Moving to a spending mindset

IvanOpinion

Great thread and good to hear other peoples tales since I have been pondering retirement for a couple of years now but I love my job too much (and they keep giving me money/time off to stay).  Moving from saving to spending is a big concern of mine since I have always been a saver from pre-teen days and am not sure how I will adjust. 

All my pensions are DC and, based on 4% withdrawal rate, my pension will be about 25% higher than my current take home pay (from which I currently save about 50% inc. pension contributions).  We have been doing things around the house in preparation of retirement (new kitchen, new en suite, revamp bathroom, new windows, new doors and next year I intend to re-landscape the garden).  While we are able, we want to do a lot of travelling in retirement and have considered buying a house abroad (but every time I think about I I don't want to be tied to visiting one place).

I am nervous about the switch to spending.

Retireinten

At 46 I'm still in the accumulation phase, at least for another 7 or 8 years.  I worry about switching to spending savings but think I will feel better about spending the DB income when I can start to claim it because I already see it as an income stream.  But I suppose that's because I know my savings could possibly run out and its a pot I've worked hard to add to over the years. I don't want to see it reduce in value even if that's what it's there for.

I will be paying us a wage from our pots based on our agreed retirement budget, to get round this and to help me budget. My husband on the other hand, has no problems spending

MX5huggy

Flugelhorn said:

I was pondering on this in the shower, 

Pondering in the shower! Sounds very profligate. I’d reassess your priorities. 

jim8888

I thought I'd contribute my Top Five frugal red lines, where I really object to spending money and generally don't, even when I can probably afford it:
1) Kindle books at £9.99 or even more. No chance, Amazon.
2) Parking anywhere that costs more than a fiver, if I can help it.
3) Flat White coffee that costs more than a Cappuccino or Latte. Why? And then I end up with Americano, if it's 20p less than a latte.
4) A round of golf at more than £35. I enjoy good golf courses, but there's a limit. 
5) Spending ANYTHING on a taxi where there is ANY alternative - walking, bus, bike, own car, etc..

I am sure I have loads more, but these are the ones that readily came to my mind. 

OldScientist

jim8888 said:

Albermarle said:

We do pay ourselves a monthly allowance - mine tends to get lost in the same account as the rest of the money so I end up not spending it (even though I keep a record of personal expenditure - it has been around £3-4 per month for the last 3 or 4 months) 

Respect, if true 

Almost true for personal expenditure (books, hobbies, etc.) for me (I don't know what OH has spent) - 2.97 so far in September, 4.97 last month, 2.97 the month before, and 8.52 in June (mostly ebooks). Of course, we've spent a lot more on other things (bills, food etc.).

Sea_Shell

DHs personal spends are practically zero!

Unless you count needed replacement clothes/shoes, gardening stuff, DIY stuff.  But I'd say thats "household " not personal. 

He doesn't play sport/gym*
Buy music
Pay for haircuts*
Buy "fashion" clothes
Latest gadgets 
Fancy aftershave / toiletries *
Collect stuff
Tinker with cars/bikes

New walking gear would come closest, and that's rarely needed. 

*Even I only do 3 of those things!!

Albermarle

Sea_Shell said:

DHs personal spends are practically zero!

Unless you count needed replacement clothes/shoes, gardening stuff, DIY stuff.  But I'd say thats "household " not personal. 

He doesn't play sport/gym*
Buy music
Pay for haircuts*
Buy "fashion" clothes
Latest gadgets 
Fancy aftershave / toiletries *
Collect stuff
Tinker with cars/bikes

New walking gear would come closest, and that's rarely needed. 

*Even I only do 3 of those things!!

No days out ? ( football/rugby matches , racing, visiting art galleries, museums, concerts , day at the seaside , pamper days, meals/drinks out etc ) 
Or holidays ? 

Sounds a bit too frugal ....

Keep_pedalling

Sea_Shell said:

DHs personal spends are practically zero!

Unless you count needed replacement clothes/shoes, gardening stuff, DIY stuff.  But I'd say thats "household " not personal. 

He doesn't play sport/gym*
Buy music
Pay for haircuts*
Buy "fashion" clothes
Latest gadgets 
Fancy aftershave / toiletries *
Collect stuff
Tinker with cars/bikes

New walking gear would come closest, and that's rarely needed. 

*Even I only do 3 of those things!!

B#*!#@ that, we are now a few years into the spend stage, and find it very liberating. Obviously foreign travel has been off the cards lately, but we don’t skimp on choice of UK accommodation and if there is a course or wine on a menu that either of us fancy we will order it regardless of cost. We have more than enough to see us out and we can’t take it with us so we plan to enjoy it as long as we can. Every £100 spent on a meal for 2 is £40 less for the tax man when we finally pop our clogs. 

Username03725

Just to comment on the Bottle Of Wine issue…

I have no problem with paying £20+ for a bottle that you know full well is £7 in Morrison’s, whether that’s in a pub or a nice restaurant. You’re buying the experience and the ambience of being out, and for that you need to contribute to the establishment's costs - wine is a significant factor in their profit margin. If you want to share a bottle of red in front of Strictly on the telly of a Saturday evening that’s just fine, we all do it. But if you fancy being out in a nice eatery with nice lighting, nice service and a sense of being out, you should be happy to pay. £15 isn’t a lot to pay for them providing that experience really.

Username03725

As for spending after years of ferreting money away, it's a mindset thing and really boils down to giving yourself permission to enjoy the rewards of a lifetime of effort and sensible attitudes to money. Fwiw my view is that I’ve earned it, so a coffee and cake in John Lewis on a Tuesday afternoon is fine, so too is filling the car and hooning off to the Lake District or meeting friends for a nice lunch somewhere convenient. And at a real push, juggling the numbers about and doing the man-maths to convince yourself that a Naim 552 really is a good idea, is also a good idea.

Relax, and enjoy it. It’s like when the kids left home. Weird, but then the realisation and the reality sets in.