(above).Interpret the future living expenses chart
Tip: For easier reading, click (above).
This graph shows how much you plan to spend on regular living expenses each year. Regular living expenses include food, gasoline, home maintenance, clothing, and other recurring expenses. Living expenses, as defined here, do not include loan payments, taxes, and savings contributions.
You can specify your living expenses in the Living Expenses place (in the Lifetime Planner).
If you're like most people, you can expect your living expenses during retirement to be close to or higher than your living expenses right now.
It's a good idea to include in your plan major changes that will require you to adjust your living expenses. For example, buying a home, having a child, or retiring are events for which you'd create an adjustment.
You can expect your living expenses to increase should your lifestyle become more extravagant. Likewise, your living expenses would decrease once your kids are no longer living at home, you downsize to a smaller house, or you decide to live more simply in general.
You may notice on this graph that there are some years in which the Lifetime Planner recommends that you reduce your discretionary spending. This appears when the Planner calculates that you won't be able to save as much as you planned for in the Savings & Investments place.
To specify the percentage of your living expenses you'd be willing to cut in those years, click Options on Money's Tools menu, and then click the Planner tab.