Robert Brokamp

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I'm Robert Brokamp.

Fool on, everybody.

How does spending change over the course of your life and why it might mean you could spend more in retirement?

That and much more on this Saturday personal finance edition of Motley Fool Money.

I'm Robert Brokamp, and this week I speak with financial planning expert David Blanchett about his research into how to turn a portfolio into a retirement paycheck and why many retirees could spend more than they do.

But first, let's dig into what happened last week in money, starting with the ongoing federal government shutdown.

One consequence is that many economic numbers won't be released, including the previous week's jobs report and, if the shutdown continues, the inflation figures for September, the cost of living adjusted for Social Security, the retirement account contribution limits for 2026, and the new rate for Series I savings bonds, also known as I-bonds.

Another consequence is that many federal employees are furloughed, including nearly half of the workforce at the IRS.

But no, that doesn't mean you could ignore the October 15th deadline to get your 2024 tax return in if you filed for an extension.

And also, several government websites are down.

So, for example, if you're the victim of identity theft, you'll have to wait until the shutdown is over to report the crime and get helpful resources at identitytheft.gov.

While the past is no guarantee of future results, Jeff Bookbinder of LPL did publish some stats about what happened during the past shutdowns.

So since 1976, there have been 21 shutdowns, and they last on average eight days.

But the longest was the last one, which was during the first Trump presidency and lasted 34 days.

On average, the stock market is essentially flat.