While I don’t watch or listen to Dave Ramsey, I do occasional run across an article with an outrageous title such as this one, “Dave Ramsey delivers wake up call to Iowa couple making nearly $200k but struggling to make ends meet“
Essentially, this couple has $785,000 in debt even though they earn $200,000 per year and as I think about my retirement, I have been thinking a lot about the three demons that you must keep at bay to survive retirement.
Lifestyle…creep
We all think we can control our lifestyle creep but it’s not as easy as most people think. If you had told me 10 years ago in 2014 that I would have a paid subscription to Artificial Intelligent Language Learning Module in 2024 I would have told you that you were nuts.
By the end of next year I may end up with 3 AI subscription models, one for creating audio, one for creating images, and one for financial research. There is also now new hardware being married to AI you can read about here. Additionally, the entertainment streaming services landscape keeps changing with some people paying $1600 to watch NFL football this year.
Obviously, I had not planned for any of this and that’s fine because I continue to work and earn income but once I’m in retirement, if cool new technologies or streaming services come online how do I plan for the unknown? Clearly, the solution would be to cut back on other things but if I want it all I may end up in the same hole as the $200k couple.
Cell phones, AI, streaming services, virtual reality gear and so much more coming!
Inflation
To add insult to injury, the price of all the services will only go up over time. I’ve written plenty about inflation here and here. Inflation is also featured prominently in my retirement spreadsheet calculations but there is only so much you can predict.
Taxes
Lastly, the final demon to keep at bay because it can never be slayed is taxes. I’ve written about taxes here including forecasting the standard deduction into 2052. There is very little control I will have over the tax brackets or tax rates in the future so this is one of the tougher ones to keep at bay.
Share The Wealth
What are you demons to slay in preparation for retirement? Let me know in the comments!