Mel Abraham on why retirees can't spend money they spent decades saving. About one-third hoard their wealth entirely, leaving trips untaken and help unprovided. The brain resists that first withdrawal, treating savings like museum pieces instead of tools for living.
A third of retirees saved their whole lives for a life they never let themselves live. The trips that were never taken, the help never given, the memories they never got made because the money that was supposed to fund them sat in an account untouched, guarded like a museum piece. You spent 30, maybe 40 years training for the wrong event. Then one day you retire. And everyone expects you to just flip the switch and spend it now. But your brain looks at that first withdrawal and starts to scream. The wiring is too deep. You need a different approach.
