Overlooked expenses in retirement: Gifts and travel related to gift giving occasions

Many people who come to me for assistance with retirement income planning are on the cusp of retirement and have never tracked their expenses.  If that is the case, no problem, we have methods to estimate spending to get a baseline estimate of your spending needs in retirement.

For those that are trying to get a clearer picture of retirement spending, I often see them list their regular monthly expenses such as utilities, insurance, food, and gasoline.  But overlook the irregular expenses such as home and car maintenance, personal property taxes, gifts, etc.; expenses that happen on an irregular basis.

Gift giving in Retirement

To help you think through what you might spend on gifts in a year consider these items:

Consider your:
Immediate family
Extended family
Friends
Your children’s friends, teachers, coaches, etc.

Consider occasions:
Christmas
Hanukkah
Birthdays
Weddings
Graduations
Baby showers
Hostess gifts
Funeral flowers
Get well flowers

Consider travel related to gift giving:
Christmas
Destination or out of town weddings
Baby showers
Funerals

What does this average you annually, divided by twelve; this gives you an estimated amount that you spend per month.

Retirement planning is setting your self up to be able to afford the lifestyle and activities that are important to you.  Part of that is determining what is important to you and how much it costs.

Coffee with Michele, Jan and Diana November 2017

Come to the Community Room at Kaldi’s in Chesterfield with your financial planning, tax, and Medicare questions and enjoy a cup of coffee with CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional Michele Clark, Jan Roberg, Enrolled Agent, and Diana Wilson, Health Insurance Professional.

There is no prepared presentation, just a casual conversation in a small group environment; your opportunity to pick our brains. Feel free to invite family or friends who could benefit from an hour with us. Open to registered attendees only, due to the size of the room.

It will be Medicare season, bring your questions.

Coffee with Michele, Jan, and Diana
Kaldi’s Coffee Chesterfield
Wednesday, November 8th
10:30 am to 11:30 am

RSVP online Clark Hourly Financial Planning and Investment Management RSVP or call 636-264-0732. Space is limited. Coffee and pastries are complimentary.

Kaldi’s Coffee Chesterfield Missouri address and map. The Community Room is an enclosed room in the back of the coffee shop.

We hope you can join us!

Wine Tasting with Jan and Michele

Come to the Education Room at Total Wine and More in Manchester, MO with your financial planning and tax questions and enjoy some wine with CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional Michele Clark, CFP®, CRPC® and Jan Roberg, Enrolled Agent.

There is no prepared presentation, just a casual conversation in a small group environment; your opportunity to pick our brains. Feel free to invite family or friends who could benefit from some time with us.

Open to registered attendees only, due to the size of the room.

RSVP at Roberg Tax Solutions or call 636-264-0732.

Wine with Michele and Jan
Town and Country in Manchester Meadows
Tuesday, October 24th at 5:30 pm.
13887 Manchester Road
Ballwin, MO 63011

Hope to see you there!