#532 - How to Manage Your Scarcity Brain with Michael Easter
Have you ever wondered why it is so hard for you to spend your money? Even now after all these years of saving you know you have enough, but it’s hard to let go and untie those purse strings.
Today, my friend and renowned author, Michael Easter joins me to discuss overcoming frugality from a different perspective. Click play to hear about the evolutionary mismatch that hinders you from spending your money.
How to manage your scarcity brain in retirement
If you are faced with the decision of whether to take the stairs or the escalator, chances are you take the escalator. Evolution has hard-wired us to conserve energy.
We naturally look for the easy way out of things–easy calories, old habits, and creature comforts. We are tied to our habits.
If you want to fully live life and enjoy retirement, you’ll need to make little changes over time to help flex your spending muscle. Michael Easter has some great ideas on how to overcome scarcity loops and quit hyper-focusing on the numbers. Listen to this interview to learn how you can start spending.
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN
LISTENER QUESTIONS
[2:38] Clarification on the 5-year Roth conversion rule
[4:36] Simple IRA rules
[6:50] The tax impact of waiting to take Social Security
PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT WITH MICHAEL EASTER
[12:00] Why Michael pursued the concept of the comfort crisis
[18:32] How discomfort becomes rewarding
[20:20] How we can change our decisions in small ways
[24:25] How to manage your scarcity brain in retirement
[33:48] We often focus too much on the numbers
[36:59] The scarcity loop
TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT
[41:10] Take the stairs
Resources Mentioned In This Episode
BOOK - The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
BOOK - Scarcity Brain by Michael Easter
Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That
BOOK - Rock Retirement by Roger Whitney
Roger’s Retirement Learning Center