1 On the
navigation bar (The strip at the top of the Money screen where you can click to go to the different areas in Money.), click
Planner.
2 Click Lifetime Planner.
3 In the left pane, click Expenses.
4 Click Living Expenses.
2 Near the top of the screen, click Estimate expenses. The Estimate Annual Living Expenses dialog box appears.
3 Choose one of these methods to estimate your current living expenses:
- If you've created a budget in the Budget Planner, click Use the annual Budget estimate.
- If you have a plan in the Lifetime Planner, click Use this estimate and look at the Remaining Funds line. Type how much of this amount you'll use for living expenses. (Ideally, you've allocated just enough to savings, taxes, loans, and other expenses so that the balance shown equals what you need for living expenses.)
- If you want to use another estimate, click Use this estimate and type that number.
What if I'm not sure what to enter for my living expenses?
For best results, use the estimate calculated by the Budget Planner (assuming you have set up a budget there already).
Is using the Budget Planner estimate preferred?
Yes รน here's why: When you click Use the annual budget estimate, Money links directly to the information in the Budget Planner. As you update your budget, your annual living expenses in the Living Expenses place are automatically adjusted.
The estimates from my Lifetime Planner and Budget Planner are quite different. Why?
Some of the difference is due to the fact that subtotals for income, taxes, savings contributions, loan payments, and other expenses are all rounded to the nearest $1,000. Here's what's included in the Lifetime Planner estimates:
- Income Salaries from your and your partner's careers, other earned income, rental income
- Taxes Payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare, taxes on rental income
- Savings contributions Those to taxable, tax-deferred, and retirement accounts, and to accounts for a child
- Loan payments All loan payments
- Other expenses Property taxes
Compare these amounts in both your lifetime plan and budget, and adjust if necessary.