Retirement Income

[Major Tom]

And some wealthier folks prefer not to advertise.

Understandable. There's a little bit of inverted snobbery from time to time here. We've had a few folk reveal annual spends at the higher end of the range represented in this forum, only to be greeted with comments along the lines of, "How on earth can anyone spend that much? I spend a tenth of that and am perfectly happy", and variations on that theme.

There is, some would have us believe, an inherent virtue to not spending money.

 

[RobbieB]

Oh yeah, big time.

I remember a post about the $25 cost to e-file state taxes and "you must be a multi-gazillionaire" to do that. Yeah, you can save twenty bucks by printing and standing in line at the post office to send the stuff off certified mail.

Twenty bucks. Multi-gazillionaire. Amazing.

 

[NW-Bound]

I was thinking about the realization that funding was higher than current spending. When I retired my divs and pensions were higher than spending prior to retirement. Since then, my divs have increased by almost 100% (10years) somehow, I manage to find ways to spend this. Obviously not common or representative.

I knew what you meant, and was just joking.

In fact, if my stash somehow doubled, I don't think I would double my spending. Maybe I would go 150% at most. Frugal people do that. They keep some reserve to feel good.

But I may never find out how I would act, because there's no stock bubble in sight to inflate my stash to 2X.

 

[kcowan]

The whole message of this forum is LBYM. If your means are that much higher than mine, you have to spend more to avoid a big legacy/tax bill. It has little to do with quality of life and personal priorities.

I don't spend nearly as much as when I made the big bucks. Partly that is just being retired. Aside from big trips, what else is there? Sure I could move to a bigger home, but we seem to struggle by in our 3300 sq.ft. place with our housekeeper. When we retired, we decided to keep the housekeeper. One of our few indulgences.

I have had expensive cars, boats, RVs et al and no thank you, the upkeep is not worth the pleasure for me. I enjoy renting so that someone looks after it all. Even my Rolex is a fake. But I prefer my Timex.

 

[braumeister]

Even my Rolex is a fake.

And most of the time you can't even tell.

 

[phil1ben]

Understandable. There's a little bit of inverted snobbery from time to time here. We've had a few folk reveal annual spends at the higher end of the range represented in this forum, only to be greeted with comments along the lines of, "How on earth can anyone spend that much? I spend a tenth of that and am perfectly happy", and variations on that theme.

There is, some would have us believe, an inherent virtue to not spending money.

You are absolutely right Major Tom. I think reactions of some have caused people with higher NW and RI not to post specifics or ask for advice.

 

[Danmar]

More likely due to a large contingent who follow the NYDB school of thought.

NYDB?

 

[audreyh1]

There is, some would have us believe, an inherent virtue to not spending money.

I get that vibe pretty strong from this forum at times.

 

[audreyh1]

NYDB?

None of your damn business?

That was my guess, anyway.

 

[REWahoo]

Bingo!

 

[Major Tom]

I get that vibe pretty strong from this forum at times.

It's a shame. I think the belief systems of some middle and lower income folks would be rattled hard by the realization that it's possible to have an income significantly higher than the median and feel happy and fulfilled at the same time. Perish the thought!

 

[NW-Bound]

I need to repeat a favorite quote of mine here.

"It is possible to live well, whether you are rich or poor. When you are poor, it just costs less" -- Andrew Tobias

The above said, I'd rather have more money than less. It may not help, but it should not hurt (unless one is stupid).

I may not spend all of it, but just to have it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

 

[Mulligan]

I need to repeat a favorite quote of mine here.

"It is possible to live well, whether you are rich or poor. When you are poor, it just costs less" -- Andrew Tobias

The above said, I'd rather have more money than less. It may not help, but it should not hurt (unless one is stupid).

I may not spend all of it, but just to have it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

I am the same as you but on a smaller scale. My monthly cash flow is such I could definitely spend more...But I am a bit late in life to really focusing on my stash... I enjoy saving more of my monthly pension and investing it. I just enjoy playing with my money more investing with it, than I do buying things with it. I have enough money flow to spend a lot more or invest more...But I can't do both...Right now investing is more fun.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Major Tom]

I may not spend all of it, but just to have it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

I'm definitely feeling you on that one - and I'm sure many here are too. Because my stash is modest (by ER standards), I retain that feeling of having an ample stash by keeping my spending down.

Having more than enough to cover one's obligations is a good feeling.

 

[Katsmeow]

The difficult part with answering a poll like this is that I feel it is so misleading. The number right now would be a big one and has been for the past few years due to children in college. We knew we would have a few years with really high withdrawals due to college costs. So last year and this year would be big numbers. On the other hand, 3 years ago was much smaller. That was because we spent down most of our after tax cash money that we had. We spend just as much that year but most of it didn't fall within your categories. I expect that 2 years from now our income will be roughly 1/2 of what it has averaged over the last couple of years. This year is also an outlier as we are withdrawing about $50k for something that has long been planned but is a one time expense.

 

[Danmar]

More likely due to a large contingent who follow the NYDB school of thought.

Not sure how your idea of NYDB results in a higher average income in the poll than the usual discussion. Surely, if you felt that way you would simply not answer the poll?

 

[audreyh1]

Not sure how your idea of NYDB results in a higher average income in the poll than the usual discussion. Surely, if you felt that way you would simply not answer the poll?

The poll offers anonymity, as opposed to discussions elaborating spending or income.

 

[Danmar]

The poll offers anonymity, as opposed to discussions elaborating spending or income.

Right, so the thesis is that the NYDB crowd, will talk about their spending habits but not fill out the poll? I don't understand. You would think the NYDB crowd wouldn't participate in either? Whatever.