Our 3rd Month Retired: What We Actually Spent in July

Three months into retirement at 54, our July spending came to $5,550—but the total does not tell the whole story. In this month’s retirement budget update, I break down both sides of our spending: Our normal recurring monthly expenses Our irregular expenses and sinking-fund spending Where we came in under budget The expense that has not dropped as much as I expected The category I completely forgot to include in our original retirement budget One of my biggest lessons this month is that a retirement budget needs room for more than bills and necessities. It also needs to account for the hobbies and interests you finally have time to pursue. I also share our three-month budget scorecard and explain how our contingency category is helping us absorb expenses that are difficult to predict in advance. How do you account for irregular expenses in your own budget? Do you use sinking funds, a contingency category, or another system? Let me know in the comments. Chapters 00:00 Our third-month retirement budget 00:20 July spending summary 00:31 Recurring monthly expenses 02:50 Irregular expenses and sinking-fund update 07:35 Contingency spending and unexpected costs 08:05 The expense I forgot to budget for 08:43 Three-month retirement budget scorecard 09:49 How do you track irregular expenses? Related videos ▶ My First Month Retired: Here’s What We Actually Spent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJZxbRlVdY8 ▶ Our Real Retirement Budget & Spending Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKlAEG8O0ClQ ▶ I Retired at 54—My First 90 Days Were Not What I Expected https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sjd42Ek5I0 ▶ I Retired at 54… Here’s What I Actually Do All Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iBjmatSTKs Follow Scott Unclocked Subscribe for honest conversations about early retirement, retirement spending, financial planning, health, travel, and adjusting to life after work: https://www.youtube.com/@scottunclocked This video reflects my personal experience and is