My spreadsheet didn't take anything out except MRD's and included a budget increasing by an inflation factor. It "showed ' increasing assets until about 90 with decreasing to my 100th. Between the market crash and unexpected drain to support a family member ,I'm not sanguine about the next 10 years! Rude awakening!

Karl

The goals are 1) not go bankrupt 2) steady budget from year to year and 3) enjoy the $ if you have enough. Here's the alternatives I'm thinking about with consequences.

Strategy A: Draw 4% of your wealth in your first year of retirement and increase the amount with inflation each year after that. The advantage is a steady income and enjoying the money. The downside is going bankrupt ;-( This is the assumption of most calculators.

Strategy B: Calculate a series of "RMD-like" numbers for your expected lifetime (90+), average market returns for stocks, bonds, CDs, etc. Each year, take your current wealth and divide by that year's RMD. Advantage is never going broke (at least within your time horizon) and enjoying your money (if returns are good. Disadvantage is erratic drawdowns from year to year.

Strategy C: Just like Strategy B, except limit the dips to 10% from year to year and limit the raises by 5% year to year. So there's a bias in cutting your budget over raising it. Advantage is very likely not to go broke, steady income from year to year and enjoying your money.

If you find a way to do that in real time you should be a fund manager! I don't know of any who really did that over the last couple of years. If I had future sense I would have converted everything to cash a couple of years ago and reinvested last January,but I wasn't alone. Good luck and keep me posted.

Karl

I use a spreadsheet too to track investments, expenses, taxes, etc., which I'm trying to make more sophisticated. Of course one can set a budget by exactly mirroring the ups and downs of the market - calculate a series of MRD-like numbers that shrink as the years go by. Set the budget by taking current assets and dividing by the MRD-like factor. That guarantees that you won't ever run out of money for your projected horizon.

What I was looking for was some guidance on "softening the blow" when the market goes down and also putting money aside when the market goes up. That way my budget is more steady from year to year. I think it's useful to both seek not to go bankrupt, have a somewhat steady income, provide an estate for my family and enjoy the use of money I have. Striking a good balance with those goals is the challenge.

Yes, one can't predict the financial hazards along the way, but one can think about how you'll respond when they do arise.

I set up a long range planning chart with categories reflecting assets and income estimates and a budget estimate with an increase estimate.I use Quattro Pro ,but I'm sure other spreadsheets can be used. I update the assets each year and any changes in SS etc.With the formulas and asset reallocations due to MRD's etc. you can plot out for years to come.

Two problems ,I was not one of the very few who factored in the financial collapse and there's no way to predict things like major health problems or family members needs.

Karl

You can't do this in a formula that applies to all because you are the only one who knows 'the numbers' that work for you.

I use Excel and do future value computations (which you can find as a function) to determine how much my 'x' amount of dollars I have today will be worth in 'x' number of years. You have to decide how long you want your money to last, then do the calculations yourself to determine how much you need to cut back on expenses so the remaining money will last.

This is a moving target, depending on how aggresive, or passive, your investments are and your time horizon.

I'm pretty good with business math. I don't know if you can do these calcs yourself within a spreadsheet or you have to rely on an 'internet calculator' of some type.