I was thinking about my decision two years ago after watching The New Yorker’s short-animated piece, “The Dream of Finishing One To-Do List” (also known as a retirement plan). The film uses the seemingly simple idea of a man planning what to do after he retires. This Oscar-nominated short story by Irish director John Kelly, with an introduction by David Sedaris—narrated by Domhnall Gleeson—actually presents a profound point about life, time, and human priorities.
The film is based on a man named Ray and Kelly focuses on his life not in terms of what he achieved, but in what he did not achieve. Ray fantasizes about all the things he’ll do after he eventually stops working — like reading saved articles, learning to meditate, hiking, writing poetry, organizing his stuff, trying new hobbies, traveling, and taking better care of himself. Nearly every aspiration is presented with a mix of dry humor and honesty, showing both the allure and absurdity of our endless “someday” plans. Visually and sonically, the short film is minimalist and concise, reinforcing its contemplative tone.
One of the most famous ideas in investing is the lesson learned from the marshmallow experiment: delay gratification today to enjoy a bigger reward tomorrow. In finance, this principle has become almost sacred – save more, spend less, let compounding work its magic. But when taken too far, this idea quietly transforms into something much more dangerous: deferred life planning. work now. Live later. Earn now. Enjoy your retirement.
At first glance this seems logical. But this raises an uncomfortable question: What are we actually avoiding and at what cost? The original marshmallow experiment was simple. A child was asked to delay a small, immediate reward in exchange for a larger reward that was delivered shortly thereafter with high certainty. Modern retirement planning is very different. We are not willing to delay a small profit for a guaranteed reward. We are often postponing life experiences, health investments, and personal aspirations to a future that is decades away, uncertain in terms of health and energy, and often vaguely defined. This is not discipline. This could be a life threatening risk.
When we postpone the meaningful aspects of life until retirement, three things are lost over time.
Capacity: Health, energy and physical capacity are not static. Many experiences like travel, adventure, even simple mobility become difficult with age.
Preference: What we think we will enjoy later may not be true. The 60-year-old version of us probably doesn’t want what the 35-year-old is planning.
Context: Most importantly, family dynamics, social circles and life circumstances evolve. The environment in which we imagine our future may not exist. So, the real risk is not that we spend too quickly, but that the goal is decay.
This means that we arrive at retirement with ample money but reduced ability or willingness to use it meaningfully. A significant flaw in most financial planning frameworks is to treat all expenses as expenses on retirement funds. In fact, expenses fall into three different categories.
1. Consumption expenditure (true leakage): This includes lifestyle inflation, luxury upgrades and status-driven purchases. These expenses directly compete with long-term wealth creation and should be managed with discipline and even avoided.
2. Capacity Expenses (Corpus Insurance): Investments in health, fitness, preventive care and emotional well-being fall in this category. This type of spending extends working life, reduces end-stage medical costs, and actively increases the number of years you get to enjoy retirement. From a financial perspective, it’s not consumption – it’s risk management.
3. Identification and alternative spending (real alternatives): This includes hobbies, learning, travel and exploration. Such spending helps clarify what a fulfilling life looks like, reduces the risk of oversaving for an imaginary future, and creates alternative avenues for post-retirement engagement or even income. In investment terms, this is similar to buying real options – small investments today that retain flexibility tomorrow. Therefore, all expenses are not equal. Conventional thinking suggests that spending Rs 1 today adds Rs 1 to the retirement fund and its future compound value. While mathematically correct, this approach is incomplete.
Certain types of expenses can actually reduce the total amount of money needed, increasing financial flexibility and improving the chances of a successful retirement. For example, if you start experiencing your desired retirement lifestyle in small doses today, you gain clarity. You may find that your needs are simpler than you anticipated—the amount of money needed is falling short. I came to this realization a few years ago regarding early retirement.
Similarly, investing in health may make you work a few years longer or delay withdrawals. The financial impact of two extra years of earnings is often greater than years of early life frugality. The alternative to the deferred living model is not reckless spending. This is intentionally living parallel lives. Instead of postponing everything worthwhile, continually build financial capital by investing in health, relationships, and identity.
This might mean traveling in small, sustainable ways today rather than waiting for the “perfect” retirement trip, developing hobbies and interests now rather than letting them emerge later, and making health a consistent priority rather than treating it as a future concern. In short, life after retirement is not something that can be batch-processed. This is something that goes hand in hand with money. A better decision framework is through a simple but powerful question: Does this expenditure increase or decrease my degree of future freedom? If it improves health, expands skills, or increases independence by creating optionality – it’s an investment. If it reduces freedom by locking you into high fixed costs or unnecessary consumption – then it is a liability. This lens shifts the conversation from “Can I afford it?” Replaces it with. “What does it enable or hinder?” Ultimately, the goal is not to accumulate the largest fund possible. The goal is to achieve continued autonomy over time.
Money is one component of that autonomy—but not the only one. A large fund without health, purpose or participation is fragile. A moderate fund combined with strong health, meaningful interests and social connections is far more resilient. Yes, spending today can deplete your retirement fund. But wrong spending reduces both wealth and life. Right spending may reduce wealth slightly but greatly increase life and the ability to enjoy it. Therefore, the answer is not to choose between saving and living. But it is bringing balance to both with clarity and intention.
Discipline of savings and investment remains important. But it must be implemented correctly. Delay overconsumption. Invest aggressively for the future. But at the same time, save like a long-term investor, but live like time is a depreciating asset. Because the ultimate risk is not running out of money. Its life is coming to an end before you even get to use it.
(The author is a partner at SEBI registered research analyst firm “Velocity Analytics” and can be contacted at (email protected))