Retirement planning isn't just about accumulating enough money to stop working. It's about using your wealth to build a life you genuinely enjoy.
In this episode of Accessible Finance for Retirement, Eric and Rachael Johns of Equilibrium Financial Planning explore the relationship between money and happiness in retirement. They discuss why having more money doesn't necessarily lead to greater happiness, how spending decisions can improve your quality of life, and why having control over your time may be one of the most valuable things your retirement savings can provide.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Does having more money make you happier in retirement? Understand why financial security matters, but additional wealth doesn't automatically translate into greater fulfillment.
What is the best way to spend money to improve your retirement? Explore how buying back your time, prioritizing experiences, and giving to others can contribute to a more satisfying life.
How can you make sure your retirement savings support a fulfilling retirement? Learn why it's important to connect your financial plan to your personal values, relationships, interests, and goals for the years ahead.
The goal isn't simply to retire with enough money. It's to build a financial plan that helps you make the most of the life you've worked hard to create.
Does having more money make you happier in retirement?
Money can improve happiness, but the relationship is more complicated than simply earning or accumulating more. The key is understanding what additional money allows you to do and whether those opportunities meaningfully improve your life.
As discussed in this episode, research on income and happiness suggests that happiness doesn't increase in direct proportion to income. Doubling your income, for example, doesn't mean you become twice as happy. The additional benefit of each dollar can diminish as your financial needs are met, although the relationship varies from person to person.
For some people, additional wealth may continue to provide meaningful benefits. It might allow them to travel, spend more time with family, pursue hobbies, or enjoy greater flexibility in their daily lives. For others, once their needs are comfortably met, additional money may not substantially improve their satisfaction.
The important distinction is between having more money and having more control over your life.
Financial independence can provide the freedom to make decisions based on your preferences rather than financial necessity. That might mean working part-time because you enjoy your profession, taking an afternoon off to attend a grandchild's sporting event, or traveling without worrying about whether you can afford the trip.
For people approaching retirement, this distinction is especially important. Retirement isn't necessarily about stopping work or doing nothing. It's about having the financial flexibility to choose how you spend your time.
The takeaway: Rather than focusing exclusively on how much wealth you can accumulate, consider what greater financial resources would actually allow you to do differently.
What is the best way to spend money to increase happiness and quality of life?
The most rewarding spending decisions are often those that purchase meaningful experiences, save time, strengthen relationships, or help other people. The right choice depends on what you personally value.
In the episode, Eric and Rachael discuss several ways money can improve your quality of life.
Spend on experiences, not just possessions
Experiences such as vacations, family outings, and time with friends can provide enjoyment before, during, and after the event itself.
Planning a vacation, for example, can create anticipation and excitement long before you leave home. The experience itself can also strengthen relationships and create memories that remain meaningful long after the trip ends.
Physical possessions can provide genuine enjoyment, too. However, people often adapt quickly to improvements in their material circumstances. A new car may feel like a tremendous upgrade at first, but over time it becomes your normal car.
Experiences can offer a different kind of value because of the memories you create and the relationships you develop.
Buy back your time
One of the most practical ideas discussed in this episode is that spending money to save time can improve your quality of life.
Examples include:
Hiring someone to mow the lawn or handle household maintenance.
Using grocery delivery to reduce errands.
Paying for meal delivery when cooking would take time away from something more meaningful.
Outsourcing tasks that create stress or consume time you'd rather spend elsewhere.
These purchases don't just eliminate a task. They can also eliminate the mental burden of remembering, planning, and worrying about something you don't want to do.
Of course, this isn't universal. Some people genuinely enjoy mowing the lawn, cooking, or completing household projects. The objective isn't to outsource everything; it's to identify which activities are worth your time and which you'd happily pay to avoid.
This becomes particularly relevant in retirement, when having control over your schedule can be one of the greatest benefits of financial independence.
Give to people and causes that matter to you
The conversation also explores the satisfaction that can come from giving to others, whether through financial gifts, charitable donations, or volunteering.
Helping children, supporting friends, contributing to a community organization, or donating to a meaningful cause can create a sense of connection and purpose.
The episode highlights the potential importance of seeing the positive impact of your generosity. When you can understand how your contribution helps someone or advances a cause you care about, the experience may feel more meaningful.
Ultimately, the best use of discretionary spending depends on your values. Two people could spend the same $5,000 and experience very different levels of satisfaction because they're buying different things and pursuing different goals.
A useful question to ask before making a significant purchase is: What am I really buying with this money? Is it convenience, freedom, connection, a memorable experience, or simply another possession?
How can you make sure your retirement savings support a fulfilling retirement?
A successful retirement plan should do more than determine whether you have enough money to stop working. It should help you understand how to use your resources to support the life you want to live.
Many people spend decades focused on accumulating wealth. They save consistently, invest for growth, and monitor their account balances. But when retirement approaches, the question changes from how much they can accumulate to how they can turn those assets into a satisfying life.
That transition requires two complementary types of planning.
Start with your vision for retirement
Before determining how much you can safely spend, think about what you want your retirement to look like.
Consider questions such as:
What would an ideal day in retirement look like?
Which hobbies, interests, and experiences do you want to pursue?
How much time do you want to spend with family and friends?
Do you want to continue working in some capacity, volunteer, travel, or explore new interests?
Which activities would give you a sense of purpose and fulfillment?
These questions matter because people often derive a significant part of their identity from their careers. Leaving work without a plan for what comes next can create a sense of emptiness, even when finances are secure.
As Eric explains in the episode, it's important to think about what you're retiring to, not just what you're retiring from.
You don't have to plan every hour of your retirement. But having a general vision for how you'll spend your time can help you make better financial decisions.
Build a financial plan around those goals
Once you have a clearer picture of what matters to you, financial planning can help determine how to support those priorities.
That includes evaluating how much you can sustainably spend, how your investments should support future withdrawals, and how taxes affect your available retirement income.
For example, a retiree who values travel and time with family may reasonably prioritize those experiences over leaving the largest possible account balance. Another retiree may derive the greatest satisfaction from charitable giving, helping family members financially, or maintaining a substantial financial cushion.
Neither approach is inherently better. The right plan reflects your goals, resources, and comfort with financial uncertainty.
This is where comprehensive financial planning becomes particularly valuable: it connects the technical questions of investments, cash flow, and taxes with the personal question of what makes your life meaningful.
Don't let your account balance dictate your life
It's easy to become so focused on preserving wealth that spending it feels uncomfortable, even when you have sufficient resources.
A financial plan can help you evaluate whether your desired spending is sustainable and identify the trade-offs involved. That can provide greater confidence to enjoy your money rather than continually postponing the experiences you worked to afford.
The goal isn't to spend recklessly or ignore future needs. It's to find an appropriate balance between financial security today, flexibility for tomorrow, and the experiences that make retirement worthwhile.
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Can Money Buy Happiness Episode 90
[00:00:00]
Eric: Welcome to episode 90 of Accessible Finance for Retirement. I'm Eric Johns. And I'm Rachel Johns. Let's dive in. All right, so Eric, today we're gonna start what is likely to be longer than a singular episode. Okay. Um, but it's a discussion on whether money can actually buy you happiness. Of course it can.
This is America. No, I'm kidding. I don't know. Let's talk. It could certainly help. Um, but, you know, uh, we primarily deal with those that are nearing or in retirement, and this is when this question becomes especially important. Agreed. Um, you spend most of your working life saving more, investing more, growing your money and building your wealth, and then now you have to figure out, like, what was all of that work for.
Rachael: Yeah. Um, so we spent lots of episodes discussing the best ways to accumulate money, so today we're gonna kind of talk about the [00:01:00] decumulation part or how you can actually use money to create a better life. Yeah. This is where financial planning actually gets interesting, 'cause we're trying to use our resources to realize the life that we want rather than just accumulate for accumulation's sake.
And this is where that conversation about values that you should be having pretty regularly really takes shape. Yeah. 'Cause sometimes what you think you wanted changes or you may not have even had enough time to sit down and really plan out or think critically about what would actually make you happy.
Eric: Mm-hmm. Um, okay. So there's a number of different statistics and studies that have been done to this end, so we're gonna start there. Right. Um, so the first, you know, most obvious question that seems simple is, um, does having more money make people happier? I believe that the answer was yes and no. Yeah.
Nuanced, right? Very. So for some people it does [00:02:00] linearly scale, albeit at a diminishing rate, right? So you- Correct ... in, so you attain marginally less happiness per dollar amount over... What was the b- barometer? I think they used, like, $100,000. 100,000. Or was it 50,000, the median income or something like that?
Rachael: Yeah, but then they, so- Median's higher than that now, but... For sure. Um, so initially, right, they worked with the premise of, like, if you were suddenly to double your income, would your happiness also double, right? Right. Is it a one for one? And they found very clearly that was not the case. Right. That's not true for anyone.
Correct. Um, but they found that, um, around 75,000 to 100,000 is where that, um, more steep kind of happiness curve starts to flatten out a bit. Mm-hmm. Um, which makes sense. Um, there has been kind of research back and forth. It's something that's still kind of in flux. Um, there is [00:03:00] a newer study that really delved into and tried to kind of parse out where that was, and that's the study that I think it was 2023 found that about 15 to 20% of people, um, capped out, that instead of their happiness kind of having diminishing returns and continuing to raise but at a slower rate- Mm-hmm
it didn't raise at all. So about one in five, once they reached about the $100,000 threshold- Yeah ... stopped. I believe that. Why would you believe that? I wouldn't. But like, like for me personally, I wouldn't because- For sure, yeah ... there's more snowboarding trips you can take. For sure. There are more mountains, and those cost lots of dollars.
Eric: For sure. You know, they're in New Zealand. You can go in the summer. Okay, but the important distinction there is that you have in mind already what it is you would do with that difference, right? Yeah, it's pretty clear to me. Well, and to be, to be completely honest, it's not all about the snowboarding. It's about...
In, in my mind, it's [00:04:00] about control- Mm-hmm ... and autonomy, particularly with your time, right? So like, when you have financial independence, in my mind that represents being able to make the decisions that you wanna make. That's not necessarily like people think of retirement. You know, when I envisioned retirement as a kid, I'm like, "Oh, Grandpa's retired.
That means he gets to sleep late, and you know-" Yeah. Oh, it seems like a dream world ... "he gets to do whatever he want." Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or nothing at all, right? Like just l- lounge around the house. That's not really what financial independence is trying to talk about, and I think that, and I think the concept of financial independence is more closely linked to happiness.
And what that is, is you don't have to do nothing. You're just doing exactly what you want, right? Like maybe it's working part time because- Mm-hmm ... you find financial planning very fulfilling, right? Like, I don't envision retiring anytime soon. I expect to scale back at some point, but like I'd be pretty happy meeting with clients- Yeah
and, you know, listening to their lives and trying to help- Yeah ... forever because I feel like I'm making a difference. Mm-hmm. I feel, you know, that, that's... There's some, you know, satisfaction there from what I'm, you know, giving back to the community and everything. So the point is [00:05:00] that you don't have to do nothing, right?
It's just you need to find things that actually give you purpose, and give your- giving yourself control over your time where you can say, you know, "I'm gonna take off of work in the afternoon to watch-" Yeah ... "my kid's soccer game 'cause it starts at 3:00 PM" Okay, great. Maybe that- For sure ... that may or may not be very true right now.
But, you know. It may or may not be the current case. Um, but that- Yes ... that's awesome, right? So that's the idea is that- For sure ... I would expect once you hit a level where you've got all your needs met, that it, it probably does flatline for some people. And I think that maybe it, it ceases to increase meaningfully because they're not exactly certain how to, you know, reach the next level or really what next level they're even shooting for.
Like, what exactly are they trying to, to accomplish here in the short term? Correct. And I, I, I think that what you're touching on really is just a broader concept of the fact that- You know, a dollar for one person is not the same as a dollar for another person. So what you're buying with that money matters.
Rachael: Right. Um, so there was this exercise that I had kind of come across where, uh, someone had [00:06:00] asked people to think like you have $5,000. They were trying to come up with an amount of money that is impactful and large, but not an amount of money that's gonna, you know, or shouldn't, you know, make you go broke.
Um, so you have $5,000, what are you spending it on? Yeah. Um, and some of the respondents were like, "Ooh, I'm gonna get that designer, you know, bag or dress or whatever it is that I've been thinking of." There were some people that were, you know, saying, "I'm going to, um, plan a vacation." Some people were like, "I'm gonna hire a maid for the year," whatever the case might be.
So being able to identify what you're spending the money on and why, being able to try to quantify like the happiness that's derived from that, um, becomes really important, 'cause they're all spending the same amount of money, but they're spending it very differently. Right. Um, so we had talked earlier, I'm gonna have you speak about this, about the research on experiential purchases versus- Material
materialistic. Yeah. Yeah. Experientials tends to be better, right? Yeah. When, when [00:07:00] we survey people, they value the experiences. There's a couple reasons. Mm-hmm. And some of it, some of it, I guess, researches, researchers have speculated, and I would speculate a bit, um, one of the things we were talking about, um, and Morgan Housel was talking about on his most recent podcast, is when you're planning a vacation, and you've planned your vacation, right?
Eric: Mm-hmm. So you're going to, you know, Disney in December, whatever it is. Also may or may not be true. May or may not. But, um, if y- that vacation in your mind, like you have, uh, the anticipation and your vision of the vacation before you even attend the vacation- Yeah ... brings you a significant amount of happiness.
Some people would say that they're, they're happier before they've taken the vacation- Mm-hmm ... than when they're on the vacation, right? And so that, that was what, um, Morgan Housel was saying is, is what he had found and what he had read was that most people derive a, a, a significant amount of joy from the planning of the vacation, the anticipation of the vacation.
Makes sense. Because a lot of it is you're envisioning the ideal version of what Disney World is, right? Like you're thinking about riding rides with- Yeah ... your family and your kids and, and everybody having a good time. You're not really thinking about like applying [00:08:00] the sunscreen and it dripping into your eye and waiting in the lines and then having to- Kids need a nap or whatever.
Yeah ... you know. Exactly, right? Like, so the, the, the actual minutiae of the day may not meet the expectations, but the idea is the anticipation itself is going to bring you a significant amount of happiness. Yeah. But also a lot of the happiness is coming from relational components. So you're deepening relationships with those close to you, and that is meaningful, right?
So like we're humans, we're social creatures- Mm-hmm ... and relationships are- It's really funny- ... going to be the found- ... hearing you say that I'm not. You are maybe, you know. But no, I, I- You are ... sometimes. It's been a work in progress. Yeah. Yeah, sometimes more than others. Um, no, I think that's, that's spot on. And I also think, you know, if I'm planning a vacation instead of buying, like, a designer handbag, that's a lot harder to compare to somebody else, right?
Rachael: Like, I think you have a harder time with the keeping- Oh, yeah ... up with the Joneses aspect of a vacation. Mm-hmm. Right? I mean, everyone's gonna post their Instagram-worthy photos and stuff, but you don't really know the [00:09:00] details behind their, um, vacation. But you do know the details behind their new remodeled bathroom that they're showing off when you go over to the house, right?
Eric: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So- No, that's true. I also- Yeah ... another brief, um, caveat there. Or it's not a caveat, just an interjection- Mm-hmm ... of thought, right? Is that humans are incredibly efficient at adapting to the, our experiences. You're right. And one of the way, uh, again, Morgan Housel, 'cause I just listened to the podcast on the way here, um, was talking about this.
He said that the first astronauts to land on the moon and walk on the moon, when they were orbiting the moon, I think, I, I forget who, which one of them remarked while he saw the moon outside of the vessel window, that he wa- he was used to it. He was like, "Oh yeah, it's the moon." It's not like, "Oh, that's crazy- He wasn't just like, "Aw"
that I'm," you know- Yeah ... thousands of yards from the moon. It was just like, "Yeah, that's it." You know what I mean? Like, we're just- Absolutely ... incredibly adaptive. And if you think about it in ter- Like, I mean, I could think about it from a new car purchase, right? Yeah. Like, we got... [00:10:00] We went from, what was it?
Like, a 2005 Honda CR-V, okay? To what, like, why can't we talk about this? To- This is great ... a two. To a 2023 Toyota Sienna. And, like, it was, like, a, you know, the, one of the extras fancy editions or whatever because it has all-wheel drive- There it is ... because snowboarding. Yeah, yeah. This is important. It's got all- This is very, this is vitally important to financial planning.
But the idea is you make that jump from, like, bare- AC barely works, you know? Like, the, the car's on its way out- That first week- ... to, like, a brand new. You're acutely- Yeah ... aware of the- You're like, "This is nice" ... massive upgrade that's taken place. Right. This drives so smooth. But coming to- Yeah. It's just, um- You're starting to -- It's just the van.
Are we taking- It's your new norm ... the van? It's your new baseline. Yeah. You adapt incredibly quickly, right? That's completely correct. So you get that brand-new piece of equipment. It's gonna be fantastic- Mm-hmm ... for 24 to 48 hours. Yeah. You know, maybe a little longer if you can. Maybe a month even. But at that point, it's just, it, now it's your equipment.
It's your thing. You know what I mean? I will say it's not until, like, remembering certain th- It's not unless you're, like, forcing yourself to remember- Yeah ... struggles you had- Exactly ... in the CR-V that you're [00:11:00] like, "I really appreciate this- Yeah, this is much better ... air conditioning working." Right. Right? Yeah.
Rachael: Um, and you know, I think that it goes to if you have $5,000 to spend, if you have $10,000 to spend, instead of this sole question being, "Can I afford a th-" You know, $5,000 vacation, it's like what does that $5,000 get me? Mm-hmm. Right? It's getting you more than a vacation. It should be getting you the things that you're envisioning about it, right?
Like quality time with your kids- Right ... awesome pictures and memories. Right. It might be getting the experience of riding the coolest ride you've ever ridden. That's a fair point. Um- And it's Guardians of the Galaxy, right? That is Guardians of the Galaxy. Yeah. Okay. Literally the only reason we are going to Disney, otherwise we would solely be at Universal.
Eric: That is correct. Yes. Um, so spending, I think oftentimes people- Act like spending is like the antithesis of financial planning. That financial planning is all about saving, it's all about, you know, [00:12:00] growing that number. Yeah. When in reality, financial planning is the tool to allow you to spend and, you know, identify those things that you, you really want.
Rachael: Sure. Your happiness, right? Um, so the most... I guess it wasn't the most surprising thing, but it's the least tangible thing, I think that kind of came up in these studies, was that where we saw the largest areas of fulfillment were when people were buying time. Um, and so- I can relate to that. Yeah. So the l- the, the largest areas, right, were in the areas where people bought happiness by buying time.
And what I mean by that is this study was done kind of inter- it wasn't hugely internationally, but it was done in like the United States, Canada, um, Denmark, Netherlands, and it was over 6,000 people, and they were given [00:13:00] $40 over two weekends. And in the first weekend they were told, "You have to spend your $40 on something materialistic," right?
So they might have bought, you know, a video game they wanted to play or a new headset or whatever the case may purse, whatever. In the second week, the restriction for the $40 was you had to buy or spend your money on a time-saving purchase. So what is a time-saving purchase? Um, we're talking things like hiring someone to mow the lawn that weekend, Uber Eats- That's great, by the way
right? Grocery delivery service. That has been a huge- Yes ... quality of life improvement for- Yes. Incredibly meaningful, yes ... for, uh, for him, which means for all of us. Mm-hmm. Um, but- That was a little- It's true ... wow. Hurts. It's, it's honest. But, um, you know, they wanted people to directly compare in a very easy kind of back-to-back experience, right?
Where their [00:14:00] happiness was with buying an item versus where their happiness was with buying time or a time-saving- Mm ... thing. And, um, universally across all of the countries, they found that buying time had a much higher score, uh, satisfaction or happiness score than buying an item. Yeah. What are your thoughts on that?
Eric: That makes a ton of sense. Yeah. Um, I mean, I think it's... I, I don't know that I would've... It makes a ton of sense in, in, in retrospect when you're, when you're presented with those facts. Mm-hmm. It's pretty easy to, you know, Monday morning quarterback here. But I, I don't know that I would've said that initially, but I think that it's, you know, having, you know, paid for someone to mow the lawn for us- Mm-hmm
after having done it myself for, I don't know, 5, 10 years or something- At least ... it's so much better. Like, not just, uh, for, for that specific activity, not having it looming. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, not having it, like, "Oh, it's Saturday afternoon or Sunday afternoon and I'm going back home and-" That's a really good point, that it removes the, like, thought or- Yeah, I-
Rachael: stress or just the mental load of carrying- Yeah ... the, knowing the task is there. I [00:15:00] think humans tend to procrastinate, and so- Yep ... you're putting off the, the thing that you don't really wanna do, and then you, you go back and do it. I'm not saying... Look, mowing the lawn for me is probably different than, than Person B.
Eric: I've, I've heard a ton of people take a lot of satisfaction in mowing their lawn with some headsets. It's their alone time. So that might not be- Right. So that's not you- Right ... and that's okay, and that's kind of the point here, right, is- You might hire the, someone to come do your dishes. Right. Right, right, but the idea is you're gaining some time back- Sure
that you can then spend autonomously in the way that you want, and I think that's kind of the point. For sure. And I think- You know, even knowing this, even with all of the studies done that demonstrate that, we're still finding, and a lot of the research was geared towards, okay, we know this is well-established that buying time back results in more happiness, and we're still seeing people consciously choose not to spend their money that way.
Rachael: And I think, you know, some of them- some of the researchers have hypothesized that it is because the lack of tangibility of that. Like, you don't have anything at the end that you can hold or show to friends- Yeah ... or whatever it is to [00:16:00] prove like, you know, you did something. I can, I can think about it as- in terms of, like, DoorDash or Uber Eats- Yep
Eric: in an, in an environment, not just because, like, you know, you... I, I guess it could also be because you're coming from a long day of work- Right ... and you just don't wanna go and get in the car and go pick up food or cook. Right. Right? So you're saving your time cooking. But also, like, I was thinking, I, I was envisioning it like you're hanging out with your friends- Yeah
and it's like 8:00, and you're like, "Hey, does everybody wanna go eat?" And it's like, "Well, no, we're, we're gaming," or- Yeah ... "We're doing whatever. You know, we're enjoying each other's company, and so we can just, you know, pay." If you have your CR-V, you probably don't have enough seats for all your friends to go out to eat.
That's the truth. I mean- But the idea is, yeah, you're, you're buying back your time, so you get- For sure ... you're maximizing your time with, and you're getting to enjoy the experience of being with your friends- For sure ... which is gonna have much higher, uh, impact on your happiness than would, you know, the, the $40 in your pocket.
Rachael: And I think that goes back to what you were talking about with financial independence, right? The idea that you get to choose what it is you're doing with your time. You have the funds to be able to say- Yeah ... "Hey, 20 minutes [00:17:00] of hanging out, watching, you know, LSU beat Clemson with my friends is far more enjoyable-" And they get kicked out of the SEC potentially.
Eric: Yeah. So there's that. That's true. But that, that is a more enjoyable experience for me than, you know, having all of them watch it and then me running down the street to go pick up pizza or whatever the case might be. And I think it becomes especially important when you're talking about these retirement years because you've spent your entire life leading up to this moment, so time is becoming far more precious.
Mm-hmm. Um, so having more control over your life at that point is crucial. Right. Um, so then one last aspect, right? There's... We talk about this with our clients, and we try to do it in a way that really reinforces that we don't have a judgment one way or another. Um, but we have to ask about, you know, what are your- Philanthropic interests.
Rachael: Correct. And studies have shown that gifting to or, uh, or assisting [00:18:00] people that you know, individuals that are close with you, individuals that you care about, whether it's your children, your friends, your- Mm-hmm ... you know, church or wh- whoever, results in far deeper happiness than contributing to You know, larger organizations I'm somewhat...
Eric: I'm not surprised that giving helps. I would be interested to see how much the closeness of the relationship and the visibility of the dollar spent actually matters for the happiness of the giver. Does that make sense? So, like, if I'm gonna give, if I'm gonna write a check to, you know, like, the American Red Cross or- Yeah
Cancer Research, what- whatever, any insert charity here. Right. Like f- qualified 501[c][3]. I give money to this qualified, you know, charity. Yeah. Do I... Am I happier if I can see how it's spent and how it's helping people- Yes ... versus not, right? Like, or what if I give it to, you know, my neighbor who I know- Mm-hmm
just lost their job- Yep ... and, you know, like, how does that compare? So the study- I'm interested ... did show that h- that being able to see a clear [00:19:00] positive impact mattered. Mm. And so the clarity with which you're able to see the fund usage was massive, and that was a big reason behind why. Like, you'll give it to these large organizations, and you may fully trust that their intentions are good and it's not gonna be misused and what have you.
Rachael: Right. But you still don't know if your dollars went to helping an individual or going towards cancer research- Sure ... or whatever the case might be. Um, so there's definitely some benefit there, but again, it really only comes if you're already inclined to be, you know, charitable. Um, and again, it doesn't necessarily just have to be in giving funds, but it could be in volunteering time, effort, other resources you already have.
Eric: Right. It doesn't solely just mean dollars. Um, so circling back and kind of wrapping all of this up in terms of retirement, I think that, you know, when you get to that point and you start being [00:20:00] very concerned with how much money do I need, um, what should my numbers be, if you haven't spent the time thinking about what you wanna do with that time or what, you know, funds you need, what you wanna be enabled for, right?
Rachael: Like, if you have your funds wagging the tail rather than your goals, it leads to really unhappy retirement, it suggests. Right. Yeah, I, I think that's probably right. So do you have any, like, takeaway thoughts, suggestions, anything that you would recommend to people looking at or approaching retirement to think about?
In terms of spending to increase their happiness I would say that while we can build beautiful financial plans with various probabilities of success, that the ultimate... Your, your ultimate happiness is gonna be derived by, by... We can't, we can't build that for you, right? Mm-hmm. So it re- requires some introspection.
Eric: You should probably be thinking about purpose, hobbies that you enjoy, time with [00:21:00] friends, and relationships, and how to best cultivate and develop those. Um, if you don't really know what you're retiring to, we often say, like, if you're retiring from something, like, that's all fine and good, but we need you to be retiring to something.
We need to have a clear vision of what we want retirement to look like. For sure. What does that day look like? What does that year look like? And, and how, you know, how do you see yourself in that role? A lot of people have a lot of purpose tied to their jobs professionally, right? Mm-hmm. So you'll hear a lot of stories about a doctor who's a very good, you know, surgeon, and he retires, and then he's, he goes back to work part-time because he's like, "I'm a surgeon."
That's funny. "I'm not a, I'm not a golfer." Yes. Like, um, you know, or whatever he tends to do. Like- It's true ... that's not me. Like- No ... yes, this lunch is delicious, and, like, the wine's great, but I'm not saving lives today, and that- The sense of purpose ... that leaves me with a sense of emptiness. Yeah. Right? So anyway, um, if you don't know what you're retiring to, then the money doesn't necessarily create the life that you imagined.
Rachael: Mm-hmm. That's, that's the long and short of it, I think. I love that. Exactly. So ultimately, money is a tool, and the question might be better framed less as does money buy happiness, and [00:22:00] more along the lines of, like, am I using my money in a way that actually makes my life better or a way that improves my satisfaction?
Um, and if the answer is no, then your job is to imagine $5,000- ... and what you would spend it on. It's not your whole retirement account. Right. But think about if you could spend $5,000 on anything you want, what would it be? Yeah. All right. Well, if you have any questions or feedback about this topic, um, or any other topics you'd like us to discuss, please reach out to us at podcast@equilibriumfp.com.
Eric: Thanks, guys. Till next time.
