Posted on 06/30/2024 10:20:03 AM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
Agnes P. saved every penny she could for retirement. Now at 78, she’s got more money than she knows what to do with, but fewer happy memories than she’d like.
“I was so focused on saving that I forgot to actually live,” Agnes said. Her story shows why being too frugal can backfire.
Her entire life, Agnes watched what she spent. Growing up without a lot of money instilled the idea that she had to save every penny. She packed lunches, kept her old car, and rarely took time off. While her friends were taking vacations, Agnes put every extra dollar into her retirement accounts.
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” she said. “But I gave up too much of my life for a future that wasn’t guaranteed.”
Agnes shared that probably the number one thing she missed out on was fun with friends — even into her retirement. She said no to spendy dinners, Broadway shows, and trips (even to nearby locales) with friends to save money.
“I lost touch with a lot of people because I always said no,” Agnes shared. “Now I’m retired with fewer friends and not many good times to look back on.”
Agnes now has a problem many retirees would love to have: more money than she needs. Years of saving and compound interest left her with a huge nest egg.
“I’ve got plenty to live on for the rest of my life,” she said. “But I can’t buy back lost time or missed chances.”
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Great observations about the toys.
Several of my friends at one time owned horses. They always complained: the horses ate while we slept!
I volunteer.
In other words, be a burden to someone else and rely on the dole to get you by. Be irresponsible. Laugh, love, live and be happy for tomorrow we die? Sounds like a great plan.
I think being frugal is fun.
********
Me too. It’s like a game. And I like to play it and win.
Absolutely correct. I had a sailboat once. The best part of it was looking forward to getting it. It sat too much, I didn’t have time for it. Simple pleasures are the very best. I have not been as rich as Solomon but I have had the same experiences of having lots of things that didn’t make me happy or accomplish much. Not everything is for everyone. You have to do what makes you happy. I see retirees that seem to do what is expected of them and they are not any more happy for it. Actually, some find it uncomfortable and too much work. I don’t need or even want to be on the go all the time or much of the time for that matter. The best part of any trip is coming in the front gate, parking the truck in the barn sealing myself away. My style, my choice. It might be different if I had not already seen most of the world but I rather doubt that.
Someone here posted a youtube video where the guy basically said you can rent those things.
...for the few times most actually use them...that makes a lot more sense.
😄
Learn everyting that you can. Learn how to build. Learn how to invest. Learn how to fix things. Learn how to detect horse exhaust.
Debt is a self inflicted and often fatal wound. Don’t do it.
Learn the difference between I want and I need.
Don’t buy things in a mad panic.
Don’t buy overpriced anything. Things have a certain intrinsic value. Don’t pay $50,000.00 for $10,000.00 wirth of stuff.
There is nothing like the comfort of a good wife and a comfortable debt free homestead. There is nothing like the feel of living in a home of one’s own making.
“Someone here posted a youtube video where the guy basically said you can rent those things.”
I looking into renting one, just want a 3-4 person towable RV, they run about $120 a day. I’ll stay in a hotel for that.
Hey! Cat food is a LOT better today than when I was kid.
*Learn how to invest.*
Put half of your savings in an index fund or the S & P 500. The other half in a conservative one. There’s not really that much to know.
Maybe their kids are living out of them...in Biden's great economy.
...or waiting to be squatter Motel 6's for Biden's illegals.
Just need to find some balance point. Live on a budget, save some funds for the future and spend some in the present time. Some people don’t require a lot of social experiences nor an abundance of material things to be happy.
Having a surplus in retirement while living debt free is an advantage preferred vs the opposite. Ok to be frugal but not a fearful miser either. Miser as in miserable!
Smart move renting one.
9 Purchases Retirees Often Regret
1. Boat
2. Resort living
3. Recreational vehicle(RV)
4. Dream house
5. Giving to adult children
6. Time-share
7. Fancy cars
8. Pricey musical instruments
9. Impulse buying online
Wifey and I returned from a week at the shore, where metal detectors had been in use on the beach. Driving down a rural road, a guy with earmuff hearing protectors was weedwhacking around the end of his driveway. As we passed him, my missus spoke up, “What does he think he’s going to find around there?!” After a few seconds I realized she’d mistaken the guy’s weedwhacker for a metal detector! I nearly wrecked my car trying to see through the laughter and the accompanying tears. When I explained her mistake, she cracked up, too. 🤣
Sounds like a plan…
A relic hunter has had a great time with my front pasture. Found lots of interesting artifacts - including a Union army belt buckle in pretty good condition. Plus of course a lot of scrap metal!
What about solving new problems to help the family? As a quasi-retired software engineer in my 50's, I made it my project to make my home more energy efficient, add on a small solar system, study it for a year (including importing the telemetry recorded in 5-minute candles into a SQL Server DB to analyze the trends), convert my 2 natural gas appliances, since it was time to replace my wife's gasoline crossover anyway I replaced it with an EV crossover that both of us mainly drive, and add onto the solar.
All of that took a detailed study on whether or not to go solar, if it was worth it for our area with our energy consumption habits, would an EV be worth it, during the upgrade which components were worth upgrading and how much to take advantage of the economies of scale, but didn't want to try to fight the law of diminishing returns, could I get a loan to pay for all of that and would the loan payment + tiny power bill be less than the energy costs I was avoiding, what about inflation for future energy costs, what about reduction in throughput from my solar equipment or my hybrid water heater, etc.
Tons of details. A fun math/data nerd project. And after I've had it about 10 years to make sure it works well I'll teach how to do it to my family and church members so they can avoid the Dims' warmageddon cult energy costs and the slowly creeping control over our lives with their energy price policies.
Every now and then I re-study the numbers to make sure the throughput of the equipment is still good, I do tweaks to the configuration -- especially with changes in the seasons.
Maybe us FReeper nerds should make it our patriotic mission to help citizens be more self-reliant from things the political class over-regulates. Perhaps things like water capturing, growing our own food, or tutor home schoolers in math so the parents aren't tempted to send their kids to indoctrination schools.
I need to find more of those senior discounts (besides the ones in the clickbait ads).
I am zero for nine on the list—I guess that me too frugal.
:-)
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