1. Expenses: track, project and adjust Understanding how much you’re spending, and on what, is an important habit to get into no matter what stage of life you’re in. But it becomes a critical exercise in retirement: without a regular paycheque to “refill” your bank account every couple of weeks, figuring out how much money is flowing out of that account, and where it’s flowing to, takes on a much greater importance. So, as your first retirement priority, take some time to track and analyze your spending for a month or so. Then, you’ll want to project that spending into the future as much as you reasonably can, and make necessary adjustments. If you don’t have the patience for itemized budget tracking (and let’s face it, many of us don’t), a list of recurring “baseline” expenses – the phone bill, your annual property tax, weekly groceries, electricity and gas, and so on – will give you a good idea of what you’re facing now, and what you’re likely to face in the coming years. While you’re doing this, it’s a good idea to give some thought to one-time, bucket list expenses as well. If it’s always been your dream to buy a cabin by the lake, for example, or to take a world cruise, or to finally purchase that car which you’ve had your eye on since you were a kid – make sure to account for it in your expense planning so that you can set money aside. Finance Formulate a rough budget of “baseline” expenses Project that budget into the future: which expenses are likely to increase? Decrease? Stay the same? Determine a reasonable budget for potential bucket list expenses Identify potential danger areas in which you’re spending excessively CSANews | WINTER 2023 | 29
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