People work hard for decades to maintain their desired lifestyle during their active work years and post-retirement. While retirement can appear as the perfect time to splurge on items and activities from one’s dream list, not all purchases generate the desired happiness and excitement. In fact, some supposedly dream purchases quickly turn to frustration, making boomers regret those purchases in retirement. Here’s a list of 12 such purchases.
Expensive Recreational Vehicles (RVs)
While fancy RVs can be on the top of some retiree’s dream purchase list, there are enough reasons why you shouldn’t buy them in retirement. Maintaining these vehicles isn’t cheap and can quickly deplete your retirement savings. For example, the average cost to fill up a 100-gallon RV is approximately $400. Taking your RV on long-distance travel alone creates gas bills equivalent to monthly home mortgage amounts. Finding appropriate parking according to the vehicle’s size is another considerable challenge.
Boats
Retirees often regret their high-end boat purchase because managing it is far more expensive than initial calculations. Costs like insurance, docking fees, regular cleaning & maintenance, fuel, etc., can quickly drain your savings. Managing a boat can become physically and mentally taxing for most retirees if they don’t have enough finances to hire trained staff for proper upkeep and maintenance.
Luxury Cars
A luxury car comes with several expensive payments, such as insurance, gas, repairs, maintenance, etc. Recalling the personal experience, a retiree shared how all these expenses burned his retirement savings faster than he imagined. Besides cost hurdles, this purchase seems impractical since the retirement lifestyle may not require such vehicles because of reduced traveling needs or simply not wanting to drive anymore.
Large Luxurious Homes
Living in a large luxurious home can look dreamy, but the experience can quickly become daunting and overwhelming for retirees. Here’s the thing with large luxurious homes – they’re challenging to maintain and require hefty recurring investments for upkeep. If you plan to live in a mansion during your golden years, you must be willing to spend $1.8 million/year just for the housing staff. Additional expenses, such as high utility bills, property taxes, etc., can eat away at your retirement savings, leaving you struggling with bill payments.
Timeshares
Investing in timeshares can be a bad financial purchase for many retirees because it restricts their travel plans and schedules. Investing in timeshares doesn’t appear logical unless you want to travel in the same location every time. Since multiple people own a fraction of the vacation property, not utilizing the place during your designated time can lead to wasted money. Owners are also asked to pay an annual maintenance fee, which can increase over time. Since these properties don’t have value in secondary markets, selling them becomes a nightmare.
Designer Clothing & Accessories
Retirees often regret buying designer clothes and accessories because they don’t go outside or attend parties as frequently as they did during their active working years. Their social circle and lifestyle preferences change during retirement, making many of these purchases irrelevant. A survey revealed that retirees spend merely 30 minutes a day socializing with others, while most of the time was spent indoors performing any leisure activity. It highlights the reduced need to invest in designer clothes and accessories, making many regret their purchases.
Private Club Memberships
Retirees buying private club memberships don’t use it as planned. Some retirees have limited usage because of mobility issues, while others may lose interest in the activities organized in these clubs. One of the biggest reasons that converts these purchases into regrets is the membership’s exit rules. Some clubs may tell you to finish one calendar year before discontinuing, put you through strict eligibility criteria to receive a refund, and even require you to attract a certain number of paying members for each member to resign. It can collectively make the experience frustrating and financially draining for most.
Expensive Hobby Equipment
Retirement years give people the much-needed time they always wanted to indulge in any activity they like. Many retirees plan to practice their favorite hobby during retirement and purchase expensive hobby equipment without any second thought. However, many of these purchases sit in a corner, gathering dust for several reasons. People’s hobbies change with time, so it is highly likely that retirees may quickly lose interest in a hobby they once loved. A survey revealed that most retirees prefer spending their time sleeping, watching TV, reading, etc. Hobby had no place on the list, highlighting the insignificance of expensive hobby equipment.
Collectibles & Memorabilia
Unless you’re buying collectibles and memorabilia out of passion and extreme love for a particular niche, purchasing these items will always translate to financial regret. Some retirees begin buying collectibles with hopes of selling them for an attractive profit margin in the future. While some get lucky, most don’t. Spending significant money on these items may also lead to zero returns. The accompanying expenses, storage, and maintenance hassles can worsen the financial situation.
High-end Home Renovations
Every person wants to live in a well-furnished and well-maintained home during retirement, but careless spending on high-end home renovations can often lead to financial regrets. A survey of nearly 1,000 homeowners revealed that 74% have renovation regrets. While the survey wasn’t exclusive to retirees, it shares common sentiments between homeowners of all ages. 24% of those surveyed said they’ve spent too much money on renovation, which could have been avoided.
Exotic Pets
Retirees often regret getting exotic pets because they’re far more challenging to maintain than non-exotic ones. Instead of making good companions, exotic pets can affect your lifestyle and retirement savings in multiple ways. First, they require special care, housing, diet, and maintenance that an average person cannot provide. Secondly, these animals are not accustomed to living in ordinary home environments, making them potentially dangerous for everyone around.
Home Gyms
Fitness is one of the primary focus areas of most retirees during their golden years, so they often invest in home gyms to maintain good health. However, it isn’t a financially viable purchase for most. Unless you use the gym regularly to train yourself, the significant investment can be entirely wasted. Additional factors that make retirees regret this purchase are space consumption, constant equipment maintenance, lack of motivation due to solo training, and limited equipment variety. A gym membership can become a better purchase for retirees than setting up a home gym.
