Living for the Now: Should You Max Out Your Retirement Account or Spend Your Money?

We’re absolutely going to start with some context. First: this is not personal advice tailored to you or your situation. It’s an opinion. If you have surplus funds and you’re maxing out your retirement accounts while also investing elsewhere, please proceed and feel free to stop reading now.

But if you’re maxing out your retirement account and not investing anywhere else, this might be for you. Or if you’re like me in my early days, deep in the personal finance corners of the internet and quietly carrying guilt for not prioritizing retirement above all else, then this piece is definitely for you.

Okay. Disclaimers aside.

I genuinely don’t believe everyone needs to max out their retirement accounts.

This belief really solidified for me after advising clients who were approaching retirement age. You know the message we’ve all been fed: always save for tomorrow. Or capitalism’s favorite promise, work for forty-five years and you’ll be rewarded with a comfortable retirement. That mindset was largely rooted in the era of pensions, when companies actually provided consistent income in retirement as a reward for decades of loyalty. Pensions are mostly gone. In their place are 401(k)s.

That shift transferred the responsibility from employers to employees, and honestly, I don’t hate it. I can move companies when I want and take my money with me. I get to choose how much I contribute and what level of risk I’m comfortable with. As someone who’s had roughly four different careers, that flexibility has worked in my favor. Now, back to the clients.

I met many of them at year forty… plus one day. They had done the hard part. They worked for the majority of their lives and were finally ready to step into their “golden years.” They had the money. I ran the plans. On paper, everything looked great. But when the conversation shifted to their dream retirement, many of them hesitated. They talked about wanting to travel but weren’t sure it was a good idea. Some were paralyzed by the fear of spending too much and running out of money. Others felt financially secure, but physical aches and pains made long flights or bucket-list hikes feel far less appealing than they once imagined.

After enough of those conversations, my philosophy fundamentally changed.

Around the same time, I read Die With Zero by Bill Perkins, a book I highly recommend. He makes a compelling argument for spending money while you’re healthy, rather than waiting until your accounts feel “big enough.” Which brings me back to the point of this post: If maxing out your retirement account leaves you with zero discretionary money, I’d argue you should reconsider the contribution amount.

If your goal is absolute retirement security and you’re willing to sacrifice enjoyment now, that’s a valid choice. But if there are trips you want to take, experiences you want to have, or life goals you don’t want to postpone indefinitely, I’d argue that spending on those now may be just as important as maximizing future dollars for your geriatric years.

This also isn’t a zero-sum game.

The benefits of retirement accounts are often tax-driven (happy to explain this more if you want). But you can still invest and grow wealth outside of retirement accounts. Personally, I like investing in a brokerage account because if I decide I want to retire at 50 instead of 60, I can access my money without penalties. I want options. And as long as there’s enough going into a 401(k), time and compounding returns will still do their thing.

The time to hike Machu Picchu and stand in awe of Patagonia is when my knees are in their prime. I’ll save the river cruises for my seventies. If you’re struggling to figure out how much to contribute, where to invest, or how to balance future security with a life that feels aligned with your values now, you don’t have to navigate that alone. Sometimes it just takes a neutral third party to help you pressure test the numbers and make intentional choices. If that’s something you need support with, feel free to reach out—I’m always happy to help you think it through.