Help me spend money

[bobandsherry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoodaGazelle You don’t say how old you are, and whether or not you have health insurance. I am sort of in your situation (my Fidelity account tells me I will have more than $2M at my death, and we have no heirs to leave it to), but due to ACA and MAGA income requirements, I cannot start spending much until DW and I reach Medicare age (3 more years).... I have a hard time spending, but expect to be able to get over it. :-)

Well, you could just spend more and pay the additional cost for insurance. That will take a cut from your future best egg

[bobandsherry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett We are in the same fortunate position. We travel frequently but our nest egg keeps growing. It is incredible to me.

It's been a great market for past few years, so a downturn could be coming and take a little wind out of that surplus sail.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hdhead Wife and I have lived a fairly frugal life. Have always saved maximum for retirement. Well, we are there and now with pension, SS, dividends, company stock, and multiple IRAs and 401k’s. I am overwhelmed with the nest egg and how to spend it. I feel stuck in this frugality mindset and can’t seem to spend more. I know it is a silly problem but for me it is real. Anyone else have this issue or ideas?

When I started tracking expenses to see if I could retire, I was not sure if I could stay within the 4% WR. It is only after seeing my expenses shrinking with 9 years of data and the effect of the bull market that I can be sure that there is little danger of me running out of money.

So, I cannot say that I am overwhelmed with money. I am just more comfortable. And I have started to loosen the purse string, but I have a lot more to go with the WR projected to be less than 1.5% in 2020 if I spent the same as in 2019. In 2019, I already paid for a family vacation to Hawaii in addition to our own 6-week European trip, and gave close to a 5-figure amount for charity.

We have been more generous in giving, starting from small things like higher tips and gifts to people, but these do not really make a dent. A big purchase like a new car is more significant, but one every year? We don't care about cars anyway. There's not much that we care to get.

I do not see the need to blow money on things that I do not care for. Maybe I will get a new class B diesel motorhome.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 In addition to that, if you really want to pi$$ away money, buy an airplane and get your pilots license.

And if you have any money left, get a few horses. That will finish it off.

[ugeauxgirl]

I delayed retirement for a couple of years to wait for a retirement package and the portfolio has grown quite a bit. The terms of the package means we won't have to touch the portfolio for 4-5 more years. Even with conservative returns, if we spend what we are now, our withdrawal rate will much less than 3%.

For me spending more isn't a problem but DH grew up poor and doesn't want to increase our spending. I'm going to sell 3% at the beginning of the year and move it to a "spend" account and see if that helps. I know it's mental accounting, but hopefully it will work. That's my plan anyway.

[geerman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Nope. I married an expert in the art of consuption and she's done a wonderful job at preventing me from spending below our means.

That's hilarious!

[NW-Bound]

Oops. It was a 5-figure charity donation, not 4-figure as said in my earlier post.

I keep making this common mistake when forgetting that while 10^4 is 10,000, a 4-figure number may be as low as 1,000.

[teetee]

It takes practice to enjoy spending and giving. Pick your choice and start practicing.

If I were you and if I were healthy, I would enjoy the money by traveling the country/world and leave anonymously and unusually large tips for strangers in the restaurants or at valet lot. They can use the money. Being anonymous is for own safety.

[daylatedollarshort]

Here is a good article - https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/309814


Short version: Experiences, charity, helping loved ones, time savers, things you can frequently appreciate, along the lines of art.

[DrRoy]

Quote:

Give $1,000 bucks to everyone in this thread. You need to do this to escape your frugal mode.

Here's my post!! After 2-3 years I'm starting to get over the frugality, and last year's market also helped. This year we are sometimes picking higher class airline tickets, have a Viking cruise, and have several moderate remodeling projects around the house.

[FIREd_2015]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hdhead Wife and I have lived a fairly frugal life. Have always saved maximum for retirement. Well, we are there and now with pension, SS, dividends, company stock, and multiple IRAs and 401k’s. I am overwhelmed with the nest egg and how to spend it. I feel stuck in this frugality mindset and can’t seem to spend more. I know it is a silly problem but for me it is real. Anyone else have this issue or ideas?

I feel your pain. It's been a slow and gradual process for me. I still hate to waste money and I will still fight if I feel like I'm been taken (see my colonoscopy post). The number one consideration before was cost now it's combination of cost, convenience and comfort. For example, for my trip to South America I found the cheapest ticket I could find (approx. $1000) bought a standby upgrade to business class for another $1000 plus 50k points. (I still won't pay full price for a business class ticket.) When I was looking at Antarctica trips there was a 10 day option for about $7k and a 20 day option that also went to the Falklands and South Georgia for $13k. I realized I'm probably not going to come back and do this again so it made sense to go with the longer trip especially if money wasn't a consideration. I'm also now staying at nicer accommodations when traveling. Don't get me wrong, I still like getting a deal and free stuff. I will still jump through hoops for free stuff like airline points, free TurboTax, etc. That may change over time though.

[ckelly78z]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hdhead Wife and I have lived a fairly frugal life. Have always saved maximum for retirement. Well, we are there and now with pension, SS, dividends, company stock, and multiple IRAs and 401k’s. I am overwhelmed with the nest egg and how to spend it. I feel stuck in this frugality mindset and can’t seem to spend more. I know it is a silly problem but for me it is real. Anyone else have this issue or ideas?

There was no mention of children in any of your posts, they are a wonderful cause to spread the wealth to. Do you have nieces/nephews who could use a helping hand ?

[Dawg52]

Find some worthwhile charities and make donations to them. I've started to do more of that. And just live it up more. Better restaurants. Join a nice country club if your into that. Lots of ways but it is hard to change if you have been extremely frugal over the years.

[MrsHaloFIRE]

things I have spent money on and loved: tickets to see shows! new car from the showroom with every bell and whistle- so much easier to drive, comfortable to ride in, safer. I don't compromise on safety anymore. Organic fruits/vegetables/milk and good bread. Fewer but nicer meals out. BEtter groceries to dine in.

[latexman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hdhead I am overwhelmed with the nest egg and how to spend it. Anyone else have this issue or ideas?

There's a Nigerian Prince somewhere that needs to use some of that nest egg . . . for a while.

[brett]

My spouse has inherited millions of dollars from long lost relatives in Nigeria. She has had at least three emails over the past several years outlining these windfalls. One was not from a distant relative but rather from someone else who left her money because she is such a wonderful person.

She was afraid to follow up on these for fear of the sudden wealth changing her personality.

In a similar vein we have turned down countless free cruises and trips. We prefer that they go to those less fortunate than ourselves.

[ER Eddie]

I've been frugal all my life and "struggled" to spend more in retirement, too. It's not just frugality, though, it's really a philosophy of life, simplicity. Keeping things small, simple, and uncluttered, so I can focus on what I really enjoy and care about.

I'm different, in that I don't seem to want or care about most of what normal people do -- you know, kids, family, nice houses, travel, busy social calendar, nice cars, lots of stuff, plenty of entertainment. I get my joy from simple things like reading, taking walks, going to the park and walking my dog, fiddling on the internet, hanging out in the backyard, playing a game, reflecting, or just relaxing. None of these things cost any money.

So despite my desires to spend more, I'm only moderately successful. I can't really change who I am at this point, nor do I want to. Buying stuff just doesn't bring me much happiness, generally speaking.

Now, there have been a few exceptions. I "bought" a dog. I bought a bike. I spend pretty freely on good food. I bought some better patio furniture. I bought a shitload of books. I buy gourmet food for my backyard squirrels and birds, lol. All of those things made me happier or more content. If there's something I want, and I think it'll genuinely bring me long-term happiness/contentment, I'll buy it. I don't deprive myself. But I've only been moderately successful in increasing my spending so far, even though I know I should. I yam who I yam.

[Eucerin]

Not sure about OP's age, interest and physical strength but in general, if you retired and not sure how to spend money, why not try the cruise.

Cruise provide all the meals that you need, read in the library if you prefer, activities if you want to be with people, exercise in the GYM, watch a play in the theater.....plenty to fit what you need.

[Eucerin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett My spouse has inherited millions of dollars from long lost relatives in Nigeria. She has had at least three emails over the past several years outlining these windfalls. One was not from a distant relative but rather from someone else who left her money because she is such a wonderful person. She was afraid to follow up on these for fear of the sudden wealth changing her personality. In a similar vein we have turned down countless free cruises and trips. We prefer that they go to those less fortunate than ourselves.

Believe it or not, less fortunate people take cruises too. The less fortunate people have much COOLer life style than we frugal people. They live day by day and we live year by year.

[SecondCor521]

I think the OP probably is aware of all of the things around them on which they could spend money. Most people of their ilk are aware that travel, philanthropy, and hobbies can be expensive. So I doubt that information is particularly helpful. I could be wrong.

I would suggest trying to spend some time and effort figuring out why. I can think of several reasons that are all different and all probably require different actions to address:

1. Fear of running out of money.
2. Fear that others will judge (someone mentioned this upthread).
3. Fear of getting used to a nicer lifestyle and then running out of money.
4. Wanting to avoid wasting money.
5. Lack of ideas of what to do (someone mentioned this upthread in an incredulous post).
6. Contentment with what one has. In this case extra money is sort of a perplexing thing rather than a problem per se, but it can be something that someone feels obliged to address.

For me it's all of the above except not really #3. OP, what are your reasons for being stuck? Sounds like #6 from your most recent post, but there could be additional reasons. If it is #6, then it could just be a mental shift to deciding you don't really need to spend the extra money if you don't want to - i.e., it's not really a problem that needs to be addressed. Unless you'd be bothered by leaving extra money to whomever is in your will.