Now that I’ve
hit the three year mark you might be wondering, or may not, how things are
going to change for me now that I’m done with my super thrifty living. Well, the short answer is – not much.
This past three
years has taught me a lot. The biggest, and most surprising, was that I
don’t need much to live a very content and comfortable life. Now that I am no longer raising a family and
even though I do have occasional houseguests it doesn’t cost me nearly
as much money to run my household as it used to. I also don’t consume nearly as much food as
we used to as a family even though I often have friends over for meals and I
make a lot of food to share with others.
You can imagine how happy I was that the funds I had earmarked for the
first three years of retirement were more than enough to take care of me. Moving forward I am going to loosen up the
purse strings, so to speak.
I’m going to
allow myself to be a two car household once again. I was able to purchase, license and insure the Subaru using extra funds I had left
from my three years of super thrifty living.
Not bad, huh? As a lone driver
having two vehicles is definitely a luxury, no doubt about that, but it is a luxury
I enjoy and it also has the added benefit of giving me extra peace of mind having
a backup in case either the car or truck needs to be serviced for example.
I may or may not
do some traveling. I absolutely LOVE to
be home and thoroughly enjoy my own company.
As a card carrying member of the devoted homebodies club (I just made
that up) I am not going to put any pressure on myself to hop on a plane or jump
in the car and do any hardcore traveling.
However, having said that, if something pops up that interests me I’m
going to do it.
Now that I feel
I have more wiggle room in my budget I’m focusing more on quality over
quantity. Rather than go out to eat a
lot at cheap places I’d rather go out once in a great while to a restaurant
that serves better food and leave a nice tip for a hard working server. I am purchasing better quality new clothing
and shoes when I need to replace something I’ve worn out or no longer
enjoy. When I go to the grocery store I
take my time to read labels and compare my options so I bring home better
quality food.
So, as you can
see, I’m not going to go crazy or anything, but I am going to do little things
that give me a better quality of life. I
don’t need a lot to be happy or content and I know that buying
stuff won't make me feel happier or bring me more contentment. I love the simple things and I’ve already got
that.
I’m still amazed you were able to retire early on those funds and have leftover $$&
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing? If nothing else, I'm a good planner! ;)
DeleteA good planner and a superb manager! Give yourself the pat on the back your deserve!
ReplyDeleteI'm right behind you...planning and making sure I can do what I want to do, not necessarily what I have to do. Travel is not a big deal for me. But peace of mind and not feeling deprived is. I've still got hobbies to explore and projects to fund. (:
ReplyDeleteWe have 3 cars for the 2 of us. We purchased another car last year because we needed a reliable car for long trips. We discussed trading in but because the 2nd car I was driving is so old we'd get hardly anything. We decided to consider it an asset. It works perfectly fine but because it's older we only want it for around town. Same for the other car. We can lend a car to a family member or use it when one of the cars is in the shop.
ReplyDeleteI like that your planning actually gives you the freedom to make guilt- free decisions.
I am the chairman of the homebody club! Frankly, (and it sounds cruel and arrogant), I think if a person is not content in their own home, it’s a symptom of greater problems they haven’t addressed. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy travel and socializing. But ultimately, I am happiest in my own home.
ReplyDeleteIf I were, (and I have) to give financial advice to another woman, I would tell them to identify the things, be they physical, financial or emotional, that make them uncomfortable in their own homes, and develop a plan to address those things.
So glad I found you again. You’re a treat!
-Meg B.