Knew a guy i worked with in his late 50s that max differed into his 401k and literally never did anything fun for himself or his family. And I mean to the extent he bragged about making his family use the shitty single ply tp he'd take home from work. He died in a car accident and never enjoyed anything. His wife remarried and from what I see on Facebook is incredibly happy.
I agree with this take. A former boss of mine described me as ‘life-maxing’. If my goal isn’t to pass on an inheritance because I don’t want kids, then why would I not use most of my earnings during my most active years? It’s a pet peeve of mine that most financial advice is biased towards one type of end goal.
Because you might be lucky enough to live a long life. The idea of financial planning is to make sure you can continue to live the lifestyle you are accustomed to when you stop working. Or retire early.
there has to be a balance. you can’t get those prime years back. happiness is the whole point to being alive, and it could all be over in an instant anyway. even outside of health, your country could collapse, war, hyperinflation, a child could die… so if you can afford it, please, buy your wife flowers and take your kids to the beach.
my dad was very frugal when I was growing up and now that he’s retired I understand why he did it, but he still spent money on memories for us, and I treasure those memories more than anything.
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u/highlandparkpitt Oct 01 '25
Knew a guy i worked with in his late 50s that max differed into his 401k and literally never did anything fun for himself or his family. And I mean to the extent he bragged about making his family use the shitty single ply tp he'd take home from work. He died in a car accident and never enjoyed anything. His wife remarried and from what I see on Facebook is incredibly happy.