Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTVishesh RaisinghaniSun, August 2, 2026 at 4:35 PM GMT+2 5 min readEnvatoMoneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below.For most retirees, their biggest concern is the size of their nest egg. Having enough money to live comfortably and not outlive your savings is probably a top priority. But the question about how much money you need to save hinges on another, perhaps equally important question: How much do you plan to spend?After all, your annual budget determines the "magic number" you need to target. And for a better idea of what your retirement budget could look like, it's helpful to consider the budget of a typical retiree.With that in mind, here's a closer look at the most recent data from the Federal Reserve's Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) (1).Must ReadJeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being oneJPMorgan still sees gold hitting $5,000/oz by Q4 — and savvy investors are protecting their wealth with a tax-advantaged Gold IRA. Learn more with a free guide from Priority GoldThe tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028 — and experts say most people won't act in time. What to do before the window closesA typical retirement budgetThe average retired person spent roughly $59,616 during 2024 (the most recent year surveyed by the Fed). That's roughly $5,000 a month.Perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest line item on this budget is housing. A typical retiree spent $22,079 annually on shelter-related costs in 2024. That cost alone is nearly 37% of the total average budget, or $1 in every $3 spent during the course of a year.Those numbers suggest that If you're looking to tighten your budget, housing could be your top priority. And you wouldn't be alone. In fact, nearly 41% of Americans between the ages of 65 and 79 had a mortgage on their primary home, according to a 2023 report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (2).So, if you're one of these mortgage holders, shopping around for a good interest rate could make a meaningful difference.As for those who own their home free and clear, you may want to find other ways to lower costs. Shopping around for a good home insurance policy, for instance, could move the needle for your annual budget. Plus, referral services like OfficialHomeInsurance.com make it easier than ever to find the coverage you need without the hassle of calling multiple providers for quotes. Simply fill out a few details and you could save an average of $482 a year.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info