Planning and saving too much?

[dusk_to_dawn]

Excuse me if this topic has already been covered, but do any of you think that you may be planning and saving too much? I have planned well and saved well (I think). When I run the numbers DW and I should be fine. We will work another nine years or so and then be done. I have this other part of my brain that says, damn, you aren't getting any younger (43) and will you really enjoy this money as much when you get old(er)? I'm not talking about major purchases. I'll still drive my 15 year old car and I love my modest house, but maybe we should go on some nicer vacations on a more frequent basis. Maybe some wild parties with a keg and some hookers? Who knows?

 

[retire@40]

...but maybe we should go on some nicer vacations on a more frequent basis.  Maybe some wild parties with a keg and some hookers?  Who knows?

I think if you are asking the question, you already know the answer.

 

[Cool Dood]

Maybe some wild parties with a keg and some hookers?

Is that what you want, or what your wife wants? (or both?)

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i saved as well as i could but i don't think i planned near enough. i'm stunned at how much planning it takes to make sure you don't run out of money. i'm very lucky to have found this site to open my eyes before i made any huge mistakes without knowing.

they should have been teaching this stuff since elementary school. instead of the date of some general's birthday who fought some war some 200 years ago, i should have been taught the number of the safe withdrawal rate.

i thought retirement meant putting all my funds into safe municipal bonds and pulling in a nice tax-free income for the rest of my life. i hadn't planned to become an accountant, an tax attorney and a financial planner. hadn't planned on that at all.

 

[dusk_to_dawn]

I don't think the wife wants any hookers at our house, but I haven't asked her. My original question really centers around whether others out there feel like they plan and save too much at the expense of having fun.

 

[Cool Dood]

Oh, I know, I was just kidding around. I didn't really have anything to say about your actual question, since I'm pretty young and haven't experienced planning and saving too much....

 

[slepyhed]

The doom-and-gloom retirment planning articles in the press always warn us that we are not saving enough and we'll be in for a nasty surprise at retirement time because we won't be able to afford the luxuries retirements we dream of.

Advice that you get here is to make sure that you have fun today, because you might not make it to retirement.

I look at it mathematically. There are three variables in the equation, spending, saving and retirement date. I know how much money I spend, and I know how much I earn. Because I spend less than I earn, the excess gets saved (for retirement). When my savings get to 25x my spending, I can stop working.

If I worry that I'm saving too much, how does the equation change? I'll have to work longer because I can't save as much, and I'll have to accumulate more because I have to support higher spending.

I think you might be saving too much if you are planning to spend more after retirement than you spend now.

 

[Maximillion]

My Dad sure did, still does, a very large Estate will be passed on .

 

[Andre1969]

Sometimes I ask myself if I'm saving too much too fast, and living too far below my means. I'll admit that every once in awhile I've gotten an inkling for something like a bigger, hi-tech tv. But the last time I bought one, the sub-$300 32" Sharp tube tv I bought from Best Buy suited me just fine. I really don't think I'd value the extra money spent on some widescreen plasma. As it is, one of my roommates hooked up a surround sound to the tv, and I usually just watch tv with it off. It's a luxury that many people probably think they need, but it's just lost on me.

Now paying $1-2K or more on a fancy new tv isn't going to break me, but I'm just not ready to justify that extra cost. I'd rather have that $700-1700 I saved by going with the Sharp invested, earning interest, and compounding.

Same thing with expensive, fancy cars. I could afford a new car, and will admit I get the new car bug on occasion, but as the old one's running fine, why bother?

It's hard sometimes to fight peer pressure and marketing, but I think I've done a pretty good job so far. And in the end, I'm not trying to get a vast fortune saved up. I just want enough to be able to leave the workforce and be comfortable.

 

[oisif]

Hookers won't be a matter of money pretty soon..so it's irrelevant :

 

[oisif]

Cool Dood


Life does exist beyond your wife (husband) 

 

[rs0460a]

The old carpenter's saying is "measure twice - cut once".  What it really means is to plan what you want to do before doing it.

I have my own saying: "I would rather die with money, than live without it".  That being said, like many others responded that they (like me) could have "more toys", but don't.

In my case - yes, my "daily car" is 17 years old.  Bought it new, mainted it, and have driven it over 100K (so far).  That dosen't mean I don't also have my "toy".  In my case, it's an '02 Mustang GT convertible.  Also bought new, but it stays in the garage until "sunday" (that's a day when the sun is out).  It's 4 years old, with 13K on it.

You can plan, but you can also have a "little fun".  Where you can get into trouble (IMHO) is when you do too much of either.  Life takes planning, but life, to be truly "lived", means that you should have those "little things" that make it worth living...  : 8) :

- Ron

 

[shiny]

Cool Dood


Life does exist beyond your wife (husband)

Maybe, but you'd be a fool to think life would continue to exist as you know it if you are partying with hookers.

 

[shiny]

Back on Topic:

Yes I do plan and save too much. I'm trying to let go a bit, but it is hard when saving and planning worked so well for me in the past. Now we've got a plan, a plan B, a plan C... I need to let go a little and I'm working on that. We do spend a good bit more than is average on this forum, but I just think about it too much I guess.

 

[Gone4Good]

My original question really centers around whether others out there feel like they plan and save too much at the expense of having fun. 

I think it's a mistake to delay your life.  This forum talks all the time about needing to quit work because tomorrow is uncertain.  Well, the same can be said about living a life of deprivation.  The key is balance.  Live a little now and save a little for the future.

 

[Nords]

Excuse me if this topic has already been covered, but do any of you think that you may be planning and saving too much?

Exhaustively & perhaps obsessively.
http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php?topic=278.0
http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php?topic=963.0
http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php?topic=1637.0
http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php?topic=1740.0

We will work another nine years or so and then be done.   I have this other part of my brain that says, damn, you aren't getting any younger (43) and will you really enjoy this money as much when you get old(er)?  Maybe some wild parties with a keg and some hookers?  Who knows?

Sounds like a great plan-- who's throwing the party-- you or your wife?  If it's you, are we invited?!?

Sometimes I ask myself if I'm saving too much too fast, and living too far below my means.

Says the man with what, seven cars?

The savings skills learned during the accumulation years are just that-- skills, not deprivation or life sentences.  They can be part of a lifestyle or they can be put away for a few years of hedonistic living.  Eventually those skills should get passed on to the kids, but if it feels like you're working too hard then it's probably time to loosen up the purse strings a bit...

 

[Dog]

My husband and I often ask the same thing. But, we both are adament that we want to retire early and not have to worry about being a burden on others later in life. We do make sure to have some fun and occasional vacations. We just don't buy frills and make sure to drive our cars at least 10 years. We live in a modest home and live well below our means. It has worked so far. We are now building our retirement home on island property paying cash and using UBuildit to help manage building costs. That has been or entertainment for the past year. Working on paying off the mortgage on our primary residence and making sure we don't incur any other debts. If we saved too much, then our daughter benefits!

 

[NinjaPigeon]

It's funny that people tend to look upon you negatively if you're a saver rather than a spender. It's like they think we're judging their lifestyle. Personally, I don't care about the toys. I care about the choices.

You know, like, do I want to take a vacation to Europe this year? I can make that choice because I don't own a porche and because I believe in LBYM. Saving gives me the freedom of deciding when I want to splurge, versus having my bills make that decision for me.

That being said, I realize that I'm nowhere close to rich. In fact, I barely have a positive net-worth. However, having learned to be a saver (it was not always my way), I can see that I've chosen the right path, even after only a few years of doing it. The longer I do it, the more tangible the benefits become.

 

[old woman]

Saving gives me the freedom of deciding when I want to splurge, versus having my bills make that decision for me.

Thats what I love about saving. A few minutes ago I was looking at a house on a nice lake that I enjoy fishing. They are more expensive than the house I have now but if I really wanted it badly enough I could have it. It is too far from where I work but when I retire and don't need a commute I will be able to live anywhere I want so I am brousing. If I didn't buy a more expensive home I could retire now except for medical insurance and I want to have more money first.

 

[d]

If I thought I was planning and saving too much, would I not reduce amount of both? 

There are plenty of folks who think I'm not spending enough, but I expect they don't have my best interests at heart.  There are plenty of folks who clearly do no planning at all, and no saving either... and a much greater number who do an insufficient amount of both.

Question:  what portion of the population plans and saves "too much"? ... and how do you tell?

 

[mickeyd]

whether others out there feel like they plan and save too much at the expense of having fun.

To this I say that fun is fleeting but ER is forever. There has to be a little pain along the way so that you can appreciate the payoff during ER. Save you ass off when you are young, invest it in a senseable manner along the way, and spend like hell later on.

There is a lot to be said for delayed gratafication.  Of course, I am not refering to this in relation to any sexual act. :

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I don't think the wife wants any hookers at our house, but I haven't asked her.

You should ask...the answers are often surprising. A couple of years ago I asked my wife if I make it to my 90's and I'm a multibillionaire, if I could marry Anna Nicole Smiths granddaughter or great granddaughter (whichever was youngest and of age). Without looking up or batting an eye, she said yes.

As far as overplanning and oversavings, I didnt even know I was ER'ing when I took my companies voluntary separation package. But I can see how someone can get stuck in the "one more year" or "just another million" bucket.

For some folks it might not be true, but you can try it and go back to your old job, or at least A job.

I've told this story before. Used to live with a woman I worked with. She'd been there a lot longer than me, so she had 5x the stock options I did. All unexercised. I'm guessing if she sold, after taxes she'd be looking at about $7-10M. I asked her "why are you still working". "Because I want to travel". "But you have more than enough to quit working, travel non stop for the rest of your life, and still have money left over". "Well, its about 95% of the way there.". I sold. She didnt. I ER'ed. Her stock options are nearly worthless. She'll be working until she's in her late 50s or 60s.

Sometimes you just have to pull the trigger.

 

[ESRBob]

I've told this story before. Used to live with a woman I worked with. She'd been there a lot longer than me, so she had 5x the stock options I did. All unexercised. I'm guessing if she sold, after taxes she'd be looking at about $7-10M. I asked her "why are you still working". "Because I want to travel". "But you have more than enough to quit working, travel non stop for the rest of your life, and still have money left over". "Well, its about 95% of the way there.". I sold. She didnt. I ER'ed. Her stock options are nearly worthless. She'll be working until she's in her late 50s or 60s.

Not only that but she let you slip out of her hands, too. Which do you think she regrets the most?

Anyway, on the bright side, at least she'll get to do lots of business travel on the company's nickel

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Not only that but she let you slip out of her hands, too. Which do you think she regrets the most?

Losing the money. No doubt about it.

 

[free4now]

  I sold.  She didnt.  I ER'ed.  Her stock options are nearly worthless.  She'll be working until she's in her late 50s or 60s.

I had a roomate with stock options worth millions during the dotcom era.  He exercised some, didn't pay the taxes, and as the stock price slid down he ended up selling everything to pay the taxes and was left with $11k and a Lexus RX300.  Then he got laid off and left to move in with a relative. 

During those dotcom days my stock options could fluctuate in value in one day by an amount greater than my annual salary. It was at that moment that I realized that I needed to get really serious about learning how to handle these options. I spent hours every day on the net learning about investing and money management. Learning how to manage my money basically became my job... I was in a once-in-a-lifetime position and I realized that even if I ended up getting fired for wasting time at work learning about investments, it was worth it for me to maximize the value I got out of these options. And it was then that I began seriously thinking about retiring early. I didn't have enough, but it seemed possible that I might soon.

I took a more middle of the road approach than my roomate and exercised my options gradually during the dotcom era.  I got more than half exercised before the crash.   In retrospect if I had exercised everything on the day when the stock price was at the all time high (about 4x the current price) I would have been able to retire six years earlier and with a larger stash than I now have.   

I am newly semi retired at 35... I think I'll eventually find another job but I'm going to take a year or two to figure out what kind of work I want to do.  It's a stretch for me to retire now... I'm living in one of the most expensive cost of living areas (SF Bay Area) on about $2000 per month (4% SWR) for everything except housing.   For me the decision to retire now didn't involve too much planning.  I decided to do it now because I was just incredibly unhappy with my job and realized I now had enough to live a simple life without it.  Why not go for it.