A real quandary....how to spend it all

An 86 year old widow has lived on a Crystal cruise ship for several years. One year her cruising tab was $164K. Not a bad way to spend your time being treated like a king or queen.
 
Since DH retired, we have spent freely. DH has purchased a couple of new guitars. He has taken up hunting and shoots trap. We replaced my 15 yr. old Lexus with a new Lincoln MKC AWD. We have replaced DH's 15 yr. old Toyota Tundra 2WD with a new Toyota Tundra TRD 4WD. We purchased a new CanAm side by side for off-road adventures. We dine out often and pay no attention to the prices on the menu. Since we have already traveled abroad, we are taking road trips to visit places DH has never seen - Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, etc. DH goes on golf junkets with his golf buddies - different locations every year so they can play different courses and has taken several fishing trips to Alaska. I take a trip every year to Oregon to spend bonding time with my sister - no husbands allowed.

We pretty much do what we want, when we want.

On the other hand, I still shop the sales at the grocery store (old habits are hard to break :blush:).
 
Better toilet paper... soft and thick... no more single ply for this guy.
 
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NW-Bound said:
I splurged with buying my 2nd home in 2005. I could have a lot more money if I did not do that.

But that big splurge satiated my desire to spend, and I do not wish for more stuff anymore.
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Dawg52 said:
Similar for me. Bought a vacation condo in 2014. Not wanting more stuff either which is a good thing as condo fees and assessments eliminates the desire to blough more dough. Ha.
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It's better to do a big purchase to get it out of your system, to get it over with, instead of "wouldda, shouldda" the rest of your life.

I am now at peace with myself. :)
 
Call me grinch, but I don't want to spend it all. I've got no idea how long I will live and don't want to reach the point where I spend my final years worrying about running out of money. I'l enjoy life a lot more if I have a reasonable enough bank balance right to the end.

For me, there's a balance between enjoying what I worked for and keeping enough to ensure I can feel financally secure at all times. So far, I think I'm doing a pretty good job buying a completely unnecessary car last year and mostly flying business class for long haul. :cool smiley:
 
traineeinvestor said:
Call me grinch, but I don't want to spend it all. I've got no idea how long I will live and don't want to reach the point where I spend my final years worrying about running out of money. I'll enjoy life a lot more if I have a reasonable enough bank balance right to the end.
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Not Grinch-y at all. I was driven my entire adult life by a fear of being old and poor. I still managed to have a lot of fun with what I had left after saving, but saving was a priority. I don't want to be one of those people who spends their last dollar the day before they die- too close for comfort for me. I spend a lot compared to the average 66-year old but it's sustainable.
 
traineeinvestor said:
Call me grinch, but I don't want to spend it all. I've got no idea how long I will live and don't want to reach the point where I spend my final years worrying about running out of money. I'l enjoy life a lot more if I have a reasonable enough bank balance right to the end.

For me, there's a balance between enjoying what I worked for and keeping enough to ensure I can feel financally secure at all times. So far, I think I'm doing a pretty good job buying a completely unnecessary car last year and mostly flying business class for long haul. :cool smiley:
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What? You can't predict your future? I am shocked! Shocked!!!
Would you like a ride in my Time Machine as soon as the parts I need to fix it are invented? That will be somewhere around 2062, I think. I'll come back and pick you up, but you will have to spring for lunch.

On problem with doing we LBYM type people is that often, like old generals, we are still fighting the last war. Most of us here won the war. Now we must win the peace which means using our time well.
 
Chuckanut said:
... Would you like a ride in my Time Machine as soon as the parts I need to fix it are invented? That will be somewhere around 2062, I think. I'll come back and pick you up, but you will have to spring for lunch..
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Forget about the Time Machine.

Will you share what is keeping you alive till 2062?
 
The Cosmic Avenger said:
Trust me, a horse can definitely cure you of the problem of having too much money! :D

But seriously, I would urge you to try the things you can afford but don't feel you need, the kinds of things people have already mentioned -- business class travel, expensive foods, upgrades to the house. Just find one thing you already like and try an upgrade to what you're used to. You don't need to spend down everything you have, but you certainly have earned the right to keep it from piling up, so to speak!

And if you're looking for advice on blowing a lot of dough on whisky...actually, I can't help you there. I've tried some expensive (at least five digits per bottle) single malt scotches, and to be honest, I could tell the difference, but they didn't taste 100 times better than my current favorites, which I can usually pick up when they go on sale for $50-100 per bottle. (Johnnie Walker Green Label, which I think is better than the Blue Label, Glenmorangie Ealanta and Milsean, and Ardbeg Uigeadail.)
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The new neighborhood I moved into in 2016 has a few whiskey drinkers/collectors, so I've been sucked into it a little bit. My experience has mirrored yours. Pappy is good bourbon, but there is no shortage of bourbon almost as good at a fraction of the price. My palate is not incredibly refined. Good is good enough for me.

The only expensive item I've tried that I would consider buying if I was just trying to spend extra money is Laphroaig 25. It's about $500/bottle. My neighbor gave me a pour and I enjoyed it a lot. However, I doubt I'm going to buy it when Laphroaig 10 is like $40/bottle. It gets me about 80% of the enjoyment for less than a 10th the price. I'll buy some bottles in the $100-$150 range once in a while to expand my knowledge and see if anything is so much better than my favorites that it is worth spending the money, but for the most part I just don't get enough out of them to spend the extra money.
 
I like good expensive booze. Yeah, nice rich flavor and no burn. Makes me wonder how they do it. I mean the stuff is 80 to 100 proof (like it all is) and it doesn't hurt or burn the pipes or the stomach. It's a pleasure w/o the pain.

It's a pleasure I'm willing to pay for - :)
 
Hamlet said:
The only expensive item I've tried that I would consider buying if I was just trying to spend extra money is Laphroaig 25. It's about $500/bottle. My neighbor gave me a pour and I enjoyed it a lot. However, I doubt I'm going to buy it when Laphroaig 10 is like $40/bottle. It gets me about 80% of the enjoyment for less than a 10th the price. I'll buy some bottles in the $100-$150 range once in a while to expand my knowledge and see if anything is so much better than my favorites that it is worth spending the money, but for the most part I just don't get enough out of them to spend the extra money.
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Totally agree with this outlook, although in my case it's in regards to wine and not whiskey. Even though there are certainly $50 or $100 or $500 bottles of wine that are spectacular and that I'd enjoy tremendously, they are not (IMHO) twice or 5x or 25x more delicious than my current favorite that I can purchase for $20/bottle. Honestly, every time I take a sip of that delicious $20 wine, I get an additional bit of enjoyment and satisfaction just thinking about what a great value it is.
 
Hamlet said:
The new neighborhood I moved into in 2016 has a few whiskey drinkers/collectors, so I've been sucked into it a little bit. My experience has mirrored yours. Pappy is good bourbon, but there is no shortage of bourbon almost as good at a fraction of the price. My palate is not incredibly refined. Good is good enough for me.

The only expensive item I've tried that I would consider buying if I was just trying to spend extra money is Laphroaig 25. It's about $500/bottle. My neighbor gave me a pour and I enjoyed it a lot. However, I doubt I'm going to buy it when Laphroaig 10 is like $40/bottle. It gets me about 80% of the enjoyment for less than a 10th the price. I'll buy some bottles in the $100-$150 range once in a while to expand my knowledge and see if anything is so much better than my favorites that it is worth spending the money, but for the most part I just don't get enough out of them to spend the extra money.
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Buy yourself a Laphroaig 10 for $40, put it in the cupboard and wait 15 years?
 
Hey I adore my little sailboat. It's the joy of my retirement life and I get to sail several times a week I also suggest buying really good ukuleles!
 

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pb4uski said:
Buy yourself a Laphroaig 10 for $40, put it in the cupboard and wait 15 years?
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Not a whisky drinker, but I believe it has to be aged in a cask, same as with Cognac. Once bottled, the aging stops. It's not like wine that ages in its own bottle.

PS. A poster here once mentioned buying an entire oak barrel of whisky. The problem is that this bulk purchase is not allowed to an end consumer, only to licensed dealers.
 
I would guess there are those who read this, long ago realized there's no way in hell they'll ever have a chance of running out of money.

I've been following my spending and I'm ~ a 1% WR. As I get older, life gets shorter, will cause time for a re-evaluation.

May be bogus, but Ray Kurzweil believes we'll find ourselves living longer lives. Maybe much longer lives. Doesn't hurt me to live a life now, perhaps considered frugal. I maintain kings could not dare dream to live one day of their lives that I live every day.
 
Chuckanut said:
What? You can't predict your future? I am shocked! Shocked!!!
Would you like a ride in my Time Machine as soon as the parts I need to fix it are invented? That will be somewhere around 2062, I think. I'll come back and pick you up, but you will have to spring for lunch.

On problem with doing we LBYM type people is that often, like old generals, we are still fighting the last war. Most of us here won the war. Now we must win the peace which means using our time well.
Click to expand...

If I'm still around in 2062, I'll be happy to provide a nice bottle of port (I have six bottles of 1966 Taylor's in storage) on hand when you pick me up.:angel:

Although there's a good chance I will have used my time too well and it will be gone by then.
 
Elbata said:
I would guess there are those who read this, long ago realized there's no way in hell they'll ever have a chance of running out of money.

I've been following my spending and I'm ~ a 1% WR. As I get older, life gets shorter, will cause time for a re-evaluation.

May be bogus, but Ray Kurzweil believes we'll find ourselves living longer lives. Maybe much longer lives. Doesn't hurt me to live a life now, perhaps considered frugal. I maintain kings could not dare dream to live one day of their lives that I live every day.
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Only if it means living longer with a good quality of life.

Dad's male relatives all dropped dead around age 70.

He's almost made 80, but because of vascular dementia has no short-term memory, is confined to the first floor of his home, and is now having serious trouble maintaining the ability to walk even with regular physical therapy.
 
No advice on how to spend it but how much to spend....I would apply the 4% rule i.e. total assets x 4% = your yearly budget and feel free to spend the entire 4% budget without worry.
 
NoOneGetsIt said:
Ok....we have a quandary
We saved our whole lives and lived beneath our means and retired early 50s. Now...how do we spend it all?
We own our house
We do need a new vehicle so that will be done
But how do we break this tightwad mentality and how HOW can we spend it all?
We like to travel and will but we enjoy doing I “on the cheap”.

Help!
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I have the same problem - how to switch from mega-saver to spender. I am donating a lot, giving money to family, flying business class, giving big tips to deserving service workers, buying the latest gadgets, and generally being as big a spender as my addled brain will allow.:banghead:
 
pb4uski said:
Buy yourself a Laphroaig 10 for $40, put it in the cupboard and wait 15 years?
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Sounds like a plan but the distilleries keep it aging in oak barrels, which influences the overall flavors. :cool:

Overall in many "discretionary" items there is always that 80-90% enjoyment for 10-20% of the price. Been there, done that!
 
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