"Discretionary expenses" refers to the money we choose to spend on things that are not necessary for our basic needs or obligations. These expenses are optional and can include things like entertainment, vacations, dining out, or buying luxury items.
Full definition
To do that, consider cutting back
on discretionary expenses such as restaurant meals and travel, as well as consolidating some of your bill payments to save on fees.
That means fixed expenses like housing, transportation, food and insurance, and
discretionary expenses like the money you spend on dining out, entertainment, travel and personal care.
You can rely on withdrawals from your savings to cover any essential expenses your guaranteed income doesn't cover, as well
as discretionary expenses and any unexpected expenses that may pop up.
You may be better off investing your savings in a well - balanced portfolio of stock and bonds and withdrawing money as needed to
cover discretionary expenses and any other costs that pop up.
An ideal way is to chalk out a budget for monthly expenses while taking care to avoid
certain discretionary expenses since this will allow investing more.
If you've taken the second step to figure out where your money is going, you should know
what discretionary expenses can be cut so you can put more money toward your debt.
If you are willing to pay an interest rate that high
for discretionary expenses, it signals either a lack of financial control or a difficult financial situation.
And a 65 - year - old man has a 58 % chance of living to 80 and a 17 % chance of living to 90.2 Housing expenses alone account for about 32.9 % of spending — or $ 16,219 per year — for people older than age 55.3 You can create a more personalized savings target based on your current annual fixed expenses — such as housing, food, and utilities — and estimates
of discretionary expenses like travel and entertainment.
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Recording the money you expect to receive and spend for both non-discretionary and
discretionary expenses allows you to assess when and how you spend your money.
By flexibility I mean identifying certain
discretionary expenses which could be curtailed for a few years to preserve cash flow in retirement.
David recommends focusing
on discretionary expenses like eating out, clothing, and cash withdrawals to free up money that can be put into retirement savings.
Find out how Lydia, a hypothetical investor, used the Lifestyle - Ready Strategy to help pay
for discretionary expenses and important milestones in retirement.
This suggests that, in order to afford their student loan payments, millennials are reducing the amount they save, instead of cutting back on
discretionary expenses like travel, dining out, and shopping.
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They will include fixed, revolving monthly costs, like rent, mortgage, car payments, health or auto insurance bills, and variable expenses like groceries, gas, utilities, as well
as discretionary expenses, such as dining out, vacations, or entertainment.
With this strategy, you spend 50 % of your income on needs and living expenses, 20 % on savings and debt repayment, and the remaining 30 % on wants and
other discretionary expenses.
Being a regular user of QuickBooks accounting software, Alvy - Teeter had a down - to - the - penny understanding of her firm's financial position — income, bills, cash on hand, jobs in the pipeline and
discretionary expenses (see «Book»Em, Dano,»).
It's a smart strategy to pay for
these discretionary expenses from your investment portfolio.
You'll want to consider how you can pay for those fun things you've always dreamed about doing when you finally have the time —
discretionary expenses like vacations, hobbies, and other nice - to - haves.
Our analysis also suggests, however, that this is at least partly by choice - millennials with student debt payments spend just as each month as those without, instead of cutting back on
discretionary expenses to save more for a home.
If you've never created a budget or if you need a refresher, the simplest way to get going is to write down every single expense in a given month, then break them down into two categories: fixed expenses (the things you must pay, like rent, bills and loan payments) and
discretionary expenses (things you control, like food, entertainment, car - related expenses and clothes).
A concept you might find useful is to differentiate between essential and
discretionary expenses.
According to Fidelity Investments» latest Retirement Savings Assessment (RSA), 2 the median baby boomer is on track to meet 86 % of estimated retirement expenses: enough to cover the basics, but not sufficient to cover
all discretionary expenses.
There are many approaches, but it starts with a budget that identifies your needs — essential expenses like food, housing, and health care — and your wants —
discretionary expenses like travel, eating out, and entertainment.
On top of that you'll need a pool to support
your discretionary expenses.
Agents charge 15 %, a few hundred might be spent on office equipment and supplies, anything beyond that is
discretionary expense, yielding $ 84,000 or more.
Start by doing a retirement budget that separates your outlays into two categories: essentials and
discretionary expenses.
Reduce
your discretionary expenses pronto.
One tip is to focus in on
your discretionary expenses (restaurant meals, coffee, clothes, fitness club, etc.) and see if there are ways you can cut back.
When my friends asked me how to define a month of expenses, I said take half of
your discretionary expenses over a year, add it to your non-discretionary expenses, and divide by 12.
Discretionary Expense: Discretionary expenses are within the control of the individual (food, entertainment, etc.), unlike fixed expenses which can not be changed (car payment, cable bill, etc.).
Categorize your expenses into basic needs (the must - haves) and
discretionary expenses (the nice - to - haves).
By the time you turn 75, your appetite for luxuries is likely to diminish, and by the time you hit 85, many of
your discretionary expenses will have dropped away completely.
Phrases with «discretionary expenses»