I’m a Boomer Retiree: Why I Have No Regrets About How I Saved and Spent My Money
Written by
Angela Mae
Edited by
Gary Dudak
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When it comes to finances, it’s tough to find someone with absolutely zero regrets. One study from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found that roughly 60% of older individuals — either retired or about to be — regret not saving more money during their working years to support them during retirement.
A lot of this regret comes from underestimating the true cost of retirement. Things like long-term care, financial surprises and all-around rising costs can quickly eat into someone’s retirement income. Those who experience financial hardship after leaving the workforce are bound to second-guess their financial decisions in life.
But financial regret isn’t inevitable or even unavoidable. Caroline Bogart and Jan Brandrup, two retirees with minimal to no financial regrets, are proof of just that. So, what did they do to avoid money-related regrets? Here’s what they said.
Life Is All About Learning as You Go
When you hold onto past mistakes or start wishing you’d done things differently, it’s all too easy to have regrets about your decisions. But life’s not about avoiding mistakes altogether — it’s about learning from them and refraining from making the same ones over and over again.
“Just because one is older does not necessarily make them wiser. In no other scope is that [more] true than [when] focused on financial habits,” said Jan Brandrup, CEO of Neurogan. “I was born in the ’60s and am a proud ‘baby boomer’ who has made some unwise fiscal decisions along the way, but I am proud to say, as an entrepreneur I learned from those mistakes and truly have few financial regrets.
“Perhaps it is because I was self-employed for the majority of my professional life, I learned that money only grows with sales and rainy day funds are great if there is a guaranteed source from which it flows,” Brandrup continued. “I actually think this mindset is what has helped me not to become a financial cautionary tale.”
Recognizing the obstacles that come your way and finding ways to overcome them is a key part of avoiding financial regret. In the moment, they might seem impossible or cause quite a bit of stress, but being able to take these challenges and adapt to them can go a long way toward minimizing your own regrets later in life.
Splurging Is OK If the Budget Allows
Having a household budget is also essential to ensuring there aren’t any major financial regrets later. With a solid budget, it’s much easier to track your spending, savings, income, debts, retirement contributions and everything else.
Without the mystery of where your money’s coming and going, it’s much easier to live your life in a way that matches your financial needs and goals — and have a little wiggle room.
“Much like I did in my youth, I keep a realistic budget of monthly expenses, with an exciting splurge now and then,” said Brandrup, who continues to budget now as before. “I realized early that a beautiful home on the outside is great, but if there is not any money left in my bank account to furnish it, then such a purchase is foolish and ultimately wasteful.”
Making sure those splurges truly align with your needs might not guarantee a life without financial regret, but it can definitely help.
There’s No Sense in ‘Keeping Up With the Joneses’
There’s a popular idiom, “Keeping up with the Joneses” that essentially refers to someone who’s trying to keep up with their neighbors or peers in terms of social status or wealth. Oftentimes, people who try to keep up like this end up buying a bigger house or a more expensive car — or at least feeling like that’s what they should be doing.
But this way of thinking leads to financial regrets more often than not. It also has a tendency to leave bank accounts emptier than they ought to be and retirement savings funds drained.
For Brandrup, this hasn’t been as much of a problem.
“Living modestly depends on where you live and the personal expectations you associate with this description,” he said. “I know as my family grew, we never went without the basics, nor did I have an issue with teaching my children that ‘keeping up the Joneses’ is really about keeping up with a false sense of achievement.”
When you don’t have the expectation of keeping up appearances, or matching someone else’s social status, you’re free to spend and save your money as you need — and truly want.
Smart Financial Planning and Consistent Spending Help
Financial planning can mean different things to different people. For some, it means seeking professional help — like a certified financial planner — to manage your finances, budget and keep you on track with your goals. This isn’t always necessary, though.
Sometimes, all you really need is to make some smart financial decisions along the way — and maybe avoid or pay off debt as quickly as you can.
“I’m 62 and my husband is just shy of 66,” said Caroline Bogart, who’s currently running AsWellYouShould.com, a website about pain relief and health in aging. “We maximized our IRA contributions, doubled our mortgage payments and always bought used rather than new cars.”
Even after retiring, Bogart said they haven’t changed their spending habits. “We have retirement funds, no mortgage and plenty of time,” she said.
This combination of smart planning and consistent spending has also helped them avoid potential financial pitfalls or regrets. In fact, the only thing she said comes close to counting as a regret is that they didn’t spend as much on vacations as they could have.
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