Time to Increase Our Retirement Budget
Вставка
- Опубліковано 10 лип 2024
- After 3 years with the same budget I think it's time to increase it a little. Our buffer is starting to become regular spending so we need to bump it up a little. Thankfully my first "Raise" will kick in and we won't have to increase our income but still have the buffer.
Making it difficult or not too easy to get to your money is a tremendous asset to you and us in our own world. We need to stop and think about what we're doing verses just mindless spending because of the ease of doing it. This "forced scarcity" is largely what allowed us to save what we have and will likely help us keep it later on. Good video Steve.
Turns out over the years we did a lot of stuff right but didn't realize it. "Forced scarcity" was one. Buckets for retirement funds, substitution method etc. Never knew they were actually things till a few years before I retired. Just made sense to us. That stuff worked wonders for us and should carry us through retirement. Thanks. Steve
Always good to be agile and flexible to make the changes. Like the idea of not always cutting back like you said. You worked your entire life to enjoy yourself and give yourself a raise. That is what your Go-Go years are for.
We could spend a little more than we do, just don't have the desire or need to really. So I figure why put ourselves in a tight if we really don't need to just because we can. The whole point of saving it to begin with was to spend right now when I'm retired. Technically we only have to make it till SS then our funds should start going back up. We would really have to screw up bad not to do that. A few extra dollars now makes things a little easier and doesn't harm our future. Thanks. Steve
Steve, I don't know how you can keep on topic with that dog yapping in the background. 🙂
We were thinking the same 😅🤣
Easy! The same way my wife tunes me out.😁 I've learned a lot from her over the years. I think the kids being off for summer break got them riled up. Normally they just lay around. They are my neighbors dogs from around the corner. They have 3 dogs and 4 kids.Their kids are normally the loud ones. Take care. Steve
Insurance premiums will be a real challenge going forward.
Already are. Part of the reason we're having to increase the budget a little. Real Estate taxes ain't helped any either. Got to the point my buffer didn't handle minor emergencies and the rising prices. Take care. Steve
If you’ve had the same budget for 3 years you are doing great! Budgets technically should go up every year or so by a few percentages.
It actually has but that buffer allowed us to not increase it until now. It slowly eat away at the monthly buffer. Now it's time to increase it a little so we can still have a buffer. Thanks. Steve
property tax is up... insurance up... food cost up... everything is up...
Absolutely every expense has gone up significantly
And it’s going to get worse
That is not what biden said, he said prices are coming down. 😂
Exactly what eat up our buffer. Slowly over the past 3 years it's become normal to use it for expenses instead of life's little hiccups. Paying off the truck works as a "raise" for us and gives us that buffer back. Thanks. Steve
I'm glad things are working out for you Steve. I tend to look at my budget at the end of every year and create/adjust it for the next year based on actual spending. Funny thing is, some "accounts" grow each year and others shrink. For instance, insurance tends to increase every year, but now that I'm retired and drive less, gasoline is less expensive. As a result, my overall annual budget hasn't really changed much over the past five or so years.
Keep on keeping on buddy. The wife and I will be enjoying an Alaskan cruise the next week. Should be a blast and much cooler than the weather here in California.
Exactly what happened to us. I screwed up and said I was going to raise it about 4k but not really. The money saved from the truck payment(my raise) will be our buffer. So we're actually going to have the same budget. If I would have kept the payment then we would have had to increase it 4k. Kept the same budget just reallocated the funds that got freed up to our buffer. Health insurance, real estate taxes etc.had started to eat into our buffer after 3 years. Enjoy your cruise. Sure sounds like a lot of fun and a you picked a good time of year to go. Take care. Steve
I just raised mine too, got a part time job at the state park up the road, don't really need the money but it's outside work and what I like to do
Part-time jobs that you enjoy, but don’t need, are great for a variety of reasons.
Having a job has a lot of benefits to it. The money is a bonus. You're doing what you want and like. A perfect retirement if you ask me. Take care. Steve
I decided to grab some investment savings while its during well. Deposit the after tax income into a high savings account. So I basically put the money in a different pocket. Don't need it. Don't want to make withdrawal in bear market. No matter who's the president will be. But will be dedicate to the same budget. Retired 2021 same budget and still savings - what inflation? LoL same here Steve 3 years strong 💪
Aaaahhh Steve, "My Dad was a nail bender" did that hit home! My Dad had a whole coffee can that he had us boys straighten out from time to time.
Nothing was wasted.😂
Thanks again for your common sense approach.
Straightened many a nail myself over the years. Still do it from time to time. I always say dad was a professional and I was his apprentice. 😂 Just a habit you never loose. Thanks. Steve
Congratulations on going 3 years on the same budget! 😊
Did fine but now we are eating into our buffer so it's time to up it a touch. Thanks. Steve
Within about a month our fridge died, we had furnace problems, bought our car coming off lease, and got a new mattress. It just never stops.
Don’t ever lease a vehicle. And hopefully you paid cash for the vehicle you bought when the lease ran out. Until you have a net worth of $2-3 million you should never purchase a new vehicle, you are much better off purchasing a 2-3 year young vehicle and letting some other fool take the 30-40% hit on depreciation.
That's the truth. I was hoping last year was a one off but with insurance and taxes up also it wasn't. Time for an adjustment. Thanks. Steve
Thanks Steve , we are doing similar plan and paying off our house this fall, a year after I retired, no bills makes it even nicer in retirement also you be careful up there with the gutter's bubba.........
That payment actually works as a "Raise" without having extra income. It's money we dedicate from the budget that once it's paid off becomes our buffer. "I love it when a plan comes together" Hannibal Smith form the A Team. This fall I believe will be the last time I clean them. Hire somebody from now on I believe. Getting a little harder every year for me to get up and down the ladder. Good thing we have a rancher with not a bad slope. Thanks. Steve
I don't know if this is a joke or not but if it is true, then that's the American dream come true for him. Same here. I am 53 and retired at 50. One thing I did do to retire early was to get out of the 401K and IRA programs. Bought rental real estate and I am now a Limited Partner in about 3500+ units. I do not work.
I only contribute 5% to get the full company match, that’s it. The 401K plan is designed for you to work until you are about dead. Also, the government does not have their hands on it yet either.
I had rentals, too. It was work.
Good job on your budgeting! We need to evaluate our budget at least yearly. Good video Steve! Take care! Robert
Once we start eating into our buffer on a regular basis we re-evaluate things. Is it because our spending habits have changed or because the prices have just risen that much? This time the prices changed quite a bit the past 3yrs. Tax and health insurance increase played a big part. Take care. Steve
Getting close to retirement here. My last day in the office is August 20 and last day of employment is October 1 because of my vacation. Very excited to get there finally!
Congratulations! The bell will be ringing for you. Looks like your last day Oct. 1st. It's the first Tuesday of the month. I did the same thing. Had Jan. off and retired Feb. 1st. Take care and enjoy it. Steve
Regarding the financial planning teeter-totter, expenses, and income, you make an excellent point about building slack into the system to smooth out the ups and downs and behavioral nudges to control the flow. Thanks, Steve!
Worked the same way when I was working. Always had a few extra dollars going into the checking account. Gave us breathing room if need be or became extra savings. Covered us for the increase in the cost of living also. Didn't have to actually increase our budget but every few years, once the buffer stated to get used on the regular. Saved us many a time for little emergencies and unexpected expenses. Didn't have to use the savings account to cover them. Take care. Steve
You’re doing great Steve. 👍🏻👏🏼
Thanks. We really are doing a lot better than I anticipated. Best decision I've made in years to retire. Take care. Steve
I had the dishwasher and water heater both fail within a couple weeks of the other. Good thing I, like you, have accounted for unexpected expenses and have some additional money set aside and ready for use in events like these. Its all good, no complaints in retirement so far!
Stuff seems to happen all the time. That little buffer helped. Lately it has been eaten up on a regular basis just for living. Things have increased quite a bit over 3 years. Time for a little increase. Take care. Steve
When we do the next year’s budget, we try to guess which major appliance will need replacing and what major house repairs we are looking at.
Matthew 6:34 is “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Exactly! God supplies our needs
Three years was a good run w/o $ change - no worries! Sometimes it goes up, and sometimes it goes down - as time wears on, from what I've seen and heard, the general expenses tend to go down (overall) once you hit 70 or so (barring disaster). Once you are truly debt-free it seems to be a lot simpler (or so I've found).
I've seen the decline in spending from watching mom and dad over the years. Happened right around 70-72. I just technically have to make it till SS then 70 and all is great. I'd have to screw up real bad not to do that. A few extra dollars now won't make a difference but will make things a little easier now. Take care. Steve
Congratulations! Your doing well!
Dennis
That buffer helped but with the increase of things the past 3 years it's been eaten away. Thanks and Take care. Steve
Thanks for the video. I figured out our budget before I retired. It didn't change much from my working days except I had to start paying for my own internet and Obamacare would be costing us another $100 a month plus more expensive copays compared to work insurance. I saved up a bunch of cash to spend until we decide to take Social Security. So far it has worked out!
That's a great way to do things. Our problem came from just the natural increase in the cost of living. Real estate tax, health insurance etc. Worked fine till now and has started to eat away at our buffer. Time for a little adjustment. Thanks. Steve
I am going to do the same. We have been fine but had major expenses this year like a new septic field, had to replace part of the driveway & sidewalk that tree roots had destroyed, after taking the trees down. So looking at raising ours for next year too, inflation is still a thing also. I like to feel like we have what we need and want without being crazy extravagant or having to scrape by.
You did a good job. I’m new here so I’m not familiar with you and I don’t know how long you’ve been retired. A lot of people would be destroyed by those expenses, and are not able to maintain their homes properly. Successful people are prepared.
Exactly how I feel. Kind of middle of the road. Not extravagant or scraping by. Knowing we have enough to cover our needs and some wants every month with out worry is a great feeling. Our little buffer covers some minor hiccups and the emergency fund covers the major ones. We plan to increase our budget when our buffer starts getting used on the regular. Now is one of those times. Thanks. Steve
Always enjoy your videos. November-January 2025 will help me make any adjustments and yes I am referring to the presidential election outcome.
Elections have consequences for sure. It can have an impact on expenses, taxes, insurance etc. Smart to pay attention to things I believe. Keeps surprises away. Take care. Steve
You got it made big skeet. Good job!
I'll be honest (WE DO). Best decision I've made in a long time was to retire. It's not the retirement they push on everybody (active,fulfilling,purposeful etc.) but we love it. Thanks. Steve
Steve,
$4000 additional per year is more than 1 month of additional expenses based on your prior monthly budget of $3300 or ~10%. Sounds like you are running inline with inflation in the low 3% range per year, good job 👍.
👍
Exactly! Part of the reason I added 10% to our actual budget of $3k. That $300 buffer was starting to get eat into over the past 3 years. Insurance and taxes have rose the past 3 years quite a bit. Time for an adjustment. Thanks. Steve
We have been doing good but since my wife went on Medicare we have to come up with the out of pocket expenses for her cancer medication. That’s gonna be our challenge this year. Fortunately there is a cap on drug expenses.
🙏🏻 Prayers for the best outcome! That is the important thing.
@@denisep.98 Yes I agree. Thank you so much, prayers are always appreciated.
Hate to hear your wife is going through such a major health problem such as cancer. It's a terrible thing to have to go through. It is good there is a cap I just hope it's not more than you can handle. Both health and money problems at the same time can wear on a person and can become depressing. Try to keep your hope and spirits up. Maintain your health as best you can. If you're not healthy it will be hard to help her. Blessings and prayers for you both. Steve
Hey Steve, I remember watching your channel before you retired. You said you weren’t sure how long you might stay retired. I believe you joked that you were having so much fun planning for retirement, after six months or a year, you might take a job just so you could start planning for retirement again! Now that you have been enjoying financial freedom for about a year and a half I was wondering if your thoughts on rejoining the workforce have evolved? I quit my corporate career the same week you did. The longer I stay out of it the less inclined I am to ever work for an employer again. At this point it would be real hard psychologically to go back to selling my time to someone else, at least for me.
I remember that video and your channel name. Great to hear from you. I believe you're from Pa. I have an Aunt in the eastern part near Pulaski on the border with Ohio.Funny you mention this. A couple things happened this week that changed that around and I figured that's what I'll do Monday's video about. I'm at the point you are now and would have a hard time giving up what I have now for a job. Everything changes once you retire for sure. Thanks. Steve
Sadly my parents say, many people die from lack of money to pay for medical. They're in their 90s now. I'm planning on living to 100 and my costs doubling every 10 to 20 years.
I've heard that but I've never known anybody it happened to. Our life expectancy ain't near what yours is. Doubling every 20 years is about right. Kind of what we figure also. Thanks. Steve
We are both very frugal and it doesn’t take a lot for us either. They only extra for us is our travels.
Frugality only takes us so far and we're there. The rise in taxes and health insurance has started eating into the buffer on a regular basis.Time for a slight increase in the budget or reduce lifestyle. I chose the increase. Sure we could make things work for another year or two but thankfully we don't have to. Thanks. Steve
The problem most couples have is one is a spender and the other is not. It would be great to have a partner that is frugal and careful with their money. I’ll add price increases have exploded our budget. Still on track Steve to retire in October! ⏰🛎️
The price increases are what has eat up our buffer these past 3 years. Thankfully my built in "raise" will give it back to us. It was money dedicated to a bill we will no longer have so it becomes our buffer. I've mentioned it before that without the wife I'd be broke and living under a bridge somewhere. She's the family banker and keeps an eye on the month to month like a hawk. It really helps if you are both on the same page. Let me know when you call it a career and the bell will be ringing. Got you down right now for the 5th of November bell ring. Take care. Steve
@@retirementcorner thanks Steve - live in RVA and want to take you out for lunch and get a personal cowbell ring! I’ll email you!
Hello brother ❤hope y have more coming 😊
Hello. Take care and thanks for watching. Steve
0:47 It really forces you to think it over, if you have to dig it up from an undisclosed location, then take it to a shop to get converted to paper currency.
Just a tip... Glass Mason jars will break if hit by a shovel hard enough.
Now you found out why I really moved the garden. That vault was full.Kind of the way I mark the stash.😂 Digging, broken glass, reseeding, conversion etc. That's the real struggle in retirement. Take care. Steve
@@retirementcorner With gold and silver so high, you picked a good time to convert.
Going forward, cap the ends of a length of 8" pvc drain pipe. It's easy to dig a hole with a post hole digger and the pvc won't break when hit it with a shovel as you make a future withdraws.
Hi Steve. What is the difference between real estate tax and personal property tax. They sound like the same thing?
The real estate tax is just that. Tax on any real estate you own. Home, vacant land, investment property etc. Personal property is auto, trailer, motorcycles and things like that. Just the way it works here and the rates are different according to the city,county,town you live in. Take care. Steve
So you pay annual tax on cars and motorcycles! I learned something new as I had no idea such a tax existed in the US! Does every state levy such personal property tax or is it unique to Virginia. I’ve never heard of anyone in Canada paying property tax on a car (other than sales tax when it is first purchased).
Welcome to America where we never saw something that we wouldn't tax. I'm not sure about all the states but I know a lot of them do similar. It might be called something else but it's for the same things. Boats, Rv's etc. are also included in personal property. It goes by the value so it goes down as the personal property devalues. We've always had 2 vehicles but only one was worth enough to incur taxes. Take care. Steve
I spend the way you spend. I just buy what is needed. I keep a low cost of living
Our low cost of living made it possible for me to retire when I did. Of course having enough money to cover our lifestyle didn't hurt. When you have your expenses and debt in check retirement ain't all that hard to accomplish. Take care. Steve
@@retirementcorner thank you so much for your reply
🤘🏻
Thanks. Steve
Glad to see you Steve Thought we were going to have to do a welfare check on you.
Just being lazy. It's hot and things are going great so I had nothing puzzling me or giving us problems. Figured I'd lay around and aggravate the wife a little. Don't want her to think I forgot about her.😁 Take care. Steve
Hard to listen with barking dog 😮
Totally agree. Sorry for the problem. It was my neighbors dogs around the corner. His kids had them riled up playing in the yard. Usually they just lay around. Better his dogs and not the kids. They are a lot noisier. Take care and thanks for trying to watch anyway. Steve
How can you put up with that constant dog barking?
Probably his dog,use to it
Honestly don't pay any attention to them. Belong to my neighbor around the corner. His kids being off for summer break had them riled up playing in the yard. Usually they just lay around. You should hear his kids. The dogs don't have anything on them. 3 houses away if they were next door it would be a different story. Not as bad as it sounds in person. The camera and mic give a little bit different perception than in person. Take care. Steve
If you don’t need to increase the budget and it’s working I wouldn’t. Steve did your wife work as well and retired?
With the price increases on everything the past 3yrs. it has eaten into our buffer. Sure we could make it work for a couple more years, but why if we don't have to. My wife worked the first 2yrs. we were married. She has been a homemaker since we had kids. Thanks. Steve
Hi Steve
Hello John. Thanks for watching. Steve
Come on Steve, it's time to come clean. We know you and "The Baby" are living high on the hog.
Go ahead and post some of those "Cruise" videos you have laid up. We'd like to see your trips to the Caribbean, Cancun and up the west coast to Alaska.
Don't hold out on your loyal followers, boss. 🤪
Wished I had some to upload and when I do you'll be the first to know. Most of our trips are local civil war sites, parks, historic sites and different fishing spots. Been busy on all that this year. We could go to 1 a week and never get farther than 20 miles. Got a little something planed for the fall when the weather cools. If and when it happens there will be a video. Thanks. Steve
well with the inflation that has been going up I would say time for a raise. CPI came out today slightly lower than expected ....which means inflation still going up just not as much. Reason for the stock market pull back....things are getting in the broke column. Been waiting for this to happen a good 10-15% pull back and recovery then I would feel good about me firing myself.
Great comment and my comment and yours align.
Your plan is working!! Good job Steve! So far, my plan is working too!
I was expecting a decent pull back this year but it hasn't happened so far. Got a few dollars on the side I want to activate when it does.The inflation is what eat into our buffer these past 3 years. Time to increase it a little. Thanks. Steve
My wife and me have been married 33 years for the first time ever we spent 300 at grocery store.
Fed chair Powell said he hadnt talked to Biden in two years despite inflation.No suprise there.
You feeling it to? Thanks for the like JD va
No surprise. You're right. It's just hard to keep up with the price of living. Frugality only takes us so far then we have to have more income somehow. $300 is just crazy. Take care. Steve
Thanks, but I’m out. Dog barking got to me
Better than an annoying Karen.
Sorry but thanks for stopping by. Neighbors dogs got no control over when they bark. Must have been the fact the kids are on summer break and got them riled up playing in the yard. Usually they just lay around. The dogs don't have nothing on his kids as far as noise. Take care. Steve
Damn that yapping dog is annoying and made this video hard to follow. Good message though 👍
Sorry about that it was my neighbors dogs from around the corner. The kids being off for summer break must have been messing around and stirred them up. Rarely hear them, mostly they just lay around. I appreciate you toughing it out. Thanks and take care. Steve