Economist blog post on retirement

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Luckily, I have discovered that during my six months of retirement so far, my desire to spend has decreased dramatically. There is no more longing for "good for me" presents to myself, and honestly there is nothing that I could buy that would make me feel happier than I already am (if there was, I probably would have bought whatever-it-is since I can afford to spend more). So far, so good.

Hopefully, I too will be able to find that kind of contentment in retirement...

[DeborahB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R A job (or reducing my expenditures, since I refuse to work any longer) makes a huge difference in my computations, too. Luckily, I have discovered that during my six months of retirement so far, my desire to spend has decreased dramatically. There is no more longing for "good for me" presents to myself, and honestly there is nothing that I could buy that would make me feel happier than I already am (if there was, I probably would have bought whatever-it-is since I can afford to spend more). So far, so good.

It's so exciting to hear how your first 6 months have gone. I've already lost that "good for me" present thing... 5 weeks to go. Thanks for posting.

[W2R]

Maybe I was exaggerating when I said my spending had decreased dramatically. I just did an analysis, and some of that is due to the timing of my car insurance bill, house insurance bill, and that kind of thing. Overall my expenditures have only gone down $200/month compared with 2009, $600/month compared with 2008. I am not counting my new car because I had saved up for it and had planned to buy it when I retired.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Plus, I am not counting my new car because I had saved up for it and had planned to buy it when I retired.

Does that mean I can "not count" the new car and motor home we bought after retiring? We saved up and planned to buy them as well.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Does that mean I can "not count" the new car and motor home we bought after retiring? We saved up and planned to buy them as well.

Yes!! You can "not count" them, especially if you are planning to never buy another of either. After all, you could have bought them the day BEFORE you retired, instead of right after you retired. But then you might have got a ding on your new car from the parking lot at work.