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Old 10-05-2018, 06:49 PM   #21
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I am on track to spend 0.53% this year which I agree, is just plain ridiculous.

It is difficult to think of anything to spend it on, that would be of value to me. Spending money on cr*p that has no value to me, would just leave me feeling empty and sad. I have been poor earlier in my life and just can't bring myself to throw money away like that.

So anyway, this is why I pay close attention to threads like the Blow That Dough thread, and why I started that Amazon thread. I think, or at least hope, that spending money for pleasure is a learnable behavior. I don't like to travel, but despite that, surely there must be some way to spend money that has value to me. Sometimes I find something! Then, whether it is costly or cheap, I buy it. I was looking at the splurge thread and thinking about another new laptop. So, I browsed on Amazon but nothing jumped out at me, and my present laptop is still pretty nice and suitable for my needs.

As for extravagant gifts and gargantuan donations, I prefer to leave most of that sort of thing until after my demise. To me it makes sense for that money to be my emergency money until I croak, and it will be just as useful to loved ones and charities at that time as it would be now. Meanwhile my gifts are average, substantial but not over-the-top, and I leave it at that.


...but perhaps spend more time at places like:
Galatoire’s, Bon Ton, Tujague’s, or even Dempsey’s if something new comes out to try (not sure if Commanders Palace is always worth the cost and wait, I know you would know)... maybe to give you another idea on what to prepare yourself

you obviously know where to get the ingredients, and for us there’s some good to enjoying some different new recipes that we’ve learned to prepare


alas, we don’t have quite the selection of interesting restaurants here...(often can make something better myself, unfortunately) but we still look for interesting recipes/dishes both locally and when we travel


we’re early in the retirement (3 years in), having to wait for both pension and HC in retirement before pulling the plug, and are under 1 1/12% WR even after new vehicles, HVAC, surgery.... and haven’t started SS
.... but as most know, the big unknown is what will happen in the future, whether a prolonged downturn or health issues or what, having the buffer makes it far easier to SWAN since we know that we should have as good of a possibility (actually better) of making it through as anyone
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Old 10-05-2018, 06:53 PM   #22
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For me, its a 100% distrust of my government, i.e., our amazing national debt that keeps on growing. Since our leaders seem to be doing nothing about it, my only recourse is to keep my personal belt tightened for the inevitable reckoning. My SWR is almost zero. We rely on modest pensions that keep us comfortable.
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Old 10-05-2018, 07:20 PM   #23
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For me, its a 100% distrust of my government, i.e., our amazing national debt that keeps on growing. Since our leaders seem to be doing nothing about it, my only recourse is to keep my personal belt tightened for the inevitable reckoning. My SWR is almost zero. We rely on modest pensions that keep us comfortable.
Well, if you think your long term investments are doomed to be crushed, why not enjoy some of it now, especially while you are younger, before the SHTF?
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Old 10-05-2018, 07:51 PM   #24
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My net WR at the moment is about 1.5%, so I'll play.

First, I worked two years after hitting a 4% FI because the job was still OK. That dropped my WR.

Then, I FIREd in February 2016 and since then have been between 90% and 100% in the S&P500. That dropped my WR even further.

Because I planned conservatively, I assumed that I had just my portfolio to live on and I would not earn any income beyond dividends. Turns out I earn non-portfolio income that equals about 1.5% in terms of WR.

Spending money is effort and work. At the very least I need to decide what to buy, which for me is difficult.

What I have is enough. While I wouldn't often describe myself as happy, I am almost always very content these days.

A pretty big factor for me is three kids who are in college or soon will be. I have saved up and set aside what I think will be enough. But I am obviously guessing and there could be large error bars on my guess. If it turns out not to be enough, I will want to add more. If it turns out to be too much, then I'll give them the excess.

When the situation becomes more clear with their college, maybe I'll loosen up a little more. We'll see.

If I don't spend enough and my kids get whatever's left and it's a lot, then I'll be OK with that too.
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Old 10-05-2018, 08:07 PM   #25
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With a new house and detached garage I have been spending plenty in the last 18 months. But once things get down to more normal, I still plan to take 4% or so. There is not any desire to leave a large sum for the "38Chevy454 Memorial Library"
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Old 10-05-2018, 11:30 PM   #26
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Our WR has been about 2.5%. We have everything we need/want. We travel, we eat out, we gift, we donate ... Not sure where we would spend more money on.
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Old 10-05-2018, 11:40 PM   #27
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I'm not sold on the idea that spending more money brings greater happiness. Sure, I'd like to leave less and spend more on me. Spending money to spend money just doesn't make me happy.
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Old 10-06-2018, 12:42 AM   #28
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Speaking for myself and DW, the reason we don't take out the full 4% is that between our pensions and SS, we have all the money we want to spend and then some. Second, neither one of us wants to bankrupt the other with long term care. Think of how crappy it would be to exhaust your savings on an expensive dementia facility for years and leave your spouse with almost nothing.
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Old 10-06-2018, 01:27 AM   #29
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I agree with many of the low WR views already expressed here. We’re comfortable, have some regular indulgences and when we see something outside the budget we’d like, we just buy it. Why spend more? But mostly for us, there are no guarantees as to what SAFE is, only probabilities. We don’t have pensions other than SS, and our nest egg still has to last over 30 years. I’d rather regret that we didn’t spend more, than to regret spending too much and living under a bridge for years...
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Old 10-06-2018, 02:27 AM   #30
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We're interested in sustainable living and a low consumption lifestyle. We feel it is better for the planet, our portfolio and mental health. Most studies show that excess materialism actually leads to unhappiness.



We spend more on experiences rather than things, but there's a lot of fun stuff to do where we live that is cheap or free so there is no need for us to spend a fortune to have a good time.
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Old 10-06-2018, 04:40 AM   #31
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I was around 2% the first two years and that included a new car. Thinking of 2.5% for next year to bump travel and remodel the deck.
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Old 10-06-2018, 04:52 AM   #32
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Given that I’m only on FIRE-Year 3, and given that I don’t know if I have 30 min or 30 years left, I’m not quite ready to “Blow That Dough”, though my WR is around 4% anyway. And, well, I don’t have the 7 or 8 or 9 figure portfolio...

I’m not into stuff that much, but I could find plenty of ways to spend more...
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Old 10-06-2018, 05:27 AM   #33
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DW still w*rking so we're not drawing down yet. But my estimate is we will be withdrawing between 2 and 2 1/2%, and even that figure leaves a significant cushion in our likely spending. We know what we enjoy, and what it'll cost, so don't anticipate spending more for the sake of spending more.
I can see a little excess being spent, perhaps in an extra travel excursion or two, or maybe flying first class.
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Old 10-06-2018, 05:35 AM   #34
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One splurge that I might consider is a housekeeper once a week to clean the house (I hate housework) and perhaps hiring out some of the more mubdane things that we DIY now.
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Old 10-06-2018, 06:25 AM   #35
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We are at ~2%. We are able to do what we like and buy what we want. We have recently started flying business and have upped our giving a bit. I still worry that the economy will crash and we will appreciate the leeway. I’m 70 now and in about 5-10 years depending on the market I plan to start gifting the kids. As we get into our 80s we hope to help with the grand kids college. We haven’t told the kids that because we don’t want them to skimp on savings.
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Old 10-06-2018, 06:32 AM   #36
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We know we will be at 2.4% this year and any monies not spent go into our emergency buffer. The actual spending will be around 2%.
Next year we plan to go to 3% withdrawal from the portfolio. I do not feel comfortable with 4% yet, with SOR potential in our beginning years of retirement, plus currently committed to ACA income management.
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Old 10-06-2018, 06:45 AM   #37
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To some degree the fear of the unknown. But I don't feel as though I'm scrimping. I'm perfectly happy with my life. I am thinking about upgrading to a more premium 4k tv tho.
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Old 10-06-2018, 07:14 AM   #38
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Some want to leave a legacy me thinks.

I don't have any children, so I'm gonna Blow That Dough!
Us too...… We just take what we need for our own determined satisfying Quality of Life.
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Old 10-06-2018, 07:22 AM   #39
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I'm not sold on the idea that spending more money brings greater happiness. Sure, I'd like to leave less and spend more on me. Spending money to spend money just doesn't make me happy.
Excellent answer and feel the same.
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Old 10-06-2018, 10:10 AM   #40
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I can’t speak for other people, but for me personally, I am an early retiree (age 57) and am concerned with early-retirement sequence of returns risk. So, my first-year withdrawal rate has been approximately 1% (my limit was established at 3.4%). My second-year (2019) withdrawal rate limit is 3.5% but, in reality, will likely wind up closer to 2.5%. I’m thinking that my actual withdrawal rate will gradually rise to my projected limit over a period of five years...unless some sort of black swan event occurs - then I can easily dial things back and, in extreme circumstances, take Social Security early (it hasn’t been figured into my retirement calcs). You know, a delayed gratification type thing...just like the years in the run-up to retirement. As it is, we have more spendable cash than before retirement, and I’m finding it difficult to loosen up my spending.
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