How does you spending (yearly budget) change with age (65+)?

Ignoramus

I have been trying to work out a basic budget for my mother (late 60s) to help plan her investments. Although we have an accurate idea of how much she is spending now, we've found it much more difficult to work out how her spending habits might change in the future (in particular because of age).

I guess this is very dependent on the individual and their circumstances, but I'd be very grateful if anyone here could tell me how their (or their parents') spending habits have changed/might change, and what are the pitfalls or other points we should consider.

In general does spending increase/decrease or roughly stay still with some new items canceling out redundant ones (excluding the effect of inflation)?

I appreciate all input!

Savvy_Sue

I'd say that it depends, which isn't a lot of help, but the things which have changed for my mother (both before and after my dad died) are food and transport.

Food: Mum seems to cook very little these days, although the fridge and cupboards are still stuffed with food. She often has lunch at a day centre, which is very good VFM, and she even buys sandwiches to bring home for tea. So I suspect she spends more on food out and prepared food than she used to, which must be more expensive.

Transport: neither ever learned to drive, and with a free bus pass little was spent on travel. Then buses became more difficult to use; timetables and routes changed so were not so convenient, and using taxis became more frequent. Having said that, Mum really resents paying for taxis, and will go to great lengths to avoid it.

Mum's out most days, so doesn't have to run the heating all day. But if you don't go out a lot, that would probably cost more to run.

scotsbob

I found the main increases in spending were on travel and hobbies. More free time to indulge in these things. Also medical and dental fees increase with age.

Decreases in clothes (don't need so many suits now) haircuts (don't have so much now) and family meals/outings because my children now pay for me, which makes a nice change.

I notice no difference in housing or eating costs.

I guess it will vary from person to person. There seem to be a lot of people who sit at home all week and watch TV, I guess their costs will go down. Someone with a lot of hobbies and interests will find their costs rise as they have more time to indulge in them.

jennifernil

There is obviously a big change in finances when a person retires, but I don't think this is what you are asking about here.

We have been retired 3 years now, so OH is 68. I can foresee that our heating costs will increase as we gradually spend more time at home, but holiday costs will decrease as being home more must mean we are away less.

Food stays pretty constant, clothes might decrease. Car costs would obviously go if we had to give up driving.

Otherwise I don't see a lot of change.

Things to budget for might be........

A new car
Home repairs
Replacement appliances

Errata

Heating costs may increase, but that's offset by no more travel to work costs.
Clothes costs reduce as work clothes no longer have to be bought.
Holiday costs are a want not a need so they can vanish completely if necessary
Food costs can be reduced through having more time to plan, batch cook, shop sensibly instead of having to stop off on the way home from work at SainsDa and grab something quick, easy and expensive because the working day has been exhausting.

Ignoramus

Thanks for all your replies. I'm glad to see there isn't any major age related spending change that I've missed out. It seems to me that other than possible medical costs (ie visiting carer, long term care, private operations etc which we will keep out of the "yearly budget" and plan for with an emergency fund instead), spending probably won't change that much with age. The big worry is just inflation.

Some IFAs have offered us a service to help us work out our budget, in particular focusing on how much it might change with age in the future. It was a pretty expensive deal, so I'd rather we'd do it ourselves but was worried that I might be missing out something important.

Farway

I found I was spending less, no petrol for daily commute, no need for work clothing [shirts etc] + the bus pass allows for days out on a whim

Oldernotwiser

When I am older I plan to spend more money on paying someone to come in and clean, as well as doing the odd jobs I do now.

Primrose

Home maintenance costs could rise as some DIY jobs that might have been done by individuals become too onerous, such as decorating or gardening and minor repairs, and have to be done by tradesmen.

Heating bills could go up as individuals become more frail and go out less. Might need to budget for expensive home improvements like changing bath to a shower to make washing easier, installation of a stairlift, etc. Plus paying for a cleaner to come in occasionally, meals on wheels, or help getting dressed, home visiting hairdresser or chiropodist, etc.