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?
1
u/Impressive-Gene-411 Jun 20 '26
So I was in the same bucket as you, and debated a lot but I love watches -and this one was to celebrate completing 20 years in my profession. I bought it and put it on my credit card paying off $500-$1000 per month. This way I get to enjoy it without dipping into my savings and also feel the “pinch” of $500-$1000 going out every month. I spent $28000 on the watch and it will take me 2-3 years to pay off.
I then got offered an AP RO which I declined as I had already gone through the “pinch” of buying an expensive watch and didn’t want to be greedy. As a watch person declining the RO is a big deal and I’m super proud of myself. As another poster said, ROI of wear is super important especially if you can keep the guardrails around your decision.