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<blockquote data-quote="OKRuss" data-source="post: 4286850" data-attributes="member: 41777">Too many factors to ask anyone what you need to live on other than yourself/your family.&nbsp; Very first thing to do, if you haven&#039;t already, is to make a budget in writing.&nbsp; Write down EVERY expense even if just a Coke or candy bar from a convenience store.&nbsp; You should do this for an entire year in an Excel spreadsheet(just easier to add it all up) and you&#039;ll see EXACTLY where every dollar you earn is going.&nbsp; Until you know this, it&#039;s just a guess.I&#039;ve been doing a monthly expense tracker for years and know what we should spend each month on most items like groceries, gas, booze, dining out and how much each month to set aside for items that come up during the year like haircuts, birthdays, Christmas presents, dog food/treats/shots, etc....&nbsp; Spoiler alert:&nbsp; It WILL be more than you think!!After you get this part figured out, then you sit down with the family and agree to what you want your retirement to be and this needs to be kind of specific.&nbsp; &quot;Travel more&quot; isn&#039;t gonna cut it.&nbsp; Ex:&nbsp; We will be taking annual trips abroad for approximately 1 month at a time and have several destinations already on our radar.&nbsp; Our budget will be X amount for each trip so know to set aside X amount each month.&nbsp; Aside from that, we&#039;ll plan a number of lake trips which costs are TBD - just know we&#039;ll be taking a few each year.Yeah, I&#039;m kinda nerdy about all this stuff but once you see it written down then the light bulb should go off if not explode!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="OKRuss, post: 4286850, member: 41777"] Too many factors to ask anyone what you need to live on other than yourself/your family. Very first thing to do, if you haven't already, is to make a budget in writing. Write down EVERY expense even if just a Coke or candy bar from a convenience store. You should do this for an entire year in an Excel spreadsheet(just easier to add it all up) and you'll see EXACTLY where every dollar you earn is going. Until you know this, it's just a guess. I've been doing a monthly expense tracker for years and know what we should spend each month on most items like groceries, gas, booze, dining out and how much each month to set aside for items that come up during the year like haircuts, birthdays, Christmas presents, dog food/treats/shots, etc.... Spoiler alert: It WILL be more than you think!! After you get this part figured out, then you sit down with the family and agree to what you want your retirement to be and this needs to be kind of specific. "Travel more" isn't gonna cut it. Ex: We will be taking annual trips abroad for approximately 1 month at a time and have several destinations already on our radar. Our budget will be X amount for each trip so know to set aside X amount each month. Aside from that, we'll plan a number of lake trips which costs are TBD - just know we'll be taking a few each year. Yeah, I'm kinda nerdy about all this stuff but once you see it written down then the light bulb should go off if not explode! [/QUOTE]

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