‘I still have a mortgage’: I’m no longer confident that my costs will actually fall in retirement. What can I do?

Dear Quentin,

I see a lot of articles on retirement planning that talk about planning for a lower percentage of your current income, with

80% commonly cited from a planning perspective. I’m curious, though, for anyone who has already retired: What have your actual expenses been compared with your preretirement income?

Since we aren’t planning on moving or selling vehicles, I don’t see our housing and transportation expenses changing. I still have a mortgage, but at such a low interest rate that the math doesn’t make sense to pay it off early. I already work from home, so there are no business clothing or commuting costs to be saved.