I’m in my 60s and well-off. So why am I so reluctant to spend money?

June 23, 2026 — 1:51pm

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I’m in my 60s. After a lifetime of working hard, doing all the right things – saving, investing, being diligent in managing my finances – I’m in a comfortable place. The house is paid off, there is enough in super. We’re doing well, we have enough. But I still find myself reluctant to spend the money. I’m still second-guessing reasonable expenses – do I need this, should I go for the cheaper option? I tell myself I’m being responsible, I don’t want to waste or squander money even if we have it. But I can also see the futility of having built wealth only to never spend it. How do I feel OK about spending more?

It sounds like, until now, the north star financially has been wealth accumulation. Naturally, this means that “success” looks like the numbers going up – the savings, investments, net-worth etc.

When this is the main goal, there’s only one scenario in which the numbers going down feels aligned with your north star – and that is taking on “good debt” for wealth creation.

Other than this, all spending feels like it’s against your primary goal. Because logically, mathematically, it is. Every dollar you spend is a dollar that hasn’t been saved or invested.

So, you end up evaluating every expense against your goal. Often, the measure........

© The Age