new one in our city and the selection is fantastic. Our grocery bill has dropped significantly. Anyway, thank you for this. Your posts are always so very helpful giving us tons of insight!
It would be VERY different for me if I had a mortgage payment. I worked really hard to pay my mortage off before I retired because I knew it would be really helpful. I live in Washington state. It's not the lowest cost of living area, but it is better that many places! We do not have an Aldis here but I've heard they are great! You're welcome! ☺
Excellent work with your budget, Julie! I suspect most folk don't have a clue as to how much they spend from month to month. Remember Kmart Layaway? You could shop early, Kmart would then hold the good while you made payments over time. When paid in full, you would get the goods. I wonder what ever happened to the money paid if you could not pay in full in time for Christmas? Would Kmart give you a refund? Or was it too bad, so sad.
While, I never budget my 1-year monthly normal expenses in retirement have been a lot less than planned. Unfortunately, every month there has also, been an unplanned one-time expense of between $1,000 to $3,000 which, is coved by withdrawing money from my personal savings. These items have included attendance for out of State funerals, major plumbing repairs, new washer and dryer machines, and family member requests for money, etc. So, to cover these costs during my 2nd-year in retirement, I applied to have my monthly social security checks deposited into my bank account starting in December 2024. (smile ... smile).
Hi Julie, I'm on aca bronze plan. We keep our finances low taking out 21,000 over the year our of our IRA. It looked like to me if we went below 19,078 we wouldn't qualify for ACA and would be on Medicaid. Could you share how little you took out to get zero charge? We didn't need this amount that we took out, so we placed the extra money in a money market. We are growing the money market to have when the market takes a down turn. Ny savings looks a lot like your even retired at 58.5 . But I'm married and my husband has SS
Does everyone water their lawn by you? I live in MN and not only do I not have a sprinkler system, but I have never (I've been in my home for 23 years) once, watered my lawn. If it gets dry (August), I let it go dormant. It always come back nicely. I have my own well, so I don't have a "water bill," but I pay for the electricity that powers it. Maybe an expense that could be cut in the future if necessary?
Julie has talked over the course of her channel about the work it took to pay off her house and car and save in order to be able to retire early, so although I agree that many people are trying to live on less than $3,400, the fact that she’s successful at it-handling her business-is impressive!
It took a lot of hard work and saving to be able to live on that amount. Many people have commented that they live on a lot more than that. Each person has different living expenses!
Hi Julie, I'm proud to say that I will be retiring in 8 weeks and will be receiving social security at that point, balanced my check book today and realized that I started receiving my pension this week. Life is good
Congrats!! 🎉 That is very exciting!! ☺
Nicely done! Thanks for visibility into how you're doing. Happy Holidays!
Thank you! You are welcome!! Happy holidays! ☺
Hi, Julie! Great video; you're doing great! Like many people who grew up poor, I'm frugal to a fault. I watched my income and outgo like a hawk all throughout my time in the Air Force and then teaching high school and now in my retirement. I always was one to know exactly where every single dollar of mine went. Now I've got a good nestegg, a reliable retirement income, and not very many expenses. I'm living in a tall building downtown and what with grocery delivery, I decided I didn't need my truck anymore and sold it! No more gas, mx, or insurance for me, heh! I've got about 6 months left on my lease here and I'm ramping up now to go live overseas for a while, where I will self-insure for medical, which is a bit risky, but (a) I'm extremely healthy at 63 with no chronic conditions, (b) health care is available and super cheap in Southest Asia if I do end up needing something, and (c) I will sign up for Medicare when the time comes. I have Tricare from my military retirement, so if something were to happen, all I have to do it get myself back to the US to use that.
Thank you! Nice! Sounds like you have it all figured out. 🙂
Thank you for attaching the excel monthly retirement budget template. This will help me with my personal retirement budget come January 1st.
You're welcome! ☺
Julie, I really like your approach. I track my expenses but did not think of separating fixed and variable expenses, this makes sense. Thank you for sharing this !
You're welcome! ☺
My mother sent me a spiral bound budgeting book when I got married. (There were no spreadsheets back in those days). Anyway, it was crucial, because I really was a fish out of water. So knowing how to budget turned out to be very important. Hence, your spreadsheet link could be very helpful for people who do not know a lot about living expenses during retirement.
That was a good gift! Yes, I hope it will be helpful! ☺
Love that budget spreadsheet. I put all my monthly expenses on it. I’ll be retiring in May, so I should start practicing now budgeting and tracking every single expense. I’ll start that in Jan. after the holidays. Thanks for sharing. You are a wealth of knowledge.
I like it too!! Starting in January is a great plan! Thank you! ☺
Congratulations on being under budget!
Thank you! 😁
I'm also a veggie/fruit gardener, a retired teacher, and a Mimi! We're very similar! Thanks for your videos. My husband retires in 3 months.
Twins! 😄 You are welcome! 😁
I love how you track your spending. I am still trying to track food spending. I fell off the wagon on food tracking when was traveling. Some meals out were $250.00 so I just had fun🙂. I will start again in January.
Food spending can crazy expensive!! 😄
This video inspired me to do a short video on my channel on why I do not budget.
Keep up the good work, Julie. Merry Christmas to you and your family 🎄
Thank you so much and Merry Christmas to you too! ☺
Looks like you are right on track! I seem to spend much more money around the holidays and monthly in general. My partner and son spend a lot of discretionary money. It just adds up. Your bills seem much lower than mine per month on average and I live in a modest 1560 square foot home. Live close in to Portland. I’d like to retire sooner rather than later, but fear my spending will need to come down much more before that becomes a reality. Cheers!
Thanks! Yes, I spend a lot on holiday stuff too. I tracked my spending for a whole year to make a really accurate budget and see where I could cut down. ☺
Great job staying within your budget. The next 6 months should put you way under budget.
Thank you! I am hoping so! 😀
I never budget but most people should.
Yes, it's a good thing to do. ☺
I don’t budget either. I just have a rough estimate of what I want to spend. I do seem to have unexpected bills about once a month. Currently I’m treating my dog for a UTI at $1200 so far. Before that was a car window motor that went out so had to pay $350. I had to replace the wheels on my vehicle due to corrosion at $800 too.
@@silentnot4812 Pets are expensive! 😬
Do you use LED lights? Or had your house checked for energy saving tips like more insulation, weather strips for your windows and door frame?? Etc.. Blanket for your water tank? Unless you have a tankless water heater!
I do use LED lights! Thanks for the tips! 😁
I always wanted to get an energy audit on my home so i know where to focus on saving energy. Anyone ever done that? I want to know how expensive that is.$$$$$
In my state it is free, even though taxpayers basically pay for it. so check with your state government!
I hope the ACA funding is not needed for billionaire's tax cuts
I hope so too!
🤡🤡🤡
TDS on full display!!
Not sure what this means. Because saying that a tax cut has a cost to it implies that you have already decided how much money to spend and you’re trying to come up with that amount. A tax cut is just letting people keep more of THEIR OWN MONEY. Whether they are a billionaire or not shouldn’t matter at all.
Not to be political, but your posting of your budget today is unintentionally appropriate.
Hey, Congress! You listening??? 😀
😁
Have you considered setting up budget billing with your utility companies? The consistency helps with the personal budgeting process.
I did that with my power company long ago. So it is an option. Thanks! ☺
for irregular expenses like house maintenence - how are you approaching budgeting? while we’re still working we put money aside monthly and if there are no costs, it builds up in case of something bigger. but when you’re retired I’m not sure how to approach those kinds of sinking funds. Maybe something like ‘if its income from social security treat it like a salary so try and put some aside each month to avoid surprises’ but ‘if its money drawn down from retirement savings, just leave it where it is, let it grow’?
I tracked my spending for over a year, so my monthly budget amount is pretty accurate for house maintenance. If a big, unexpected expense comes up I would pull that money out of bucket #1. It's like a cash emergency fund (HYSA, I bonds). ☺
I do the Dave Ramsey FPU stuff. Like you, I will be debt free when I retire. As of now, the house is the only debt I have now.
That's awesome!! 😀
How different would your situation be if you had to pay rent or a mortgage? Would you be in trouble? Also, seems that you live in a low cost of living area. Is that so? This is so helpful. Oh, BTW, if you have an Aldi's near you, you might check them out. My hubby and I love this place. We just got a new one in our city and the selection is fantastic. Our grocery bill has dropped significantly. Anyway, thank you for this. Your posts are always so very helpful giving us tons of insight!
It would be VERY different for me if I had a mortgage payment. I worked really hard to pay my mortage off before I retired because I knew it would be really helpful. I live in Washington state. It's not the lowest cost of living area, but it is better that many places! We do not have an Aldis here but I've heard they are great! You're welcome! ☺
Is fixing and or replacing your car planned for? New toilet, buying an appliance, furnace maintenance, broken window, leaky roof,….?
Yes! I have a video coming up in January all about that. ☺
Thanks for the video! 🎉
You're welcome! 😁
Nice video Julie. I write down all my spending except for gifts and donations. I don't budget as I don't really have to. I don't spend much.
Thank you! Nice! ☺
I need a printer...great video!
@@brianrose2487 Thanks 😊
Excellent work with your budget, Julie! I suspect most folk don't have a clue as to how much they spend from month to month. Remember Kmart Layaway? You could shop early, Kmart would then hold the good while you made payments over time. When paid in full, you would get the goods. I wonder what ever happened to the money paid if you could not pay in full in time for Christmas? Would Kmart give you a refund? Or was it too bad, so sad.
Thank you! I DO remember Kmart layaway! 😄
While, I never budget my 1-year monthly normal expenses in retirement have been a lot less than planned. Unfortunately, every month there has also, been an unplanned one-time expense of between $1,000 to $3,000 which, is coved by withdrawing money from my personal savings. These items have included attendance for out of State funerals, major plumbing repairs, new washer and dryer machines, and family member requests for money, etc. So, to cover these costs during my 2nd-year in retirement, I applied to have my monthly social security checks deposited into my bank account starting in December 2024. (smile ... smile).
Unplanned expenses can be a killer! Taking SS seems like a good solution! 🙂
Hi Julie. 31 yrs. Teaching. I'm done. Too hard. Love u voice and I'm scared bc mortgage and car note...but I. Ant go on. I'm almost 65
Hello! I totally get that. I couldn't go on either. You made it longer than I did! 😁
Hi Julie, I'm on aca bronze plan. We keep our finances low taking out 21,000 over the year our of our IRA. It looked like to me if we went below 19,078 we wouldn't qualify for ACA and would be on Medicaid. Could you share how little you took out to get zero charge? We didn't need this amount that we took out, so we placed the extra money in a money market. We are growing the money market to have when the market takes a down turn. Ny savings looks a lot like your even retired at 58.5 . But I'm married and my husband has SS
I told ACA my net income in 2025 would be $36,792. It makes a big difference what state you live in too. I live in Washington state. ☺
Did you by chance do a post on how your medical premiums will go to "$0"?
I did!😁 ua-cam.com/video/N3kSHc_KRqI/v-deo.html
Does everyone water their lawn by you? I live in MN and not only do I not have a sprinkler system, but I have never (I've been in my home for 23 years) once, watered my lawn. If it gets dry (August), I let it go dormant. It always come back nicely. I have my own well, so I don't have a "water bill," but I pay for the electricity that powers it. Maybe an expense that could be cut in the future if necessary?
It's very hot here in the summers. Yes, most people water their lawns here! 👍
How do u get ur cell phone down that cheap? I have no home internet so I have to have unlimited wifi and hot spot, but my bill is over $120 a month.
I use Cricket. Mint is even cheaper! 😀
I hear good things about US Mobile might be worth taking a look.
@Izzy_Gtz
Thank you.
@HappyonMonday
Not sure if anything but att will pick up in the boondocks where I live but I'll ask. Thanks.
@@samanthadodd8112 Cricket uses AT&T's network and towers, so it might!
Does anyone know if ACA covers cancer?
Yes! (ACA) requires most health plans to cover cancer treatment. ☺
@@HappyonMonday Thank you!
🤘
$3,400 a month is not frugal. Most working class don't get that kind of money
Julie has talked over the course of her channel about the work it took to pay off her house and car and save in order to be able to retire early, so although I agree that many people are trying to live on less than $3,400, the fact that she’s successful at it-handling her business-is impressive!
@user-bg9em7ch6k agreed but many single older females don't have anything saved and are working low paying jobs. So not realistic for most people
It took a lot of hard work and saving to be able to live on that amount. Many people have commented that they live on a lot more than that. Each person has different living expenses!
Can you share what resort you stayed at in Mexico? I'm looking for something affordable but nice for my boyriend and myself.
Yes! We stayed at the Oleo all inclusive resort. But we have also stayed at Dreams Sapphire all inclusive resort. Both were wonderful! ☺