AIBU to save less and spend more enjoying life now?

[windywhale]

I do all the sensible things; pay extra into my pension, save additional money to bridge the gap between retirement & pension. Save for my dcs uni costs/deposits.

However with the current economic strife my money just isn’t going as far & I can’t afford as nice holidays, days out, renovations etc.

Sometimes I think fuck it, I should just save less but then i’m very conscious that uni costs keep going up & up, the state pension may not exist when I’m older, it’s likely I will need private healthcare etc.

Obviously I’m lucky I have money left over to save but I thought once I got over the childcare years I would have more money in my pocket & be able to enjoy my hard work more.

I feel like even with savings life is getting more & more expensive so perhaps I should enjoy it more now

We've just reached 60 & are in a position financially for me to give up work, so I have.
Apart from any necessary repairs to the house & a quick, minimal decoration we're not going to throw money at it anymore either. We'd rather enjoy our savings than spend it on a house which could end up being used for care home fees.
You just need a balance between saving for old age & living for now if you can. Life is too short to save every penny & not enjoy yourself along the way.

@MyCheekyEagle Im so torn though because I know I may not even reach old age but i’m scared to stop saving. I guess it’s also an awareness that even if I save every penny I likely won’t have enough for everything.

I'm probably an outlier (life limiting condition), but I wish I'd lived and travelled more. I was forced to medically retire in my 40s. Whilst I'm financially comfortable there are so many things I can't do now and wish I'd taken more opportunities when I was healthy.

It sounds like you’re already very financially prudent. You don’t need to pay for your children’s university - it’s good to be able to contribute, but if they decide to go, they need to shoulder at least some of the financial responsibility… And you’re not only saving extra into your pension, you’re saving even more for the period between your retirement and state pension!

Without seeing your finances it’s impossible to say, but it sounds like you’ve got the balance wrong… Life is for living today, as well as for living (hopefully) tomorrow.

Most people run out of life before they run out of money.

Someone said this to me years ago and it is so true.

And I think you’re being alarmist if you think Government will abolish the state pension (especially for people of your age) and scrap the NHS.

Really? I definitely think the state pension will change either the age will move out again. the triple lock will be removed (for younger people) &/or it will be means tested. There will be changes as the demographics just don’t stack up.

The NHS will exist but accessing it may be the hard part. I am already having to use private healthcare for an issue as the waiting list is so long. Again that won’t improve with more older people.

We do not pay anywhere near enough tax for a state pension & free healthcare.

it’s good to be able to contribute, but if they decide to go, they need to shoulder at least some of the financial responsibility…

But parents are expected to contribute today as my income impacts how much loan they get & have you seen the interest rates? Most people I know are paying £500 a month minimum to support dc with accommodation costs, their dc also work alongside study.

And you’re not only saving extra into your pension, you’re saving even more for the period between your retirement and state pension!

Because my work pension is the same age as my state pension; 68. I’m not sure I will be able to work till then.

I’m with you OP. My mum spent all her life saving and died at 52. When we found out it was terminal she went on some great holidays and bought a new car etc and wished she’d done it sooner. I have enough in the pot for a rainy day and milestones for my DD but as long as I’m sensible and have a back up, I’m of the mindset of enjoying the rest because tomorrow isn’t promised

@ThePerfectWeekender Im sorry to hear that & also worry about that.

I agree it will probably change but abolishing it would need decades of notice and planning so anyone above probably 30 has enough time to reasonably start making their own arrangements. I agree with you op...Im an sp to teens. Work hard, full time. I don't really have savings but am a teacher so good pension in place. I don't live extravagantly by any means but I will find the money for a UK holiday, a sky subscription, tickets to a stadium event maybe once a year ..more for the kids than me but yes, life is to live.

Life is for living. Neither of my parents got to 50 years old. As long as you have some money set aside for the future, don't feel guilty about enjoying life!

I’ve just had a year of fuckit after losing 4 family members in 3 years. Nothing super wild (though about to go on a long holiday) but a year of not being frugal and sensible and it was totally worth it.
Neither my mum or my sister lived to state pension age and I’ve had a bit of a need to do things that they couldn’t.

@jay55 sorry to hear that

Yes, I agree with this approach OP and I’m trying to do the same.

I’ve had two family members in recent years who had lots of plans to start enjoying life after retirement, but died less than two years after retiring 😔

@sparklypandabear I find it quite difficult though to not feel guilt

There’s a book called Die With Zero that’s worth a read if you are conflicted. Everyone in my family dies young (mum had throat cancer and a heart attack and died, her sister had an aneurysm in her 30s and died, her brother had oesophageal cancer and died) so maybe I have a different perspective but life is for living! There is a middle ground where you save some thing (even if tiny) and spend some thing. I don’t think you need to do one or the other necessarily.

https://amzn.eu/d/04lxO84B

Go for a middle ground. If you are someone who reaches old age or suffers ill health or whose livelihood is impacted by AI and you need to retrain etc, you will be glad of the savings, so don't ignore it altogether.

Please ignore the people saying fuck it, spend it. I've just hit 60 and I'm so grateful I could access two of my pensions early, as it's meant I could cut my hours right back.

We don't know your age or how you're investing your money, just make sure it's in a decent fund. Have a good look at James Shack or Rebel Finance School on YouTube for great advice.

You do need balance. You should be enjoying life too. You are allowed holidays!

The people who say “F it, life is for living now”, often then have the example of an early death in the family. Statistically this still happens far less than people living into old age - we still have an aging population. people are still living longer.

What you’re comfortable living on when elderly Vs ‘enjoying’ now is entirely subjective and your personal preference. We will all have totally individual and personal views on an acceptable lifestyle - none are wrong. All are right for that person.

I personally work in a high pressured job. I can’t do this until legal retirement age. I will aim to retire before so I need to consider pension pot to a certain living standard, then savings to bridge the gap. Maybe I will die before I use that - but more likely I won’t. The ideal of being elderly and worrying about food or putting heating on is simply not a life I would want. Therefore saving for me is key.

I do save, but i’m 49 and only just buying a house so can’t be too reckless. But a very close friend of mine took a pension lump sum of 25k at 55, and I cautioned her against buying a camper van and living the dream. So glad she didn’t listen to me and did it and she died suddenly at 57. So I always try and remember that, we won’t all grow old, so yes save for your future but don’t forget to live.

We are retiring this year at 55 and starting to spend and drip feed it away to young adult children when they need it most. Neither of my parents made it to 70. PIL (wealthy) lived like paupers and are now watching it disappear in IHT and care home fees.
I’ve been in and out of care homes all my working life and if I get to 80 plus I’ll take my chances. The best care is not always that privately provided!
Die with zero!

This is my approach. We have a mortgage, excellent pensions, high public sector incomes in competitive fields (so pretty secure), income protection and life insurance, no debt beyond mortgage but very minimal savings (as in I think people would be horrified to know our income and savings ratio 🤣).

We are on a high income, absolutely could save more, but we had our kids young and I don’t see the value in living minimally now to been flooded with more cash than we need in our 50s onwards. Retiring early is still possible with our pensions. But right now, priority is enjoying our children’s childhoods, and our youth. I’m more scared of living a smaller life than I am of potential financial misfortunes, the former is more possible in our circumstances. We’re not stupid, we live to our means and we have ways and means if things go wrong, but I think our risk based approach is sensible for our circumstances.

PIL (wealthy) lived like paupers and are now watching it disappear in IHT and care home fees.

Personally I don’t have a problem with paying for care & I think by the time I get there the state offer will really be pretty dire.