Personal Finance (Not Investing) • Retirement number - Isnt it arbitrary, how can you retire to it

Expected expenses are the biggest variable to get a handle on. Once you get a clear picture of how much you are spending annually (all in, including taxes and healthcare), then you can create an estimated budget for future years. That will drive what your real "number" is in terms of retiring. Make sure to add a good buffer in there for unexpected expenses, etc.

I have found it useful to estimate essential expenses separately from discretionary expenses. Then, build an highly reliable income floor that covers the essential expenses. After building the floor, the remainder of assets can be invested more aggressively to produce gains that can be used for discretionary spending.

If you accomplish that, the actual "number" is somewhat irrelevant.

Statistics: Posted by GaryA505 — Mon May 11, 2026 4:49 pm — Replies 43 — Views 2771

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