FIRE. I'm there but I find I don't want to spend it....

[Whitengold]

My plan was always to save enough so I could retire early, leaving my occupational pension schemes intact until normal retirement age (ie not taking a reduced pension).

I have a small widows pension, and low overheads, which just about covers my essential expenses. Anything else I spend is fun money.

I have savings and investments enough to take say, £12k a year out for the next 50 odd years, but find I'm still being very cautious in my spending.

My own pensions will give me an additional £20k pa in 5 years' time and a further £20k pa in 12 years' time. So really, I only need to spend savings for the next 5 years anyway. I'm very well set up. I could take the pensions earlier at a reduced amount. I'm 55 now.

I am planning some trips, now I have the time, but am finding it very difficult to switch from saver to spender, and feel uncomfortable with spending more than my income, even though this is exactly what it was saved for.

Has anyone else felt this way?

This!!

Well done, @Whitengold 👏🏻

The shift will take some time and adjustment.

Enjoy it while you can, you can’t take it with you!!

Similar, would hate that luxury hotel lifestyle or branded goods and clothes. However I can continue to have regular good haircuts, go to the closest gym (not the smartest but closest is my main preference), and regular trips to the theatre always having decent seats. So I prioritise what's important to me and allow a bit more expenditure on those. For holidays I prefer a 2 or 3 star apartment but will eat our every evening wherever I want, spend 80,
Euros on a dolphin trip etc. And I feel happy to give regular amounts to local charities I'm interested in.

Have you heard of the 0.01% rule?
The 0.01pc rule that could transform your spending
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/the-001-per-cent-rule-that-can-transform-your-spending/ (hopefully you can access via this link, if not I can copy the entire article but it’s quite long)
What is the 0.01pc spending rule?According to Mr Maggiulli, the 0.01pc spending rule is a helpful way to determine whether you need to worry about a little splurge – whether that’s going for a cocktail before dinner, upgrading to a smarter hotel or booking better seats on a flight.
The idea is that if a little bit of additional spending is worth less than 0.01pc of your net worth, you don’t need to worry about it harming your overall wealth.
Working on the assumption that our assets are likely to have a real rate of return that’s just under 4pc a year, or 0.01pc a day, spending that amount of money now and then isn’t going to have a significant effect on your financial health – so it’s not worth worrying about.
Alice Haine, of the platform BestInvest, said: “The 0.01pc rule offers a simple framework for assessing whether a discretionary purchase is affordable, based on your net worth. In theory, it can help people spend more mindfully by offering a benchmark for what constitutes a ‘reasonable’ expense.
“Put simply, if your net worth is £1m, spending £100 on a non-essential item falls within the threshold and, in principle, shouldn’t be a cause for concern.”
Does the 0.01pc spending rule actually work?The experts we spoke to could certainly see why the rule is appealing.
Vix Leyton, consumer expert at thinkmoney, said it’s clever because it encourages us to think about our own personal finances, rather than “good” or “bad”

The book “Die with Zero” is also an interesting read https://www.boldin.com/retirement/die-with-zero-retirement-plan/

Leave it to charity? Can't take it with you

I have more money now im retired from saving, private pension and going without to ensure I had "enough" when I retired. Its taken 5+ years to start actually "enjoying" my hard earned. I still love a bargain and don't overspend on things that I can get at a more reasonable price (e.g. think Aldi vs Waitrose). But have just redone my kitchen and didnt skimp and I love it, I bought myself a ring in a style I'd always coveted (secondhand though as love old jewellery) and have spent on private operation rather than suffer waiting for an NHS appointment. You have worked gard, saved hard now enjoy your life. It may take a while but it is lovely to be able to treat yourself or others when you want to and because you can. Im not leaving any money to any family as they can earn it same as me *47 years full time working, but if there us any left it will go to animal charities as my animals have been a great source of joy in my life.