Posted on 03/19/2024 5:00:06 AM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
The average American 65 years of age and up earns an annual pre-tax income of $55,335, and that same group spends $52,141 yearly, or $4,345 a month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
That income doesn’t leave a lot of extra cash for unexpected expenses or emergencies. The average American aged 65-69 has about $200,000 in retirement savings, according to an analysis of Federal Reserve data, and might still need to work even when they reach retirement age. High expenses often play a role.
These four categories of spending tend to eat into monthly expenses — here’s how you can shave some zeros off them.
1. Housing
Home costs represent the largest expense for retirees, accounting for 36% of their annual expenses, BLS figures show. Retirees who want to gain a leg up may want to consider downsizing as house prices remain high.
2. Transportation
If you aren’t working as much – or at all – you might want to swap the car for public transit or a bicycle. Transportation is the second-largest spending category, making up $7,160 in annual expenses for retirees, according to BLS figures.
3. Food
At $6,490, food expenditures account for over 12% of annual expenses for those 65 and over. Meal planning is one way to avoid overspending since it involves shopping for food items instead of regularly eating out — which can be an expensive habit.
4. Healthcare
Health spending makes up $7,030 in annual spending for retirees. One way to cut costs when health issues arise is to get easily affordable preventative care. That means staying up to date on screenings and vaccinations.
(Excerpt) Read more at moneywise.com ...
I recently properties that my late parents and I owned in North Dakota (my home for 40 years) and in Minnesota. My primary residence is in Maine. So I paid capital gains taxes to the Feds, North Dakota and Maine for the first home and the Fed, Minnesota, and Maine for the second home.
Fortunately, Maine gave me a tax credit for taxes paid in North Dakota and Minnesota but for each property the total tax was 25 to 30% of the gain.
Please don’t give the government any ideas about taxing us on the way down! :)
But God healed me from an "incurable" disease in my 20's. Then I went through a horrible divorce and custody battle (again hopeless for a man), but God had me win that too. I married again, with a woman as committed as I not just to God and family, but also to being wise with finances. We paid off all our debts except the mortgage (low fixed interest rate) and maxed out our Roth IRA's and put some in Roth 401K's, while also putting kids through college/trade school as long as the kids picked good careers and did their homework on what training could get them where they wanted.
I recently took out two loans related to my home energy project (going solar, making one of our cars an EV, making the home more energy efficient even without solar, and after the solar proved itself good enough I converted my two natural gas appliances to electric to get rid of the nat gas bill). This gives our retirement finances some insulation against the Dims' future stupid energy policies jacking up energy costs. I basically pay a car payment + HELOC payment + tiny power bill in place of what used to be a high power bill + high natural gas bill + tons at the gasoline pump. (Do your homework before going solar and/or EV. They don't fit most people's needs and wants. But they do ours, especially since we still have an ICE pickup for the times an EV won't do.) The car payment and HELOC payment are a normal part of our budget until the 4-year car loan is paid off in two years. I wouldn't have taken on those two debts this close to retirement if they weren't removing other expenses from my budget (the energy costs I'm mostly avoiding by having 80% of my home's power come from homemade energy, including the energy used to charge the EV for 16K miles/year of local driving). When I retire I'll have just the mortgage payment and HELOC payment, with the HELOC payment getting smaller as the HELOC balance is paid down, and it's paid by my budget not having to pay for sky high energy bills and gas at the pump (which on the whole go up except during an election year or a Republican is in office).
It’s illegal to deny a mortgage loan based on the age of the borrower.
And someday - it will be your problem on how to deal with that mortgage.
If the assets outweigh the liabilities, fine. But I was in mortgage banking before I retired. I’ve seen children just walk away from their parents insolvent estates.
Been there done that. We moved from a suburban 4 bedroom home to a small 2/2 cabin in the middle of nowhere at retirement.
Kinda regret it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomadland
Great film. Lots of people live this way. Sometimes I kinda wish I did too.
I also do fasting. 5/2.
Then I read this today. Smells like Bravo Sierra.
If it comes from the American Heart Association, odds are it is BS.
I was looking at this BS in further detail. BS from the Compost.
The intermittent fasting trend may pose risks to your heart
The Washington Post (via MSN.com) ^ | 18 March 2024 | Anahad O'Connor
Posted on 3/19/2024, 11:41:29 AM by zeestephen
The money quote: The study results suggest that people who practice intermittent fasting for long periods of time, particularly those with existing heart conditions or cancer, should be “extremely cautious,” said Victor Wenze Zhong, the lead author and the chair of the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China.
I am on full retirement now, but got divorced 11 years ago. I wanted to keep my rural farm, so had to refinance everything, including the mortgage.
Sometimes fate bites you in the assets.
Some states and counties freeze property taxes for the elderly. Or no tax at all.
$550 a month is high.
It is taxes, upkeep and HOA fees.
Lawn care, snow clearance, gutter cleaning, tree trimming. All the things you used to do yourself but now need to hire done.
I spend nowhere near those amounts.
Home paid for.
I drive to Kroger, 4 miles round trip. Other travel minimal.
I rarely dine out or splurge on expensive foods.
New clothes....what are those?
Medical is affordable, so far.
The intermittent fasting trend may pose risks to your heart
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4225379/posts
The bank loses from the deal..... how?
They live, mortgage is paid.
They die, the house is sold, mortgage is paid off.
They default, the house goes to the bank.
The bank can not lose.
We group all the difficult costs as
#1 Difficult to Manage. Insurance. Home Owners and Liability. Health Medicare Supplemental, Flood, Personal Items Rider, Automobile, Life and Medicare Deducted from SS.
#2 Wasteful. Electronics
Broadband. Broadband Extenders, Phone, Cellular Phone Equipment and Lines, Cable and TIVO, Computers, Audiobook and Music downloads and subscriptions.
We gave up vacations as we live on the coast and what travel we do is to see grandkids in four locations or them to see us.
Yep we plan to build our smaller house, buy one new vehicle and bank a good deal in savings.
“Some states and counties freeze property taxes for the elderly. Or no tax at all.”
In WA we have to periodically re-qualify, though, based on current income. There are three levels of exemption with the qualifying income levels for 2024 at $40K, $48K and $56K. All three levels have to pay some, however.
We’re not in the middle of nowhere. It feels like it but we’re only 2-3 miles outside of town. 10 minutes to shopping.
You have to buy Medicare part B.
Which is around $300 a month. That is about half of the cost.
If you have part D I think it is another $200.
Add on Dental or Eyecare and it adds up fast.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.