Is there such a thing as saving too much?

[lem1955]

+1 Pay off the truck loan. Your truck is a depreciating asset. Keep the mortgage. Hopefully, the house is an appreciating asset.

Your thinking is very sound. The only thing to remember is the old rule "No plan survives first contact with the enemy." In your context, this means that a lot can happen in 25 years, so your retirement plan is not a ship that you can launch and forget about. Just watch carefully -- annually is good, manage your asset allocation to suit your time to retirement, stick with a Bogleheads portfolio or similar, and history says you'll be fine. Remember Warren Buffet's advice, too: "Much success can be attributed to inactivity. Most investors cannot resist the temptation to constantly buy and sell. ... Lethargy bordering on sloth should remain the cornerstone of an investment style."

Regarding paying down the house loan, that is debated endlessly here. My sense is the most believe as DW and I do, that being debt free is a very satisfying feeling and that interest rate arbitrage is an uninteresting hobby.

Regarding the truck loan, I think there is at least a strong minority here, including DW and me, that thinks car loans and leases are deals with the devil to be avoided at all costs. Other than my first (used) Porsche right out of grad school, we have never bought a car that we could not afford to pay cash for.

 

[retired1]

Saving too much is always a good problem to have. Most of us can't decide how to spend after living w/in the means and savings for years.

 

[Koolau]

Saving too much is always a good problem to have. Most of us can't decide how to spend after living w/in the means and savings for years.

I find that when I can have "whatever" I want, I no longer really want it anymore. Some exceptions, of course. Thus the thread on BTD! YMMV

 

[Gumby]

I find that when I can have "whatever" I want, I no longer really want it anymore. Some exceptions, of course. Thus the thread on BTD! YMMV

I guess it's like young romance that way. Sometimes the chase is more exhilarating than the catch.

 

[tmm99]

There's no such thing as saving too much. It's always about spending too little.

 

[Koolau]

There's no such thing as saving too much. It's always about spending too little.

I had to reread this. I thought at first it was by RobbieB.

 

[NW-Bound]

There's no such thing as saving too much. It's always about spending too little.

I had to reread this. I thought at first it was by RobbieB.

I mulled over her statement quite a bit. I am not sure, but I interpret it this way.

What do we mean by saving? If a guy does not spend all that he can afford to, does it mean that he is saving? If a guy's WR is less than 4%, is he saving? Is he not spending enough?

One does not switch automatically from a well-rounded spender to a miser just because his WR is low.

Go to the extreme case of billionaires, do we know of any billionaire who spends 4% of their stash? Gates' net worth is still $130B after his charity donations. I don't think the guy spends $5.2B on himself each year. I doubt that anyone will say that the guy is saving too much and does not spend enough. Same with Musk, Bezos, and all other billionaires. I would love to have their problem of not spending 4% WR.

How much saving or spending being too much or too little depends on a guy's net worth. If guy A with $10M is spending $100K (1%), do we say he's spending too little? How about guy B with $1M spending $10K?

I will say guy B needs to spend more, but guy A does not need to if he does not want it. I don't have $10M, but this is my thinking, and I have to spend more than 1% to be comfortable.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

I had to reread this. I thought at first it was by RobbieB.

Sounds like RobbieB LOL I have frugal worked deep into my bones. I can't be like RobbieB but I sure enjoy his posts.
RobbieB reminds me of one of my neighbors but he might only spend 1/3 of what RobbieB does. But he is the RobbieB of my block. LOL

 

[Koolau]

Sounds like RobbieB LOL I have frugal worked deep into my bones. I can't be like RobbieB but I sure enjoy his posts.
RobbieB reminds me of one of my neighbors but he might only spend 1/3 of what RobbieB does. But he is the RobbieB of my block. LOL

I'm trying to be like RobbieB but so far, I'm a complete failure at it! I'm thinking I should send RobbieB my "extra" money and let him spend it. That way I'll know someone will actually enjoy it! YMMV