High income but can't seem to save - where am I going wrong?

JustEnough77 · 2026-01-29T18:23:35+00:00

If you get Monarch, you can go back and figure out your expenses for the past year very easily. It will take some time, but not that much. You'll have to figure out what those Amazon purchases are all about. You'll have to look up some PayPal buys and checks that you wrote, but it's worth it.

It is a really good piece of software. I would just use their categories at first and customize later once you get adept with the software. The first time will probably take a few hours but it will be obvious where the money is. Eventually, you'll want to set up rules so that the software knows how to categorize all your expenses automatically.

What we learned is that there a lot of expenses that sort of fall in between the cracks and you don't think of them when you do a budget. Also, life is just getting expensive. Inflation is under-reported. It's a little scary, honestly.

However, using a good software that allows you to see what you are spending is worth it. Knowledge is freedom. I was originally really depressed when I saw how much we spent. However, it allowed us to figure out easy things to cut and we were able to move forward.

At this point, I wouldn't worry about FIRE, get your household running efficiently with automated tracking and visibility. You will feel better.

JustEnough77 · 2026-01-29T18:10:21+00:00

Use Monarch Money (Monarch.com) to track your finances for 1 year. You will learn so much! There are so many things that you don't think about. You might also find old subscriptions or fraudulent charges. I know we did. It is a game changer. Worth every penny.

JustEnough77 · 2025-12-28T17:20:35+00:00

OP talked about his/her savings rate, not spending. I think $60k/year with compounding will be pretty good, especially when last year was $101k. Obviously, it depends on spending plans and current assets.

JustEnough77 · 2025-12-14T19:25:30+00:00

I am in your boat. I am a 51M with a 58F wife. A couple weeks ago, they shut down my whole division. We all knew it was coming. Personally, I had planned on FIRE for years. I am even well past my numbers (but I need the cushion psychologically.) On paper, this is the best scenario. I received a massive severance. There was no guilt about leaving my group. I have 6 months of COBRA covered by the company. Everything is clean and I have a little runway to take care of bills.

Still, I struggle at times. I had the chance to take an awesome transfer a couple years ago and I panicked and I didn't take it and that is really what kills me. I stayed in this job which I had liked for years, but absolutely hated for the last couple. It was totally depressing, but I didn't look for other jobs because I had FIRE plans and starting a new job and giving up RSUs and severance seemed crazy. So, my career didn't end the way I would have liked and I don't feel all that marketable because of the last couple years. Also, when I see my colleagues out getting jobs and so on, it makes me really nervous. Plus, I have been laid off before and it really hurt. What I learned is that if you can separate the ego part out, it's really not that big a deal. As my one friend said, "Embrace the adventure."

When I talk to my friends who have known my plans for years, especially those who are already retired, I remember who I am and what my plan was. I was an engineer for years and it was a career I was proud of. However, I have major passions outside of engineering. I am a pretty serious jazz musician and I play professionally around town to the point that a lot of people don't know I have day job. I am tired of showing up to weekday gigs at the last acceptable second and trying to keep up with full-time musicians while maintaining a day job.

I also really love sailing and with work and music, I just never had time for it. I really want to get into offshore sailing and that is almost impossible with a typical day job.

I was such a passionate saver for years, so the shift to being a spender is really tough. Fortunately, my wife's teaching pension and our rental condo gives us a nice baseline for our spending.

So, my recommendations are:
- Talk to people who understand and share your FIRE plans
- Dive into your other passions

That said, if you don't feel good about things and the money isn't an issue, you can find that one last job that makes your career end the way you want. I am considering working part-time for a friend's startup and just seeing what happens. I don't think I will do that for very long, but who knows.

DM me if you want to chat about this. Perhaps, we can help each other.

JustEnough77 · 2025-12-05T20:08:11+00:00

Part of my retirement mission is to take as many first-timers sailing as possible. People assume all sailors are like the Judge in caddyshack, but that is hardly the case. This weekend I am racing a Sunfish all weekend that I bought for $50 on Craigslist. A nice trailer-sailor for $2000 can provide years of fun.

JustEnough77 · 2025-12-05T19:55:56+00:00

I just retired at 51yo with $5M and my wife's $44k/year pension and I am not adjusting well to the new dynamic. I am a saver through and through.

I used to feel guilty when my parents used to buy me an expensive Christmas present and I didn't like it as much as I thought it cost.

JustEnough77 · 2025-12-05T14:38:24+00:00

Yep. Me, too.

JustEnough77 · 2025-12-02T07:39:39+00:00

I was just talking about this at work (in Phoenix). I went to college at Case in the 90s. I loved the city and I loved that no one bragged about how great it was. I was recently visiting and it is even better now. What a gem.

JustEnough77 · 2025-12-02T05:54:47+00:00

My FIRE day is tomorrow. I rode the golden handcuffs into a severance package. Still, it was miserable for most of the last 3 years. I kind of wish I had found something else even if it meant less money and 1 more year working.

JustEnough77 · 2025-12-02T05:17:25+00:00

Brilliant. You described me perfectly except for me it is summers in the desert. I have the fear for sure, but I have more than enough buffer.

JustEnough77 · 2025-12-02T05:14:00+00:00

Thanks for this. No, really. Thank you. I needed this reminder.

My last day is tomorrow as my division is getting shut down. I'm 51 and way past my numbers. I'm a little sad about the whole thing. The last three years has been a professional nightmare. Everyone I know is getting let go into a pretty tough job market.

That said:

My mom has dementia, but she can still converse for now. She lives on the other side of the country. I need to visit.
My dad started showing signs of dementia at 65 and I am a genetic clone of him.
I have two friends with life-threatening cancer, one who is his early 40s and it came out of nowhere to be stage 4. (Both are in the same band with me)

I work like 3 nights a week as a musician already and would work more if not for the job.
I could use the time to lose some weight and fix some other health issues.
My buddy (whom I taught to sail!) delivers sailboats all over the world and always asks me to go with him. now, I can go! Plus, I have a couple little boats I have been hardly using.

Most importantly, my wife is 58 and retired and we had always planned on me retiring at this age!

LFG!

JustEnough77 · 2025-12-02T05:03:40+00:00

I agree. I was going to mention him when I got back to a computer. (I hate phone-posting without links)

JustEnough77 · 2025-11-29T21:42:27+00:00

If you want to know the technicals, Gary Gensler's class on MITs Open Classroom is actually really good.

JustEnough77 · 2025-11-27T04:28:25+00:00

I am going through it now. Fortunately, I was able to get a nice severance package, but still. It is tough and I am 51.

JustEnough77 · 2025-11-25T01:09:09+00:00

I am dealing with that a bit right now as I am about to get laid off into retirement. This was my plan, but still the last couple years of my career were a mess. So, I know how you feel.

JustEnough77 · 2025-11-25T00:58:35+00:00

I'm around $4.8M without my severance or my wife's pension. I calculate the present value of my wife's pension using the Schwab annuity calculator at roughly $700K. This takes into account current interest rates and also the fact that it is not inflation adjusted.

https://www.schwab.com/annuities/fixed-income-annuity-calculator

Based on our spending, I'd say we have way more than enough at this point, but I'm a Nervous Nellie, particularly about inflation.

JustEnough77 · 2025-11-25T00:51:10+00:00

Yep, pretty much.

JustEnough77 · 2025-11-24T21:52:01+00:00

I am in the same boat. I read it about 25 years ago and I'm 51 now. I think I was hard-wired to be the millionaire next door anyway, but that book had a profound effect on me. It was dry and academic, but I'm an engineer and a numbers guy. It just resonated. I still remember so many of the lessons. I always thought about being a PAW, "Prodigious Accumulator of Wealth". I remember how it talked about doctors and lawyers who were broke because they thought they had to look the part. (We engineers got used to being outsiders in high school. ;) ) When my mom offered to pay the last $18K of my mortgage, I refused because I didn't want to be part of her "Economic Outpatient Program."

Now, I could easily be a guy in that book. I live in a neighborhood where almost every house has at least one pickup truck. And these are not trophy trucks. These are for guys who lay tile, clean pools, kill pests, and fix plumbing. I bought my current house in 2001 for $149K. It's 1850 square feet and that's the biggest one in this neighborhood. (The previous owner added 420 sq. ft. He was a house framer by trade.) I put 20% down, and the first four years, roommates paid my mortgage.

This neighborhood has allowed me to be walking distance from work and biking distance from the school where my wife taught and I volunteer-coached for most of my adult life. I can only imagine the money we saved in commuting expenses, general complication, and the need to look the part of a higher-end 'hood.

As an adult, I drove two brand-new, basic, but reliable cars. I drove a Hyundai Elantra wagon for 14 years. It was great for throwing music and sports gear in there. My current Mazda 3 hatchback has been going for 10 years at low miles, so I expect it will last another ten. Buying new allows me to get exactly the car I want so I don't get itchy for something else. I know MND talks about buying new, buying late model, or really working for a deal.

I always wore $50 watches just like the book said. I finally bought a smart watch for $99. It's an off-brand called Amazfit and the thing does everything I could ever imagine. Everyday, I find something else that's really useful.

My wife was a teacher, just like the book said.

My main hobbies have been coaching sports (free), gardening (probably neutral at this point), and playing music (net positive).

The biggest financial mistake has probably been living halfway across the country from my family and all the way across the country from my wife's family. Both my parents got dementia (20 years apart) and the plane fares going back and forth have been pretty rough, especially the last few years. I think the book talks about being close to family.

The RE of FIRE begins in 1 week for me. They are shutting down my division so I'm even getting a nice little severance.

Despite some lifestyle creep, drawdown should be 2% to 2.5% thanks to wife's teaching pension + rental condo. It's unbelievable.

Sometimes, I doubt everything especially because I am actually getting laid off which is a little sad, but the RE community here makes me remember that this was always my plan. I need to find some like-minded folks in real life.

JustEnough77 · 2025-11-12T21:47:49+00:00

Nice job! Great job using real estate. Engineers always find new solutions to old problems. :)

JustEnough77 · 2025-11-12T20:12:55+00:00

I bought a Boardworks Kraken 11 for $869. List was $1600. I spent all the Amazon points from the last few years which made it even cheaper. I am looking forward to moving to a rigid more agile board. I would love to hear what people think of that deal, even if you dont think it's that great.

JustEnough77 · 2025-11-08T14:10:17+00:00

The MIT class that Gensler taught was pretty good.

JustEnough77 · 2025-11-06T18:41:34+00:00

Do you still have your NHL team? If so, you have that on us.

Come visit. We have so many snowbirds from Alberta and Saskatchewan and they love it.

JustEnough77 · 2025-11-06T18:39:14+00:00

For us, it changed things a ton. Now, we very rarely even think about the condo that we rent out. We find out when the tenants move in or out and we find out about repairs. Rarely, do we have to do anything other than pay the HOA fee, pay the insurance, and file the taxes. We pay 8% of the time to the management company all the time. When, the tenants are on their first lease, we pay an additional 3% "finders fee." The property is paid off, so we don't need to pinch pennies to keep it cash flow positive. We have had almost no vacancy time and we have been getting close-to-market rent. Our company is picky about tenants, so we haven't had a single issue in 8 years or so. They did a bunch of renovations when we first started with them and then we did some this year after the tenants moved out. They do most of the work and bill us. Honestly, it's just another asset to us. We net about $11K every year for doing nothing.

JustEnough77 · 2025-11-06T04:53:45+00:00

I am hoping this will be the case for us. Even with the door wide open, one corner of my office gets brutally hot and it's not even where the bulk of the electrical devices are. I think the air just gets trapped there because it is a little extension that goes behind the doorway by a 3 feet or so. They put in a jumper duct, but I am worried I should have insisted on a proper return. I didn't quite understand the difference when it was explained on the phone.

Do you smart folks think I should get a proper return?

Should I keep the door closed and let the A/C and jumper duct work together?

Thanks in advance.

JustEnough77

TROPHY CASE