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Simplifi Projected cash flow for retirees, best practices

Bobf

Quicken for Mac user transitioning to Simplifi.

As an existing retiree, I use income from Social Security plus I draw down from investments to fund my lifestyle. What are the Simplifi best practices I should use to show how much per month / per year I need to draw from investments in order to pay for my lifestyle ?

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Accepted answers

SRC54

I am retired and depend on my social security and dividends as well as wife’s pension. I use the Spending Plan which shows me how much I need each month. So far I haven’t had to dip into my IRA or investments so I am lucky.

My suggestion is to enter all your recurring bills and income first. Then guesstimate how much discretionary spending you need for food, gasoline, etc. in Planned Spending — this will give you a starting point. I would also enter an amount you plan to transfer from Investments each month to make up the difference. Each month you can refine this plan. You can easily adjust. The Spending Plan may even help you keep your expenses down so you can stretch your investments out longer.

And after getting the Spending Plan setup, check out Bills and Income section to see your cash flow.

Since you’re new to Simplifi, here’s a support article to get you started:

https://support.simplifi.quicken.com/en/articles/4212702-understanding-your-spending-plan

There are several retirees here and they will have plenty of suggestions for you as well. Post any questions you have.

Welcome to Simplifi!

All comments

SRC54

And after getting the Spending Plan setup, check out Bills and Income section to see your cash flow.

Since you’re new to Simplifi, here’s a support article to get you started:

https://support.simplifi.quicken.com/en/articles/4212702-understanding-your-spending-plan

There are several retirees here and they will have plenty of suggestions for you as well. Post any questions you have.

Welcome to Simplifi!

Bobf

thanks Steve!

DannyB

Hi @Bobf Welcome to Simplifi!

I'm also retired and ditto what @SRC54 shared. For me the Spending Plan has always been the crown jewel of QS. Get that feature set up right and you're a long way toward staying ahead of your personal financial management.

One of the things you will need to address, however, is your non monthly fixed and flexible expenses. These include fixed expenses like property tax, annual/semi-annual insurance premiums, annual subscriptions/memberships, etc. and flexible non-monthly expenses like home and auto maintenance and repairs, medical/dental/eye care not covered by insurance (deductibles/co-pays), etc. Your monthly fixed and flexible are handled in the Spending Plan, but your annual/semi-annual/non-monthly expenses are not easily included in the monthly Spending Plan.

For me, best practice is to use one or more Savings Goals to set aside funds monthly to meet these expenses when they arise or come due.

DryHeat

@Bobf

I agree with the above advice, and want to add a couple of other things.

I'm not a tax advisor, but be aware that tax-advantaged plans like a 401(k) have a required minimum distribution beginning at age 73 (I think). So how much you need to withdraw each year may depend not only on your needs but also on the type of plan and your age.

As others said, in the long run the Spending Plan will be the best guide to how much you will need over and above your social security. But it will become a fairly accurate guide only after several months of usage. I usually go back over the months and look at "Other spending" and how much is "left at the end of the month." Assuming you do not exclude your investment draws from the Spending Plan, that will give you a good read on how you are doing.

In the short run you should also keep a close eye on the cash flow projections for your bank accounts. The Spending Plan tells you how expenses stack up against income on a month to month basis, but it doesn't tell you anything about whether you actually have the cash available to pay upcoming bills.