The Retirement Newsletter: Moving from saving to spending

Issue Number: 177 (30) — changing your money mindset

Photo by Author — Tad Sae Waterfalls (ຕາດແສ້), Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ), Laos (see Travel — Nostalgia Corner below for more information)

Welcome

In issue 177 (30) this week, I look at a money problem many retired people experience: moving from a saving to a spending mindset.

Moving from saving to spending

I am not a financial advisor. I am writing about what I have read over the years about money and retirement. This is not financial advice.

One idea I kept coming across in reading about retirement was that retirees need to move from a saving to a spending mindset. I hadn’t thought about this change, and I must admit I am struggling with making the move.

Saving for your retirement

I was rightly told that I needed to save for my retirement, and there were many reasons to do so:

1. Income Replacement: We stop getting paid once we retire. Hence, we need some income replacement, usually from our pensions and savings.
2. Uncertain Future of Social Security/State Pension: Growing up, I saw my relatives struggle to live on the UK State Pension. There was always talk of the State Pension no longer being available or worth so little that I would need a private…