I live on a lake. I have an older, yet serviceable runabout. As I age, and as my cronies age, we are finding it harder and harder to get into and out of the thing. Also the seating is not as comfortable on our backs as it once was, especially for me, the pilot.
So, I want to buy a pontoon "party boat", aka "floatboat". Not an old beat up one with a crappy motor, but a nice new one with a nice new motor. I am looking at one that fits my needs. I can pay cash. I could literally buy 20 of them without diminishing my "nut" to the point that I'd have to go to a 4% WR to live the way I live. Yet, I struggle internally with the idea of spending that much money on a toy.
I thought I was over this, but I'm not. I'm going to do it, I just wish I felt more joy about it, rather than something more akin to guilt, or dread.
I remember my dad, the consummate depression baby, remarking to me that while he furnished his Florida retirement condo, he felt terrible guilt, expressing to me that his mom must be "rolling over in her grave" with all of the money he'd been spending. I tried to soothe him by suggesting that his mom might be happy to see him enjoying the fruits of his success.
Now I tell myself the same thing, but I'm not sure it's working. It's not so easy to change one's stripes, after all, is it?
So, I want to buy a pontoon "party boat", aka "floatboat". Not an old beat up one with a crappy motor, but a nice new one with a nice new motor. I am looking at one that fits my needs. I can pay cash. I could literally buy 20 of them without diminishing my "nut" to the point that I'd have to go to a 4% WR to live the way I live. Yet, I struggle internally with the idea of spending that much money on a toy.
I thought I was over this, but I'm not. I'm going to do it, I just wish I felt more joy about it, rather than something more akin to guilt, or dread.
I remember my dad, the consummate depression baby, remarking to me that while he furnished his Florida retirement condo, he felt terrible guilt, expressing to me that his mom must be "rolling over in her grave" with all of the money he'd been spending. I tried to soothe him by suggesting that his mom might be happy to see him enjoying the fruits of his success.
Now I tell myself the same thing, but I'm not sure it's working. It's not so easy to change one's stripes, after all, is it?