Do You Spend More or Less since you retired?

I'm deeply touched by your story, Josiah, but what a wonderful tribute you have posted to her when you said, "...The reason that my wife and I are well off is entirely due to my wife's remarkable talents. She started a business (rare books) and in the thirty seven years of our marriage succeeded in becoming one of the country's most successful dealers. We worked in this venture together but it was her daring business acumen and expertise in a very esoteric field that is the reason we were so successful. She had so much talent.." Nicely penned, Josiah.y

Regarding Holly's reply to you, she said exactly how I feel too. And Holly said it so well.
 
jujube said:
Yes and no. I spend more on travel and less on clothing, etc. I no longer care if my purse matches my shoes. I'm not even sure if I care if I have a purse or shoes any longer…..
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Jujube, I hear ya'. We're in the season of our lives when we don't have to
give a fig about what anyone thinks about what we wear, like this familiar quote:

"When I am an old woman I shall wear purple,
With a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me,
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves,
And satin sandals, and say we have no money for butter"

.
 

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Haven't really be retired long enough to determine amount of expense. I know I'm buying a few more lunches out, but most of the time I'm at my mom's looking after her. Since she suffers from syncope and can pass out at any time from standing or exerting herself, I'm pretty much stuck living a 95 year-old's life right along with her and am very depressed.
 
The one thing they don't tell you Lara, is how you can manage to do that and still have some kind of life even a basic one.
 
I naively didn't even think about retirement until I was well into my 40's. I worked for a state university (senior clerical) and realized I needed to think about my pensions. Doh. My plans were to try to get a job at one of the best paid state universities - two of which were NC and Cali - and work until 67. I was at a low paid university, but the cost of living was also low. I was in the process of doing that when I met my dh and moved to Scotland.

Fortunately, dh had always planned for retirement and has a very good work pension he earned in London, but we spend it in Scotland which has a lower cost of living. Between us we have 6 pensions (we only expected 5). Medical costs are never an issue here with the NHS. But our priorities are traveling, and now the bikes we just got this year, while we are both healthy and fit. There is no guarantee we'll both be fit and healthy next year or next month even, so we're grabbing everything right now! Go, go, go!

In the UK the news media keeps telling us that 1 out of 3 of us will get some type of cancer. I try not to worry about that but there was a LOT of cancer in my family - of every type. :(
 
My retirement was kind of a forced, overnight thing just before I turned 65. At the time I still kept 24 horses, two of them stallions. In just a few months I was down to the 3 I have now, which is all I can afford to keep. So yeah, I spend MUCH less now. About $1800 a month less.
 

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