My husband, on the other hand, has been saving for retirement since the day he had to start working in high school.<\/p>\n
Our different attitudes might make us sound like a mismatch \u2014 but instead, I think we’ve taught each other a lot.<\/p>\n
My husband and I have very different approaches to saving money<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
My husband hopes to follow in his parents’ footsteps and retire young.<\/p>\n
Ashley Archambault<\/p>\n
Many Americans retire in their mid-to-late 60s, when they can enjoy benefits like Medicare, but my husband has always wanted to follow in his parents’ footsteps and retire in his early 50s.<\/p>\n
To work toward this goal, he’s always put the maximum amount possible into his retirement accounts, and he’s careful about saving as much money as he can.<\/p>\n
At 40, he knows he doesn’t want to be a full-time teacher for much longer. He has a lot of dreams for how his retirement will look: He might switch to a part-time job in a field he’s passionate about, maybe something in our county’s parks and recreation department.<\/p>\n
We’ve also discussed opening a small caf\u00e9<\/a> together \u2014 something we’ve always dreamed of doing. These kinds of pursuits could provide us with some extra income while helping us stay connected to our community.<\/p>\n I know my husband is looking forward to this next chapter, but even an early retirement would be a decade away. In the meantime, I don’t want my husband to wait to enjoy small luxuries, like fun trips and nice meals out, because he’s so focused on saving for a future we aren’t promised.<\/p>\n Though I appreciate that he tries to save so much, I’ve shown him how nice it is to spend \u2014 taking that extra vacation, eating out a little more often, or even splurging on some of my favorite groceries<\/a>. All of these are experiences that he now believes are worth the money.<\/p>\n To me, being able to improve the quality of our lives with these small luxuries now outweighs any concerns about not saving enough for retirement. <\/p>\n I’ve taught my husband to live in the moment, and he’s helped me plan for the future<\/p>\n I believe my husband and I have learned a lot from each other’s approaches.<\/p>\n Ashley Archambault<\/p>\n I’ve always been cautious of saying I’ll do something “one day,” because I am afraid of not making it to that day.<\/p>\n I want to seize the moment, whereas my husband is steadfastly thinking of the future \u2014 but I think our differing values help us balance each other out.<\/p>\n My husband’s responsibility has always been an attractive quality to me. His plans for the future make me feel safe, because I do sometimes worry about not having anything saved up myself.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n