FIRE-Traveler
Dryer sheet wannabe
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2021
- Messages
- 11
SO MUCH great stuff in this thread. I want to reply to everyone, but since I don't want to create a huge mess, here are a few that I thought I should start with:
Exactly!!! It's hard (impossible) for me to just completely switch tracks from the one that got me to this place of having $$ to spend!The challenge is that most of “us” here had to develop fairly frugal habits to get to FIRE.
It DOES take some time to get used to spending more money.
You're spot-on, and unfortunately this is the situation I'm in and have been in. Denying myself (and my family) of happiness and reduced stress because of my fears of losing control and flexibility that having lots of $$ provides!Frugal, in and of itself, is not bad. It's bad if you can have a better life that you can afford, and don't do so in the name of being frugal.
There have definitely been a few questions in this thread asking how much I'm spending relative to my portfolio. I clearly need to figure this out.How much are you spending? At your age, a diversified investment portfolio should be able to handle about a 2.5% withdrawal rate annually with little risk of you outliving your money.
BRILLIANT questions! In the past (when I had less than now, but still more than most) I didn't consider myself "cheap", but family and friends definitely did. Now that I'm older, wiser, and richer, I'm VERY aware that others think I'm being too cheap AND I'm also aware of it. I'm on a path towards dying with way way too much money.One question for you to consider is whether the "too frugal" judgment is coming from others or from yourself. If its from others, I'd say don't worry about it. If that's what you really think, then you'll probably be able to change.
YES! This is DEFINITELY a big part of what I'm dealing with. I see rich/famous people with all the resources and money that die not much older than me, and I realize "what's the point of saving tons of money if I die young?"2. Your own mortality will creep up on you and you'll realize (a) you can't take it with you and (b) you need to do what you enjoy now even if it costs money, because you may not be able to later.
Great advice! I need to do more of this!!!3. Find out what you value that you can use money for. For me, I've discovered that I like using money to make bothersome problems go away. So, for example, if my car oil needs changing in February, but it's cold outside, I'll take it to the nice oil change shop and spend $50. Which is too much for an oil change, but it makes a problem go away.
b. I have a threshold amount of dollars that I've decided I don't need to worry about. Currently it's about $200 although I'm mulling over increasing it. Below this threshold, I just don't bother. So if Target offers me a $50 discount for signing up for their store card or whatever - nope, it's not worth the hassle factor. This allows me to skip agonizing over things or spending brain power on stuff that won't move the needle enough any more. It also then frees my mind and time to focus on the bigger items that do matter.
Ugh, yup, I've definitely been "too frugal" i.e., CHEAP!Think about how your frugality affects your immediate family. Are they shivering under blankets in the evening because you won’t turn the thermostat above 64 degrees? Probably too frugal. Are your kids missing out on extracurricular activities because you won’t pay for them (but you can afford it)? Might be too frugal. Are the teens whining because all their friends got a new car for their birthday but not them? Probably NOT too frugal.
Yes and yes, and yes! It's their input + my financial situation that is really impacting my concerns about how I view / interact with money!Do you have a spouse/partner/children? If so their input matters more than ours. If you are asking them to forgo "normal" stuff, that's a concern.
Yup, that's how I feel now... and worry it will get worse over time if I don't change things!Ah a breath of fresh air for spending.
A good thread would be a follow up years later on "I should have spent more now that I am 90".
Ugh... same!Yep, I'm guilty of this all the time. A bit on the cheap er I mean frugal side, and I'm also a bit of a hoarder. My problem is that I just can't bear to get rid of something that I feel might be of use later...either to myself or someone else.
Ugh, I totally get too worried about "worst case" even if mine only has a .00001% chance of happening. I need to adjust my risk-assessment based on actual data vs. making decisions on fear-based reactions.Robbie and Marko's posts reinforce something I've really noticed in the years I've retired. My go-to is the Fidelity calculator and to a lesser degree Firecalc. We all seem to get so focused on the worst case scenarios; for example Fido's "worst 10%" case. And by golly it hasn't happened in the 10 years I've been out free, except maybe in March of 2020. So we all so focus on the safety of these conservative assumptions. All appropriate IMO, but it also argues for a bit of optimistic harvesting now and then