Spending by Tier

Categorized by cut order, not by nature

"Fixed vs. variable" answers a budgeting question; this answers a retirement one — if guaranteed income or our portfolio took a hit, what changes, and in what order? Categories are grouped by Tier 0 (never cut) through Tier 3 (purely elective). This is a first pass — several assignments are judgment calls; see the script's comments for the closest ones. Click a category to see the transactions behind it, same as the Spending by Category page. The small bar next to each category name is its own funding-source split for the current year — see the next section for what the colors mean. Taxes and Investment Fees are excluded — a cost of income and our portfolio, not a lifestyle choice.

The shape of spending

Tier 0 — Floor (never cut) — $75,454    Tier 1 — First to trim — $17,013    Tier 2 — Postponable — $50,801    Tier 3 — Purely elective — $5,282

What's actually funding each tier

Three pools, same priority order as the tiers themselves and the same routine/episodic split used on the Financial Summary: guaranteed income ($98,348) fills Tier 0 first, then 1, then 2, then 3; whatever's left after that draws on the routine draw ($108,000/yr, at a standing $9,000/mo), then the episodic draw ($17,075, mostly tax-funding). This is an allocation model, not a trace of literal dollars — money is fungible — but it answers "what specifically pays for this" in the same cut-priority terms as the tiers.

Guaranteed income covers the entire floor, with $22,894/yr left over for Tier 1.

The $98,348 above is gross. An estimated ~$18,356/yr is owed in tax on Social Security and pension income specifically (not withheld or split out in the feed) — net, only ~$79,992/yr is really available, which still covers the floor, with only ~$4,538/yr left for Tier 1 (vs. $22,894/yr on the gross figure). Rate (13.5% federal / 9.3% CA) is an illustrative example marginal bracket, not a fixed feature of SS/pension — it moves with total income and should be re-derived from each new return. Not a CPA figure — see config.py.

Guaranteed income    Routine draw    Episodic draw