Starting at age 45 in 2022, I consciously started focusing on decumulating wealth. I realized that my life was likely half over, and I needed to start spending more to prevent dying with too much money. If I died with too much money, it would mean that I had wasted a lot of time and effort trying to make money during my younger years.
With increasing talk about money dysmorphia, it's important to practice decumulating if you've been fortunate enough to save and invest for a couple of decades or longer. Don’t waste the sacrifices you made during your younger years; otherwise, you'll end up living a life of unnecessary deprivation.
The Accumulator's Plight
Here's a comment I got from Dave from Sacramento, which I think typifies the accumulator's plight. If left unchecked, Dave will likely build more wealth than he needs and deprive himself of a better life while young.
I have one child and am planning on a second soon. We are in our mid-30s with a net worth of about $1.8 million, which includes two homes (one we live in and one rental). We have no debt and two six-figure incomes in a modest cost-of-living area (Sacramento).
However, I am still incredibly stingy. I never want to spend on myself for anything and still drive a 12-year-old vehicle. I don't even buy myself new clothes, continuing to wear socks and underwear that are torn and have holes.
I clearly have enough to buy new socks, but I just keep trying to be extremely frugal to stack those investments. I think my wife now feels guilty for buying things for herself because she knows how frugal I am.
The Best Ways to Decumulate Wealth
There are two main ways to decumulate wealth. The first is by spending more money than your normal amount. The second is to intentionally earn less money. Both ways serve to reduce your saving rate.
1. Retire Early
If you want an effective way to decumulate your wealth, stop working for money. Retiring from your day job is the ultimate admission that you think you have enough to be comfortable.
It hit me that I haven’t just been trying to decumulate wealth since 2022; I’ve actually been trying to decumulate wealth since 2012, when I retired from banking. In 2012, I chose happiness and freedom over the desire to earn a $250,000 base salary plus any discretionary bonus.
If I had stayed at my job, I could have easily saved $100,000 or more a year. Therefore, by deciding to no longer work, it’s equivalent to me decumulating my wealth by $100,000 or more a year. My saving rate went from 70%+ to 0% temporarily as I spent all the passive income that I had.
If you’ve stopped working for money, don’t let anybody tell you that you’ve lived a life of deprivation to get to where you are. Given time is the most valuable asset, the people criticizing you who are still working are the ones wasting their biggest resource.
2. Spending Money on Your Children’s Extracurricular Activities
If you have children, you will love your children more than anything else in the world. As a result, you will be more willing to spend money to see them enriched and happy than you will on yourself.
The key is to find extracurricular activities they enjoy and spend purposefully on them. The joy you will see on their faces is priceless, as is the satisfaction that they are improving on a particular skill that teaches them the importance of practice and perseverance.
I used to think spending $120/hour on a private pickleball lesson or $60/half-hour on swim lessons was ridiculous. Instead of paying the money, I decided to teach them how myself. But now I see the value in getting taught the right way by an expert instructor, especially in an activity in which you have no expertise.
If you have excess wealth, spend the money on art, music, language, sports, acting, singing, and any other type of activity your child likes. These lesson fees don't last forever.
3. Spending Money on Your Children’s Education
It's easy to spend a fortune on private grade school, college, and graduate school education for your children. The money spent won’t feel as rewarding as spending on your children’s extracurricular activities since there’s a free grade school option and a much cheaper public college option.
However, given the sheer cost of private grade school and college education, you can easily end up spending over $500,000 on each child. In cities like New York and San Francisco, starting today, thirteen years of private grade school pre-K through 12 alone can cost over $600,000. Then you can easily pay over $800,000 for four years at a private university 18 years from now for a total of $1,400,000 per kid.
You can decumulate your wealth further by paying full tuition at a non-top 50 ranked private university. If you do, your kid may not be able to get a high-enough paying job to live independently. This will result in you getting to decumulate more of your wealth by paying for their adult living expenses.
After a couple of years of working low-paying jobs, your kid might decide to get an expensive graduate degree for which you can pay too. The more children you have, the easier it will be to spend down your fortune.
4. A Nice House You Don’t Need
After the pandemic, it became clear that nice houses increased in value given we spent so much more time at home. However, nobody needs to live in a place larger than a studio. A studio can even be shared with another person, like I did for two years after college in Manhattan.
But your goal is to spend down your fortune, so you can do so by pushing the limits on your primary residence. Instead of coming up with a 20% down payment, you can reduce your down payment to 10% or even 5% to take on more debt. This way, you’ll get to pay more in mortgage interest expenses to help spend more of your cash flow.
Alternatively, you can aim to spend five times your household gross income or more on a house. Everything from your property taxes, insurance costs, water bill, landscaping costs, and general maintenance costs will go way up, assuming you purchase a larger house with more land. Just don't spend so much that it puts your finances at risk.
The “problem” with buying a nicer, larger house you don’t need is that there’s a greater than 50% chance it will appreciate in value over time. And if your house does appreciate in value, then the increased cost of maintaining it probably won’t be enough to cause your net worth to go down.
Hence, to really decumulate wealth, you’d have to be the winning bidder in a bidding war right before the housing market turns south. You’ll decumulate a lot of wealth this way, but unfortunately, you’ll feel bad in the process.
Buying Your Kid a Home
The extension of buying a nice primary residence you don’t need is buying each of your kids a home after college. To not completely spoil the kids, you can just come up with the 20% down payment and have them pay the monthly mortgage instead.
30%+ of first-time home buyers get financial assistance from their parents. The great thing about buying a home for each kid is that it’s simply a way to diversify your assets and have a responsible tenant you love take care of it.
5. Letting Your Spouse No Longer Have to Work
You not working is a great way to decumulate wealth. But take it a step further by letting your wife, husband, or partner not have to work either. This way, you’ll more rapidly drain your finances.
Letting your partner stop working is one of the greatest gifts of love. If you’re forcing them to keep working, then you either don’t really want to decumulate wealth or you don’t truly love them. Remember, you’re not financially independent if nothing changes.
It makes no sense for one partner to be retired and the other partner to be working for money at a job they don't love. Your partner can tell themselves all they want how their job in pharmacy, marketing, tech, finance, law, or any other field brings them so much joy while you are retired. But they are likely fooling themselves.
With two non-working partners, you’ll have to pay for health care insurance, which can easily cost you over $24,000 a year in premiums alone. The household will no longer have any retirement benefits either, like a 401(k) matching plan and profit sharing.
Depending on how much the working partner makes before they stop working, your household could double the pace of decumulation with a dual no-income household.
6. Quit Your Job Instead of Negotiating a Severance Package
Another great way to decumulate wealth is to quit your job with nothing instead of negotiating a severance package. If you quit your job, you won’t be eligible for unemployment benefits, subsidized healthcare benefits, receiving any deferred cash or stock compensation, or a severance check.
The longer you are at one company and quit instead of negotiating a severance package, the more money you’re leaving behind. Quitting your job is like willingly walk past a chest full of gold.
I know one person who quit their job after eight years and the very next week, his colleague got laid off in a mass round, with a $180,000 severance package. Being unstrategic when leaving your job is a great way to decumulate wealth!
7. A New Luxury Automobile Or Two
Buying a new car is a great way to waste money given new cars depreciate instantly once you drive them off the lot. The depreciation curve is steepest in the first three years of a car’s life.
The average new car price hovers around $49,000, and median-income households regularly buy new cars to their detriment. But given you’ve got too much money, you might as well buy a new car that’s at least double the average new car price.
Luxury new car prices are easily $120,000 and up nowadays. The great thing about spending a lot of money on a new luxury car is that it will have the latest safety features. If you have a family, then nothing is more important than keeping them safe.
8. The Tastiest Food Money Can Buy
Personally, I love eating dry-aged steak, jamón ibérico, beluga caviar, Hawaiian and Indian mangoes, shabu shabu, and toro sashimi. Then I love to pair these fine foods with some great wine. Thanks to the internet, you can order any of these items online and get them delivered to you!
The only downside to spending so much money on yummy foods is that eating too much won’t be good for you. Great-tasting foods have higher fat and salt content. Cured meats are known to be carcinogenic. Meanwhile, eating too many mangoes will spike your fructose intake.
Hence, you can’t spend too much money on the tastiest foods if you want to protect your health. But what you can do is go for more regular date nights to expensive restaurants.
It might feel wasteful in the beginning to spend more than $100 per person when a $5 cheeseburger at In-N-Out tastes amazing. However, you will hopefully have a good time along with the goal of spending down your wealth.
9. First Class Airline Tickets And More Travel
The difference between economy class and first-class airline tickets is astronomical, especially for international flights. People really are willing to pay 5-10X more for lay-flat beds on flights over five hours long.
Hence, a great way to decumulate wealth is to buy first-class airline tickets for all your family members to Asia, Europe, South America, or Africa. If you don’t want to fly internationally, you can fly first-class on the longest flights domestically from coast to coast or from the East Coast to Hawaii. A first-class ticket will be about three times more expensive than an economy class ticket.
I still have not been able to pay for first-class tickets for myself. But I did take a step up this summer and pay for four Economy Plus tickets to Honolulu, baby! I figure, economy class seats are like first-class seats to our 4 and 7-year-old kids. In addition, one adult sitting with two small kids in a row of three seats is quite luxurious for the adult as well.
If you really want to splurge, you can always fly private. The cost will be somewhere around $6,000 – $15,000 an hour.
10. Donating to Local Charities Immediately
Finally, one of the best ways to decumulate wealth is to donate money while you’re still alive rather than after you are dead. Help is needed everywhere you look in the world. To hoard millions, let alone billions of wealth while there is so much suffering in your very city is a damn shame.
After modeling out your financials with precision so you will have enough to live, it’s time to carve out some of your wealth to regularly donate to charity. It’s hard to change the world as an individual; however, you can make a larger impact by donating to local non-profit organizations that are helping your community. Even better if you are also a patron of the center.
For example, we go to Pomeroy Recreation & Rehabilitation Center for indoor swimming. Pomeroy is also an incredible facility to help children and adults with various levels of disabilities, the minority group we need to fight the most for. The staff do incredible work helping people with Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, and more.
How To Decumulate Wealth: Practice Spending More Money
It will be hard going from an accumulator all your life to a spender. But you must if you don’t want to waste so much time as a younger person. Think about all the stress, tears, and sweat you went through to build wealth when you were younger. Now harness that struggle into spending more. You deserve it!
It helps to take baby steps toward spending more money.
The easiest way to start is to get new shoes, glasses, clothes, and hats. In other words, the little things that you use daily. You’ll feel better in the process too because you might look better.
Once you get accustomed to having new things, take it a step further by spending more on nicer foods that are also healthier. Once you’re used to spending more at the grocery store, for delivery, and at restaurants, then you can take spending to the next level on more luxurious travel.
After getting used to more luxurious travel, then you can move up to a nicer car and ultimately the perfect home. When you’ve got these two things, letting your spouse or partner be free from the shackles of work is the logical next step.
Once you’ve freed your partner, you will feel a tremendous amount of accomplishment. Given your good fortune, you can’t help but donate more to charities to help spread the wealth. You might even start a free endeavor that consistently helps other people.
So you see, decumulating wealth is a good thing. You help the economy, help yourself, and help other people too! What’s there not to love about that?
A Change In Plans Thanks To Decumulation
After writing this post, I'm having second thoughts about trading my time and energy for money after both kids attend school full-time. Although our passive income no longer covers our living expenses, we still have enough total income to live comfortably.
Work is no fun if the fit isn't perfect. Hence, as I shared in a recent CNBC article, maybe a more fulfilling job role is not in startups, tech, or AI, but instead in education — specifically, an educational role at my children’s school.
This way, the work isn't about the money. Instead, it's about maximizing the time I have left with my children while also being part of a nurturing community. Instead of accepting the 40-hour void once both kids go to school, why not partially eliminate some of it? They will be out of the house before we know it.
At the very least, I want to continue giving my wife the gift of freedom since she left work in 2015. Me encouraging her to also return to traditional work creates tension. Instead, I should embrace decumulation and feel good knowing I'm able to help her live freely.
Reader Questions And Suggestions
What are some other great ways to decumulate wealth? Some have said a divorce, but that's a traumatic and sad experience. What are some tips you've used to go from being a saver to a spender?
To better manage your finances, use Empower, a remarkable wealth management tool I've trusted since 2012. Empower goes beyond basic budgeting, offering insights into investment fees and retirement planning. It's free for all to use. Don't leave your money up to chance. To build greater wealth, you must diligently track your money.
To expedite your journey to financial freedom, join over 60,000 others and subscribe to the free Financial Samurai newsletter.
Sam,
Good stuff here. Now that I am in my early 60’s, I am noticing how hard it is to stop making wealth accumulation the top priority. I have discussed with many friends my age and we all struggle with the concept of allowing our wealth to decline as we spend our hard-earned money during retirement. It is a big adjustment to realize that it is okay that our maximum wealth has been achieved and we are allowed to spend down the money. If you have not already done so, you may want to talk to others at or near retirement to see how they are coping with this issue and write a post with your findings.
Sam, The children are in school full time. The choice is clear. Lunch and fun activities with your Wife. Keep Smiling.
Mandatory Decumulation sneaks up on you, here’s ours in the last 12 months.
Both our vehicles hit 13 years (150-175k miles), the replacement SUV & Truck ran over $125k, cash. Last month our 30 yr old HVAC system showed rusting welds with potential heat exchanger cracking, the replacement was $8400 cash.
Last weeks storm forced us to finally replace the deteriorating 4600 sq ft 30 yr old roof along woth 20 sheets of 4×8 3/4inch plywood, $48k cash. We built the home with the best materials & have never had a mortgage after we paid off the construction loan.
I just picked up a 4 zone mini-split a/c system, for our Lakehouse, that we will install ourselves after the rain stops, $4200.
We had just paid over $30k, for some new more efficient windows in our 1990’s era Scottsdale winter home & added another level of blown in insulation $2,400. The old glass windows were too hot to touch on the inside during the summers.
Then this week I found a crack in a 25yr old boiler at one of our apartment buildings. On-demand boiler quotes are running $8-$14k, but at least we have a repair escrow to pay that in cash.
At least we had nothing in the stock market !!!
That’s an expensive roof! But I must feel nice to know that it’s no new and fixed.
I’m impressed you have nothing in the stock market. Has this always been the case? If so, what made you not decide to invest in one of the easiest investments of all?
The cheapest came in at $30k using regular tile & he was a guy we have used a lot. The roofing tile we chose has a fiberglass mix that also has a moss etc growth deterrent in it. We are surrounded by trees so needed this to avoid insurance carrier complaints. The entire roof was also covered in a vinyl sheeting as well as 6ft of ice shield. All 7 skylights were removed & reset with new caulking & flashing. We have seen many new-build subdivisions around us having complete tear offs within the first 5-7 years, due to cheaper tile & wind/ice damage.
I lived through Black Monday (Oct 18th ’87) & it convinced me to stick with real estate. I could leverage so much for so little & watch the properties appreciate & generate income. Then we sold off some that appreciated to achieve free & clear title on the remainder & stayed cash only since.
Over the years many of our friends & family had experienced significant draw downs in their 401(k)’s etc & all had to work past 65 to afford retirement, some at 70 & in poor health are still working.
Hi, I enjoy your weekly newsletter. I am retired 2 years now and love not having to deal with a job/ supervisors etc etc.
However I need to learn to spend more on myself, enjoy my life more as well as give more to charity while I’m alive.
The transition from accumulating and saving to spending is not an easy transition for me.
Hey, man. Great-tasting foods have higher fat and salt content? Maybe true, but if both of those are as found in nature, not manipulated by man, e.g., grass-fed beef and unprocessed sea salt, it’s good for you regardless of what the sick care industry and investors in man-made “foodstuffs” say. Just keep the portion sizes reasonable, but you need not worry about how often you eat such things. Enjoy!
failure to launch issues. Think of Siddhartha who had to leave the confines of the castle to Hello from superheated Sacramento Central Valley!! Retirement Date: June 10, 2024. This is the first time in 35 years I haven’t been in back to school mode. I have been focusing on the polar opposite of decumulation. Still, here are some thoughts.
1. BUY DIAMONDS IN A JEWELRY STORE
I have done a MAJOR “thing” declutter for 2 years to shift priorities in my 4th quarter of life. I analyzed my jewelry. My ego created a 2 carat diamond engagement ring that I simply never wear. I prefer my simple band. Having successfully passed Diamond Certification at GIA a few years ago, I realized Hubby and I were chumps when we bought the original stones ( the largest stone was .88 with severe inclusions. This has no value in today’s market.) It was time to cut losses and start new. I listed the ring on REAlREAL for $2000 ( insurance estimate 11,000.) I will be lucky to recoup $1,000. The other diamond pieces I sold for their gold and silver after taking a few charms off.
The collapse of diamond value has of course been brought on by lab generated diamonds. I am so angry at jewelry stores that are still leaching off the ignorant waning “heydays” of diamonds being anything but pretty like any other stone.
2. FARM IN CALIFORNIA
This will be the third year, my sixth generation farming husband will not have made ANY money in walnuts. Two years before that he had NO water allocation. Thankfully he is a scrappy businessman that bought and held land and water rights early. Still one must have money coming in to pay the mortgage. We just learned that one major co-op that owes 100,000s of thousands of dollars to us is filing bankruptcy. Hubby’s one true goal is to keep the farm for the next generation in honor of his father. Everybody tells him to sell out. But then what has he accomplished? He is a modern day pirate evading nature, government regulations, and misguided environmentalists.
3. SUPPORT charter schools, traveling sport clubs, discriminatory “career and college paths,” and other youth oriented programs that separate the privileged child from the most vulnerable children.
OK. Let me have it on this one but I have to speak my truth. I worked 35 years in schools with nearly 100% poverty, first generation immigrants, high- ish crime and lower test scores. I have seen first hand what happens when the most active parents ( not necessarily wealthy by “active” and “passionate” parents) remove their energy and resources from a local school so their children can receive “more opportunities” or be “challenged” because their child has been labeled “GATE.” Everyone suffers when we lose TRUE diversity. By TRUE, I mean the next generation successes – students who can thrive under difficulties such as poverty, neglect, isolation, safety issues, language, and cultural barriers. Students who go to lottery, magnet or charter schools ( in my experience) have far higher rates of social anxiety, depression, and become enlightened and become enlightened.
My prediction: watch how our NATION”S wealth DECUMULATES when the charter-affect truly takes hold after my generation’s wealth has been lost on social programs to make up for these early, shortsighted practices.
Did I practice what I preach? You be the judge. I have one precious son. He went to our local school. He tested GATE but we never told him. Instead he stayed in regular classes and I volunteered in those classes teaching art and music. I drove to private piano and violin lessons so that when he chose an instrument in 4th grade he could participate in the school band. He learned the clarinet and my husband went on every field trip. He ran track and we were boosters. We donated running shoes to the students who couldn’t afford them. He was first chair in the orchestra and valedictorian. He did NOT have access to those most advanced math calculus or a college placement counselor. He did love his passionate teachers and had an extremely diverse group of friends of every race, gender and economic strata. Result: He is finishing his engineering degree at University of Michigan. He has to take an extra semester because not all his classes are transferred. He survived his freshman year (2020) isolated in the freezing temperatures with few friends. He endured. I couldn’t be prouder. My friends all had students who went to schools with the state’ s highest test scores or private schools. Only one of six of those kids has successfully launched. Almost all of them had IEPS of anxiety, ADD, social or emotional documentation.
BTW: I have taught from Beverly Hills to the North section of the LA riots. I love all children : richly parented or desperately neglected. I have teaching awards lining my shelves from the first years I taught to this past spring. I am passionate about kids. I am not some burned out griper. The real reason I left teaching is because I couldn’t bear to put one more kid on a suicide plan. I couldn’t stand to see one more empty seat of a kid I lost. The greatest loss of wealth facing us is our youth is our most precious asset. Our youth.
Sorry first line got edited out of a different section.
Children are my most significant source of wealth decumulation. Where I am willing to be cheap for myself (for example, I’ve opted for group or online fitness over a personal trainer), I open my wallet for my kids (I just hired a personal trainer for a kid to supplement a sport). But, if I didn’t have kids, I’d be retiring early and spending down the principal, so by remaining employed for their benefit, the principal is still growing, and I’m still saving. Now that I’m starting to feel like I have enough, my new challenge is spending more on myself than my kids and helping my spouse do the same.
Absolutely. So for those who don’t have kids, don’t waste your money and energy. Save and Invest as much as possible so you can break free sooner.
Not having kids is your FIRE super power!
re: First Class Airline tickets and other travel related spending
I just can’t bring myself to pay those first class airfare prices. We did fly business class across the Atlantic Ocean one year; we still couldn’t sleep on the plane despite having lay flat seats. We figured if we can’t sleep on the plane anyway, why spend bigly for first or business class? HOWEVER, we have been springing for Premium Economy seats for quite some time despite the higher cost. You wouldn’t think even a single inch more of seat width makes that much of a difference, but it does for us. The extra legroom is nice too.
On our first Viking river cruise in early Summer 2024, I did abandon my frugality to get a Veranda Suite (AA) stateroom for us since it was our first real vacation post COIVD-19 and we were celebrating a significant wedding anniversary milestone. But for our NEXT Viking river cruise in early Spring 2025, I’m also spending on a Veranda Suite (AA) stateroom for us, because, well, we have the money to do it! LOL Don’t think I’ll ever splurge on their Explorer Suite; that’s just WAY too much room for just the two of us. (I was going to say, “I’ll leave it for your family of four,” but then I remembered you have to be at least 18 years old to sail with Viking, so you have a bit of a wait on that.)
Economy plus really is worth it for the extra price.
I’ve always wanted to go on Viking cruises. I think we will probably go on a Disney cruise or another one out of the portal San Francisco next year. We love cruises too.
Got to get a room with a balcony for sure! My parents did interior rooms, which is fine if you are always outside. But it’s nice to sit on the deck and read a book and smell the ocean.
A Disney cruise with kids would be fun. We enjoyed our Viking River cruise, but they only offer meals at a single sitting and don’t have room service. I thought it very romantic when my hubby complained, “I can’t have a quiet dinner with just my wife?” I suppose we could have had dinner ashore some evening when the ship happened to be docked overnight in port … but then that would defeat the purpose of having all meals included in the cruise price. Lol. Guess we are still too frugal for our own good. Old habits die hard!
Paying for business/first class flights? What’s that? I have been flying overseas in business class with lay flat beds for the past 10 years. I do so with points from credit cards. Most you’ll pay is the fuel surcharge which is normally anywhere from $60-$300 if you do it right.
I only paid for biz class once to Jerusalem from LAX. $4300 round trip. Happy to have paid that given I had to cut my trip short as I was there on Oct 7th and the perks of first class service that come with that rate come in handy. No lines, no waiting, elevated service and comps.
Just get a branded airline card with signing bonus and do all of your spending on credit cards (which is what you should be doing for consumer protection). You’ll rack up points and have your family flying luxury for free
Yea, we might switch business credit cards to an airline card now that we’ll be flying more. Any particular card you use or recommend?
re: Letting your partner stop working is one of the greatest gifts of love. … It makes no sense for one partner to be retired and the other partner to be working for money at a job they don’t love.
We were both working stressful jobs, but hubby worked the night shift with only one day off a week (we did not share the same day off). He had suffered a heart attack and I was trying to get him to quit. He was stubborn and wanted to work the two more years needed to get to his “Magic 85” (age + years of service) pension. I was worried he wouldn’t survive another two years and I would be a “young” widow.
When we did our income taxes in February 2005 and I noticed that my work sponsored 401k earned more in 2004 than hubby did working six nights a week, I REALLY tried to get him to quit. It took another three months before his idiotic boss finally piled on the straw that broke the camel’s back which motivated hubby to quit the month before he turned 50 after 33 years with his company. Hubby didn’t feel too happy about no longer earning an income, but I told him if either of us was going to quit their job it should be the one who hated their job the most and who earned the smaller salary. After almost two decades of retirement, he will still every now and then thank me for the greatest gift I’ve ever given him (besides our two sons, of course!).
Well done, saving your husband’s health, and potentially, life! Doesn’t matter how much money you have, if you are chronically, sick or dead.
I’m glad he continues to acknowledge your gift and doesn’t really miss the money. One of the biggest surprises for people who retire is that they need less money than they think.
$24k/yr for healthcare? With no regular earned income? Please explain. ACA subsidizes healthcare costs and can vary by state. Here in California it’s quite generous with a subsidy worth almost $20k/year.
Sure. Once you get over the 400% of the federal poverty level limit in passive income, you don’t get any healthcare subsidies.
Is your healthcare insurance heavily subsidized? If so, how much do you make? And what is your monthly healthcare premium?
How about info on setting up a perpetual trust to fund generations of educational expense or setting up a family controlled foundation.
The wealthy do it … why not the rest of us?!
I can understand Dave’s comment about having a tough time paying to replace something like old socks. Although I won’t wear socks with actual holes (because I can’t stand the uneven feeling) I do wear mine out until the first day a large enough hole appears that I can feel it and then into the recycling bin it goes (yes, some cities recycle clothing so check yours!).
I’m the same way with t-shirts in the sense I wear them until they are just too noticeably stained it they become an eye sore. Old t-shirts get so soft and comfortable after all lol. But lately I’ve been trying to stretch mine even longer by going heavy on the stain remover spray. Sometimes it works miracles and gets the darnedest set-in stains out. It’s quite exhilarating ha.
Agree on a productive and enjoyable way to decumulate is spending on kids education and activities. It’s easy to do because classes and tuition are getting so crazy expensive. And don’t get me started on $800+/week summer camps. phew!
My main problem with decumulation is that it doesn’t bring much joy. I live in a nice house, drive nice cars, eat good food and have helped my daughter get through college. I’ve donated a lot of money to a couple charities then got involved in the politics of each charity which ruined the good feelings I used to get by donating. My “problem “ if you call it that, are mine and my wife’s tastes are simple and our investments generate some pretty large returns. Spending for the sake of spending doesn’t provide us joy.
We will definitely die with to much money. The security we now feel with our finances makes up for this.
Thanks, Bill
Understandable dilemma. I think there are two solutions:
1) Get involved with the places you donate. Once you meet the people you are helping financially and volunteering, it makes your donation much more meaningful.
2) Giving might not feel good to you any longer, but the recipients will appreciate it, so put yourself in their shoes.
Of course, how much to give is a personal decision. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.
Security feels great. There’s just a balance we should probably strive for.
Travel. Since my wife retired in June last year we have visited Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Phillipine Islands. In October Italy and Greece are already planned. We have always traveled quite a bit but these excursions last for 3-4 weeks.
Seeing the world is amazing. I hope more people do. It’ll bring people closer together and generate more love and kindness for one another.
Enjoy your travels!
Did you go through a tour group for Vietnam/Cambodia? On our list for sure! We just did a safari in Kenya- AMAZING! How long do you recommend for Vietnam & Cambodia to see and really experience the culture?
Great to hear about Kenya! Will have to try. Any particular websites you used for a guide? I lived in Zambia for one year as a baby / toddler.
We went to Angkor Wat, Cambodia. The temples were incredible, truly. Totally worth it. But also hot and humid as hell. Get an air-conditioned private van as a driver not expensive.
We missed Vietnam and just stopped at the airport. So sad.
We used Melesi Safaris, and we highly recommend it! Our guide Max was born & raised in Kenya. They showed us authentic Samburu tribes, our favorite part of the trip. Truly a trip of our lifetime. But unfortunately, we saw the atrocities against the African countries.
We booked through viator.com. All of the tour guides were excellent and spoke good English. I have their names and “WhatsApp” contact info if you want them. As far as time goes – we packed full days in to see as much as we could. I believe a good tour guide saves time trying to figure things out and gives a good local perspective. For example, the Saigon tour guide’s dad was a lieutenant colonel for the South Vietnamese army and was taken as a POW. The guide didn’t see his dad for many years. He has definite opinions about Vietnamese politics. In a week we visited the length of Vietnam, from Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hoi An, Danang, and Saigon. Also, as mentioned by another person, if you go to Cambodia be sure to visit Angkor Wat. Our guide was an enthusiastic historian and knew minute details of the many temples. You will be amazed. Have a great trip.
Darn Alan! I wish we could exchange information. You have great sources! Maybe you can see my email: christineminasian@gmail.com. Thanks!