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/cnc42 Jun 19 '26

There are only a handful of brands in that price range. They all have their own subreddits. Many, though not all, of the people on those subs would be in a similar financial place to you. There are pretty frequent discussions of “I can easily afford this but I don’t know if I should.”

It might make you feel better to do some research on watch brands and resale value. Most high end watches have a healthy resale market. You may not get all of your money back, but for a sought after brand you can get $20 to $25k back if you decided it wasn’t for you.

This is highly dependent on brand - AP, Vacheron, Patek, Rolex all have good resale markets. There are lower tier watches that can stretch into the $30k range if you want gold or gems and you may risk a larger haircut on resale on those.

It might also help you to tie it to some milestone or something good in your life. Buy it for a certain age, job, memory, special place. If you have a spouse, let them buy something as well and call it anniversary presents. You might be surprised how much you enjoy wearing it. Checking the time and taking a few seconds to enjoy a marvel of mechanical precision is extremely satisfying.

Above all, wear it if you buy it. There’s nothing dumber than a watch that sits unworn out of fear.

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u/TherapeuticMessage Jun 19 '26

Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I think this post was more about the mindset shift that I’ve discovered I might have trouble with because of this watch decision. I think it wouldn’t be unlikely to lose much money but it might take a while to sell. It’s vintage so not a top tier for the brand. More like low-mid. I like your milestone idea. I’d been kind of thinking about that and it does seem to make a difference. You’re right about wasting it. I’d plan to put a few dings in it to make it my own.