This came from another thread, but it sparked a thought... forgive me, feh, for isolating your comments...
This has been bug in my ear for a while now, and I just need to vent a bit... Remember, I'm only 22, so I have my parents, supervisors, you all, and anyone else who feels the need tell me that I should follow this course. I do agree that it's important to save, and I'm doing so intently... but to what end?? I pray not for retirement, because at the rate I'm going, I'll have over $1.5M (in real terms) by only age 50, just in retirement accounts (nearly as much is being saved in other accounts)... and that's a conservative figure, completely ignoring what probably will be 10-15 years between then and my "retirement" date, and already probably more than enough to retire on (esp. considering that I plan to have a military retirement pension). I refuse to live in preparation for retirement, because I feel that would be an immense waste of my life.
Sooo.... when is enough enough? What's the point of a life bent on frugality and saving? How do you strike your balance?
I recognize that I'm still young and probably quite naïve. But I've established my finances securely, and am in a situation where my financial habits are almost assuredly not going to change very much over time. It's admirable that so many on these forums have established themselves, prepared for a secure retirement, own personal homes (or getting there), and so on... Call me short-sighted, but I'm afraid of developing a preoccupation with those things which are so far out for me, and at that, things for which I am already geared for being well-prepared.
In a one-word response to the quote above, WHY?
Originally posted by feh
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Sooo.... when is enough enough? What's the point of a life bent on frugality and saving? How do you strike your balance?
I recognize that I'm still young and probably quite naïve. But I've established my finances securely, and am in a situation where my financial habits are almost assuredly not going to change very much over time. It's admirable that so many on these forums have established themselves, prepared for a secure retirement, own personal homes (or getting there), and so on... Call me short-sighted, but I'm afraid of developing a preoccupation with those things which are so far out for me, and at that, things for which I am already geared for being well-prepared.
In a one-word response to the quote above, WHY?
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