Developing a taste for luxury in retirement

[FIREd]

How would you quantify/define "small"? That is always my quandry.

Luxury IMO is relative to your means so only you can judge what "small" is. For me, it is something that feels like an indulgence without breaking the bank. At my current level of income, it could be a short stay at a luxury hotel or a $500 dinner. When I was a poor student, a meal at McD probably constituted a small luxury.

 

[Mulligan]

Do people dine out more or less after ER?

After all, a lot of the restaurant expenses is tied to work, like lunches of dinners when you've been too busy at work to prepare your own dinner?

Of course, this thread is discussing more the finer dining, though if one was regularly spending over $100 on a meal, that would make FI more difficult.

Certainly not something most of us are budgeting for as a regular expense in retirement?

Personally I go out usually once a week tops with my GF. I could afford to do way more, but my waistline cannot. I am a plate cleaner and am not going to waste my money on a low carb/calorie meal. So therefore I cannot go out often as it takes me 2-3 days to work off the weight gain from gorging myself at a restaurant.

 

[MRG]

So true. I think the last time I ate a restaurant meal that cost over $100, was in 1972! Certainly no work related meal ever cost very much, even if paid with personal money, for reasons of avoiding the appearance of wrongdoing.

Ah, the good old days, I recall a trip to South Africa where our objective was to get Megacorp to send us home, based on how much we were in spending.

We ate and drank very well, sometimes multiple dinners per day. The waitresses loved us as we were tipping close to 50%.

No matter what we did we were stuck till we 'fixed the whole country' luckily it was just Megacorp's issues. Great food, some of the best wine in the world. Capetown was great, Joburg not so much. I have great memories, but I'm never going back there.

MRG

 

[jimnjana]

We're definitely spending more on travel and eating out but not so for luxury goods. Cashflow still supporting increased spending. Only exception is that we are pulling cash account money to fund improvements to home. (Hurricane Shutters, Adding bath, Impact Sky lights).

 

[ChrisC]

Luxury IMO is relative to your means so only you can judge what "small" is. For me, it is something that feels like an indulgence without breaking the bank. At my current level of income, it could be a short stay at a luxury hotel or a $500 dinner. When I was a poor student, a meal at McD probably constituted a small luxury.

I agree with this sentiment as well. When my wife and I were poor students, eating at Burger King from BOGO coupons for Whoppers was a major part of our food budget one semester. (BK ran a coupon deal with no expiration date in our student newspaper and it seemed every other day we were in BK, after having clipped around 100 coupons; after that semester, we didn't go back to BK for many years.) For the first 25 years of my life, I was below the poverty line. In fact, when I became a VISTA volunteer in the early 70's, my standard of living increased despite living off a monthly stipend of $138.

We've been living below our income levels for ages, and I'm about to break bad in retirement and balance the past deprivation, now that I have the will to engage in some decadent spending that won't break my bank. I can't see the point of not enjoying the fruits of our labor with responsible spending on a few luxury items that might give us great joy. We might even buy that crazy Pro 48 Sub-Zero Refrigerator, or even pay people to cut our grass occasionally or paint rooms in our new home. I intend to do a lot of spending in retirement on some good stuff. I have no time to delay gratification for many items on my wish list that I can now afford in retirement.

 

[jon-nyc]

...a nice IWC Portuguese.

Nice choice. I've had one for over a decade - a wedding present from my wife.

 

[gcgang]

Like most here, watching every penny was the way I've lived. Now, FI means I can relax, buy the nicer car, the better airline seat, the nicer watch, if I want, and it won't affect my ability to cover future retirement expenses. Life is good.

 

[someguy]

I guess I was hoping to get some kind of feel for what the relative ratio of small luxuries is (versus NW or income) and what you guys think of it while working/ESR'd vs FIREd.

 

[Midpack]

I guess I was hoping to get some kind of feel for what the relative ratio of small luxuries is (versus NW or income) and what you guys think of it while working/ESR'd vs FIREd.

I'd be surprised if there was any consensus at all. Maybe a poll would suit your purpose?

 

[Chuckanut]

Now that I am retired, I must admit I am spending a bit more on things I would have never bought if I was still working. Why? I did not have much time to enjoy them while I was working. However, I do not intend to let any of my expenses threaten the greatest benefits of ER: a healthier lifestyle, and freedom to choose what I do with my time.

 

[tuixiu]

Travel is my biggest "concern"

I wonder about this too, but sometimes I think it goes both ways.

Since we both working any travel we do has to be arranged to maximize use of time, from the schedule of the plane tickets to transportation in country. We'll buy the more expensive flight to Vietnam to avoid the cheaper one that has us waiting nine hours between flights in Taiwan, just because those nine hours are precious. If I was retired maybe that would be a tolerable wait to save a couple hundred bucks on a ticket, maybe leave the airport and do some exploring.

Or a lot of those travel deals that come around if you set up alerts are great bargains but I've got no use for them because I can't just easily take a vacation without my work knowing farther ahead and I sure can't take advantage of the ones that are mainly beneficial Monday-Thursday.

 

[Koolau]

I guess I was hoping to get some kind of feel for what the relative ratio of small luxuries is (versus NW or income) and what you guys think of it while working/ESR'd vs FIREd.

Not sure I can quantify in this fashion. When working, my emphasis was to get to FI. There were still luxuries, though to some extent that is in the eye of the beholder. Before FI, the "budget" was aimed at FI. Now, it is aimed at maximizing the enjoyment of ER (in the time left). While we don't know how long we will live, we know it's a lot less than before we were FI. SO, I feel no guilt in rewarding myself occasionally for having saved diligently. Also, I have at least SOME feel for how much I CAN spend, now that I know what my "stash" is. If nothing else, I have Firecalc to let me know about what I can reasonably expect to spend. If a few luxuries fit within that, I don't ask as many questions as I used to. I am surprised that we still resist some luxuries that we could probably afford (first or bus-class vs coach for example). Nicer cars, finer dining, etc. But we are happy and do not feel in any way deprived.

Being free from the w*rkplace is such a luxury that other things seem to pale in comparison. I think that's why we rarely think too much about the subject. We are already in the "lap of luxury". It is called FIRE. YMMV

 

[Mulligan]

I wonder about this too, but sometimes I think it goes both ways.

Since we both working any travel we do has to be arranged to maximize use of time, from the schedule of the plane tickets to transportation in country. We'll buy the more expensive flight to Vietnam to avoid the cheaper one that has us waiting nine hours between flights in Taiwan, just because those nine hours are precious. If I was retired maybe that would be a tolerable wait to save a couple hundred bucks on a ticket, maybe leave the airport and do some exploring.

Or a lot of those travel deals that come around if you set up alerts are great bargains but I've got no use for them because I can't just easily take a vacation without my work knowing farther ahead and I sure can't take advantage of the ones that are mainly beneficial Monday-Thursday.

I can appreciate that... I am going on a trip to Vegas with one of my betting friends soon. He is all happy because he is saving a bunch of money splitting all the airport parking, cab, and hotel fees. Me, not so much. I could go cheaper on my own on another date, but we have to work it around his work schedule.

 

[jerome len]

My parents were very frugal and gained much of their enjoyment by buying gifts for my family that we couldn't afford on our own. Years, ago, my brother and I realized that my parents had bought both of us color TV sets as presents but hadn't bought a color tv for themselves. So, we chipped in and bought a color tv for them.

Today, as I transition to the retired life, I feel so lucky that I have always lived under my income. When others traveled 1st class I flew coach. I've had nice cars and homes but always a little less than others having a comparable income.

As a result I can have anything I want within reason. And, we can help others discreetly whenever we see a need for a family member or friend. My wife and I drive non luxury vehicles but we could pay cash for a BMW or Cadillac if we wanted to.

Our favorite restaurants are Italian, chinese and Mexican....not expensive although we can afford steak houses if we wanted them. We are very lucky and know it. We couldn't live on 60k a year but we could spend triple that and still not run out of money. My suggestion to all is live on less than you can afford, save like crazy and enjoy gifting to loved ones that may not have been as fortunate in earning a lot of money. All in all I've been very lucky becasue I have my health, a loving family and enough money to enjoy life and help others.

 

[Birchwood]

In my younger years, when I was earning vey well I did acquired a few luxuries. Although they were expensive, they are for most timeless, durable and practically can last forever. My only basic rule is not to spend much on houses, cars ,boat or anything I cannot afford to pay cash.
My unusual collections consist of the following.
1. mechanical "swiss" watches. I have a few Rolexes, Omega, Zenith.
2. Guns and pistols. I have about 10 of those.
3. Nikon cameras and about 10 Nikon lenses. I need to update the camera body.
I still use the watches, the guns, the camera and lenses, and enjoy them as hobbies, although I'm done buying(except for the camera).
Other than that, I live a pretty frugal, simple, inconspicuous life.
I look plain and the only accoutrement is a fine stainless steel swiss watch.

 

[MRG]

Is the definition of a boat ' a hole in the water into which one throws money', good plan. While I love boats, it's best to let others own them.

MRG

 

[Midpack]

Is the definition of a boat ' a hole in the water into which one throws money', good plan. While I love boats, it's best to let others own them.

MRG

You left off
- it's like standing in a cold shower tearing up $100 bills, and
- b.o.a.t. = break out another thousand, and
- the two best days in a boat owners life are, the day he/she buys the boat, and the day he/she sells the boat, and
- better than owning a boat, is having a friend who owns a boat (paraphrasing you), and
- ...

 

[martyp]

One of the things that surprised me after I ER'd was how little I missed the luxuries I indulged in while I was w*rking. I realized that some of that spending was to pamper myself to compensate for the stress at w*rk. Like others on this thread I haven't given up on some things but I've reduced the frequency and maybe will save up before spending.

I deliberately cut back on expensive wines and restaurants. However, I still go out to eat a lot but I've found ways to indulge my foodie instincts for less and I love it. I travel less but that is because I no longer have business travel. I used to tack on extra vacation days to business travel and I no longer have that.

I would say that, overall, I spend less or at least get better value than I did when I was w*rking.

 

[HFWR]

I guess I've never been affluent enough to really indulge in "luxuries", thus don't really miss them.

 

[LitGal]

Not sure I can quantify in this fashion. When working, my emphasis was to get to FI. There were still luxuries, though to some extent that is in the eye of the beholder. Before FI, the "budget" was aimed at FI. Now, it is aimed at maximizing the enjoyment of ER (in the time left). While we don't know how long we will live, we know it's a lot less than before we were FI. SO, I feel no guilt in rewarding myself occasionally for having saved diligently. Also, I have at least SOME feel for how much I CAN spend, now that I know what my "stash" is. If nothing else, I have Firecalc to let me know about what I can reasonably expect to spend. If a few luxuries fit within that, I don't ask as many questions as I used to. I am surprised that we still resist some luxuries that we could probably afford (first or bus-class vs coach for example). Nicer cars, finer dining, etc. But we are happy and do not feel in any way deprived.

Being free from the w*rkplace is such a luxury that other things seem to pale in comparison. I think that's why we rarely think too much about the subject. We are already in the "lap of luxury". It is called FIRE. YMMV

+1. As we plod on with purging closets and downsizing, we have little interest in shopping for "stuff." But, "experiences" are a much higher priority, now that we have time to shop for travel at bargain prices. (So, in Sept., I'll spend two weeks in France with an old college friend. She and I have planned the trip over the past year; so, with research and comparison shopping, we will travel at about half the cost of a tour package, and follow our own self-selected itinerary. We will avoid the summer crowds and enjoy the off-season.)

Still, open expanses of time are the greatest luxury for DH and me. I will never tire of spending days pulling out whatever I want from our local library (for FREE), then actually having time to read, watch, or listen to whatever I brought home. The old work week no longer dictates my schedule.

Freedom is a rare gem. (Though it did come with a price tag: 34 years of hard work and LBYM.) But it's WAY better than any of the stuff I "missed out on" because of frugality.