Does Frugal Living Ever Change in Retirement?

[garyt]

I'm retiring in May. I suspect I'll be conservative for the first couple years to ward off sequence of returns risk. But once I get that out of my head ( assuming a big drop doesn't make it a reality) I plan to spend like crazy. But it will be more travel, play more expensive golf courses, nicer resorts. I don't have any interest in a more expensive car just because it's a better "name", or a bigger house, etc.

[Dawg52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB It was a lunch, but with my wife and beer and wine were also enjoyed.

For 2 and good drinks I can see that. I was thinking in terms of my little world of one. Plus where I live prices are a lot less than in CA. Wasn't being critical of you btw.

[Jerry1]

This reminds me of DW and our trips to Chicago. DW is the more frugal one in the relationship. But, as others have said, she’ll buy what she wants, but she’ll spend whatever time necessary to make sure she’s getting the best price she can. Definitely goes for high value at best cost. Has the patience of Jobe. If she wants a new lens for her camera, it could take her six months to pull the trigger. Me, when I want something, I’ll shop and try to get a good price (I’m certainly not a foolish shopper), but for something I really want, I’m getting the best price I can find that day. I might wait for Black Friday if I’m in early November, but patience is not one of my virtues.

So back to Chicago. As much as me and DW have enjoyed our trips there, it’s a complete nonstarter for DW. She enjoys the shopping (looking but not buying), but she would never buy something there. She would not enjoy buying her new fabulous lens there only to know she could get it for less in other ways or another time. Thankfully, there are some really great restaurants there and she’s always seemed to enjoy them even though I’m sure at some point she’s thinking that she could have eaten a steak for much less somewhere else.

This hasn’t and will not change with retirement. No matter how I show her that we’re fine, she definitely has a fear of running out of money.

[Ronstar]

I don’t think that my level of frugality has changed much since retiring. Working was good for trying to be frugal - it was tough to spend money at work. But I can spend 24/7/365 now in retirement. And being frugal never crosses my mind when spending on hobbies or travel. Unfortunately.

[pacergal]

We have a yearly "budget" that is higher than when we were working. I still comparison shop but I am not afraid to spend money on things we find value in, such as flying first class on longer flights.
I don't fear spending money, I know what I have budgeted for the year. If I spend it all, fine. If I have some left, that's OK too.

[MarieIG]

I see nothing wrong with shopping for the best value, and expect I will become more frugal in retirement in some ways, not less, as I will have time to "shop around" which I don't have now. We also plan to move out of state due in part to the HCOL and taxes in our area.

For example, we have to plan our current trips to visit our children around our work schedule, and end up paying high rates for travel. When we retire, we will look for better prices. Paying less for a trip, means more trips. That doesn't mean we won't spend money to make the trip more pleasant.

For OP, you are pricing out Alaskan cruises: not eating ramen noodles for dinner instead of chicken to save money, so I really wouldn't stress about it.

[Rianne]

Frugal living comes naturally for us. We like cooking at home, we have no need to buy new clothes (our old clothes are in style). Kids love antique stores, old furniture, second hand shops, it's in fashion right now. Baggy non fitting clothes, the big thing. I have nieces and nephews in their early 20's. They're cool, smart, up on trends.

This gives wiggle room for a great getaway or quality upgrading on our house. I dislike cheap maintenance or a cheap re model. And even though our cars are old, they are classic Toyota Camry's. A lady in our grocery store parking lot had a 2018 Camry (because I asked her). It looked very much like my 2004 Camry, same color and very close same design. Mine doesn't have the bells and whistles inside the car.
I guess it's what is valuable to you. We pay $75/month for fitness membership, but it has an awesome therapy pool with all the best equipment. It's super clean and well cared for. The front desk staff have been there for years.
We pay for cable/3 TV's with movie, Netflix, Prime etc as a choice for quality entertainment at home. But I get free books from the library.
Our expenses are @ $60K/year, but we live very well.

[Another Reader]

I think a lot has to do with your experiences as a child with financial insecurity. If you had a parent out of a job for an extended period, the income providing parent became disabled or died, or there was a divorce that left the custodial parent broke, you probably experienced a lot of anxiety about money. It's very hard to overcome that kind of experience. The fear of running out of money motivates you to have a bigger cushion and a fear of spending.

On the other hand, if you had parents that always emphasized having safe and steady employment, never took any risks with their money, and thought it wrong to spend any more than you needed, you probably ended up with the same cushion and fear of spending.

Then there was my friend whose brother in law dropped dead of a heart attack at 35. His parents were of the safety over all else belief. Dad worked at one bank for 40 years. This guy was in his 20's and vowed that he would die without one penny left in his pocket. He spent the next 50 years spending everything he earned or could borrow. Drove fancy cars, owned and flew a plane, vacationed at the best resorts, and had a life that was one big party. In this case, a natural tendency and a life-altering event overcame the parental example.

[audreyh1]

The older I get, the more I find I am willing to spend. Especially if personal comfort and convenience is involved.

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack I don’t mind spending money, but I hate wasting money.

+1 Bingo!

My old grandpappy used to say he would rather spend $1 for a cigar he enjoyed than 25¢ for one he didn't.

[Lawrencewendall]

Even though I may be in the 2 comma club, I still enjoy repairing/re-purposing/re-claiming stuff so as not to waste it. DW calls me a garbage picker. I prefer the term dumpster diver.

[NW-Bound]

We underspend what we can quite a bit. We can easily increase our spending by 2x. Instead, each year goes by, we spend less.

We have what we want, and derive no joy from just spending on things we do not care about.

The one thing we have been getting more generous on: gift and donation.

I don't mind that others spend more. It keeps the economy humming, and for people to have jobs. It's all good.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack I don’t mind spending money, but I hate wasting money. So I too am always looking for good value, so I’m selectively frugal?

That's my philosophy. I'll pay for quality, but I also shop at the dollar store.

[Pellice]

I'm about to find out. Six months retired now, but just put the final financial pieces into place in 2019. My "allowance" from my accounts is substantially higher than my spending while working. (Like Ronstar above, when I was working, I wasn't spending). Perhaps I lived too abstemiously while working. I was so afraid of some situation where I didn't have enough money!

Now we'll see if I can make the transition to living less frugally. My FA thinks I will have a hard time spending more; I don't. It's going to be fun finding out! So far I have fairly easily persuaded myself into a couple of more convenient but higher priced flights (but still economy! I'm short and don't need the extra room! And I'm probably at the lower end of wealth in this forum, lol!)

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Another Reader I think a lot has to do with your experiences as a child with financial insecurity. If you had a parent out of a job for an extended period, the income providing parent became disabled or died, or there was a divorce that left the custodial parent broke, you probably experienced a lot of anxiety about money. It's very hard to overcome that kind of experience. The fear of running out of money motivates you to have a bigger cushion and a fear of spending. On the other hand, if you had parents that always emphasized having safe and steady employment, never took any risks with their money, and thought it wrong to spend any more than you needed, you probably ended up with the same cushion and fear of spending. Then there was my friend whose brother in law dropped dead of a heart attack at 35. His parents were of the safety over all else belief. Dad worked at one bank for 40 years. This guy was in his 20's and vowed that he would die without one penny left in his pocket. He spent the next 50 years spending everything he earned or could borrow. Drove fancy cars, owned and flew a plane, vacationed at the best resorts, and had a life that was one big party. In this case, a natural tendency and a life-altering event overcame the parental example.

Seems like a great theory, but falls short when you consider often in the same family, siblings end up with different views.

Example, my family, I am frugal, saved even as a child, my Halloween candy would last until the next Halloween. My sibling, will spend until the credit cards stop lending money, has zero savings, and ate all the Halloween candy within a month.

Our parents always talked of the Depression, Our father's father died when Dad was 6, and our father, the only breadwinner in the family became disabled out of work when I was 16 and sibling was 15, So we had all the needed ingredients to both be frugal in theory.

[daylatedollarshort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Music Lover That's my philosophy. I'll pay for quality, but I also shop at the dollar store.

One of our local dollar store always has some great deals on fresh produce, fancy cheeses, organic foods and gourmet foods, often 75% off our local supermarket prices. We make dishes like soups, tacos, wraps, salads and stir fries so the exact ingredients aren't that important.

[Mdlerth]

I hope I don't end up spending more in retirement, but it's too early to tell. All the calculators and RE prep tools are geared to helping me plan how much income I'll have. They don't do much on the expense side. I still wonder whether all that extra free time will spark extra costs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I don't mind that others spend more. It keeps the economy humming, and for people to have jobs.

I wish more of my fellow ordinary folk were MORE frugal. From a (admittedly selfish) macroeconomic perspective, it doesn't take many free-spenders to drive up the prices of things I want to pay less for.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort One of our local dollar store always has some great deals on fresh produce, fancy cheeses, organic foods and gourmet foods, often 75% off our local supermarket prices. We make dishes like soups, tacos, wraps, salads and stir fries so the exact ingredients aren't that important.

Our dollar stores don't carry fresh food but they do carry brand name packaged food at better prices than the supermarket.

[ocean view]

It depends. Were you always a saver? I mean as a kid too? If so, then you are probably not going to change much. You might loosen up a bit, but you will always shop for value.

I was a saver for as long as I can remember, saving my 10 cents a week allowance to buy a Light Bright toy at age 8. Now, nearly 4 years into ER, I still weigh the cost vs. value of most purchases. I don’t mind spending on something of value, but nothing makes my day more than a discount. I don’t think I’ll ever change.

[Winemaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut What? No investments on aging Scotch Whiskey?

Scotch is in the liquor budget, silly!

Wine grapes are in the, well, fresh fruit budget.