In the retirement-planning phase, many people expect to reduce their spending once they quit their jobs for good.
"In my experience, this is not always the case," says Nicole Rutledge, a CFP with Resource Consulting Group in Orlando, Fla. "Typically we see clients spend more money when they initially retire. This is the time in their lives when they are still healthy and full of energy. They travel more, focus resources on hobbies and other interests and do many of those things they have been putting off during their working years. We call this the 'go-go years.'"
Rutledge says people usually decrease spending in the later retirement years. "That's when health issues, energy and just the general desire to travel the world and focus on hobbies just aren't what they used to be."