Thanks for these thoughts. Our parents' generation who lived through great financial uncertainty learned to save and not spend. My father was very demented in his 90s. He did now know my mother, his wife, or me, his daughter. Despite the dementia, every few weeks he would ask about the interest rate on his CDs and when the next CD would mature! Sometime he would mention the glory days of double digit CD rates. We always used these discussion to reassure him of his ample fiscal resources and remind him their financial well-being was due to their saving over many years.
After a lifetime of avoiding spending money on possessions, I now have scant interest in more stuff. I am more focused on experiences in retirement. During my busy career years, I acquired a mental list of activities I would like to experience during retirement. I have tried many new hobbies with my focus on experiences. (Pickleball is my favorite new activity.) I enjoy spending on multiple international travel experiences each year. Financing experiences feels very different from acquiring more stuff.
I am reinventing myself by learning new activities. I never played sports, I now love pickleball. I am not artistic, I joined and enjoy a watercolor group. I learned to play bridge. I always loved learning, so learning new activities fits my personality. I enjoy varied novel volunteer activities. During my academic career, I tended to make friends with people who were academics. I now enjoy having friends with vastly different career/job histories. These new experiences are fascinating and fun.
Comments
Thanks for these thoughts. Our parents' generation who lived through great financial uncertainty learned to save and not spend. My father was very demented in his 90s. He did now know my mother, his wife, or me, his daughter. Despite the dementia, every few weeks he would ask about the interest rate on his CDs and when the next CD would mature! Sometime he would mention the glory days of double digit CD rates. We always used these discussion to reassure him of his ample fiscal resources and remind him their financial well-being was due to their saving over many years.
Post: Deeply Rooted
Link to comment from May 23, 2026
After a lifetime of avoiding spending money on possessions, I now have scant interest in more stuff. I am more focused on experiences in retirement. During my busy career years, I acquired a mental list of activities I would like to experience during retirement. I have tried many new hobbies with my focus on experiences. (Pickleball is my favorite new activity.) I enjoy spending on multiple international travel experiences each year. Financing experiences feels very different from acquiring more stuff.
Post: Spending Without Guilt: An Overlooked Retirement Skill
Link to comment from January 24, 2026
I am reinventing myself by learning new activities. I never played sports, I now love pickleball. I am not artistic, I joined and enjoy a watercolor group. I learned to play bridge. I always loved learning, so learning new activities fits my personality. I enjoy varied novel volunteer activities. During my academic career, I tended to make friends with people who were academics. I now enjoy having friends with vastly different career/job histories. These new experiences are fascinating and fun.
Post: One Man’s Junk
Link to comment from February 15, 2025