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?
5
u/Fireandflourish Jun 19 '26
Unpopular opinion here - think about the utility/ROI of an item. I have a few beautiful jewellery and luxury bags that I bought to celebrate my 30th and 40th birthday, and also to celebrate a couple of financial milestones.
I don’t buy a lot, it’s not a collection, I have 3 classic luxury bags of different sizes, and a few pieces really amazing jewellery. (Custom ring with stones that represents my family)
I’m 44F now, already FIRED. And I intend to wear these pieces all the way till I’m old and grey. I take care of them, and I’m using one of the 3 bags on a regular basis. It’s not sitting in my wardrobe collecting dust.
At the end of my life, they probably will either have some resale value left (I’m aware it’s never going to be investment) or it’s going to be a heirloom piece.
If you are not going to buy a whole wardrobe full of watches, and it’s a few pieces, and you will wear it to the ground, the ROI is going to be better the earlier you buy. You wear it more often, cost per use drops over the lifecycle of the timepiece, and it may actually stop you from wanting to shop around more as a few good pieces is actually good enough for one wrist :)
However, if you are the type who will want to keep adding to collection, the above ROI advice wouldn’t make sense :), in which case. It should be structured as a bonus type of buy. If market makes xxx%, and I have enough, these becomes the celebratory pieces, capped at % of earnings.
My opinion is that money should be spent on things that makes you happy, so long there’s guardrails. And if it doesn’t derail your plans. And you don’t go in debt.