Consumption is the amount of money left over to spend after taxes and specified off-the-top expenses such as housing, Medicare Part B, and other special expenditures have been paid. Our reports refer to this as "discretionary spending." Consumption is the household's "bottom line" because it shows how much they have to live on each year. Where other programs ask the user to input "how much you need to live on, now or in retirement," ESPlanner actually solves for this number, showing you the highest, affordable living standard or "consumption" that your household can have.