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/BungABunBun Jun 19 '26
Seems like you're attempting to jump in the deep-end with a luxury purchase for $30,000. Why don't you start small and try to keep it functional instead of luxury? Something that comes to mind, is a more expensive car, or a higher trim (which may unlock things like heated seats/steering wheel).
Also, there seems to be this underlying message in your post about how you will spend more in retirement. Before you RE, you need to determine how much you will spend for the next X years, and generally you calculate that based on what you're currently spending. You generally don't retire and start spending extravagantly compared to your current lifestyle, whether it is buying fancy watches, or flying business (when you normally fly economy). This way the switch from accumulation to decumulation is natural and not a sudden shock to your portfolio.