Too often, personal finance advice focuses on the runway to retirement. The basic advice is the same: Save so you can retire.
But what happens after you’ve reached that point?
At 72, Marian has spent decades preparing for a chapter that has finally arrived. She’s now navigating many issues. Should she sell her home? Who will take care of her should she need long-term care? How much help does she need from a financial planner?
This is the part of retirement she says nobody warned her about.
“I find retirement fascinating, and to some people it’s cut and dried. Retirement equals don’t work,” Marian told me on an episode of my video podcast, Dollars & Sense with Michelle Singletary.
Marian and her husband had a business together. She sold it in 2022. She loved every minute of being a business owner.
“I still miss it,” she admitted. “I really enjoyed the clients. I love the business, travel, getting out to nooks and crannies of the United States that I never would have seen otherwise. It’s more of a transition than I expected.”
And one major development upended Marian’s retirement plans: Her husband died three years ago. Marian had looked forward to a retirement partner. Now all the decisions are left up to her.
With no children, she’s taken steps to ensure that she is cared for as she ages, including finding a relative to manage her estate. She’s also open to moving to a retirement community if independent living becomes too difficult. But for now, she’s healthy, active and managing well on her own.
Financially, she and her husband did all the right things. They saved diligently, and there is enough left to support her. Yet, Marian is sometimes hesitant to spend the money.
I understand that feeling completely. When you spend decades in saving mode, flipping a switch to spending mode can be very uncomfortable. Being less frugal is hard work.
For those fortunate enough to reach financial stability, retirement opens up new possibilities. Marian is doing new things, even dating again.
Financial experts often divide retirement into three phases: “go-go,” “slow-go” and “no-go” years.
In early retirement, when you’re still independent and in good health, you’re in the “go-go” phase. By mid-retirement, health concerns may naturally slow your pace into the “slow-go” phase. Later, physical or cognitive changes bring on the “no-go” years, restricting what you can do.
My advice to Marian: Live it up in your go-go years.
Her homework assignment was to create a list of everything she wants to do, whether getting a season subscription to the theater, traveling or trying something completely new.
“I want you to be intentional about it,” I told her.
If you’re struggling to give yourself permission to spend in retirement, follow the advice I gave Marian. Write down the things that you want to do and make them happen — within financial reason, of course. (And I’m preaching to myself, by the way.)
You’ve spent decades making sacrifices for your future self. Now that you’re retired, let your present self enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Follow Michelle’s financial advice show, Dollars & Sense with Michelle Singletary, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Want Michelle to answer your money question on the show? Email [email protected].
The post You may be frugal. These are the few years when you should spend away. appeared first on Washington Post.
