- We aren't saving anymore
- We haven't had a mortgage for 10+ years
- We went through a huge remodel so that's where a lot of our spending has gone. We wanted to update the house to last us another 15+ years. (I used my inheritance to pay for that. Perfect timing.)
- We are taking multiple vacations per year (3 weeks in Florida in Jan/Feb), a cruise or other trip in April/May time period, a weeklong trip to family cabin in summer, then another nicer trip (international, etc) in September
- We're eating out more now than we used to. That's something we could cut back on.
- I have a pension
- Due to Boeing retiree medical insurance - and other nuances - our medical expenses have been under $1,000 per year - except when I started Medicare last year and then we had $500/mo premiums.
- I'm finally going to start Social Security this fall. I figure that between my pension, social security, and disability payments our adult disabled daughter gets - that that will be enough to cover our regular monthly spending. On top of that I have a very healthy 401k that I'll just draw 4% per year and that will be additional play/spending money.
- Overall - financially it's been easier than I thought, but the pension makes a big difference.