I own a home I bought for cash in a state with low property taxes and no state income tax (WA State). As a retiree living off an investment portfolio managed to reduce dividends and concentrate on capital gains, I almost have to volunteer to owe any Federal income taxes.

I started my SS benefit last month. That combined with 2 small pensions I'm getting from jobs I had more than 30 years ago, will more than cover my monthly expenses. Over the last 10 years, my portfolio withdrawals averaged 3/10ths of 1%.

It very possible I won't make a portfolio withdrawal until my RMDs start in 3-1/2 years at age 73.

intercst


It can vary a ton. I did well saving but I was never planning to get married and I ended up marrying someone who is a great person and has a great family but not much money wise so we are mostly living off of my savings. I know our spending is a lot higher than I ever expected. Every time I think oh, we are doing well this month something happens or I forget about homeowners insurance (there goes a few thousand), car insurance (a few more), etc.

I thought with a paid off house we'd spend on the low end $3-4,000 a month excluding taxes but it is way higher. Things like insurance (all types) have skyrocketed, any type of home repair that you can't do yourself seems to have doubled or tripled in cost, etc.

This is a bit off topic but I've had some adventures with my hvac system which is critical in the Phoenix area. I found a solid company and was talking to the guy who is also the owner. He worked at another company for a long time and they were valued around $15M but the owner wanted to take it to $20M before selling it. In order to try to get there he or maybe with consultants decided every tech has to have an average bill of $700 at the end of every month. This guy I was talking to said he was the lead and he would have to do the firing and he thought it wasn't right so he left and took several of the best employees with him to start his own company, the other company has dropped to $9M valuation.

But this is why people are get screwed by many contractors. Either private equity or other demands that require the technician/contractor to make $x per month and causes many of them to recommend work that is completely unnecessary.

Rich