2 Retirees Share What They Overspent on Most — and How It Impacted Their Retirement Savings
Written by
Dawn Allcot
Edited by
Jenna Klaverweiden
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As much as people may plan for retirement, often relying on formulas and recommendations from financial advisors to determine how much they might need in their later years, costs often skyrocket in unpredictable ways.
Sometimes, those added expenses are worth it. Other times, retirees have regrets. GOBankingRates asked real retirees how they’ve overspent and how it affected their financial future.
Timeshare Vacation Homes
Purchasing a timeshare in retirement is so common, it made AARP’s top 10 list of purchases retirees regret.
Kathleen S. of Woodland Hills, California, understands the pain, calling timeshares a “waste of money.”
She has one that she doesn’t get to use as often as she’d like. The added expense creates stress when money is already tight. “We deeded the time share back to the company,” she said.
However, she also has another property she’s determined to keep. “We love the area and the size of our unit, so we can go and meet up with friends and family,” she said. Even so, if she didn’t already own it, she said, she wouldn’t seek to buy one.
Home Remodeling
Retirees often look to downsize their houses, needing less space as children move out. A smaller home means less to heat, cool and keep clean. But as Gen Z and millennials struggle to afford homes, retirees often find they need more space, not less, to accommodate adult children.
“Remortgaging my house to put a second floor on it for my stepdaughter and two children to live in was probably a mistake, money-wise,” admitted Chris C., a retiree on Long Island, New York.
He had intended to pay off his mortgage by the time he retired at age 62, which would mean he’d have to cover only property taxes. “Now, there’s 28 years left on a 30-year mortgage, plus higher taxes,” he said.
His stepdaughter contributes to the increased costs, but having a mortgage he didn’t expect has stretched Chris’ retirement budget a bit tighter than he expected and reduced available equity he could tap into. Still, he said he has no regrets. “I want them here,” he said. “I would do it again to have my family with me.”
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