Retirees are too frugal!

Spending for spending's sake? Is that all I'm good for? I dunno, maybe I'm wasting my time here. Or maybe you all just don't believe me?

I like white truffles, I'm going to buy them again. They tickle my fancy. The flavor is indescribable, you just have to eat some to know. It's an experience that costs lotsa dough. And you think I'm wasting it?

I'm doing the cooking...I don't have a private chef.

Danmar Whasssuuuppp? Got that INTJ jones going too?
 
Danmar said:
Too rich for me too. Aston Martins have a reputation of being expensive for what you get in actual performance. My brother in law had one, I drove it and wasn’t too impressed.
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Well that makes me feel better. Ever since James Bond movies came into my life, I've admired Aston Martins. I just don't think I'd ever feel they were worth the price even if I could technically afford one.
 
H2ODude said:
Didn't read all the replies here. I just don't get the implied need to spend all you safely can if you just don't want more than what you have and than what you do. Didn't get here by spending all I could when working, so why now? Even at a 3% with the pension and some SS we have about 30% more income possible than needed. But that's just OK. I look at my 2011 truck w 30k miles and think I ought to just get a new one. WHY? This one does everything I want it to, looks fine, runs fine, and has new tires. I sure don't give a ___ what anyone thinks about what I drive.



I've written about this sentiment before. I just don't get the angst about not having/doing all you COULD if you just spent what you can. It makes no sense. To me anyway. Something has to have value to me part with money for it. It would if I had $20 million. Yes we could start gifting to the kids now, but they don't need it and they live about as well or better than we did, and save for retirement. Would their lives be better if we started "funding" their retirement? Their lives might involve more spending but would they be better?
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I agree with your logic. I've just always been able to find things I enjoy enough to spend money on. If I had $20 million, I think I could find more things I'd enjoy spending on, and would also be more generous with gifting.
 
We are actually kicking up the charitable considerably, and intend to dump a bunch into 6 grandkids college funds in the longer term. Meanwhile we just enjoy the knowledge that we're at a really conservative WR, doing what we want, and don't need to worry about it. As they say, Life is Good.
 
RobbieB said:
Spending for spending's sake? Is that all I'm good for? I dunno, maybe I'm wasting my time here. Or maybe you all just don't believe me?

I like white truffles, I'm going to buy them again. They tickle my fancy. The flavor is indescribable, you just have to eat some to know. It's an experience that costs lotsa dough. And you think I'm wasting it?

I'm doing the cooking...I don't have a private chef.

Danmar Whasssuuuppp? Got that INTJ jones going too?
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I believe you. I think you are a dedicated foodie. Nothing wrong with that. I’m a foodie myself, but my tastes are somewhat more plebeian, such as buying top quality Italian Parmiggiano-Reggiano, fresh organic produce, etc.
 
Ok, DW & I went out for a nice Italian dinner with old college friends at a popular overpriced mall. The food was excellent, but the prices were reasonable and, even worse, a one buddy secretly paid the check before we could all chip in.

We had after dinner drinks, and I thought I had a chance to blow some dough. Well, the group tab was only $25, including a decent tip. A dirt-cheap fancy dinner around here...

Oh, well I tried. Back to planning our winter road trip...
 
Charitable giving is good, and we do it; but I got far more satisfaction this weekend in D.C., giving cash tips to young immigrant Uber drivers who were beating up their Toyota Corollas and taking it on the chin in rainy city traffic for a couple bucks per fare. If I paid $8.00 to go from the hotel to the National Mall, they probably got $3.00 and spent $1.00 of it on gas. So the light in a young fellow's eyes, and the hearty "Thank you very much, madame" at a $5.00 tip was something to see. When was the last time you saw somebody delighted to get five bucks?
 
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Actually I don't think retirees are too frugal, I think we are just more "careful" with our spending.

Now yes I could blow 40K on a new car but how often does that happen? I keep my cars for 9-10 years generally and then I usually hand them down to the minions. So no real "stimulating" the economy there.

like others have said, I'm trying to purge and declutter (not going so well, lol). I guess my biggest expenditure is eating out.
 
H2ODude said:
Didn't read all the replies here. I just don't get the implied need to spend all you safely can if you just don't want more than what you have and than what you do. Didn't get here by spending all I could when working, so why now? Even at a 3% with the pension and some SS we have about 30% more income possible than needed. But that's just OK. I look at my 2011 truck w 30k miles and think I ought to just get a new one. WHY? This one does everything I want it to, looks fine, runs fine, and has new tires. I sure don't give a ___ what anyone thinks about what I drive.

I've written about this sentiment before. I just don't get the angst about not having/doing all you COULD if you just spent what you can. It makes no sense. To me anyway. Something has to have value to me part with money for it. It would if I had $20 million. Yes we could start gifting to the kids now, but they don't need it and they live about as well or better than we did, and save for retirement. Would their lives be better if we started "funding" their retirement? Their lives might involve more spending but would they be better?
Click to expand...

But here's another way to look at it. the fact remains that you are going to die. So at some point you either spend it, give it away or you die with a big bank account. Now being the richest gal in the grave yard doesn't make much sense to me.

Wow, A 7 year old truck with only 30K miles on it is darn near brand new in my world. I wouldn't get a new one either. Generally I put 30K miles on my car a year!! so for me, around year 8,9 and 10 I'm looking to replace.
 
H2ODude said:
I've written about this sentiment before. I just don't get the angst about not having/doing all you COULD if you just spent what you can. It makes no sense. To me anyway. Something has to have value to me part with money for it. It would if I had $20 million. Yes we could start gifting to the kids now, but they don't need it and they live about as well or better than we did, and save for retirement. Would their lives be better if we started "funding" their retirement? Their lives might involve more spending but would they be better?
Click to expand...
It's great that your kids are well off.

I much prefer gifting now rather than after I pass. We don't have kids, so our gifting goes to siblings who can most definitely use it.

But I like the idea anyway. I like seeing them enjoy it while I'm alive.

I leave it up the the individuals we gift to to figure out how to make their lives better.
 
The line between frugality and hoarding can sometimes be quite thin.

And other times not so thin. Great uncle had plenty of $$$ but did not want to spend it... house was hopelessly outdated... two of the 4 stove burners didn't work but he was too cheap to replace the stove and only needed two burners at a time anyway. You get the idea. He ultimately lived alone in filth and his own feces because nursing homes and home care assistance was "too expensive". His daughter is enjoying his nut.
 
RobbieB said:
Spending for spending's sake? Is that all I'm good for? I dunno, maybe I'm wasting my time here. Or maybe you all just don't believe me?

I like white truffles, I'm going to buy them again. They tickle my fancy. The flavor is indescribable, you just have to eat some to know. It's an experience that costs lotsa dough. And you think I'm wasting it?

I'm doing the cooking...I don't have a private chef.

Danmar Whasssuuuppp? Got that INTJ jones going too?
Click to expand...

I completely understand, and I think most of us do. I like to treat myself to little luxuries once in a while; you just do it more than I do. As to Danmar, I think he probably just forgot to include a smiley in his post -- he's certainly not a negative person.
 
I totally enjoy RobbieB's enthusiastic "blow more dough" posts where he advises us of his latest gourmet purchase.

Expensive foodstuffs still cost quite a bit less than international travel - not including the $15K bottle of liquor, of course.

Well, he did buy that wild diamond ring.....

Yep, Danmar is just having fun.
 
Amethyst said:
...I got far more satisfaction this weekend in D.C., giving cash tips to young immigrant Uber drivers who were beating up their Toyota Corollas and taking it on the chin in rainy city traffic for a couple bucks per fare.
Click to expand...

I like this approach. Sort of an "think globally, act locally" thing. There's so much more to charitable giving than writing a check to United Way. Sometimes it's not your money, but your time that's most valuable.
 
RobbieB, you've become an inspiration to me. Now, on our monthly trips to Costco I always pick up pack of Alaskan King Crab and a four pack of Prime steaks.

And think about you and smile when eating them...
 
I think it would be more accurate (but less fun) to say that retirees are "more frugal than they need to be", vs. "too frugal"....

I mean really, pb4uski's story about living in one's filth rather than spend the money for nursing care is "too frugal", I suppose, but I doubt that's a common occurrence. More common is living in one's filth because one overspent the nut.

Most of us here are not going to let that happen.
 
Danmar said:
Too rich for me too. Aston Martins have a reputation of being expensive for what you get in actual performance. My brother in law had one, I drove it and wasn’t too impressed.
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BUT, it is one of the best looking pieces of art on the planet!
 
Rummy said:
RobbieB, you've become an inspiration to me. Now, on our monthly trips to Costco I always pick up pack of Alaskan King Crab and a four pack of Prime steaks.

And think about you and smile when eating them...
Click to expand...

We buy the whole Loin, cut it up into steaks the size WE like and use a sealer to freeze them in packs of 2.
 
Amethyst said:
Ring, pshaw. Wait'll he gets her the whole parure.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parure
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LOL!

Yep - saw several of those in treasury museums in Europe, which is where I learned the word!
d6c6a0313f6f2a1a5ebaaa448c6176fb.jpg
 
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Oh, dear. That's not frugal, that's miserly, and who knows what was loose upstairs to push him in that direction.

We have sometimes put up with very "deferred maintenance" (as the real estate agents like to term neglect) because we couldn't find a new appliance that fit the cabinets (so it would mean remodeling). In those cases, it wasn't just the $$, it was the nuisance that we dreaded. In your uncle's case, I wonder if he was afraid to have people in the house?

pb4uski said:
The line between frugality and hoarding can sometimes be quite thin.

And other times not so thin. Great uncle had plenty of $$$ but did not want to spend it... house was hopelessly outdated... two of the 4 stove burners didn't work but he was too cheap to replace the stove and only needed two burners at a time anyway. You get the idea. He ultimately lived alone in filth and his own feces because nursing homes and home care assistance was "too expensive". His daughter is enjoying his nut.
Click to expand...
 
Keep it coming

RobbieB said:
Spending for spending's sake? Is that all I'm good for?
Click to expand...

Let's have none of that talk! Do not underestimate your contributions here. If they opened a poll here for the most popular posters, you'd be on everyone's top 10.

You are my research division for all the epicurean experiences I intend to explore once I hit my own magic date.

Most of my life I've lived either in simple hinterlands where nobody had even heard of bidets or BMW R1200s, or else in expensive metropoli where those indulgences were too pricey to give them any thought.

I've been vicariously enjoying Wagyu and white truffles, caviar and Cognac, and it's because you are introducing me to them.

When most of our waking hours are still being squandered at the sweatshop, we have little opportunity to do our own R&D. You perform a unique service here doing all the legwork for those of us who are still time-constrained. Rock on.
 
I changed my will to my nieces and nephew. Anytime they call us "cheap" because we've figured out a way to get the same benefit (travel, clothes, services like iPhone, cable and so on) so much cheaper by shopping by minutia detail and figuring out the cons on sales...I say more money for you when we die so quit dishing us for being cheap.

My brother will leave nothing to his daughter and grandchildren. He travels first class, everywhere, has 2 BMW, eats out expensively all the time and spends crazy on wine. He says earn your own money, I earned mine, and will leave nothing when I die.

I sort of enjoy seeking better ways to spend/save money, one of my hobbies as FIRE. I guess we could spend a lot more, but why?
 
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