Retirement expenses - "the number"

[Cap_Scarlet]

I thought I would document our retirement expenditure budget to get views and opinions.  I know a lot of people on here talk about $25,000 but for us I think that's extremely difficult given that we live in Europe.  I've budgeted in EURO but as the EUR:$ exchange rate is not so good at the moment then the $ number is not that much higher :-(

I've also split between essentials and luxuries.  Clearly there's a lot in luxuries but unless we had that, frankly I'm not sure I would want to retire - others may have a lower figure.   
                                                    EUR
   Energy                                           1.986,19   
   Communications                           1.145,41   
   Food                                              9.662,16   
   Clothing                                         2.017,81   
   Health                                            6.000,00   
   Dog                                               1.560,00   
   Transport (including cars)             6.300,00   
Household goods and services            
   Household cleaning                          899,46   
   Cosmetic personal care                    107,16   
   Hairdressing                                     719,57   
   Music & CD's                                    200,00   
   Newspapers & magazines                 288,11   
   Computer, printer, software             147,57   
   Household appliances                       412,84   
Housing - ongoing only      
   Insurance                                      1.061,08   
   Property taxes                               1.245,89   
   Home improvements                     1.000,00   
   Maintenance                                  1.500,00   
Subtotal "Essentials"                36.253,24   
Leisure       
   Membership / clubs                         341,86   
   TV / DVD etc.                                    63,24   
   Alcohol at home                           1.040,00   
   Lunches & dinners out                  2.855,08   
   Cinema & day trips                        3.478,38   
   Domestic vacations                       2.735,27   
   Overseas vacations                     10.000,00   
   Sundry                                          5.059,46   
Subtotal "luxuries"                   25.573,30   
Total                                           61.826,54   


Some of the numbers are quite accurate as they are based on a currently weekly cost while others are more estimates as we will be changing our location and the actual still needs to be worked out.
"Sundry" contains a large buffer fund.
So what's missing? 
What's your "number"?

[FIRE Artist]

Mine is 65k Canadian.  This amount includes my $640/bi weekly mortgage payment, which will become my travel money after the house is paid off. 

I think everyone just needs to come up with their own number that meets their personal desired lifestyle and COL area.  Canada is much more expensive than the U.S. for example, so there is no point in comparing with what others live off of south of the border. 

[forummm]

Surprised you have to spend so much on health given that you're in Europe.

You definitely spend a lot more than we do (especially since you're spending EUR). But that's your choice. You're the one who will have to work and save for it.

[Cassie]

We spend between $60,000-70,000/year. WE spend a lot now on vacations, going out, etc but as we age I expect that number to go down. We did not do a lot of traveling before semi-retiring so making up for lost time.  Many people say that by the time you hit your 70's you are not traveling nearly as much. Plus I have had a few friends die in 50's-60's so want to make sure I have done what I wanted to do.

[HopefulMustache]

As others have said, "the number" primarily comes down to your own priorities in terms of lifestyle choices. Luxuries seems like a lot to me (and is 41% of your total budget), but if none of those luxuries are up for debate and you're looking for places to trim, the first two places for most people are transportation and food.

Especially with a nice budget for eating out, it seems there's room to reduce your food budget - there are lots of articles on MMM and elsewhere about how to cook nice meals inexpensively, though prices may be different in Europe. As for the car, it could be possible that switching to a model that is less pricey to insure or gets better mileage could reduce that number by a lot as well. Depending on where your retirement egg is at, reducing your expenses by even something like 5000 EUR between these could let you safely retire years sooner, if that's your goal. You could also reconsider whether 2000+ on clothing is needed in retirement and make a dent there too.

I do want to add, I think your essentials budget is not necessarily that much higher than some here, at 36K for (what sounds like) a couple and including a certain amount of entertainment.

[Retired To Win]

There are a lot of line items on your list which I would not consider "essentials" and would therefore move over to the "luxuries"  side of your budget.  Some of those items would be clothing, dog, household cleaning, cosmetics, hairdressing, music, newspapers and magazines.  Those line items add up to roughly 6000 Euros that would get shifted out of the "essentials" category.  But that's just me, of course.

[Cassie]

Sorry but pets are not luxuries. many studies have shown that they provide numerous health benefits.

[StockBeard]

Sorry but pets are not luxuries.

That's a point of view, not a fact. Pets are expensive, I'm sure they provide many benefits and they are great to have around, but many of us live fine without them. Therefore, they can be considered a luxury. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people should get rid of their pet right now just to save money!

[Cassie]

Once you have a pet you have made a life long commitment.   If you can't afford it once the pet is gone don't get another. Very much life having a child.

[meep]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people should get rid of their pet right now just to save money!

Then technically it's not a luxury in their current budget. They can't stop spending that budget line unless they get rid of the pet.

I do agree that having a pet is a luxury. But one you have that pet, not spending money on it is not an option.