Pedaling Away From Tightness 

Yesterday evening, I decided to test out my brand-new, shiny bike. Around half an hour later, I was standing bemused, looking down the 20% gradient hill path I’d just cycled up. I was just a bit out of breath, and if you know anything about cycling and gradients, you must be thinking I’m talking rubbish. That steep slope should literally be a wall of unendurable pain, and on my normal bike, I wouldn’t even have attempted to go near it. How could I have possibly done this extreme feat? Very simple: my shiny new purchase is an e-bike, and what a revelation it’s been.

I love cycling and probably ride around 1,000 miles per year on my normal bike. But I have to tell you, it’s a challenge at my holiday home because there’s a lot of hilly terrain to conquer. My dream of biking the wonderful coastal routes around my home over this summer was in serious jeopardy of not happening, or being curtailed to the easier routes.

I’m normally a very generous person, but when it comes to personal spending on myself, it’s another story entirely. Tight is the word that comes to mind, and adding extremely to the beginning of that wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination. But after weeks of indecision and hours of looking, I eventually cracked open the wallet and spent a bit of cash on myself, much to the very large sigh of relief from my wife, Suzie, because I’d talked her ears off about my buying dilemma.

So on the face of it this hasn’t a lot to do with finance and retirement, and in truth it doesn’t. I just wanted to tell people what a great thing this e-bike is, but if I dig down a bit deeper, there are some lessons to learn. My gift to myself is a great enabling device that lets me continue doing something I enjoy. It definitely benefits my mental health and well-being, a great plus at any stage, but particularly as we age. It can also be looked at as an investment in preventive care, encouraging me to exercise and improve my physical health, and that’s definitely going to pay dividends for my future self.

Then there’s the experiential spending over purely material possessions. Instead of buying more “stuff,” I’ve invested in something that directly enhances my quality of life and allows me to continue a passion. This kind of investment in experiences can provide greater long-term satisfaction and contributes more to overall well-being, which is crucial for a fulfilling retirement.

But deep down, I think I’m just trying to overcome and justify a reluctance to spend on myself. And if we think about it, that’s another issue many need to overcome in retirement. Finding a reason that has meaning for you might make this transition to personal spending easier. Find your passion and give yourself permission. And you just never know. Maybe a super cool e-bike might help you come to terms with this problem, even if, like me, you just happen to have two perfectly fine bikes already!