To Those Lost Souls Who Are Saving Too Much and Could Be Spending More

Kicking around the Internet this week is a Friday, November 6 Bankrate.com article by Marilyn Kennedy Melia titled, “Could you be saving too much?

The premise of the article is that “About 10 percent of the population is accumulating too much retirement savings in the sense that they could have saved significantly less and still retired with enough resources to continue in the lifestyle they enjoyed during their working life, estimates Harvard University economist David Laibson.”

The rest of the article is a tedious repetition of the messages of a hundred other articles on retirement planning—the ways to save for retirement and the large numbers of people with inadequate savings, some 60% says the expert.  The article never returns to explain what people who are saving too much should do, but it’s right there in the ideological subtext.

The hidden message: That people who save more than they will need for retirement are missing the opportunity to spend money, which after all, is the way to happiness, contentment and sexual satisfaction.  So if your financial planner says you’re saving more than you need for retirement, think about taking up golf or at least buying the equipment and clothes, joining a country club or two, or maybe taking that trip you never wanted to go on to Las Vegas.  You can always trade in your car every year or two.   Don’t miss out on the thrill of the spend, ye of little faith who save too much!

10 thoughts on “To Those Lost Souls Who Are Saving Too Much and Could Be Spending More

  1. I just read through the entire article of yours and it was quite good. This is a great article thanks for sharing this informative information. I will visit your blog regularly for some latest post.

  2. Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love reading more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me.

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