Saving too much?

[Anonymous]

Has anyone reached a point where they are comfortable enough with their savings that they are focusing on just enjoying extra income?

I think we will reach a point very soon where we are meeting all our monthly savings goals (emergency fund fully funded, retirement savings on track to have more than enough to retire on, college funds are on track, putting a chunk of funds into extra saving accounts/investment vehicle each month, etc.) AND have extraneous funds at the end of the month.

For those who have reached that point, are you able to just enoy your leftover funds each month? Or do you just continue to increase the portion of your income that goes into savings?

We live very comfortably, but we have been focused on savings for so long that even though we have almost reached our monthly goals, I can't focus on just enjoying the extra income and perhaps even splurging on a few things for the family.

[Anonymous]

No, I can't say I have that situation.

[Anonymous]

OP, out of curiosity what do you consider that point?

We are early 30s, have about $1.2M saved and target $100K a year savings. I've been thinking about pulling back and just doing $50K and enjoying life a bit more, but theres a little voice in my head that knows every dollar I put in now is $2 or $3 dollars when I retire. Theres just a huge benefit to suffering through it up front.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, out of curiosity what do you consider that point?

We are early 30s, have about $1.2M saved and target $100K a year savings. I've been thinking about pulling back and just doing $50K and enjoying life a bit more, but theres a little voice in my head that knows every dollar I put in now is $2 or $3 dollars when I retire. Theres just a huge benefit to suffering through it up front.

There's also a huge benefit to enjoying your life while you are living it. I think we do a very good job of saving (I think we save over 25% of our income a year, considering all savings and employer matching), but we also use a fair bit of our income on travel, eating out, plays, gym membership etc. FWIW we are older than you with less put away, and less being put away each year. I'm planning for retirement, and looking forward to it, but I'm not postponing all my spending/travel/enjoyment til then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, out of curiosity what do you consider that point?

We are early 30s, have about $1.2M saved and target $100K a year savings. I've been thinking about pulling back and just doing $50K and enjoying life a bit more, but theres a little voice in my head that knows every dollar I put in now is $2 or $3 dollars when I retire. Theres just a huge benefit to suffering through it up front.

There's also a huge benefit to enjoying your life while you are living it. I think we do a very good job of saving (I think we save over 25% of our income a year, considering all savings and employer matching), but we also use a fair bit of our income on travel, eating out, plays, gym membership etc. FWIW we are older than you with less put away, and less being put away each year. I'm planning for retirement, and looking forward to it, but I'm not postponing all my spending/travel/enjoyment til then.

I agree. And I could have a lot more saved, but I'm happy to spoil myself here and there while I save for later.

At early 30s with that amount saved, you should be really enjoying your money right now. I hate to be morbid, but what if only one of you is alive in retirement? Wouldn't you want to enjoy that money together?

[Anonymous]

Once you reach the goals you set before, reassess, set new goals you want to reach, and set your savings target with these new goals in mind.

[Anonymous]

Have you paid off your mortgage?

[Anonymous]

I'm still wiping away tears after reading a story about a 52-year-old mom dying of cancer who held on just long enough to see her son graduate from high school.

Life is short. Live it.

[Anonymous]

I'd rather die with tons of money in investments for my kids than spend more now. We spend $1,000 a month just on food/eating out/entertainment. I'm living it up already.

[Anonymous]

I'm there, but I still save the extra. I enjoy myself and spend a decent amount on "wants," but it still feels good to put even more into investments every month.

[Anonymous]

Have you considered making sizaable donations to causes your passionate about or at least to organizations that help the far less fortunate than you? I 'm kind of stunned this hasn't come up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you considered making sizaable donations to causes your passionate about or at least to organizations that help the far less fortunate than you? I 'm kind of stunned this hasn't come up.

20:38 here - what makes you think charitable donations aren't already accounted for before any "extra" comes into play? They are for me.

[Anonymous]

What do you people do that you have that much saved in your early thirties?

[Anonymous]

What do you people do that you have that much saved in your early thirties?

[Anonymous]

OP here - I think one of the PPs nailed it. I want to figure out how to relax and spend my money now. I am not going to stop saving but my financial planner said that even under a very conservative scenario we are in very good shape. But we have been so focused on getting to this point for so long that I need to get out of that mode and accept that it's ok to start splurging. To be clear - we are not wealthy and don't really have wealth as a goal.

For the pp who asked about donating. We donate to several causes and run a charity in my sister's name. I would like to think we do our part on that front.