Retirement Starts Today Helping Underspenders And "Savers" Understand They CAN Spend More
Jan 26, 2026
They explore why lifelong savers often fear spending in retirement and how psychology, not math, drives undersaving behavior. Psychological barriers covered include fear of dependence, doom forecasting, and saver identity. A practical “experiments” method is offered to test low-stakes spending decisions. There is also a clear breakdown of Medicare Parts B and D enrollment rules and penalties.
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Psychology Trumps The Spreadsheet
- Retirement decisions are often psychological rather than numerical, so spreadsheets alone don't fix underspending.
- Benjamin Brandt emphasizes that the brain that saves well may struggle to comfortably spend despite ample resources.
Three Emotional Barriers To Spending
- Common barriers to spending include fear of future dependence, doom forecasting, and identity tied to being a saver.
- These emotional factors make imagined worst-case scenarios feel more real than financial plans.
Loss Aversion Warps Spending Choices
- Loss aversion makes portfolio drops feel worse than the joy of spending, skewing decisions toward hoarding.
- Benjamin Brandt notes that the emotional pain of losses often outweighs equivalent spending pleasure.