FREE NEWSLETTER
Many of us have decades of practice saving, budgeting, and optimizing. But retirement requires a different skill: spending confidently—not impulsively, but without unnecessary guilt when the plan supports it.
I’m curious how others handle the mental side of spending after (or near) retirement:
What has helped you make the shift from accumulation to using your resources well?
We’ve always approached this as using a tool. Spending and saving are two sides of the same coin….
Spending was and remains about choices. Some view this from scarcity while others view it as having abundance. Even when money was tight, G and I concluded we were living in abundance. She even created an artwork T-shirt about this.
There are practical aspects to spending. We do run a budget, this indicates what financial excess may be available to spend, or none. We also discuss purchases outside the normal every day stuff. Food, utilities and so on don’t warrant a discussion except for things like meal planning. We set the thermostat for comfort, etc.
We maintain an emergency fund. It is sufficient to handle larger things, such as a HVAC replacement. We’ve been fixing the things in the house that the previous owner neglected. By doing these things we aren’t in a “robbing the piggy bank” situation when we do select items for discretionary spending.
We take the perspective we could do anything we really want. Travel, purchase “stuff” or whatever. Decisions then become about what would make a difference. Experiences are short-lived, but can create wonderful memories. I recommend sharing experiences with others and documenting them. I think there are practical aspects. While it is true I could spend all day, every day on the water, there are other things to do, too.
When travelling Europe, particularly Italy, there are many, many beautiful churches and many museums. (Schulenberg Texas has some amazing painted churches). But then, nearly all U.S. cities have wonderful museums, butterfly gardens and so on. Spending for entertainment purposes has become like streaming or sports. The choices are overwhelming and endless. This can lead to entertainment overwhelm. It is becoming increasingly difficult to wade through all the cr@p.
I’m currently unplugging by reading a couple of good books, including Andy Weir’s “Hail Mary”; there will no need to see the abridged version on the big screen.
As for regrets, I have none. I do have limitations today and that prevents me from doing some “every day” things. Well, eventually chronic illness strikes or old age occurs or both, and when our bodies break down so do our options. It is perfectly normal. My twin passed of medical complications at the age 64. A sister passed at age 57. These and other happenings led me to accelerate what I was doing, with the realization that my life was finite and would likely end sooner than would be normally expected.
Purchasing a small RV in 2013 definitely altered our lives and we’ve travelled about 6,000 miles every year since, except one which was a time-off for medical stuff. We’ve travelled and camped with it from -5F to 103F. We now live in another, larger RV part of the year near the water, and winter in the desert in a home. Note: We rented a RV first, as a trial and to determine specifically what we wanted from it. We applied what we learned.
I’ve been living in the “bonus round” for about 8 years.
Good article and good discussion.
I heard this while listening to a Jesse Cramer podcast with Jeremy Keil (Longevity and Retirement | E127). Jeremy framed the struggle with being a saver, and then trying to become a spender like this: you’re not a saver, you’re not a spender; you are a planner – – – before retirement and after retirement.
Jeremy continued…Planning before retirement your tool was saving. Planning after retirement your tool is spending. (We seem to be all planners, which is consistently on display in the many articles and thoughtful comments on HD.)
Hopefully, this resonates with you all as it did me. I found it a nice framing and thought I would pass along.
Everyone, just make sure you save for retirement, so someday you will have the option to spend more than when you were saving. At 80 years old I spend twice the amount as 10 years ago. It does take some doing to spend more than I take in.
It can take awhile to get in “retirement” mode. Your whole working life the goal is to save, save, save, reduce expenses etc. Now retired, the goal is the opposite. It took me 2 or 3 years for that to sink in. You can’t take anything with you when you die.
Purchasing a new 2025, high quality vehicle (Honda Ridgeline truck) with a 10 year extended warranty has greatly improved my peace of mind when traveling.
That was an upg