Big Splurge on Retirement

[Katsmeow]

When DH retired and I semi-retired we sort of mentally set aside a sum of money that we felt that we could spend on sort of extra fun stuff. We spent some of it on a more expensive vacation than what we would usually spend. The rest of it we will spend at some point when the urge moves us.

 

[Arifriekinel]

I'd definitely splurge. We already travel a lot, so I doubt there'll be any significant change in that once I officially do retire. I think my main splurge will be a gas free vehicle.

 

[W2R]

I bought my Venza as I had planned to do for a long time. Other than that, I didn't really think of anything to splurge on. But you have, and if you can afford it, so why not?

 

[FIREd]

If you don't jeopardize your FIRE plan by buying this car, I say go ahead and splurge.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I love it--my thread has become a yarn thread!

Also a knitter here.

Don't be surprised if someone here knits this for your new car, not only hijacking your thread but also your car:

 

[Rambler]

We bought a big (for us) travel trailer, and ended up having to upgrade our truck to be able to handle it confidently. We had planned for the trailer for years, since we could not have one when we lived overseas. I had not planned on the truck upgrade so soon.

All of that said, if we had been living in the States, we would have had the TT some years ago, it would have been smaller, would not have needed the truck upgrade so soon, but probably would not have been ERd at 51.

R

 

[Hermit]

Retireing next month. Bought a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4-door in January as an early retirement present to me. I'll be moving to the middle of Colorado Off-Road country, so maybe that's a 'necessity'. A Harley will be comming soon. A friend who retired about a year ago is puting the finishing touches on a Miata with a Ford V8 stuffed into it. It will be in the same range of horsepower as the above sports cars. That was a major splurge for him.

 

[Walt34]

Although all were long-planned purchases, within six months we bought a brand-new house, a brand-new car for DW, and a brand-new 4WD pickup truck for me.

I'm pretty sure we'll never do that again.

 

[WestLake]

I'm coming to the realization I may have to w*rk one or two more years for the big splurge. I've been talking about a Porsche for 30 years. Not sure if it is worth that.

 

[donheff]

"Big" is a relative term. Like Moemg, we always spend a bit less than our budget and toss the remainder in a "mad money" fund. We have splurged a bit at times but so far it hasn't caused us to exceed our budget for any year. Shortly after I ER'd we bought a Lexus SUV which was a nicer car than we had ever previously bought. In the last 12 months we have splurged more than usual. We had custom bikes built last fall and this year we have travelled to France, are heading to Prague and Vienna shortly, and are going to New Zealand and Australia next January. We blew a quarter of a million frequent flyer points to do the latter trip on a mix of business and first class - I guess that qualifies as a splurge.

Edit: getting business class award seats to New Zealand in January was no easy task. For the two of us they would cost $20,000 to $25,000 so, from that perspective, 250,000 points is not a big deal.

 

[clifp]

My Tesla is by far the biggest splurge that I've have had since I retired. After rebate it is 56k. But that is only part of it, I also decide to get a PV system to charge it, which in turn meant a new roof. No reason to but a PV system that will last 20+ years on roof that only has 5 to 10 years left.

My electrical system was ancient, underpowered 70 AMP, and bit dangerous. So I also am in the process of upgrading the electrical system. The metal roof, PV, and electrical system add another 35K to the car so now it it 90K... On the other my gasoline and electrical bill should shrink to $15/month forever..

 

[sengsational]

My take is that you might consider splurging on something that makes you happy. Conspicuous consumption has been tested in many experiements against happiness. If you buy-in to those goofy psychologist's tests, buying something to show off always comes up short on the happiness scale, I'm afraid. If you can show-off and create a chunk of life you didn't have (like taking up RVing) I think that's a different story. If you want to "enjoy the doing as much as the done", then buying a car is all "done".

 

[eytonxav]

The thing with some of these higher end cars, they may be an initial splurge, but you get to keep slurging on insurance, gas, tires/maintenance, and then the worry of some moron scratching or denting your beauty. Don't mean to be a buzzkill, but just some food for thought from an exotic car lover

 

[hakuna matata]

I am not too worried about the insurance, upkeep, etc on the F-type, it will be a consideration but the BMW wasn't cheap (although I didn't buy it new) but the upkeep on that isn't cheap either. Luckily both my wife tend to analyze purchases like this and then decide based on our discussion. We recently had designed a new deck and patio for our home that we had x amount budgeted for it--the lowest of the three bids was double that number and the highest bid was triple! Needless to say we opted to not move forward on that particular design! We are now building a revised deck design that fits our original budget. So we would never buy this car if either of us felt it would impact our retirement--but by the same token we worked and saved that money and want to enjoy it.

The reason I started the thread is that it seems after a lifetime of saving and not spending, I was wondering how difficult people were finding it to shift gears. I want to enjoy my retirement and the work I have done to get to that. Just not working and an early retirement isn't my goal but enjoying the fruits of that hard work is.

I have a very good friend who retired last year and he is struggling with that I think. I know his finances (we are good friends) and he could easily spend triple what he is spending and be below 2% on his withdrawal rate. But he finds it hard to spend money and that is fine -- to each their own. I don't anticipate "I" will have that issue

 

[LoneAspen]

Hakuna - I'm a car person, so my vote is to splurge, as long as it doesn't hurt your FI. That Jag is a pretty car, so enjoy if you get it!

Hermit - Saw your post about buying a Jeep and moving to Colorado. If you're free to say...where in Colorado? I lived there for a number of years, including in Teller County west of Colorado Springs. I loved Colorado and miss it terribly. If I'm able to FIRE in a couple years, I want to go back for a year or two and do all the outdoors things I enjoy without a j*b hanging over me. Would love to find a place somewhere around Summit County or Vail, as I'd want to live like a ski bum for one good ski season (bucket list item, LOL). Just be careful out there with all the drought and fires they've had. Makes me sad to read about all the fires Colorado has been having last few years. Lot different than when I lived there.

 

[yakers]

We're taking a 3 month excursion through Alaska and Canada. Something we planned for years. We have set money aside - independent from our investments. Now, while we're healthy enough.

We did something like that when I retired in 2008, took a trip I had planned for most of my life, cost a bit but was well planned for. Definitely confirmed that I was now retired:

Driving to the Arctic

 

[Live And Learn]

I have $75k set aside outside of my portfolio for 4 bucket list trips. I will probably go on two of those trips. The rest of the money will be used to "shore up" the success rate of my portfolio (I only have a 90% success rate to age 91 per FIDO and 100% in Firecalc using 90% of my portfolio right now). Bottom line is, I worry to much and will probably not splurge as much as I could, because not spluging will make me happier than worrying if I wasted money.

 

[martyp]

I'm waiting for my DW to retire in a couple of years. At that time we expect to do some traveling together. However, we have a travel budget in the ER spreadsheet. I don't know how much of a splurge it will be but it will be out of the ordinary for us.

 

[RunningBum]

Hakuna - I see what you mean and I agree with it. If I wanted to live barebones I could've retired a lot earlier. Instead I was willing to work a few more years and enjoy some selective luxuries (still watching the bottom line) while otherwise living more sensibly. Sounds like that's exactly what you are doing. The amount of the luxury doesn't matter, it's understanding the tradeoff, and also not getting sucked into the lifestyle. If you were to buy the car, and then say, "oh, this car doesn't belong in this neighborhood, we need to live in a more upscale place" or "seems silly to buy a nice car and then sit on this plain couch every day, let's go furniture shopping!" then you are looking for trouble. I can see that's not your way.

You owe us a review on the car after you get it and have driven it for a month or two (or even if you just test drive it and decide against).

 

[W2R]

The reason I started the thread is that it seems after a lifetime of saving and not spending, I was wondering how difficult people were finding it to shift gears. I want to enjoy my retirement and the work I have done to get to that. Just not working and an early retirement isn't my goal but enjoying the fruits of that hard work is.

In retirement, I haven't felt any pressure whatsoever to "keep up with the Joneses" but like you, I want to enjoy the fruits of my labor, not to mention that beyond that I still haven't spent a cent of my modest inheritance. This year I increased my spending by buying a second big screen TV (for my home gym; there is only one of me here), and paying for a dental implant. Paying for both in March caused me a little angst but I have gone over and over the figures, and I can easily afford this. So, I am coming to terms with the idea that I can spend and that is OK. It's a process and I am getting used to spending more, although gradually. I did come to realize that if I felt this much angst over $5K extra, probably it is a mistake to be looking at houses as I have been doing from time to time. I am perfectly happy in my present house anyway.

What is difficult for me is when I buy something and then find out that I didn't want it, because it feels like I am throwing my money away. To avoid this I am spending time trying to identify exactly what I want before buying. I hate the fact that I am not even using my new DVR and if that doesn't change I might return it to the cable company.

I have a very good friend who retired last year and he is struggling with that I think. I know his finances (we are good friends) and he could easily spend triple what he is spending and be below 2% on his withdrawal rate. But he finds it hard to spend money and that is fine -- to each their own. I don't anticipate "I" will have that issue

Exactly! If he is happy, then more power to him. Perhaps he has reached a philosophical peace associated with spending less, or perhaps he is saving for something, or whatever. Or maybe he just likes having a lot of money, a la Scrooge McDuck. There is no rule in retirement that says you have to spend all that you can spend, and as long as he is happy I think you might as well just let him do his thing.

 

[Semiretired2008]

A while back we sold our RV (someone offered me what I paid for it after my 3 years of use) and are looking at replacing it. We want to move up this next time (still contemplating what we call moving up), but shopping around for the best bang for the buck while we decide... We are also looking for a piece of property that is easily turnable, but can be used as a campsite for us and a few select friends during the time that we own it... It will need a pond, easy highway access, close enough to real life, etc...

 

[HFWR]

yes I do live near Seattle. I had the top down on the Miata a lot. <looks to the left, looks to the right, coast is clear> psstt..It doesn't rain as much as people think up here!

I never have let the weather dictate my lifestyle up here, and the top goes up and down in 12 seconds. And the summers here are awesome--bluest skies I have ever seen.

Channeling Perry Como...

Perry Como - Seattle - YouTube

 

[hakuna matata]

Exactly! If he is happy, then more power to him. Perhaps he has reached a philosophical peace associated with spending less, or perhaps he is saving for something, or whatever. Or maybe he just likes having a lot of money, a la Scrooge McDuck. There is no rule in retirement that says you have to spend all that you can spend, and as long as he is happy I think you might as well just let him do his thing.

I think he just doesn't know "How" to spend it to be honest. He and his wife (who unfortunately passed away last year) scrimped and saved their entire life (they were married for 43 years before she died) and just never learned how to spend money. I was in the same boat with my first wife as we got married quite young and never had two nickels to rub together it seemed. With my current wife it has been a very different experience and I have learned I enjoy saving but I also enjoy spending!

His son who is about 40 will be a very lucky young man as he is an only child and will get all of this money, and I know my friend is fine with that.

As for him doing his thing--telling my good friend how to spend his money is the furthest thing from my mind. I equate it to what he drinks--he drinks Bud Light and as a home brewer that is not my taste but I always keep a few bottles of Bud Light around for him. Telling him what to drink or how to spend his money is none of my bidness! He is spending what he feels comfortable spending and that is fine by me--frankly it is none of my business. I was just using him as an example of people saving and having difficulty spending. It seems that is a big shift, at least it was for me. And I have to admit even for my friend has started to ease up--since his wife passed he outfitted a 'man cave' with a slot machine, tv, etc.

 

[W2R]

That's great about his "man cave". Maybe it is just taking him a little time to gradually get used to spending more. From my own experiences, I would guess that it just takes time to get used to the idea that one can spend more and that is OK. I have been spending 2% but I think that this year it may be closer to 2.5% - - still not all that FIRECalc says I can spend, but I am gradually learning to enjoy spending more. At first one can become a little scared of going overboard towards the opposite extreme and spending way too much. There were so many years of penny pinching and it takes time to overcome these habits in a sane and sensible way.

Another factor is that when one has been scrimping and saving, the joy one gets from even a tiny purchase is as much as from a large purchase sometimes. Just a $5 iPad app can be simply terrific. He has a lot of catching up to do as far as spending goes.

 

[EllisWyatt]

Kind of a car guy, so for what it's worth, I'd say "Go for it" (especially if DW is enthusiatic as well)

Not a retrement splurge, but back in 1997 my DW fell in love (lust?) with the BMW Z3. It was way over what we felt comfortable spending on a "toy", but realized that we could afford it and were just having to overcome our ingrained LBYM mindset.

Fast forward 16 years.... that car was probably one of the best "investments" we've made. DW still loves her car, has no desire to replace it ($$$ savings) and, more importantly, still smiles every time she drives it. (And if Momma is happy, everyone is happy.)