Map you do make a good point. When you are to the point of calcualting a budget or retirement spend you are likely close to retirement. If you don't have enough saved all it really tells you is you need to keep working or drastically reduce your life style.
In our case, my wife has kept a detailed budget for close to 35 years. It has always been an integral part of our detailed financial plan. Budget or no, what actually makes the biggest difference is to start saving significant amounts as soon as you start working, and no later than by age 25. The power of compounding works best over the longest period you can do it for. I know I tend to harp on this point a lot but it really is the very best chance for success.
In reality, the budget just helps you maximise saving while also ensuring you have enough funds to really enjoy life as you go along. Stuff that is great fun to do at 30 isn't so interesting at 70. You need to balance savings with also enjoying your life. Enough stuff happens there is no quarantee yo make it to 40 let alone 85.
Something people really need to think about is the high cost of care. If you don't qualify for a subsidy, a full time care home runs about 9 grand a month. In home care runs 40 bucks an hour, so full time care would be 100,000 a year.
Last edited by Dean2; 09-23-2023 at 04:03 PM.
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