The Budget

Paul has been very diligent, for as long as we’ve been married, at keeping a watchful eye on our finances.  He was very surprised when I asked him for a “date” to look over the finances for retirement, but because he is always prepared to answer financial questions, this one came easy to him.

The picture looks good.  He is already collecting social security disability and has a small pension from the company he took early retirement from several years ago.  The rentals are self-supporting and have good cash flow. 

He showed me several years of annual expense data, and smiled as he told me the bottom line on our current expense figures.  Without changing our current lifestyle, we can cover our current expenses with his income, leaving the rental income for expenses we don’t have today.

The biggest of these expenses, and the biggest unknown, is health care.  I have a good idea of what medical insurance for me and a Medicare supplement for Paul will cost, but I have no idea about Medicare premiums, co-pays, the dreaded “donut hole,” or even the required timing of when he should apply for Medicare.  Need more research. 

In two weeks we plan to review the numbers again with the Medicare information we need in hand.