Blow that dough (It's official now)

[athena53]

I'm doing my best, but it's not easy. The last two years saw the largest expenditures on travel ever, and next year will be in the same league. I'm also going to buy the most expensive new car I've ever owned, so that's part of it too. Still won't hit the 4% WR though.

Well, as soon as the market tanks again the same folks who came out of the woodwork during the financial crisis will again pontificate about how 2% might be better as a safe withdrawal rate. Better buy that car now!

 

[hesperus]

We're doing our part. Upcoming ski trip to Whistler/Blackcomb in feb, first class air, slopeside lodging & all the perks.

 

[FIREd]

Not interested in spending more. Our sub 3% WR gives us a pretty high level of comfort already, as we have been recently reminded while spending time with family for the holidays.

I have no desire to travel more extensively and we have plenty of nice things to enjoy as is.

 

[Another Reader]

I keep trying to increase my WR (thus spending percentage), but my portfolio keeps growing so it hasn't gone up this year. What's a retiree gonna do?

Oh, maybe I know! Buy a new SUV, that ought to do it.....

I'm doing my best to singlehandedly prop up the US economy.

So, when are you going to buy that beauty and post a picture?

 

[Walt34]

No new cars or trips for us but I did buy a brand-new snow thrower and DW went a little nutso buying stuff for the grandnephews and grandnieces. I'll have to email their respective parents and tell them to bring their largest vehicles to the Christmas family gathering so they'll have room to haul all that stuff back home.

 

[W2R]

So, when are you going to buy that beauty and post a picture?

Patience, patience! I need to coordinate some stuff, decide on what vehicle, and torture curious ER Forum members a little while longer.....

 

[Islandtraveler]

On the golf course of life, I am on the 13th. hole (statistically speaking) I'm not thinking I want to buy the whole club a drink at the 19th. Got a 13 day trip to Italy planned for 2018. Your dead a long time.

 

[HadEnuff]

My situation seems to be that as I have achieved a level of affluence, I no longer enjoy things like international travel, and heavy restaurant meals. I seem to enjoy my own cooking and my own bed.
A lot of what I thought would be great fun upon retirement has turned out to be an opportunity to be uncomfortable.

I did buy two whole beef tenderloins to enjoy,and to to chop up and give out as Christmas presents...so there is that...

 

[meierlde]

My situation seems to be that as I have achieved a level of affluence, I no longer enjoy things like international travel, and heavy restaurant meals. I seem to enjoy my own cooking and my own bed.
A lot of what I thought would be great fun upon retirement has turned out to be an opportunity to be uncomfortable.

I did buy two whole beef tenderloins to enjoy,and to to chop up and give out as Christmas presents...so there is that...

For several years while working I would go scuba diving 3 times a year, and at that time looked forward to more when retired. However after about 10 years I got burned out on it since I would get a cold nearly every time I took a trip (and colds and scuba don't mix well). So I gave it up.

 

[RobbieB]

Woo-Hoo, my theme -

Yeah Baby! Blow that dough!

I bought myself a Christmas present this year. A one of a kind hand made knife, mirror polished with grade AAA mother of pearl scales. Two grand.

Live the dream -

 

[Meadbh]

I just returned from a trip to Ireland for a family wedding. Ireland is expensive. Weddings are expensive. Particularly when they are held at locations that look like Downton Abbey. With hats. Oh well.

 

[street]

Woo-Hoo, my theme -

Yeah Baby! Blow that dough!

I bought myself a Christmas present this year. A one of a kind hand made knife, mirror polished with grade AAA mother of pearl scales. Two grand.

Live the dream -

When I saw the title I thought of you and was wondering when you might jump in. LOL

I have no plan on spending more this year other then what we have budgeted. There is always the unexpected things that come up so that will be my spending more if I have too. In a few years I will open things up still staying on course what I have to spend for now.

 

[FreeBear]

This year we spent like it was 1999! Oh, never mind....

Big dental combined with massive (for us!) vacation. So, part bad luck and part just pent up vacation demand. We were somewhat austere in 2015 and 2016 due to the tepid economy and my nervousness as an ER. The strong market did encourage us to blow out the budget this year, but we'll reign it in for 2018, or so goes the plan...

I think it will be another 5-7 years before I even consider revising upwards the spending plan. Our SWR is probably somewhat aggressive, at least by ER.org standards, although conservative by MMM standards. No need for even more risk until we get further out from the sequence of returns shadow.

 

[Dawg52]

I just bought a new pair of golf shoes and a putter. I'm getting wild and crazy in my old age.

 

[pb4uski]

I'm actually more concerned with not spending enough now while we are young enough to enjoy it and dying old and rich.... though I guess that beats the pants off of old and poor.

DD's wedding this year primed the pump.... DW's kitchen remodel in 2018 will keep it primed.

Dilley, dilley!

 

[Cayman]

Thanks W2R, Braumeister and all you big spenders for your efforts to prop our economy, and have Fun! 6 months into ER, DH and I are holding our WR low (>3%) until we get a few years under our belts... managing sequence risk.

Keep up the good work y'all! Dilley Dilley

 

[NW-Bound]

But Wellesley dividends showed up, so today the total of my investments plus bank accounts was higher than it has ever been in my life...

Some of my MFs went ex-dividend today, and they dropped 7 to 9%, compared to the market dropping only 0.35%.

When the dividends finally get credited to the account I will be made whole again, but I cannot get too excited about that. Good thing these are in a tax-deferred account, else the divies make me poorer after I pay tax.

 

[DrRoy]

I'm working on it. New car in the garage, waiting for the new computer to deliver, going to Patagonia next year.

 

[Ronstar]

The article's title suggests that the author tells "why" we should spend our dough. But I don't see any "why" in the article. I do like the idea of spending more when I find a reason to.

 

[Golden sunsets]

It was delicious, and not cheap like a little side salad - - with tax and tip it was $11-$12, blow that dough!

But if you brought half of it home and ate it at another meal then actually you were being quite frugal


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[audreyh1]

Well, as soon as the market tanks again the same folks who came out of the woodwork during the financial crisis will again pontificate about how 2% might be better as a safe withdrawal rate. Better buy that car now!

Exactly! If there is extra, now is the time to spend it, because when things tank it may become psychologically difficult to spend.

My reaction each year when I calculate my withdrawal amount is - wow, that’s so much! But then I realize - best to withdraw it now while I can, because it could shrink any day now.

 

[DEC-1982]

It's not the expert's money, it's somebody else's money.

 

[MichaelB]

Why spend it? To quote George Mallory “Because it’s there”

Braumeister, thanks for the link. It goes perfectly well with your new avatar.

 

[Danmar]

So let me ask this. If you don’t plan on spending more now, will you ever spend more? If not, I guess you have planned for a large legacy? I guess for some people with relatively small portfolios, might not be a big issue? If you don’t want to spend more, I presume you would have a very conservative AA? Just trying to understand how others think.

 

[athena53]

So let me ask this. If you don’t plan on spending more now, will you ever spend more?

My plan is that when the market tanks I won't have to decrease my spending.

I am, however, contemplating something I'd written off as too expensive: a cruise to the Galapagos in 2020. (Why 2020? because I have two major trips per year planned already for 2018 and 2019.) On my favorite line (UnCruise), a single cabin is going to run about $13K after discounts (one for being a past guest, one if I put a deposit down at the end of a previous cruise, and I have one in March, 2019). Then there's airfare to Quito, Ecuador.

It is good to have goals!