We have saved for years. Always talked about traveling the country in an RV. We can afford one as we approach retirement without sacrifice. It is the psychological effect of withdrawing 6 figures from our lifelong savings that is so hard to overcome. Hoping that as we go through our first year of living off our life's work, the ability to see that it is going to be ok, will overcome the hesitancy.
Oh my God! You hit the nail on the head. And for you to be so young you relate to an older soon-to-be retired woman exactly. I find it hard to let go and spend money after working all my life and having to save for a "rainy day" concept. Thank you for your videos.
I remember my grandmother who was 85 and in the nursing home. Her housecoat was was worn and tattered. My mother wanted to take her shopping and suggested that she buy a new housecoat. Grandfather had passed several years before grandmother and she had inherited hundreds of thousands of dollars. But she was adamant that she would not buy the housecoat she liked because it cost $50. It was just too much.
Loved, loved, loved this video. We are entering retirement in a year. I'm looking forward to shocking my husband with spending ideas. You have some good examples to start with. Thank you!
I'm in my late 40s, and this speaks to me. For my adult life, I feel like I've been saving (a lot) for someone else -- "future me." If/when I get to retirement, it'll be tough to assume the identity of "future me." You allude to it here, but don't say it outright, but my perspective is that for frugal livers / big savers, a big part of our identity is our portfolio balance, the number we see on our bottom line. We work hard and sacrifice over multiple decades to see it grow, and once we get to retirement, we don't want to see it start shrinking. "If I don't spend now, I'll be assured I'll have enough for the future." It's like a security blanket. And it's tough to accept that the older you get, the smaller that blanket needs to be.
Excellent videos! I’m within five years of retirement. I will certainly continue to listen to the book, the atomic habit, which I started a while back and put aside.
Old habits die hard. Changing the identity requires time & effort on one’s part. This should be a part of retirement plan a decade or longer. It cannot be done on the verge of retirement.
I’m sure this will happen to me. Saving for the last 40 years for retirement. I’ll probably be afraid to spend it when I get there. I’ve seen it happen. Plenty of times with the old people in my neighborhood when I was growing up.
This process you propose is too much work for a happy go lucky guy like me! I think we’ll just do fine with who we are at this point in life. The journey is the joy 😊
We meet a lot of people who make retirement plans on very optimistic assumptions about investment returns and life expectancy. I've seen people run out of money in old age. It's not pretty. We have enough money and the reason we don't spend more is that we don't equate happiness with the amount of money we spend. We aren't into self-denial. We spend for what we want but we don't spend because someone else says we should spend down.
Such an important concept that many don't understand. Great content James. Hope you write a book on investing soon your knowledge would be so beneficial. Thanks,Steve
This was very helpful. I am definitely guilty of the not spending mindset. LOL. I had too many difficult financial experiences in life, so changing spending habits is difficult. But I went ahead and put the "Define New Identity" in my list of 2023 objectives. I think there are a number of areas I could apply this to beyond financial.
Hey James. Great content. I really find your videos very helpful. Quick question not pertaining to retirement - that is a sharp shirt (green one) you are wearing. Could I ask you where you purchased it or the brand? Thanks again for the great info.
It takes time to get your sea legs. I was tight when we first retired 15 years ago. ( I was 57). But over time we became more comfortable with spending. Now we travel and spend rather freely. Given some introspective thinking, it becomes much easier.
Trying to get my hubby (and mine too) mindset to spend. Hubby is working part time and we are dipping into our savings to enjoy life. I run the numbers regularly for him but it is difficult, for both of us. We actually watched a family member take early retirement and realized after 5 years his numbers were off. At 64 he had to go back to work full time and eat humble pie. It's scary
James, I just can't seem to do it. Income pretty much guaranteed for life, frugal my whole life, but don't need to change. One hundred in cash on me, but got take out off the value menu at McDonald's. Still, past habits are with me. It's going to be hard.
Yep James, you’re speak’n to me! I think I get it. So I do the math. That is I do the math with a little extra inflation, a little less portfolio performance, then “factor” in for some scandal on my pension fund, and back down my SS to 70% after 2035. Hmm, if all those things happen I need to continue to live below my means to never be at risk. But,,,,,if none of those things go bad then we’ll end up being one of those couples too old for our dreams with a huge snowball of money that we couldn’t melt with a blowtorch in our remaining few years. Surely not all risk factors go bad. What’s a good rule of thumb for worst case scenario assumption? 4% Rule only addresses portfolio longevity - has anyone done Venn or probability analysis of multiple failures?
I just recently ordered the Embody (gaming version) and should be receiving it next week. I struggled with spending that much but it helped that my wife encouraged me. How do you like it?
@@ralpht1034 I like it. It's very comfortable. It was expensive, but I use it everyday, for many hours, so it will end up costing me pennies per hour of use. My last office chair cost $100. It only lasted two years. The ball bearings in the wheels fell out and the fake leather crumbled, after which I used black tape on, but then the tape started to come lose. Thus, I decided to buy a chair that will hopefully last 'forever'. Time will tell, how long this chair lasts, but so far, my butt & back are happy. I'm on the wait list for the new Embody headrest that is being designed, and supposed to be available by year end (for $200).
@@chessdad182 Actually, I did. I need to quadruple my spending, per my retirement spreadsheet. I grew up dirt poor (no toilet/tub/shower/bathroom until age 10), and have always 'saved every penny'. I'm determined to not die with a $1,000,000, like two of my aunts did (due to their frugality). I worked hard to have a comfortable retirement, so now it is time to be comfortable.
