The best examples of track your retirement expenses: 3 practical examples that actually work

Let’s start with the most old-school of the examples of track your retirement expenses: 3 practical examples—a pen-and-paper system that works surprisingly well for people who hate apps and spreadsheets.

Meet Carol, 67, recently retired teacher. She treats her retirement income like a paycheck. On the first of each month, her Social Security and pension hit her checking account. She immediately writes the total at the top of a fresh notebook page labeled with that month.

Then she breaks it into spending “buckets” on the page:

• Fixed bills (mortgage or rent, utilities, insurance, phone, internet)
• Groceries and household items
• Transportation (gas, maintenance, rideshares)
• Health (premiums, co-pays, prescriptions)
• Fun (dining out, hobbies, streaming services)
• Gifts and family support
• Savings or buffer

Instead of a rigid numbered list, she just writes each category as a heading and leaves space underneath. Every time she spends, she writes the date, the store, the amount, and the category. That’s it. No fancy formulas.

Over time, this first example of a tracking system gives her three big wins:

• She sees patterns. After three months, she realizes dining out is quietly eating \(350–\)400 a month.
• She adjusts. She decides to cap restaurants at $250 and shift the extra to a “travel” line she adds to the notebook.
• She builds a buffer. She circles any leftover money at the end of the month and moves it to a separate savings account as an emergency fund.

This is one of the best examples for people who:

• Like physically writing things down
• Want to stay off screens
• Prefer a simple way to track without learning new tools

A few extra practical tweaks you can copy from Carol’s example:

• Use a highlighter to mark health expenses in yellow so you can quickly total them at tax time.
• Add a small “inflation note” each year: if your electric bill or groceries jump, jot a reminder so you know it’s not just you. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index data is a good reality check on rising costs: https://www.bls.gov/cpi/
• Once a quarter, total each category on a back page and compare to your original retirement budget.

This first of our examples of track your retirement expenses: 3 practical examples proves you don’t need tech to stay in control—you just need consistency.

Example 2: A simple spreadsheet – the best examples for detail-oriented planners

If you’re comfortable with basic spreadsheets, this second example of a tracking system gives you more precision without being overwhelming.

Meet James and Priya, both 62, planning to retire in three years. They want to practice living on their future retirement income now, while they’re still working. So they create a simple spreadsheet with columns for:

• Date
• Description
• Category
• Amount
• Payment method (credit card, debit, cash)
• Notes

Across the top, they list monthly categories that mirror how they expect to spend in retirement:

• Housing (including property tax and home repairs)
• Healthcare (premiums, deductibles, co-pays, prescriptions)
• Food (groceries and dining out separately)
• Transportation
• Insurance (home, auto, umbrella)
• Travel
• Hobbies and memberships
• Gifts and charitable giving
• Miscellaneous

Then they do something smart: they pull the last 6–12 months of bank and credit card statements and enter the expenses into the spreadsheet. It’s a bit of work upfront, but it gives them real examples of how they actually spend, not how they think they spend.

After a few evenings of data entry, they see:

• Their real grocery spending is about 25% higher than they’d been using in their retirement projections.
• Travel and “long weekend” trips are more frequent than they realized.
• Healthcare costs are creeping up as they get closer to Medicare age.

This second of our examples of track your retirement expenses: 3 practical examples helps them adjust their retirement budget before it’s too late. They decide to:

• Test-drive living on 80–85% of their current income for the next year.
• Direct the difference into retirement accounts and a cash cushion.
• Build a separate “healthcare” tab in the spreadsheet to model costs before and after Medicare. For current Medicare cost data and trends, they use the official Medicare site: https://www.medicare.gov/

A few more real examples of how people use spreadsheets to track retirement expenses:

• A 70-year-old widower creates a sheet just for home maintenance and repairs, averaging the last five years to plan for roof, HVAC, and appliance replacements.
• A couple in their late 50s tracks how much they spend on their grandkids each year (birthdays, holidays, sports fees) to decide whether to set up a dedicated “grandkid fund.”
• A semi-retired freelancer logs income and expenses month by month to see if part-time work is covering travel and hobby costs.

If you’re more analytical, this is often the best example of a system because it lets you:

• Sort and filter by category
• See yearly totals at a glance
• Run “what if” scenarios (for example, “What if we cut travel by 20% and add that to healthcare?”)

For a free starting point, many people adapt basic templates from sites like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/budgeting/

Example 3: App-based tracking – real examples for tech-comfortable retirees

The third of our examples of track your retirement expenses: 3 practical examples uses apps that connect to your bank and credit card accounts and categorize spending automatically.

Meet Luis, 65, who retired from a corporate job and is very comfortable with technology. He uses a budgeting app that syncs with his accounts and shows real-time spending by category. Instead of typing every transaction, he spends 10–15 minutes a week cleaning up categories and checking trends.

Here’s how this example of an app-based system works in practice:

• He links checking, savings, and credit cards within the app.
• The app automatically pulls in transactions and assigns them to categories like groceries, dining, utilities, and healthcare.
• Once a week, he reviews the list on his tablet, corrects any miscategorized items, and adds notes where needed (for example, “annual eye exam” under healthcare).

Over a few months, Luis notices:

• His streaming and subscription services have multiplied—music, video, cloud storage, magazines.
• His ride-share spending is higher in winter when he doesn’t want to drive at night.
• Travel and gifts spike around the holidays.

This third example of a tracking system is especially helpful for spotting “subscription creep” and seasonal patterns. It also helps him plan for the long term. As he thinks about aging in place, he starts tracking:

• Home modification costs (grab bars, better lighting, non-slip rugs)
• Health-related tech (wearables, telehealth visits)

For up-to-date guidance on aging and health costs, he reads resources from the National Institute on Aging: https://www.nia.nih.gov/

Some additional real examples of how retirees use apps to track expenses:

• A couple in their early 70s sets category “targets” for travel, dining out, and gifts, and the app shows a colored bar as they approach each limit.
• A single retiree uses alerts when monthly spending crosses a certain threshold, helping her slow down discretionary purchases.
• A part-time consultant tracks reimbursable business expenses separately so they don’t get mixed into personal retirement spending.

If you like automation, this is often one of the best examples of a system that keeps you honest with minimal effort.

Comparing the three best examples of track your retirement expenses: 3 practical examples

By now, you’ve seen three different examples of track your retirement expenses: 3 practical examples—a notebook, a spreadsheet, and an app. The right one for you depends on your personality, not your age.

Here’s how they differ in real life:

• The notebook example is tactile, simple, and great if you spend mostly on a debit card or cash and want to stay mindful.
• The spreadsheet example offers more detail and works well if you like to plan, model, and “test-drive” your retirement budget before you fully retire.
• The app example is ideal if you want automation, alerts, and visual charts without a lot of manual work.

In practice, some of the best examples involve mixing methods. For instance:

• You might use an app for day-to-day tracking and a spreadsheet once a quarter for big-picture planning.
• You might keep a small notebook in your bag just for cash spending so it doesn’t disappear from your radar.

The key is not which tool you pick, but that you:

• Track consistently for at least three to six months.
• Compare your real spending to your expected retirement budget.
• Adjust either your lifestyle or your savings plan based on what you learn.

Extra real examples of expenses retirees often underestimate

When people start using these examples of track your retirement expenses: 3 practical examples, the same surprise categories show up again and again. Here are some real examples to watch for as you track your own spending:

• Healthcare beyond premiums. People often budget for Medicare premiums but forget co-pays, deductibles, over-the-counter meds, dental, vision, and hearing costs. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and Medicare sites offer updated info on coverage and costs: https://www.hhs.gov/ and https://www.medicare.gov/
• Home repairs and replacements. Roofs, HVAC systems, water heaters, and appliances don’t care that you’re retired. Many retirees find that averaging the last 5–10 years of home expenses in a spreadsheet gives a more realistic number.
• Helping adult children. Real examples include paying for a child’s graduate school, helping with a down payment, or covering daycare for grandkids. These can add up fast.
• Travel “extras.” You may budget for flights and hotels but forget airport meals, pet sitting, travel insurance, or mobility aids if walking long distances gets harder.
• Subscriptions and memberships. Streaming services, cloud storage, magazines, fitness apps, clubs, and online courses often slip under the radar until you see them grouped in one place.
• Inflation. Prices for groceries, utilities, and insurance have moved noticeably in 2022–2024. Tracking year over year helps you adjust your withdrawal strategy instead of being caught off guard.

As you apply any example of a tracking system, keep an eye on these categories. They’re the ones that most often break a retirement budget quietly.

How to choose your own example of a tracking system and get started this week

If you’ve read this far, you don’t need another lecture—you need a starting line.

Here’s a simple way to pick from these examples of track your retirement expenses: 3 practical examples and start this week:

• If you like simple and physical: grab a notebook, label a page with this month, list a few spending categories, and start writing every purchase.
• If you like structure and detail: open a spreadsheet, set up basic columns, and import one month of transactions from your bank to get a feel for your real spending.
• If you like tech and visuals: choose a reputable budgeting app, connect one or two accounts, and spend 10 minutes a week cleaning up categories.

Then, after three months, sit down with your numbers and ask:

• Are we spending more or less than we expected in retirement?
• Which categories are higher than we thought?
• Do we need to adjust our lifestyle, our savings, or our retirement date?

If you want more guidance on creating a retirement budget and understanding how long your money might last, check out educational materials from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor.gov site: https://www.investor.gov/additional-resources/retirement-tools-calculators

The point of all these examples of track your retirement expenses: 3 practical examples isn’t to turn you into an accountant. It’s to give you confidence. When you know where your money is going, you can make calm, informed choices about how you spend your time and your savings in retirement.

FAQ: Real examples of tracking retirement expenses

Q: What are some simple examples of how to start tracking retirement expenses if I’ve never budgeted before?
Start as small as possible. One easy example of a beginner system is to track just three categories for one month: groceries, dining out, and healthcare. Use a notebook or a basic spreadsheet, write down each purchase, and total it at the end. Once that feels comfortable, add more categories.

Q: Which example of a tracking method works best for couples who manage money differently?
Many couples find a hybrid works best. For instance, one partner might maintain a spreadsheet (because they like details) while the other uses an app to quickly categorize day-to-day spending. Then they review the totals together once a month. That way, both personalities are respected, and both have real examples of where the money is going.

Q: How often should I review my tracked expenses in retirement?
Most people do well with a quick weekly check-in and a deeper review once a month. In the first year of retirement, some find it helpful to do a more detailed quarterly review to compare real spending to their planned budget.

Q: Can tracking expenses help me adjust for inflation in retirement?
Yes. By tracking your expenses over time, you’ll see which categories are rising fastest—often groceries, utilities, and insurance. With real examples in front of you, you can decide whether to trim spending elsewhere, adjust your withdrawal rate, or consider part-time work.

Q: Are there free resources with more examples of retirement expense planning?
Yes. Investor.gov (run by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) offers retirement tools and calculators, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau provides budgeting worksheets and guides. These can give you additional examples of how to organize and plan your retirement expenses.