Does Frugal Living Ever Change in Retirement?

[mickeyd]

LBYM still generally guides me each month and it is usually easy since my expenses are much less than my income stream (SS, Pensions, VA Dis, RMD). Each January is usually an exception to this situation. That's when I have to pay annual property taxes, EFTPS in addition to the regular stuff. I usually have enough left over to pay these expenses otherwise I have to dip into my PMMF and make it work.


LBYM is still a good/easy way to manage your monthly finances.

 

[AnneG]

We have lived frugally most of our lives, originally out of necessity but then it became second nature. Once you learn to make the most of what you've got, it's hard to turn back. This frugality helped us get to early retirement and will hopefully allow us to enjoy our retirement without making sacrifices.

I kind of feel sorry for people who live at the max end of their earnings - my former boss was one and also my oldest son (he didn't learn from us apparently). Not only do they require more to live now, it will take them far longer to get to retirement, especially if they want to have the same lifestyle. It's a lot harder to give up an extravagant lifestyle than it is to never have lived that way to begin with.

 

[RobbieB]

I enjoy my little bits of "extravagance", a nice earned contrast to my previous frugality.

First Class airfare is most appreciated after decades in the sardine section.

The Jacuzzi suite is savored after decades at the econolodge

A la carte at the sushi bar is better after decades of the 5 course lunch specials for $5.95

The contrast is huge -

 

[sgstaley]

Just Being Practical

You hit the key point when you said value. Many here including myself can spend a lot more than we do. LBYM is a habit that is hard to break. For me its all about value. Case in point. I am going on a trip soon and I know the places I want to visit. I found that I can buy passes ahead of time that is 22% off what I can purchase on the spot. Why would I want to pay 22% more at the door when I get more value for my $$ purchasing ahead? Of course if I didn't know about the pass I would just purchase it at the door and be just as happy. I looked at upgrading the seats for the 11 hr flight and couldn't bring myself to purchase the upgrade. All within my budget. I couldn't quantify the value. My guess is I will feel different when I arrive. That frugality monkey is hard to get off your back.

I have a hard time determining the difference between frugal and practical. I am like JDarnell in many ways. Why throw money out the window when all it takes is a little legwork to get the best price . . . and it is out there just waiting for you. Part of my duties in my last job was being a purchase agent. I learned that those deals are out there. You just have to educate yourself as to where they are and how to get them. It isn't rocket science and over time it adds up to large money. It is STILL a stretch for me to pay for priority seating etc. so I guess I still have a ways to go on "perceived value."

 

[Cut-Throat]

Why throw money out the window when all it takes is a little legwork to get the best price . . . and it is out there just waiting for you.

I don't anyone here that 'Throws money out the window'.... But if you consider the following - throwing money out the window ...... "It is STILL a stretch for me to pay for priority seating etc. so I guess I still have a ways to go on "perceived value." --- Then it would be Throwing it out the window for you.



Everyone has their priorities, and someone's worthwhile luxury may not be your cup of tea..... I know people that enjoy seeing their number on bank balance growing, gives them far more pleasure than anything on the face of the earth. We call these people Misers, but they really exist, and that is how they choose to live.... Not my cup of tea however....

 

[audreyh1]

I have a hard time determining the difference between frugal and practical. I am like JDarnell in many ways. Why throw money out the window when all it takes is a little legwork to get the best price . . . and it is out there just waiting for you. Part of my duties in my last job was being a purchase agent. I learned that those deals are out there. You just have to educate yourself as to where they are and how to get them. It isn't rocket science and over time it adds up to large money. It is STILL a stretch for me to pay for priority seating etc. so I guess I still have a ways to go on "perceived value."

Just because we have a largish budget doesn’t mean we don’t look for the best deals, we still want value for our money. We carefully shop, we just don’t automatically choose the cheapest option. If we pay to upgrade anything, it must be for additional value for us. Priority seating is of value to us, so we look for the better deal way to pay for it and, for example, may buy a subscription that effectively reduces the price when we fly a lot. Getting deals on flights is often about buying tickets in a timely manner, picking less busy days, maybe less popular times. The upgrades costs may be small compared to those other considerations.

Generally, we look for ways to make our experiences less stressful and more enjoyable, and trade off costs against those considerations. If we try some upgrade and it turns out not to improve our experience, we simply don’t do it again.

Given that we truly do not expect to run out of money (knock on wood) we are also trading off spending now while we are young and active and have all our faculties, against savings sitting there and ultimately going to heirs. We built our nest egg to enjoy our retirement.

 

[audreyh1]

You hit the key point when you said value. Many here including myself can spend a lot more than we do. LBYM is a habit that is hard to break. For me its all about value. Case in point. I am going on a trip soon and I know the places I want to visit. I found that I can buy passes ahead of time that is 22% off what I can purchase on the spot. Why would I want to pay 22% more at the door when I get more value for my $$ purchasing ahead? Of course if I didn't know about the pass I would just purchase it at the door and be just as happy. I looked at upgrading the seats for the 11 hr flight and couldn't bring myself to purchase the upgrade. All within my budget. I couldn't quantify the value. My guess is I will feel different when I arrive. That frugality monkey is hard to get off your back.

You said LBYM. As long as you are spending $1 less than your income or what you have decided is your safe withdrawal rate, you are still LBYM.

And none of that precludes getting the best deal/value for your money. We look for discounts and less costly alternatives all the time. We carefully plan and buy ahead for best discounts, take advantage of loyalty programs, cash back credit cards, etc. Shop for best price on any item we have decided might be worth purchasing.

I find it a bit odd that some folks assume people who increase their retirement spending because they have more income, have stopped looking for good deals and discounts.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We help out our kids now as they need it, plan to leave them an inheritance and enjoy going out often. We live in an area with a lot of free and cheap things to do plus we are basically cheap dates so we don't have to spend much to have fun.

 

[tmm99]

I personally think frugality is kind of built into your personality almost like a DNA. I’ve been always cheap and my older brother the opposite. I’ve had my moments of foolish splurging but there seems to be some kind of internal brake that kicks in, a guilty feeling, and I always stop.

 

[audreyh1]

I personally think frugality is kind of built into your personality almost like a DNA. I’ve been always cheap and my older brother the opposite. I’ve had my moments of foolish splurging but there seems to be some kind of internal brake that kicks in, a guilty feeling, and I always stop.

Seems like there is still a wide space between being cheap and foolish splurging.

 

[ckelly78z]

My BIL makes twice what I do, and can't seem to control himself around the gun store...he is buying one or two every week of the year (He honestly has in excess of 500 guns, and 4 large gun safes full of ammo). This might seem like a good investment, but he has a habit of never allowing himself to sell anything, he's a high end hoarder of everything. Shopping with him is tedious when i'm a minimalist.

 

[SecondCor521]

I find it a bit odd that some folks assume people who increase their retirement spending because they have more income, have stopped looking for good deals and discounts.

I think some people find looking for good deals to be tedious while others find it enjoyable. The former might consider it a valuable life upgrade to stop the tedium. The latter group can't see any reason to stop because it's fun and profitable.

 

[Nick12]

I think some people find looking for good deals to be tedious while others find it enjoyable. The former might consider it a valuable life upgrade to stop the tedium. The latter group can't see any reason to stop because it's fun and profitable.

I enjoy researching and finding good deals in my purchases. Even though I can afford full price - that’s no fun.

 

[audreyh1]

I think some people find looking for good deals to be tedious while others find it enjoyable. The former might consider it a valuable life upgrade to stop the tedium. The latter group can't see any reason to stop because it's fun and profitable.

For us - it's somewhere in the middle. I know what I want, but I will try to get it for less if I can. I usually have some criteria for what I consider a "reasonable deal" and what I'm willing to pay. For example, on first class flights to Europe, I'm OK with paying up to 2.5X usual economy price for first class seats, so I keep hunting around until I find them. And so far, so good - maybe we've been lucky. Same with rental car. We'll usually pay extra for a small SUV on longer rentals which can have quite a premium over a regular car, but I go through Costco for some decent discounts, and I keep checking and usually eventually find a substantial price drop and switch my reservation. Also, I'm picky about rental car companies and tend to stick with companies I've had a good experience with even if other companies quote cheaper, but I find that if I keep checking I usually get a close or better deal with one of my preferred companies.

So - I focus on getting the better deal for a higher end experience. The careful spender in me won't let me do otherwise, but I usually am targeting a higher quality (not necessarily top quality) option.

 

[gooddog]

I think some people find looking for good deals to be tedious while others find it enjoyable. The former might consider it a valuable life upgrade to stop the tedium. The latter group can't see any reason to stop because it's fun and profitable.

Agreed. There is a third group that will look for deals when the time vs reward payoff is right. As an example, on Black Friday in 2016, wife and I went to buy her a new car. Sticker price was $28,700, we got it for $21,500 - that was time worth spending to get the good deal. Far as saving one dollar on shampoo, for get about it.

 

[gcgang]

I enjoy my little bits of "extravagance", a nice earned contrast to my previous frugality.

First Class airfare is most appreciated after decades in the sardine section.

The Jacuzzi suite is savored after decades at the econolodge

A la carte at the sushi bar is better after decades of the 5 course lunch specials for $5.95

The contrast is huge -

+1!!!

After a lifetime of frugality, it's nice to enjoy "luxuries". I know I can always go back to frugal if I have to. Neither way is necessarily "happier".

 

[Music Lover]

+1!!!

After a lifetime of frugality, it's nice to enjoy "luxuries". I know I can always go back to frugal if I have to. Neither way is necessarily "happier".

It's not one or the other. Plenty of people enjoy luxuries without paying full price.

Would you rather pay $500 for a $500 hotel room, or pay $300 for a $500 hotel room?

 

[daylatedollarshort]

It's not one or the other. Plenty of people enjoy luxuries without paying full price.

Would you rather pay $500 for a $500 hotel room, or pay $300 for a $500 hotel room?

I bought two unsold concert tickets today for $18 instead of $122. I would rather pay the $18. We can go out much more often paying the lower price.

 

[Nick12]

I bought two unsold concert tickets today for $18 instead of $122. I would rather pay the $18. We can go out much more often paying the lower price.

Some savvy guys buy airline tickets in advance in the busiest travel days of the year and go to the gate prior to departure. With the plane so much oversold they go to the gate agent and want to give up their seat and fly at another time. Compensation usually is cash and food and hotel vouchers.

 

[KCGeezer]

I bought two unsold concert tickets today for $18 instead of $122. I would rather pay the $18. We can go out much more often paying the lower price.

When was the concert?

 

[tmm99]

Seems like there is still a wide space between being cheap and foolish splurging.

Ah...I'm not sure what you're trying to say...

 

[audreyh1]

Some savvy guys buy airline tickets in advance in the busiest travel days of the year and go to the gate prior to departure. With the plane so much oversold they go to the gate agent and want to give up their seat and fly at another time. Compensation usually is cash and food and hotel vouchers.

That kind of sounds like a second career! In other words - w*rk.

 

[audreyh1]

Ah...I'm not sure what you're trying to say...

Just that there is cheap, and there is foolishly splurging (obviously both judgement calls) and there is a large universe in between where someone buys something they really want and will make good use of and gets a good deal on it even if it's not the cheapest option. I don't call the latter foolish splurging although some folks might.

 

[RobbieB]

Lots of time I get a "good deal" on my luxuries (wagyu, lobster) as once you buy online you will get Sale! notices forever. Free shipping, 25% off, whatever.

I do take advantage of these but not always.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

When was the concert?

I just ordered the tickets yesterday for a concert next week.