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By the time you're withdrawing, your house should be paid off and you no longer need to save anything for retirement so that $80K is all spending money. Further

By the time you're withdrawing, your house should be paid off and you no longer need to save anything for retirement so that $80K is all spending money. Further, you're collecting social security and a good chunk of your healthcare is covered by medicare.

ghaff 5y ago
Even if your house is paid off, depending on the property, you may still have significant costs to budget for. I have an old house and a large property and between property tax, insurance, utilities, and maintenance (both routine and occasional large), I'm probably a good $1K/month.
- throwaway894345 5y ago
  If your property taxes and insurance are high it’s because your house is worth a lot of money. If your house’s value constitutes a large share of your net worth such that taxes and insurance are a burden then it indicates that too much of your equity is in your house and you should downsize.
  - ghaff 5y ago
    I never said they were a "burden." I was indicating that just because you've paid off your mortgage doesn't mean living in a house is free. I think you'll find those numbers are not especially high for a house. (As opposed to a condo which have their own fees.) My house is not especially large--but it is about 200 years old although renovated so budgeting a few hundred dollars per month for maintenance seems reasonable. I honestly doubt that most people could get the cost associated with maintaining a house below $500/month or so.
    - throwaway894345 5y ago
      > I never said they were a "burden." I was indicating that just because you've paid off your mortgage doesn't mean living in a house is free. No one claimed it was free, and if it’s not a burden then what’s the problem? My point is that $80K without a mortgage or retirement allocation leaves significantly more money left over than $80K with those expenses. Where is the problem?
      - ghaff 5y ago
        Of course. But my point was that your "spending money" may still need to budget $10+K/year to keep a roof over your head. (Of course, you can downsize and move someplace cheaper.)

ghaff 5y ago

Even if your house is paid off, depending on the property, you may still have significant costs to budget for. I have an old house and a large property and between property tax, insurance, utilities, and maintenance (both routine and occasional large), I'm probably a good $1K/month.

throwaway894345 5y ago
If your property taxes and insurance are high it’s because your house is worth a lot of money. If your house’s value constitutes a large share of your net worth such that taxes and insurance are a burden then it indicates that too much of your equity is in your house and you should downsize.
- ghaff 5y ago
  I never said they were a "burden." I was indicating that just because you've paid off your mortgage doesn't mean living in a house is free. I think you'll find those numbers are not especially high for a house. (As opposed to a condo which have their own fees.) My house is not especially large--but it is about 200 years old although renovated so budgeting a few hundred dollars per month for maintenance seems reasonable. I honestly doubt that most people could get the cost associated with maintaining a house below $500/month or so.
  - throwaway894345 5y ago
    > I never said they were a "burden." I was indicating that just because you've paid off your mortgage doesn't mean living in a house is free. No one claimed it was free, and if it’s not a burden then what’s the problem? My point is that $80K without a mortgage or retirement allocation leaves significantly more money left over than $80K with those expenses. Where is the problem?
    - ghaff 5y ago
      Of course. But my point was that your "spending money" may still need to budget $10+K/year to keep a roof over your head. (Of course, you can downsize and move someplace cheaper.)