There is no such thing as an objective level of wealth. Everything is relative to something else. People look around and say, “What’s that person driving, where are they living, what kind of clothes are they wearing?” Aspirations are calibrated accordingly.

What kind of questions are you asking to support your financial success? Historian Cyril Parkinson coined a thing called Parkinson’s Law of Triviality. It states: “The amount of attention a problem gets is the inverse of its importance.” Is that how it is in your household?

Consider how you felt when you got your first paycheck from your first job. If you celebrated with as little as a milkshake from Denny’s you probably had a joyous feeling of, “I did this. I bought this with my own money.” Going from not being able to buy anything to being able to buy something is an amazing feeling. The gap between struggle and reward is a big part of what makes people happy…

If you were asked, “How much is the home worth where you formed your memories?” or “How much does staying in your current city impact your income?” We could probably spit out a dollar figure with ease. Understanding the difference between the value of your memories and the value of a physical object can explain a lot of spending decisions.

If you’ve developed a process of living below your income and saving money, you deserve congratulations. You might also find that you cannot stop being careful, tracking your spending, and continuing to save well beyond the time you need to do that. Do you still deserve congratulations if you cannot stop that habit in your retirement years? Isn’t that the time to start spending your assets?