why planning to work longer is not going to work (physically, social security)
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I never dressed up - or even wore makeup - at work, as I'm low-maintenance, and that was fine for my job; I wasn't in the public eye. There were people who were constantly buying a new wardrobe, paying for cut-and-color and mani/pedis, eating out every day or ordering in, leasing new cars every couple of years, and then complaining that they could never afford to retire. I'm sure they rationalized that all this was "necessary" for work, but of course it isn't really. As a life-long penny-pincher, I would explain how they could retire if they gave up x, y. and z; they weren't willing.
I have found that on the same budget our money seems to go further now than when I worked, even with the cost of everything going up. Sure I notice the price of hamburger at the grocery store but I never find myself short at the end of the week. Work costs are fairly substantial. From commuting costs, eating lunch out and the cost of suits and other work attire they all add up.
I have to be onsite for meetings twice this week. I had to throw a couple pairs of slacks and golf polos in the washing machine and iron them because they were dusty from sitting in the closet unused for so long.
I haven't "gone to work" with any regularity in five years. I'd probably need to spend a few hundred dollars just on new clothes and shoes if I went back to the office full-time.
I have found that on the same budget our money seems to go further now than when I worked, even with the cost of everything going up. Sure I notice the price of hamburger at the grocery store but I never find myself short at the end of the week. Work costs are fairly substantial. From commuting costs, eating lunch out and the cost of suits and other work attire they all add up.
Commuting was $400+ a month for me when I retired in 2016. Now back to work FT for a while, between the senior fare, about half price, for the train, and the miracle of hybrid/3 days in office, 2 wfh, it's not nearly as painful.
We get the majority of our clothes from Walmart - shorts, pants, tops, polos, button down shirts, dress pants, etc. That goes for many of our shoes, especially sandals and flip flops, too. As long as they fit right, who cares?
I do wear light makeup every day and have for years - it's an ingrained habit. But all of my makeup, aside from my BB cream, is stuff that you can get from any grocery store. I do my own (box) hair color, too. I can count on one hand how many times I've had a professional mani/Pedi.
I'm fairly minimal maintenance. My husband and sons have never been caught up in brand names, either.
Some buy a winter snow ski pass. All is fairly inexpensive for locals though the world class ski resorts charge up the rear for the tourists or part timers...
Business casual when not meeting with the public is not very exciting where I work. Everything is really so different than it was in the 90's and early 2000's. Of course, when you work in high tech clothes are hardly the point. I remember it being more collegiate (as Serious Conversation points to khaki pants and polo shirts). I had to dress better than that in oil and gas and it might have just been more conservative there. Accountants used to wear dress shirts and dress slacks (and even suits) up through the 80's and 90's. I remember business casual just being khaki's and a blazer (more relaxed, but, not necessarily cheaper). Then clothing got way cheaper somewhere along the way. I dressed better as a clerk at city hall in the 90's because I had 1,000's of the public daily (in an upper middle class community). I worked with a lot of upper middle class people in the Bay Area. A lot of the wives of corporate men worked at city hall. City hall paid my tuition and books for night school and was a very social place to work (a lot of expectations for involvement).
I used to always pick up a couple of nice pieces a year to add. I think I maybe only stopped doing that during the pandemic. My neighbor had already decluttered her clothing when she retired. Then, after 8 years in retirement she said she had to get her boyfriend's truck she had so much she was finally letting go of -- LOL. I noticed she lets her clothes get way older and more worn in retirement. She's very conscientious and was always very attractive. But, the more time goes by she's kind of accepting the aging process better. She does not complain about her hair and wrinkles the way she once did. I am kind of that way for the last few years; but, I imagine I will put more effort into all of that once retired. It hadn't happened for a long time and then one weekend on separate days two individuals thought I was way younger than my age (by 10-15 years). My hair is only 10% gray (still). One day it's just going to hit and I will age 20 years overnight. LOL
It's the time. Time is not on our side as we age past 45. We have done a proverbial turn so to speak once we reached 45 and on our way back in this circle of life and death.
There are two kinds of money. The physical money that we earn be it from working or investing that we can use to pay for expenses or leave to the kids and grandkids as legacy money. And then there is the intangible money that we earn based on doing the things we want to do before we expire/complete the circle.
The 2 are in conflict for majority of people -- the higher the physical money, the less the intangible money one earns, and vice versa, the higher the intangible money, the less the physical money is earned. Therefore, one must seek to strike a balance in the latter 45 years of life.
The problem is not many people has the concept of the intangible money. Thus, they work only for that they can grasp -- the physical, which leads to more time working and less time doing what they want.
One must sweeten the soul by finding the balance. It will be different for all of us but yet, there is a need to.
In retirement you often must spend some of the physical money to pay for the intangible.
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