How much "dough can you blow"?

[RobbieB]

Brutal, just brutal.

Keep on blowing though, never give up!

 

[NW-Bound]

Would burning cash be faster?

In 1994, Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty burned 1 million British pound on the Scottish island of Jura, while recording it on a video camera.

It took them about 1 hour, feeding 50-pound notes to the fire.

 

[Ronstar]

How much "dough can you blow"?

Can’t blow too much dough now. Sold my snowbird condo, so I cant blow dough on it anymore. I have all of the woodworking tools and camera equipment that I want. I have a truck and that is all I need. I don’t need a boat, a motorcycle, or a new fast car. I don’t play golf, fish or hunt. And I don’t want to buy things that end up being a hassle to maintain or just to keep. I’m blowing a little dough remodeling our house, but that is coming to an end.

But I do need some adventures where I can take photography to the next level. And I need to do it before I get old. I suspect that travel will be the dough blower of the near future.

Then maybe blow big time dough on a new house in a few years.

 

[CardsFan]

I dunno... we have a pontoon boat, a jet ski and a sailboat off the dock in front of the house... average annual costs... including gas and insurance are probably around $500... I change the oil and plugs on the pontoon myself but have the jet ski done by the dealer,

You are right. I did get carried away with the caricature of the stereo-typical high end boat owner, and I have known several. In our case, the old pontoon on a small lake was also really not that pricey to maintain.

But, a cigarette boat (do they still call them that?) on Lake of the Ozarks costs over $500/weekend just in gas (if you zoom up and down the lake all day)

 

[RunningBum]

But I do need some adventures where I can take photography to the next level. And I need to do it before I get old. I suspect that travel will be the dough blower of the near future.

A friend of mine not only blows a lot of dough on photography equipment and trips, but adds to it by hiring the best photography guide in whatever region he travels to. And I think he hires them for the whole trip, not just a day.

 

[HI Bill]

A friend of mine not only blows a lot of dough on photography equipment and trips, but adds to it by hiring the best photography guide in whatever region he travels to. And I think he hires them for the whole trip, not just a day.

+1. Local guides can take you places you'd never find on your own, can help keep you safe, and can often find wildlife you'd never locate on your own.

In Australia, I hired a guide to take us to see the weedy sea dragon. Literally about 50 feet from where we entered the water. Once he showed us a few, we were able to spot them on our own. But without the guide, we would have never found them!

In the Cayman Islands, I hired a guide to take us on a chartered boat to the Stingray sandbar. We had the sandbar and stingrays to ourselves for 30+ minutes before the crowds started to arrive!

In Crystal River, we hired a boat and guide to take us to the manatees. Very cool, first in the water!

Some land ideas...Galapagos, Arctic expedition, Northern Lights, and of course, an African safari. For me, those are second tier to diving destinations where I can find whale sharks, great whites, etc. But just like above water, spotter planes can come in handy for spotting schools of fish, and whale sharks, especially! Good photographic hunting!

Star circles in Yosemite....too many choices!

 

[aja8888]

........ And I don’t want to buy things that end up being a hassle to maintain or just to keep. .

I need to heed this criteria. I've bought too many cars, trucks, toys, etc that fell into this category.

 

[Dtail]

Once you have Grand kids the money will flow out constantly.

Yep.
2 granddaughters came to visit us for a week. Spent 2,400 in total on them.

 

[Retired Expat]

I suppose I am posting this question to those of you in Fat Fire or those of you that retired after leaving a very lucrative income and standard of living. My "plan" has me retiring at the end of this year at 55. I have been fortunate to make a good living for many years while living significantly below my means. That said, I am planning for a min withdrawal of $300K/yr gross (underwriting 25% in taxes, but believe it will be much less with strategic acct withdrawals). I will most likely payoff my home mortgage the day I retire despite it being in the 3% range (still struggle with giving up the cheap money). As you can imagine, with no debt, this high of a withdrawal rate has a significant amount of discretionary spending. Plans are to do some of the usual more active traveling sooner vs. later and enjoy some of the finer things in life, and while I have 4 kids and 1 granddaughter I can burn $$ on, I really wonder how sustainable this kind of spending is after the honeymoon wears off. Are any of you Fat Fire folks consistently keeping your burn rate at a high level after 5 - 10 years? I know, 1st world problems, but more curious as to how long you kept your high withdrawal rate going before you slipped into your shorts and T-shirt and said that's all I need.

Perhaps I should ask it this way... Robbie - how many lobsters can you eat in 1 week?!

P.S. Haters don't hate...

After 7-8 years in retirement find my spending is going down on everyday life. Been to all the restaurants in my area and for the most part I cook at least as well at home(and enjoy it). Have all the toys and gadgets I need and the new models really don’t add much.

Biggest part I think is that while working and highly stressed out, there is a certain amount of “Retail Therapy” involved with buying things. Getting something “new and shiny” releases endorphins and serotonin and makes us happier, at least for a moment of two. But since I am so much happier in my life now, I don’t need that boost from buying something. Actually there is a boost from getting rid of stuff and clearing out all the unused stuff from my life instead.

Of course that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to Maine this fall for a few days so I can eat lobster breakfast, lunch and dinner!

 

[Retired Expat]

I suppose I am posting this question to those of you in Fat Fire or those of you that retired after leaving a very lucrative income and standard of living. My "plan" has me retiring at the end of this year at 55. I have been fortunate to make a good living for many years while living significantly below my means. That said, I am planning for a min withdrawal of $300K/yr gross (underwriting 25% in taxes, but believe it will be much less with strategic acct withdrawals). I will most likely payoff my home mortgage the day I retire despite it being in the 3% range (still struggle with giving up the cheap money). As you can imagine, with no debt, this high of a withdrawal rate has a significant amount of discretionary spending. Plans are to do some of the usual more active traveling sooner vs. later and enjoy some of the finer things in life, and while I have 4 kids and 1 granddaughter I can burn $$ on, I really wonder how sustainable this kind of spending is after the honeymoon wears off. Are any of you Fat Fire folks consistently keeping your burn rate at a high level after 5 - 10 years? I know, 1st world problems, but more curious as to how long you kept your high withdrawal rate going before you slipped into your shorts and T-shirt and said that's all I need.

Perhaps I should ask it this way... Robbie - how many lobsters can you eat in 1 week?!

P.S. Haters don't hate...

After 7-8 years in retirement find my spending is going down on everyday life. Been to all the restaurants in my area and for the most part I cook at least as well at home(and enjoy it). Have all the toys and gadgets I need and the new models really don’t add much.

Biggest part I think is that while working and highly stressed out, there is a certain amount of “Retail Therapy” involved with buying things. Getting something “new and shiny” releases endorphins and serotonin and makes us happier, at least for a moment of two. But since I am so much happier in my life now, I don’t need that boost from buying something. Actually there is a boost from getting rid of stuff and clearing out all the unused stuff from my life instead.

Of course that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to Maine this fall for a few days so I can eat lobster breakfast, lunch and dinner!

 

[kgtest]

I intend to spend a bit more from 55 to 75 and a bit less if I make it past 75. I doubt air travel will be realistic at 85...if at all. That eliminates thousands annually right there. Of course by the time I hit 85 who knows how people will get around. Hover wheel chairs that automatically increase bone health, mass etc? Or maybe I will still just be walking.

I will definitely be eating well. I am not a fan of nost restaurants already but cooking every single meal does gey tiring.

 

[Freedom56]

Our rules for spending our money during retirement:

1- Travel a lot and travel in comfort (first/business class only)
2- Visit nice places and stay in nice hotels
3- Dine only at fine restaurants or don't dine out
4- Stay fit an healthy and spend money on physically activities
5- focus on your hobbies (photography, videography, music etc...)
6- Keep active in your social circles and entertain guests
7- Go to movies, concerts, theater and performing arts.
8- Keep your home(s) well maintained
9- Spend time with your family and close friends

 

[FI_RElater]

I'd like to create a new level...

I'd like to propose a new level: Gluttonous FIRE
- - for those that propose to spend $250 k/yr or more


We're in the far more pedestrian level of (potential) spending of ~$140 k right now, (which can increase once we want to start SS), but we've not come close to those numbers yet. [in my planning before retirement, I'd had $85 k as minimum level... so we've at least made the plan.].

I know of ways to increase spending...as we've been across the pond a few times at some very enjoyable locations ( Paris, Nice and Monaco, London, Barcelona, Ireland, .... and quite a few more) and they can get pricey (especially when you add in the VAT) {e.g., the Hotel de Louvre wasn't cheap but was in the heart of Paris, and served a great breakfast }... so there's ways to blow that dough on more modest levels. Perhaps you would need to rent out a chalet with full staff?

 

[DrRoy]

We're in the far more pedestrian level of (potential) spending of ~$140 k right now, (which can increase once we want to start SS), but we've not come close to those numbers yet. [in my planning before retirement, I'd had $85 k as minimum level... so we've at least made the plan.].

I know of ways to increase spending...as we've been across the pond a few times at some very enjoyable locations and they can get pricey (especially when you add in the VAT)

This is eerily close to our numbers. Our spending before FIRE was around your low end above. We found that we could spend a little more in RE because income taxes were lower and we no longer needed to save. This year (#3) we will be at your upper figure, but that is still close to a 2% WR (plus a small pension, no SS). Going to throw caution to the wind next year and pull out 2.4%!!!

 

[RunningBum]

I'd like to propose a new level: Gluttonous FIRE

There's no need to put a derogatory label on people or the lifestyle they live based only on a dollar amount. Let people live their own life without ridicule.