Even if your house is paid off, depending on the property, you may still have significant costs to budget for. I have an old house and a large property and between property tax, insurance, utilities, and maintenance (both routine and occasional large), I'm probably a good $1K/month.

If your property taxes and insurance are high it’s because your house is worth a lot of money. If your house’s value constitutes a large share of your net worth such that taxes and insurance are a burden then it indicates that too much of your equity is in your house and you should downsize.

I never said they were a "burden." I was indicating that just because you've paid off your mortgage doesn't mean living in a house is free.

I think you'll find those numbers are not especially high for a house. (As opposed to a condo which have their own fees.) My house is not especially large--but it is about 200 years old although renovated so budgeting a few hundred dollars per month for maintenance seems reasonable.

I honestly doubt that most people could get the cost associated with maintaining a house below $500/month or so.

> I never said they were a "burden." I was indicating that just because you've paid off your mortgage doesn't mean living in a house is free.

No one claimed it was free, and if it’s not a burden then what’s the problem? My point is that $80K without a mortgage or retirement allocation leaves significantly more money left over than $80K with those expenses. Where is the problem?

Of course. But my point was that your "spending money" may still need to budget $10+K/year to keep a roof over your head. (Of course, you can downsize and move someplace cheaper.)