Transitioning from saving to RE.

[marko]

It IS a tough transition.

I got my head around it by tellining myself that the portfolio is making a lot more than I'm withdrawing so its sort of "spending a little of my income".

 

[Dog]

I agree with W2R. We are wired to save or "hoard" (DH accuses me of doing). Save this year for your trip in 2013. You will probably enjoy that you are saving for the trip and you know that it won't impact your 2013 spending. It's funny the games we have to play to let go of $$$.
Also, consider it an "investment" in your marriage.

 

[ocdokie]

Thanks for your ideas, everyone! I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who has a "stuck point" or two while transitioning into retirement.

I'm definitely in the class of folks who will have to trick themselves into enjoying spending money on non-necessities like travel. (I already do this to an extent, because when we get a tax refund my reaction is, "Whee! Free money! Let's spend it!" That thought lasts only a few minutes, though; then my inner miser steps in and the money goes into savings.) So, as several of you have suggested, I'm going to try budgeting for travel, and actually setting money aside that I've "saved" for it. I also think it will be helpful for me to obsessively research travel bargains so I can feel as if I'm making the best use of our travel funds. That might not be so easy, because I've reached the age when the youth hostel option no longer appeals.

 

[tuixiu]

I am up about 33% since I ERed in late 2008.

If you were able to look around at the economic wreckage with unknown conclusion in late 2008 and decide you could retire early, you timed the ER pitch perfectly and knocked it out of the park.

 

[heyyou]

Could the OP use behavioral tricks to save for travel by withdrawing just a little more than the usual expenses for a dozen months, thus saving for the big trip from monthly income?

DW and I save for the annual property tax bill using that method.

 

[foxfirev5]

Could the OP use behavioral tricks to save for travel by withdrawing just a little more than the usual expenses for a dozen months, thus saving for the big trip from monthly income?

DW and I save for the annual property tax bill using that method.

In our preparation for retirement DW and I use a monthly HOA fee, auto fund and travel fund in separate accounts. Using the HOA funds to pay our annual taxes and insurance was the start to monthly budgeting.
Always having enough saved for the next car has been used for quite a while now. However, the travel fund may be a mental block.

One minor reason for delaying Er has been my reluctance to spend much cash for travel. Over the years I've been conditioned with the various travel perk programs to the point we spend about 3 weeks a year on low or no cost travel. At this point I'm at work and my Er'd DW is with me in a NYC suite that I never would use MY money to enjoy. I seriously think that while we enjoy travel I would have hard time parting with my retirement funds to hit the road.

Of course I may just be looking for an excuse not to ER

 

[traineeinvestor]

Could the OP use behavioral tricks to save for travel by withdrawing just a little more than the usual expenses for a dozen months, thus saving for the big trip from monthly income?

DW and I save for the annual property tax bill using that method.

Behavioural tricks have thei place, but didn't work for me.

I put aside a bit of money each month for discretionary spending (aka vices). I keep telling myself that the money is there to be spent....the problem is that I just don't get around to spending it because, when I really think about something, I usually end up saying I don't need it or I'd end up feeling like I've wasted my money. It's been building up for years and I'm trying hard to convince myself that I should blow it all on something to celebrate FIREing next year.....the let's spend $10K thread had some good ideas: http://http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/lets-spend-10k-62650-9.html#post1226767

Plan B: simply let DW know. I'm sure the problem would go away shortly thereafter.