<img src="https://healthylife7.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/aol_moneylion_410.png” alt=”MoneyLion”>Caitlyn Moorhead
Sat, August 8, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC
Spending decadessaving for retirementcan feel like a full-contact sport where you are on the defense. You clip coupons, skip vacations, max out every account and tell yourself that someday you’ll get to enjoy this money. Then someday arrives and with it, a surprising number of retirees who still can’t switch out of their savings mindset and bring themselves to spend their nest egg
“Retirees soon discover that the number of saved years and healthy years doesn’t last for eternity. It doesn’t matter if you have a lot of money, if you miss the opportunity to use it, you will end up having none of it. But frugality is a good virtue when you have a job and not such a good virtue when your job is gone,” said Paul Ferrara, CIM, senior wealth counsellor and client relationship manager at Avenue Investment Management
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So, thank frugality for getting you to retirement, but let some of that go once you reach your golden years. Staying financially austere through retirement may mean leaving the best parts of it unused. Here are a few reasons why
Confronting the Savings Trap
Lifelong savers are discovering the uncomfortable truth that they trained to accumulate but never learned to spend. The paradox of saving infinitely to then never use the money has filled retirees with guilt about using their hard-earned money and keeps them unnecessarily pinching pennies
“There is an often underappreciated and very real, emotional toll that accompanies extreme frugality,” said Jacob Bayer, certified financial planner and founder at JBayerWealth. “I have seen retirees with wealth in excess of $1 million literally cringe at the thought of going out to dinner and have watched former salarymen and women forego spending on luxuries they dreamed about for decades. The pain of being a ‘spend-it’ retiree becomes too great to endure and adult children become concerned with the increased risk of ‘savings’ withdrawals.”
Not everything has to be a sacrifice. Ferrara said
“One client said he had a lot of money left over to travel and he declined. He would tell me that it would work for the numbers, but he just couldn’t get himself to book the trip. It wasn’t a monetary decision, it was a decades-long habit of careful saving. Often guilt from spending outlasts the purpose for which the spending began, and the client feels guilty even when the plan states they are OK.”
Decumulation Plans Are Permitting People To Spend
The single biggest shift happening in retirement finance right now has a clunky name but a liberating effect. A decumulation plan is a structured strategy for converting savings into income, and is proving to be the antidote to retirement spending paralysis
Remember, discretionary spending is perfectly fine to budget in
“Non-negotiable expenses must be covered by an income you can count on. You won’t have to worry about those expenses being at risk in the market. Use the rest of your portfolio as the flexible layer to enjoy discretionary spending,” said Bayer
Your spending strategy can be just as important as your saving habits
“This strategy also helps create guardrails. Spend more in good years and cut spending in bad years. Knowing you’ve covered the expenses that you can’t avoid makes it easier and more confident to enjoy discretionary spending,” said Bayer
Time Is the One Re
Perhaps the most powerful motivator of all is a simple shift in perspective. Not all the loosening of frugal habits is philosophical, as some of it is just math and some of it is realizing money is replenishable, time is not
“People are asking more often about spending down, rather than holding on to reserves for some future time. Money is money, and clients feel the difference immediately when they receive it when they are alive. The objective changes from getting the maximum balance to getting the maximum number of years of life, and that’s more difficult to figure out,” said Ferrara
Remember, oversaving while underliving has its own cost. More retirees are recognizing that the experiences they want, such as travel, family time, meaningful hobbies and just being comfortable, have a narrow window. That window doesn’t care how well-funded your brokerage account is
This article was provided byMoneyLion.comfor informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice
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