Anyone planning to increase their WR with age?

[REWahoo]

We only know we had more money to spend when it is too late to spend it.

An insurance salesman will be along shortly to point out the fallacy of your thinking - and offering to sell you a SPIA.

 

[Danmar]

OK posts 71-75 have convinced me to get that sports car, maybe. Most of the things mentioned as possible increases, we are already doing. Agree with MichaelB. Once you figured out you should spend more, it's probably too late.

 

[Ronstar]

I have plans to increase WR in the next few years. Part of it will go into our travel budget. Maybe a new truck, but not a new sports car.


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[W2R]

The above said, I have no desire for a sports car. I must be paid a lot of money, and I mean a lot, to have to drive such a car. And I am not even of early SS age.

+1 Even at just 67 years old, the aches and pains of aging have started catching up with me. I have zero desire to try to get in and out of a sports car. Love my Venza, though! It's just the right height to get in and out of, as pain free as possible.

Also, I never exceed the speed limit so any extra horsepower is wasted on me. Even my Venza has more zip than I can take advantage of.

I imagine there will be plenty to spend money on as I grow older. Probably these won't be the same things as I once desired. Similarly, what a 55-year-old spends his money on might not be what he would have spent it on (had he had it) at 17.

 

[Danmar]

I'm not really trying to argue the merits of a sports car. Rather spending more now on something that brings enjoyment. Everybody is different in this regard whether it be more travel, more charitable giving, helping family, etc. The point that keeps coming out is, by the time you realize you should (have) spend(t) more, there probably isn't anything worthwhile to spend it on.

 

[audreyh1]

Sports car for he who really desires it. I'll settle for a BMW SUV. Now.

 

[MichaelB]

OK posts 71-75 have convinced me to get that sports car, maybe. Most of the things mentioned as possible increases, we are already doing. Agree with MichaelB. Once you figured out you should spend more, it's probably too late.

You need help to justify spending money on a sports car? I'd have guessed otherwise.

 

[2017ish]

OK posts 71-75 have convinced me to get that sports car, maybe. Most of the things mentioned as possible increases, we are already doing. Agree with MichaelB. Once you figured out you should spend more, it's probably too late.

Or, with reference to another ongoing thread, you could buy a couple of grills for about the same price!

(If you are a "sports car guy," why wait? DW and I each separately drove a friend's 911 last summer, which was a blast; we were both afraid that the other one would fall in love and want one! As it turns out, we both value travel more though.)

 

[braumeister]

The point that keeps coming out is, by the time you realize you should (have) spend more, there isn't anything worthwhile to spend it on.

I couldn't agree more. All my bases are covered as far into the future as I'm willing to look, at a spending rate considerably higher than the current rate. So now is the time to allow myself the occasional luxury, while I can still take advantage of it and appreciate it. Like you, this is something I've always known but only internalized in the last couple of years.

 

[highlow65]

venzas are very nice cars, my wife has one

 

[Alan]

I'm 6'1", my wife is 5'1", we only have, and need, 1 car but would like a car where you can save the driver settings such that when we get into the driver's seat we can select our personal setting and the seat, steering wheel and door mirrors move to their pre-set positions. (I'm sure there must be such cars out there, or maybe folks rich enough to afford them would simply buy 2 cars).

Our WR will again be much higher this year as we'll be setting up a second house and buying a second car, but in the UK. We'll then be like most our friends and relatives, a 2 car family again, just with each car in a different continent.

 

[Danmar]

You need help to justify spending money on a sports car? I'd have guessed otherwise.

Well, it's pretty expensive and I already have something that is really sporty. Hedonism does have its limits. Or maybe this reluctance is the old age symptom starting in?

 

[Amethyst]

Oh, I wouldn't want anyone to drive a car they do not like. It is just that Danmar's post hit one of my hot buttons: that there is some age by which we must give up something we like, even if we're still capable of enjoying it.
"Just Because It's Not Age-Appropriate." I always want to know where the Age-Appropriate Police have their HQ, so I can go there late at night and throw eggs at it.

Amethyst

+1 Even at just 67 years old, the aches and pains of aging have started catching up with me. I have zero desire to try to get in and out of a sports car. Love my Venza, though! It's just the right height to get in and out of, as pain free as possible.

Also, I never exceed the speed limit so any extra horsepower is wasted on me. Even my Venza has more zip than I can take advantage of.

I imagine there will be plenty to spend money on as I grow older. Probably these won't be the same things as I once desired. Similarly, what a 55-year-old spends his money on might not be what he would have spent it on (had he had it) at 17.

 

[hnzw_rui]

I'm 6'1", my wife is 5'1", we only have, and need, 1 car but would like a car where you can save the driver settings such that when we get into the driver's seat we can select our personal setting and the seat, steering wheel and door mirrors move to their pre-set positions. (I'm sure there must be such cars out there, or maybe folks rich enough to afford them would simply buy 2 cars).

I believe even my aunt's 5 year-old Lexus already has this. Also noticed this feature mentioned on the 2015 Pilot while researching SUVs and crossovers recently.

 

[Alan]

I believe even my aunt's 5 year-old Lexus already has this. Also noticed this feature mentioned on the 2015 Pilot while researching SUVs and crossovers recently.

Cool, much more desirable to me than a sports car these days.

 

[Danmar]

Oh, I wouldn't want anyone to drive a car they do not like. It is just that Danmar's post hit one of my hot buttons: that there is some age by which we must give up something we like, even if we're still capable of enjoying it.
"Just Because It's Not Age-Appropriate." I always want to know where the Age-Appropriate Police have their HQ, so I can go there late at night and throw eggs at it.

Amethyst

I certainly agree but I figure if you need help getting in and out and never get out of second gear, you might be past it. But like you said if you still enjoy it and can afford it, who cares what others think.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have seen too many people dyeing of cancer, a heart attack, or a stroke in their 60s, or even 50s, to think that it is certain that I do not have that risk...

Meant to put down "dying", and just now reread my post and see "dyeing".

Does this mean Alzheimer is going to get me before the above maladies, or did I just get dyslexic?

Arghhh....

Still, no sports car. Not even a stinkin' BMW SUV. My brothers both have one, one an X3 and the other an X5, and I look at them with indifferent eyes.

 

[hnzw_rui]

When I can't drive any more, a chauffeur. ... A limo

I'd rather have this over the sports car. I hate driving. Of course, unless we're talking a new Lamborghini ever year, the chauffeur is a lot more expensive what with salary, payroll taxes and workers' comp.

 

[Meadbh]

I'd rather have this over the sports car. I hate driving. Of course, unless we're talking a new Lamborghini ever year, the chauffeur is a lot more expensive what with salary, payroll taxes and workers' comp.

You don't have to do it the Downton Abbey / Driving Miss Daisy way. When my mom was in her final years, she hired a local taxi company. She became a "regular" and had great service from her favourite drivers.

 

[Katsmeow]

Most people spend less for travel and fun as they age but more for healthcare.

I keep seeing this about spending more for healthcare, but I'm not entirely sure that it is that significant, unless there is a need for long term care. My mother is 91 and on Medicare. She doesn't spend appreciably more on healthcare than does my husband who is much younger but on Medicare. She does spend more because she has a boatload of prescriptions and he doesn't. But, she has prescription coverage which helps a lot. Now, if she needed long term care it would different, but she doesn't need it.

And, for sure she spends less now in large part because she tires easily and doesn't like to go out that often except when she really needs to. Even when she visits us, she often doesn't want to, say, go out to eat even if we are paying for it. She finds it tiring and too much bother. She does go out sometimes when she is here. But, her not going out much isn't really economic so much as she doesn't have the energy she had 20 or 30 years ago.

And, I've seen this with other older relatives. They begin to out less and do less even when in relatively good health because they tire more easily.

 

[Meadbh]

I keep seeing this about spending more for healthcare, but I'm not entirely sure that it is that significant, unless there is a need for long term care. My mother is 91 and on Medicare. She doesn't spend appreciably more on healthcare than does my husband who is much younger but on Medicare.

Katsmeow, notwithstanding your personal experience, the population data are very clear that an enormous, disproportionate amount of money is spent on providing healthcare at the end of life, particularly to elderly patients. Much of that effort is aimed at prolonging life for short periods and is often both futile and painful.

Forbes Welcome

"According to one study (Banarto, McClellan, Kagy and Garber, 2004), 30% of all Medicare expenditures are attributed to the 5% of beneficiaries that die each year, with 1/3 of that cost occurring in the last month of life."

An older article:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-cost-of-dying/

 

[Katsmeow]

Katsmeow, notwithstanding your personal experience, the population data are very clear that an enormous, disproportionate amount of money is spent on providing healthcare at the end of life, particularly to elderly patients. Much of that effort is aimed at prolonging life for short periods and is often both futile and painful.

Forbes Welcome

"According to one study (Banarto, McClellan, Kagy and Garber, 2004), 30% of all Medicare expenditures are attributed to the 5% of beneficiaries that die each year, with 1/3 of that cost occurring in the last month of life."

We are not talking about the same thing. I have absolutely no doubt that Medicare spending is indeed spent at end of life and more to those who are older.

But...that wasn't what I was talking about. I was talking about how much my mother herself spends on health care versus what my husband (who is "young" in Medicare terms) spends. She has a supplemental policy so her personal out of pocket spending is very little.

In other words, the fact that Medicare spends more on a particular patient as that patient gets older doesn't mean that the patient herself spends a lot more. Her supplement premiums may go up a bit and some other things (such as drug costs may go up a bit). The part you are missing though is that most of the medical care that is not long term care is covered by Medicare so it doesn't really increase the spending of the patient that much.

 

[Meadbh]

We are not talking about the same thing. I have absolutely no doubt that Medicare spending is indeed spent at end of life and more to those who are older.

But...that wasn't what I was talking about. I was talking about how much my mother herself spends on health care versus what my husband (who is "young" in Medicare terms) spends. She has a supplemental policy so her personal out of pocket spending is very little.

In other words, the fact that Medicare spends more on a particular patient as that patient gets older doesn't mean that the patient herself spends a lot more. Her supplement premiums may go up a bit and some other things (such as drug costs may go up a bit). The part you are missing though is that most of the medical care that is not long term care is covered by Medicare so it doesn't really increase the spending of the patient that much.

My bad, I read your sentence as "spending", not "personal spending". The fact remains that on a population basis, overall healthcare spending, be it provided by Medicare or some other insurance, is very high at the end of life. Who do you think is paying for that?

 

[gcgang]

I heard "traditional " retirement has three phases: the GoGo Years, the SlowGo Years, then the NoGo years.

I'd rather spend the money while I'm healthy enough to enjoy it. While that may increase the risk I'll have to cut spending later, by then I'll probably have dementia and not know the difference.

 

[34rlsa]

I'd rather spend the money while I'm healthy enough to enjoy it.

Agree

When my wife joins me in retirement this May we plan on increasing our spending from our current level. The accumulation phase is over... its time to enjoy the rewards of our sacrifices. We have no plans to increase spending as we age. We're increasing spending now while we still can.