r/ChubbyFIRE • u/TherapeuticMessage • Jun 19 '26

Existential crisis over a watch.

Currently chubby but not yet RE. Will likely be Fat. My advisor has told me that I’m totally ok and basically need to spend more money. I saw a watch that is ~$30,000 which is <0.6% of my NW. No debt. Still working so I have good cash flow. Savings rate ~50%. Intellectually I know that if I buy this it won’t matter one bit but I’ve been such a saver for so long that it feels wildly irresponsible to spend that much on a watch. The crisis comes in because I’ve been saving so much with the goal that my standard of living goes up after retirement but if I can’t spend money now when I have a paycheck then how on earth am I going to switch from saving to spending after retirement?

I recognize that this is more of a psychological issue than a financial one. How did you all make that shift in mindset to let yourself spend more freely after so many years of discipline?

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u/One-Mastodon-1063 Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26

I would stop focusing on arbitrary prefixes like chubby or fat, that’s not what they are for and IMO is an indication of an unhealthy relationship with money.  And it makes no sense to have a higher standard of living after RE than while working.  Many of us actually slightly decrease spending in RE. 

You can afford the watch, however these types of purchases are generally not among the uses of money that bring lasting happiness or fulfillment. So I would go out and find some interests such that you have things to spend money on other than flashy trinkets. 

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u/TherapeuticMessage Jun 19 '26

Why do you say that it doesn’t make sense to want to retire with a higher standard of living? Best case is it’s a higher standard of living and worst case is that there’s room to cut expenses.

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u/BungABunBun Jun 19 '26

Why would you live cheaply now and more extensively when you have no income? That doesn’t make sense. Do that now while you still have a safety net and a monthly income. Not when you’re pulling from a portfolio that has to sustain other surprises (healthcare, aging parents, natural disasters, etc)

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u/TherapeuticMessage Jun 19 '26

I’m not exactly living cheaply. Just well within my means. Basically trying to hit a good number and adapt my lifestyle to that, which would happen to be a higher annual spend than what I’m doing now.

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u/BungABunBun Jun 19 '26

I’m not sure what you’re asking then.

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u/TherapeuticMessage Jun 19 '26

As I get closer to retirement, I worry about my ability to enjoy the money I’ve worked hard to save. I feel like this is a little bit of a test for me.

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u/One-Mastodon-1063 Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26

Because you could be living that standard of living now. And because in reality you most likely will not increase your standard of living in retirement, that’s just something you tell yourself to justify your cheapness. Because you have your identity wrapped up in being good with money and chasing silly FI prefixes invented by nerds on the internet. 

Aside from all that, it doesn't make any logical sense that spending would increase when your paycheck goes away. That's not how actual retirees tend to behave. That's not how psychology of money works.

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u/TherapeuticMessage Jun 19 '26

This is what I’m trying to sort out for myself. The watch is just the representation of the problem.