I’m 42 and have $2.4 million saved for retirement – what’s the best way to project future expenses like weddings?

We’re often encouraged to do our best to save well for retirement. And you may have a certain savings goal you’re hoping to hit by the time your career comes to an end.

But what about life’s other expenses — things like home repairs, needing to buy a new car, or costs related to your children and pets? These are things that are much harder to plan and budget for.

In this Reddit post, we have someone in their early 40s with $2.4 saved for retirement already. They’re trying to figure out how much money they can reasonably save for retirement by age 60. But they also have two children and are trying to figure out how to account for other expenses that might arise, like college and their kids’ weddings.

The truth is, without a crystal ball, it can be tricky to plan for some of these expenses. But there are steps you can take to get close.

It’s a matter of covering your bases

I’m in a similar situation to the poster above in that I have my personal retirement savings goal, but I also have kids and pets. And that right there introduces a world of unknown expenses.

I know that I want to put my kids through college. And I’d like to be in a position to offer financial support post-college. But since I have no idea what either expense might look like, it’s hard to plan.

I’m also an animal lover and can’t be without a dog. But there are unknown expenses to pet ownership you always have to account for. Already this year, one of my dogs wound up in the animal hospital, leaving me with a $1,600 bill. So there’s that.

And also, as someone who owns a home and is part of a two-vehicle household, I know that eventually, we might need to make big repairs to our house and replace both cars. So I’d tell this poster to do what I do. And the strategy is pretty simple.

What I do is maintain what I call a list of possibilities. It can contain line items that include paying for weddings, paying for a new roof, buying a new car, and so forth.

What I do is try to estimate how far away each possibility is and a range of what it might cost. And then, as I work toward my long-term savings goals, I also try to allocate money toward these possibilities so that I don’t suddenly find myself staring at a huge expense I haven’t planned for.

The poster here could do the same based on their family situation and goals. For example, if they know they want to fund their kids’ college education, it’s not so difficult to figure out the timeline. The exact cost of college may be unknown to them, since it’ll hinge on where their kids decide to go to school and how much they get in scholarships, but they’ll at least have a starting point to work with.

A financial advisor can help

The idea of saving for the possibilities on my list on top of retirement became daunting a few years back. So you know what I did? I got myself a financial advisor. And frankly, I think that’s something everyone should do.

A financial advisor can help you build these nebulous expenses into your long-term plan. They may also be able to help you estimate some of the costs involved so you have more concrete numbers to work with.