![\"Spending](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/340313104522a93c6af46b1163f9d8d0.png\")
Spending retirement savings <\/p>\n Spending retirement savings <\/p>\n
For decades, Kevin did exactly what financial advisers say the general public should do: work hard, stay out of debt and save consistently for retirement.<\/p>\n
By the time he called into The Ramsey Show (1), the Atlanta electrician had done all of it. After 35 years of marriage and a lifetime working in construction, Kevin and his wife had built a nest egg of about US$1.7 million (C$2.3 million).<\/p>\n
Yet instead of feeling relieved as retirement approached, he felt anxious.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy question is a little more psychological than financial,\u201d Kevin told host Dave Ramsey during the call. \u201cIt\u2019s just there\u2019s something in my head about seeing those savings going the other direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kevin, who planned to retire around age 66, said he and his wife expected to bring in about US$96,000 (C$131,000) a year in income. Their home still carried a mortgage, but their financial outlook appeared stable. In fact, he admitted they may never need to touch their investment principal unless a major medical issue arose.<\/p>\n
Still, the idea of spending their savings \u2014 even small amounts \u2014 made him uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
Ramsey described Kevin as a classic example of a self-made millionaire.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t feel like a millionaire, do you?\u201d Ramsey asked during the call.<\/p>\n
Kevin quickly answered no.<\/p>\n
Many retirees face the \u201cretirement spending paradox (2),\u201d which is the challenge of switching mentally from saving money to spending it after decades of disciplined accumulation.<\/p>\n
In Canada, 70% of Canadians report having negative feelings (3) about their RRSP contributions, even though their intention to save and grow their nest egg remains steadfast.<\/p>\n
Once retirement begins, however, the financial equation flips. Instead of adding money to accounts, retirees must begin withdrawing from them \u2014 a phase financial planners call decumulation.<\/p>\n
For lifelong savers, that shift can feel deeply unsettling. A study found that 6 in 10 Canadians (4) are afraid they will outlive their retirement savings.<\/p>\n
Even when retirement projections show their portfolios are sustainable, retirees may worry about market downturns, rising health-care costs or simply running out of money.<\/p>\n
Longevity also plays a role. According to data from Statistics Canada (5), Canadians are living longer than previous generations, with life expectancy now extending into the mid-80s on average. For healthy couples retiring at 65, there is a strong probability that at least one spouse will live into their 90s (6).<\/p>\n
Story Continues <\/p>\n
That long time horizon can make retirees hesitant to spend too quickly.<\/p>\n
Read more: The ultra-rich are bailing on volatile stocks right now \u2014 these 4 shockproof assets are their new safe havens<\/a><\/p>\n Ramsey\u2019s advice to Kevin focused on a simple concept: practice.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve spent 66 years building up one muscle \u2014 you\u2019re saving muscle,\u201d Ramsey told him.<\/p>\n Instead of making drastic financial changes, Ramsey suggested starting small.<\/p>\n He asked Kevin how much he typically spends on a cruise vacation. Kevin estimated about US$4,000 (C$5,469).<\/p>\n Ramsey\u2019s assignment was simple: double it.<\/p>\n \u201cI want you to plan to spend $8,000 on a cruise this year,\u201d Ramsey said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got $1.7 million. I didn\u2019t even take the sweat off your interest.\u201d<\/p>\n With a portfolio of that size, Ramsey argued, occasional larger purchases would barely affect the couple\u2019s long-term finances.<\/p>\n He offered another example: Kevin had mentioned wanting a high-end woodworking tool that cost just over US$3,000.<\/p>\n \u201cPerfect,\u201d Ramsey replied. \u201cYou didn\u2019t tell me $300,000.\u201d<\/p>\n After years of disciplined saving, retirees may need to learn to enjoy their money intentionally.<\/p>\n Financial planners often recommend creating a structured withdrawal strategy to ease the psychological transition into retirement.<\/p>\n One widely known guideline is the 4% rule (7), which suggests retirees can withdraw roughly 4% of their portfolio in the first year of retirement \u2014 adjusting for inflation in future years \u2014 while maintaining a strong chance their savings will last about 30 years.<\/p>\n Others prefer a \u201cbucket strategy (8),\u201d dividing retirement savings into separate pools for short-term spending, medium-term investments and long-term growth.<\/p>\n The goal is to make spending part of the plan.<\/p>\n Without that structure, retirees may fall into the opposite problem: accumulating wealth but never using it to enjoy the retirement they spent decades preparing for.<\/p>\n Ramsey encouraged Kevin to broaden his perspective beyond personal spending.<\/p>\n \u201cFind somebody to give some money to,\u201d he suggested. \u201cIncrease your generosity level.\u201d<\/p>\n For Canadians approaching retirement milestones, the lesson may be simple but powerful: financial success isn\u2019t just about accumulating wealth \u2014 it\u2019s also about learning to use it with confidence.<\/p>\n We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Ramsey Show (1<\/a>); Brief Glance (2<\/a>, 3<\/a>); Benefits and Pensions Monitor (4<\/a>); Statistics Canada (5<\/a>); Fidelity (6<\/a>); CHIP Reverse Mortgage (7<\/a>); The Globe and Mail (8<\/a>)<\/p>\n This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spending retirement savings For decades, Kevin did exactly what financial advisers say the general public should do: work…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[28,9567,155,12970,147,530,1666,1048,2897,724],"class_list":["post-539903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-canadians","tag-dave-ramsey","tag-kevin","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-retirement","tag-retirement-savings","tag-spending","tag-warren-buffett"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}