Mel Abraham says a third of retirees never spend the money they saved. After 40 years of not touching it, their brain treats withdrawal like a threat. The money sits untouched because the habit of saving runs too deep to break.
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.
