Retirees are too frugal!

[scrabbler1]

I can't see spending 40k for a car. The last one I bought, a new one in 2007 (just under 2 years before I ERed), was a Toyota Corolla CE, the low-end model. It cost me $18k. My plan is to have it last at least another 5 years when I will have access to my first "reinforcement," unfettered access to my IRA.


The only major item I spend unexpectedly large amounts on in the last few years is health care. Two years ago, I had my 12-day hospital stay and I hit the maximums on OOP expenses, about $6,400. That's about 1/3 of a car, for me!


In late 2015, I needed to replace my toilet. It cost me about $530. Money well spent, compared to having it overflow the day before because the whole thing was failing (BLECH!).

 

[rodi]

I guess I fail on the big spending club. I bought a new car in August to replace the 12 year old one (still have the 22 year old truck)... $22k for a subaru... And I'm very happy with it.

I still have Sequence of Returns risk phobia... Only been retired for 3 years. I promise I'll loosen up the purse strings in about 8 years.

That will coincide with younger son finishing college (hopefully).

I do expect the travel budget to bump up in 4 years when younger son enters college. And of course college expenses will add significantly to my contribution to the economy.

It's great to feel all happy about the market gains... but the market doesn't always go up... so I'm staying frugal for a while more. Keeping my spending low enough to qualify for some (not maxed) premium tax credits... and hopefully a low "expected family contribution" for colleges... Much of our money is in pre-tax accounts - so we pay taxes (and show income) on withdrawals... so that makes us very cautious about pulling too much out when FAFSA EFC, ACA PTC, and other tax consequences could have big hits on the *actual* amount we'd be able to spend.

 

[97guns]

Frugality is what’s allowed most of us to Fire and it’s hard to break from the habit of saving and living within means.

 

[Another Reader]

We just bought a 2018 Camry hybrid. 50 to 52 mpg in town. Running 75 to 80, it drops to 48 mpg. And it is a car of the future. It is actually quite quick in acceleration.

The 2018 LE is rated at 50 mpg. The SE and XLE are rated at 44. The engines appear the be the same. Any idea of the reason for the difference?

 

[Another Reader]

Did you see my first 2 posts in this thread?

Hey, every penny blown counts -

Hey Robbie:

I think you need to loosen the purse strings a little more. Point that new Lincoln over the Altamont Pass toward the Bay Area. Make a right at 680 and stop at the Danville Costco. There's a bottle of scotch in the case with your name on it. It's called Tamdhu single malt and it's only $14,999. Cheers!

ETA: I think this is the one. https://www.tamdhu50.com/

 

[aaronc879]

The 2018 LE is rated at 50 mpg. The SE and XLE are rated at 44. The engines appear the be the same. Any idea of the reason for the difference?

The LE has a different battery pack and weighs 100 lbs less.

 

[HadEnuff]

Hey Robbie:

I think you need to loosen the purse strings a little more. Point that new Lincoln over the Altamont Pass toward the Bay Area. Make a right at 680 and stop at the Danville Costco. There's a bottle of scotch in the case with your name on it. It's called Tamdhu single malt and it's only $14,999. Cheers!

ETA: I think this is the one. https://www.tamdhu50.com/

do you think they'd offer me a free sample?

 

[RobbieB]

Hey Robbie:

I think you need to loosen the purse strings a little more. Point that new Lincoln over the Altamont Pass toward the Bay Area. Make a right at 680 and stop at the Danville Costco. There's a bottle of scotch in the case with your name on it. It's called Tamdhu single malt and it's only $14,999. Cheers!

ETA: I think this is the one. https://www.tamdhu50.com/

They won't let me in, I'm not a Costco member, I refuse to pay to shop.

I did buy a bottle of Macallan Rare Cask at BevMo for $250.

 

[REWahoo]

They won't let me in, I'm not a Costco member, I refuse to pay to shop.

Cheapskate.

 

[pb4uski]

I fall into this camp, the hardest thing I can cope with is seeing our "Nut" decrease. I hate it. Even if we divided it by 30 years (Not including Investments or CD interest) we could not spend it all. Bear in mind I am a VERY VERY concervative investor and only have fixed income investments. Add $30 pa SS in a few years and I still cannot get used to it. Shhhhhhhh.

$$$$ hoarder.

While I understand the physcologal difficulty to spend after so many years of frugality, I think I'm over it. Not that we're big spenders by any means... but I'm fine with spending as long as I'm getting a solid value. But at the end of the day I saved all this money to spend in my retirement, not to hoard it.

 

[audreyh1]

They won't let me in, I'm not a Costco member, I refuse to pay to shop.

I did buy a bottle of Macallan Rare Cask at BevMo for $250.

No Costco membership required to buy alcohol (usually - some cities have overriding restrictions).

 

[kevdude]

I think we’ll be buying a newer car/SUV in the next few months. We’ll be replacing my wife’s 2001 Lexus RX 300 with over 200k miles. I imagine we’ll be spending approx 40k for the replacement, which I anticipate we’ll have for another 15 years or so. We also have a 2004 Expedition with a little over 190k miles so we tend to keep our vehicles awhile.

 

[RobbieB]

No Costco membership required to buy alcohol (usually - some cities have overriding restrictions).

Here they card you at the front door.

 

[kevdude]

Did you see my first 2 posts in this thread?

Hey, every penny blown counts -

I do get a kick out of your posts.

 

[FreeBear]

Well, after holding the line budget-wise for the last 2 years, we went nuts this year. We spent twice as much as budgeted on travel. It was wonderful; we were gone from home 2 out of the last 6 months.

Bought a decent used car, in the form of dental implants. Got to do what you got to do...

At least the vacations were a blast.

 

[FreeBear]

M
Oven died. $230 for parts or $400 for a new range.

Fridge and clothes dryer started acting up. Instead of spending on parts and labor (or have DW "supervise" my DYI efforts!), I just bought new stuff. I decided to buy lower-middle of the road replacements, and just expect to throw them away every decade. I'm calling it an upgrade

On the other hand, our computers are almost museum pieces by some folks standards, but we "like" them and have managed to keep them usefully employed. Apple stuff is too $$$ for us to upgrade regularly...

 

[NW-Bound]

OK, if Robbie wants to have the excuse of not having Costco membership to avoid blowing $15K on a bottle of Scotch, I understand. However, he can always go get a bottle of Louis XIII Cognac like BCG has done, and it is a lot less too. It should be available at a higher-end liquor store, or they can order it for him.

As for me, I may, just may, get a Louis XIII for my 65th birthday. Or I may chicken out like I did at my 60th. At any rate, there's no chance in hell I will spend $15K for a single-malt, not being even a whisky drinker myself.

And while we talk about booze, recently at my high-country boondock home when we had both children, my son-in-law, my niece and her husband up there, I opened the special Remy Martin bottle I brought back from Cognac, France (they claimed it was not exported to the US).

We were sitting out on the deck, around a firepit. In sampling and comparing it with other Cognac bottles, I found that I preferred another French XO that's 1/3 the cost. And that latter bottle is available at Total Wine. Hah!

So, spending more does not necessarily get you what you like most. My son-in-law liked that special Remy Martin the best though.

 

[RobbieB]

Oh yeah, I am a fan of buying stuff I like and avoiding stuff I don't like.

I bought 1 bottle of Dom Perignon. Don't like it. Found it too dry and rather tasteless.

 

[audreyh1]

Here they card you at the front door.

They card you at the front door at all Costcos. You just tell them you are there to buy alcohol/wine/beer and they will let you in.

 

[Yarnstormer]

Go and price a new truck. It will look like they are giving away those $40K cars...

I’ll stick with my paid for truck! My philosophy on card has always been pay cash and buy used with about 30k miles on it to lessen the pain. Oh and decide what you want first, drive a new one, then drive several used til you find a good deal.

 

[NW-Bound]

Oh yeah, I am a fan of buying stuff I like and avoiding stuff I don't like.

I bought 1 bottle of Dom Perignon. Don't like it. Found it too dry and rather tasteless.

But you don't know if you do not like that $15K bottle unless you try it.

Sometimes, you can tell without trying though. For example, I already do not care about my son's Audi S4, nor my brother's BMW X5. So, the chance of me being wowed by the Tesla's "ridiculous acceleration" or "stupendous" or whatever they call it is zilch. I do not drive fast, not since I was 30.

 

[txtig]

Took a date to Arlo Guthrie concert.

Arlo Guthrie is still alive?!

 

[txtig]

They card you at the front door at all Costcos. You just tell them you are there to buy alcohol/wine/beer and they will let you in.

At our local Costco, the liquor store is adjacent (but attached) to the main store. It’s part of Costco, but is separate and no card required. Very good prices, but still not as good as Total Wine.

 

[teejayevans]

If you’re not spending now after 8 years of a bull market, you never will. What are you going to do when markets drop? Sell car and bike everywhere, pick food out of dumpsters?

 

[HadEnuff]

If you’re not spending now after 8 years of a bull market, you never will. What are you going to do when markets drop? Sell car and bike everywhere, pick food out of dumpsters?

8 years of bull market, but only 18 m months of retirement for me. So I've had the luxury of spending AND seeing the nut grow.

I am steeling myself for the year I have to spend my chosen WR and drop 10% in the markets, and hope I still have the balls to live my life.