Retirement is one period in our lives that will definitely come unless you choose not to stop working. However, getting started on your retirement journey can be a bit tasking and frustrating especially if you don’t have an idea of what is included in a retirement budget. There are indeed expenses to watch out for when planning for retirement.
These expenses keep you in check of what your retirement budget will look like and helps you prepare ahead to meet up with the retirement options.
If you have considered any of the retirement communities in the US, it is pertinent to know what the cost will look like or be with this you will have an idea as to what and how much your retirement plan will be.
This article has put up together important expenses that should be found in a retirement budget if you are truly planning for a successful retirement. These budgeted expenses help you plan a retirement that will not stress you because you were adequately prepared.
Here are 9 important costs to include in your retirement budget:
1. Housing:
Housing is one of the major expenses included in a budget hence looking out for a neighborhood that will fit what you want or expect should be included in your budget. With the proper search of retirement places and their cost, you might just have an idea of what to go for and as such plan approximately to the budget.
The cost of housing varies depending on the community you are looking out for. However, there are ways to the downside this very expense.
First, when you deal with your mortgage bills by paying them off, it reduces major expenses which you have to make monthly.
Or you could choose to go for a lower housing option that cost less. Getting a smaller home will go a long way to reduce the home bill payment you might likely face.
However, depending on what demographic area you are looking out to retire from, there will always be a housing option for you.
This is another expense to look out for in retirement. There are some states in the US where you need to pay income tax, although not all states require tax payment, especially income tax on retirement savings.
For example, Florida does not require tax payment when it involves income tax however sales taxes are required. Also, some states give a discount rate on tax for retirees. Whenever you withdraw, for each transaction, an income tax is required from your traditional 401(k).
However, there are ways you can divert or reduce this retirement tax when withdrawing if you strategically do it.
It is also important to know that when planning for retirement, taxes such as the social security tax should be considered. Know the Federal and state tax income for each state.
If you plan on relocating to another state for retirement purposes, then take into consideration property taxes, sales taxes even estate tax.
3. Health care cost:
This is one of the major expenses any retiree needs to put in place. Most employers do not guarantee health insurance during retirement and as such, you are left to deal with the cost during retirement.
Health care cost represents 16 percent of what most Americans spend who are under age 65 to 74. It is noted by Medicare.gov that even those employees whose employers covered their health care insurance, it might matter in the long run because this health insurance benefit may be canceled at any time or change the plan.
It is also known that Medicare doesn’t cover all medical services and dental health is a good example. Also, Medicare does not cover up for long time health insurance and a long time health insurance can be very costly.
4. Transportation:
Since retirement is all about relaxing and having a good time off work, you are sure to be doing a lot of movement here and there, visiting fun places, traveling around, and other means of socializing.
In all of this, transportation is needed, hence the need to plan for a transportation cost especially, if you plan to retire early. People more than the age of 65 to 74 spend around $5,073 to $8, 497 yearly on transport.
Of course, if you are thinking of buying a car, consider adding car maintenance to your retirement budget.
If you don’t have a car, you are still definitely going to pay for transportation for every movement done with buses, subways, or other means of transportation.
5. Food:
Of course, you don’t plan to stay hungry during retirement. Food expenses here involve your groceries, drinks, expenditures, and food you plan to eat at restaurants.
Considering your diet and appetite, the cost of food may differ while people between the ages of 65 to 74 spend around $5, 274 to $6, 864 on food others may spend lesser or more.
Also, people who choose to eat out more are likely to spend more on food than those who prefer homemade meals. The cost of expenses made on food depends on the individual choice. Those who feed on organic vegetables are likely to spend even more on the cost of food.
Saving for this for a retirement plan, you need to start looking for ways to reduce some expenses on food like reducing the rate of eating outside and there are places where senior citizens have discounts, especially when shopping at a grocery store.
6. Utilities:
There are other little bills you are likely to encounter during your retirement and these include water, gas, electricity, water, phone bills, or even the bills you pay to get access to the Internet.
These could also resort to your spending as well, hence you might want to check out how much some of these bills would cost you. Some families pay about $4, 055 or $ 3, 797 yearly for those bills.
7. Emergencies:
Sometimes in our lives, unexpected events are bound to happen and if we are not prepared for them, they are bound to swallow us, however, if we prepare ahead for it we can get over an emergency situation.
Hence the emergency does not stop only after retirement. Even after you retire, you will need to make some household maintenance such as fixing your car, electricity, replacing your old stuff, and other important things.
When you have set up your emergency fund, it saves you the stress of having to spend your retirement savings too soon. If anything breaks during the course of your retirement, you don’t need to have to spend from your retirement savings.
8. Entertainment:
Of course, you don’t want to have a boring retirement experience hence you will need to have fun which will cost money. Because of the new free time, your retirement will give you, you may decide to visit fun places such as parks, golf courses, hiking, theater, or some other fun activities.
Luckily, there are discount rates for senior retirees to some places such as museums, movies, or other fun places. However, many retirement communities provide some inexpensive entertainment for people in different forms.
9. Traveling:
What is retirement without seeing some beautiful places of the world? As a retiree, you will have time to travel a lot as you want, if you budget well for it.
You might need a car to rent for your moving around or in a case where you choose to lodge in a hotel. However, there are ways to go about it.
Consider staying up with a relative to save costs or save up with a relative to save up the cost of traveling around. Traveling will definitely cost you a lot that’s why you need to save a lot depending on how you intend to travel.
Bottom line
From this article, you can see what retirement expenses will be like, you have to gather and critically analyze shat you need and how much it will cost you. Consider this stage of your life the planning one. You have to do some major calculations as regards your plan for retirement.
When you are physically and financially ready, you are on your way to making your retirement a long and lasting one. A lot of Americans can’t afford to retire because a lot of people fail to plan adequately for it. Knowing what to include in a retirement budget helps you prepare adequately for it.
Henry John is a Technology Stock Analyst, with focus on companies developing cutting-edge techs.
Keeping track of cutting-edge techs, companies and stocks is what I do almost everyday. And I love it. Whether it’s artificial intelligence, 5g, or autonomous vehicles; I’m all in.
I’m a self-made millionaire who made most of his money investing in technology companies while working in finance.
