http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2013/09/05/are-you-afraid-to-spend-moneyJunkster and I have been posting similar threads - money and retirement.
I'm wondering how many people here, in retirement, under-spend out of fear or some other issue - must see net worth grow, net worth must grow for ego issues?????????
I grew up poor but I always enjoyed life. I have a strange issue, I don' t like to spend money on thing that take up space. I don't care about cars, as long as they work. But, I'm OK with spending money on things like travel and food.
To be truthful, I have a spreadsheet projecting out my net worth out to 100 and even when adjusting for inflation I a great final net worth - something many would envy. That is with conservative spending and growth.
We all may remember people who lived through the Great Depression. In later years they might have a great deal of money but, they could not spend it. They were OK with giving it to other but they just could not spend it on themselves.
I'm in great health and plan to spend more. BUT, IT IS STILL A PURPOSEFUL EFFORT, TO SPEND.
I try to remember, will I be on my death bed wishing I spent less??
So, what is your story on spending?
Comments
Obamacare sticker shock arrives
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-06/obamacare-sticker-shock-arrives-insurance-premiums-soar-20-40
"The rate requests are the first to reflect a full year of experience with the new insurance exchanges and federal standards that require insurers to accept all applicants, without charging higher prices because of a person’s illness or disability."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/04/us/health-insurance-companies-seek-big-rate-increases-for-2016.html?_r=2
“No matter how cynical you become, it's never enough to keep up”
--------Lily Tomlin
Are you sure about Lily Tomlin? Sounds an awful lot like something Scott might say.
Great quote, though, whoever said it!
We are currently spending a significant amount on the restoration and remodeling of our SF home. Next year we hope to resume travel. We eat out regularly, eat very well at home, drink lots of good wine, attend the SF Symphony on a regular basis, and frequently jazz events as well. Annual contributions to local charities, primarily aimed at helping those in need.
I hope that meets your requirements for spending. We try to do our part for the economy. Why would "not spending" necessarily be an "ego issue" rather than merely a perfectly reasonable personal choice? One size does not fit all, despite what you may have heard.
I had to smile at the line about losing a home sale over a $200 haggle. When we sold our home (from a distance), we'd already conceded several thousand dollars which were for a justified repair, but balked when the buyers demanded a concession for something completely outrageous. I forget what it was, but even the realtors (both ours and the buyer's) felt it was so absurd that they put up the petty amount to get the sale to go through.
I'll scrimp on unnecessary expenses (e.g, I pay about $10-$30/year for cellphone service, depending on my limited usage). But I won't cut corners on essentials, like health care, or on family (stop smirking, all you people thinking of Greece
I resent paying more than I feel is a fair price, even if there's no substitute. Gluten-free items tend to cost over $8/pound, even for a cracker. So I rejoiced when I read that Cheerios is going gluten free (at no additional cost).
After cutting back on earned income (somewhat involuntarily), it took me awhile to resume entertainment expenses. But now, like OJ, I'm subscribed to the local symphony, and have even picked up tickets for the opera in the coming season. That's something else OJ might consider - one of the two best opera companies in the US is right in your backyard.
This thread gets me back to a theme I've been posting on (some might say excessively) lately - guaranteed income streams. Whether from immediate annuities, SS, or longevity insurance, they do help to relieve concern about needing to save (hoard?) for lifelong needs. 'Nuff said.
Regarding ACA costs - unfortunately, this was not one of the NYTimes best articles - it read more like a tabloid, leading with sensationalist figures. Try following a couple of the links in the article to get a calmer picture. One to the associated NYTimes Upshot column, the other to the KFF (Kaiser) study cited.
https://ringplus.net/
I have 100% decided that when I turn 70 that I will purchase the newly approved QLAC (Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract) You can deduct up to $125,000 of your IRA to purchase such and they are *exempt* when figuring your RMD. I will take one that begins paying out at 80 and will get a bare bones version that has no death benefit etc. Presently only two or three insurance companies offer QLACs. More will join the bandwagon in the future. I will only deal with New York Life and they are expected to join the QLAC fray within the next year.
understanding-and-implementing-qlacs-in-a-retirement
@Junkster...The author suggests:
You could divide the $125,000 limit into three policies, enabling withdrawals at ages 75, 80 and 85, respectively. It wouldn't provide as large a distribution as if it all came at age 85, but this staggered approach provides flexibility and hedges against life's "what ifs."
and,
Similarly, you could craft a staggered, multi-QLAC arrangement, each with different benefits and payout timing. One could have a COLA, another a cash refund and a third could forgo the cash refund. This would provide varying income streams at different stages of retirement.
Thanks- OJ
Mine is a legacy plan, no longer offered: T-Mobile prepaid (the old one). When I was doing more traveling for consulting work, I'd pay $100 for 1000 minutes which would usually last me the year. Now, I'm hardly using any minutes. Just need the line.
For that, all I need to do is top it off with $10/year (30 minutes airtime) - that keeps the account active and retains all unused minutes. If I ever get close to zero minutes left, I'll pay $100 for another thousand minutes, which will last me several years at my current usage rate.
Here's a page describing the old prepaid plan and the new one:
http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2014/08/good-news-bad-news-changes-coming-to-t.html
The new one isn't that much worse than what I have, depending on your usage pattern.
It is saving me about $330/year.
my town is small, so i bought an electric bicycle to do all my errands with. haven't started my car for short hops in a few months. bought and modified a bike cart so i could take my dog to the park and elsewhere w/ me.
several years ago, before leaving town for several months, i hid $4k somewhere in the house and have been unable to find it. i've spent hours searching, to no avail. it's driving me crazy.
similarly, during y2k, i took $10k in small bills and hid it in a strong box. then i forgot about it, until 8 years later, when i saw the strong box and wondered to myself, hey, i wonder what's in there. lo and behold ....
but i digress.
i will wait until i'm sweating bullets in the heat and my dog is nearly comatose before i turn on the stupid, electricity-sucking air conditioners.
often being pound wise and penny foolish, i will spend hours on slickdeals looking to save a few cents. most recent ***big*** find: norizal anti-dandruff shampoo, which dropped from $10 for 7 oz to $8.07 with amazon subscribe and save. yeah, man!
refuse to buy organic meat a/ because it costs so much more and b/ because deep down i believe the organic label is just another ploy and/or marketing scheme.
love thursdays, when the weekly supermarket circulars arrive. i grab em, hop in bed, and begin looking for what's on sale that i normally buy. 75% of what i get is from these circulars.
and on it goes, much to the dismay of my loved ones ...
I understand everyone trying to save a dollar here or there, but denying myself life's small luxeries to save $200, $500 or even a thousand a year doesn't make sense to me. Life is to short and unexpected things happen.
So I guess I'm the guy who is afraid to go into debt but not afraid to spend the money we worked for all our lives... and at 61, still working. I much prefer this way then having to clip coupons in "early retirement".
Another concern is the intense political rhetoric about curtailing SS which seems to ebb and flow. We're also dependent on a couple DB pensions, so the speculation re SS and pension solvency both have an impact on our thinking. While I can control our investing and spending, I have no control over what the politicians and courts do in regard to those other two matters. Probably a dumb response - but there's an emotional component to all this that's hard to escape.
I was probably 45+ when we finally got down to hard-tacks and paid off all our revolving credit and instituted an annual written budget. It was than that savings really increased. The first few years were excruciatingly difficult for us. Drove worn out vehicles and curtailed discretionary travel among other things. In retrospect, it was the smartest thing we ever did.
Regarding SS and DB (I think that's what you meant) pensions, I'd be more concerned with the latter, as companies providing pensions planned on good market returns that did not materialize. SS is more a matter of demographics (since it's largely pay-as-you-go). Worst case with SS appears to be a drop to 75% of benefits around 2033, if nothing is done.
Latest SS Status Report (2014)
The spending thing is very individual as to your wants (as opposed to needs). If you have simple wants - e.g. hiking/biking Vs yachting - then spending is not much of an issue. And, as you grow old you have hopefully checked off many things on your bucket list so wants spending shouldn't be an issue either.
I tend to have simple wants - hiking/biking/rv travel/and an overseas travel every now and then. I've been to a lot of places around the world already.
But, as I've written before - the younger a person is the less likely they will have this issue. They will most likely have a difficult time meeting their needs.