Ask Before Quitting
Ask Before Quitting
Jonathan Clements HumbleDollar Jun 17, 2023
AS FOLKS HURTLE toward retirement, they often wonder whether they’ve saved enough, debate when to claim Social Security and fret about how they’d pay for long-term care. Make no mistake: Such issues are hugely important.
But amid these financial musings, we should also spare a thought for four other questions:
How can I transform myself from a diligent saver to a happy spender? This sounds so easy, and yet many struggle with it, including Ken Begley and including me—and including those who amassed vast fortunes, as Marjorie Kondrack recently discussed.
To be sure, we don’t have to spend our money to get pleasure from it. Simply sitting on a pile of dollar bills can deliver happiness, thanks to the sense of financial security it offers. Similarly, giving away money, whether to loved ones or to charity, can also deliver ample happiness.
Still, I think every diligent saver should ponder whether there are ways to spend more on themselves that could improve their retirement years. I have no clever strategies to suggest that’ll help you go from avid saver to joyful spender. But I’ve found that practice helps.
My advice: Don’t start with a big purchase—a super-lavish vacation or a luxury car. That’ll likely make you uneasy, and there’s a risk you won’t get much pleasure from the money involved. Instead, try buying some smaller items, which often deliver disproportionately greater happiness per dollar spent. If you part with a little more money than usual and it enhances your life, perhaps your attitude will slowly shift and you’ll find yourself enjoying the fruits of your earlier thrift.
What will get me out of bed in the morning? I’m a big fan of daydreaming. Assisted by the internet, I muse about vacations I’d like to take, restaurants I want to try and musicians I’d like to see perform. Daydreaming costs nothing except time, and—I suspect—often delivers just as much pleasure as the real thing.
As you approach retirement, I’d encourage you to daydream about how you’ll use your time once you quit the workforce. Indeed, I think it’s worth creating a lengthy wish list. That wish list will no doubt include fun stuff, like trips you want to take and hobbies you might pursue.
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