I recently went to see my financial planner and was told that I need to start saving up for retirement.  Since I couldn't mention the hobby expense as something that may need to be planned for, I thought I would ask the question here.  Is it worth saving money for post-retirement hobby activities?

Here's my situation - I'm a single guy in my late 30's (No children and none planned).  I've lived in NY for most of my life.  I don't see myself wanting to retire until I'm 70-75.  According to the latest actuarial tables, there's a 50% chance that I won't make it past 80.  But here are the questions that no financial planner has answers to:

Once I'm past 70, what are the chances that I will still have a desire to hobby?

Is it even worth thinking that far ahead?  My preferences and values have changed significantly in the last 20 years and it's very difficult to imagine what I might want 30 years from now.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks.

on the hobby!!!  LOL  Males in my family die young,  I am closing in on theage of the youngest to die...my father...the oldest was 68.... I do not plan on living until 80...I do not want to bury my kids.  Ask Tim Russert if he is enjoying the money he stashed away!  
Answers to your questions....Past 70...your desire to take a piss will out weigh any desire to have sex...even if you could.
As far as working till your 70-75---good plan...the government will have raised the retirement age to that anyhow by then!

and yes...look ahead, plan ahead, but don't cheat yourself out of the life you have now.  To many people "live for retirement", and throw their best years away...and if lucky enough to retire, they get their cup of broth, look backwards, and ask  WTF did I do???

As said by previous poster...

"My preferences and values have changed significantly in the last 20 years and it's very difficult to imagine what I might want 30 years from now."

Yeah - who knows?  LOL  

Giggles,
TS Jamie

PS: I once dated a 73 year old guy who wore me out.

So you might buy some oil futures now and when your 70 you can either hobby or buy a small country with the money.

Dude, you should have started stashing $ away in your 401K or IRA once you finished school, and became eligible at your first job.  Roll 'em over into an IRA if you change employers.  If you are just starting now, you've lost 10 - 15 yrs. of compound interest and gains, and will have to save more.  Hopefully, your income is sufficient to be able to do w/o pinching you...hobbying is expensive, and can easily become your greatest expense!  That being said, save as much as you comfortably can, and monitor your situation with your planner regularly on an ongoing basis.

UC52 is also correct in not depriving yourself along the way.  There are many things that can and will go wrong health-wise before you hit 70, so if the hobby is important to you now, then plan an expnse level that you are comfortable with, and go for it!  As you said, many things can happen over the next 30 yrs., and the hobby may no longer be an item.  Personally, I regard hobbying at this time to be essential to my mental and emotional well-being, but before you laugh, think about how many opportunities a typical single man in his late 40's has in civvie world...limited, usually with strings and baggage attached.  But I degress...

In closing, best of luck to you, and happy hobbying!

need and not have.

But that said, who can resist these lovely providers?

It's a balancing act, that's all.

You are gonna wait until you are in your 70's to start hobbying?  And you don't want kids.  Do you plan on getting married?  Admittedly, I didn't start hobbying until I was 58 (I'm 61 now), but I was in the education system and very worried about getting busted and losing my job and pension.  And, I damn sure wasn't gonna wait until I turned 70 to start.

If you aren't gonna get married, why wait until you are well into your 'golden years' to start enjoying what the ladies have to offer?  Live for now, because like you said, your desires, and maybe more importantly, your capabilities, may be radically different in 30-some years from what they are now.

Swim

I'm an older guy (over 70)and I still hobby regularly.  fortunately I'm reasonably well fixed money wise and can afford it.

DO plan for retirement, it's great and I'm thoroughly enjoying it, and yes I still hobby regularly.  If you are in your 30's now your life expectancy is well into your 80's

Everyone's circumstances are different, but it's highly likely you'll want the hobby in your later years.  I've hobbied intermittently throughout my adult life, and now, at 74, married, with an active and pleasant life, the hobby is more important than ever.  It's well worth it to put aside $$$ for that and any other discretionary activity that you are likely to enjoy at that stage of your life.  Remember, by 70 or even 60, even if you are doing well, a lot of your friends and older relatives will have passed; even older folks will tell you that the "golden years" are the pits, and you will cherish things that give you pleasure.

Here's the strange thing.  I seem to have a lot more civvie dating opportunities now in my late 30's than I did when I was in college (not that I was completely celibate back then, but it wasn't pretty.)

Also, when I was done with school I couldn't start saving because I couldn't find a job for a long time.  It was almost 3 years later that I was making enough to put anything away.  Even then, I only had a few years at jobs that actually had 401K's.  Most of it was contract work.  Fortunately, I have enough now that I'm not in dire straits and can afford to hobby when the mood strikes.

The reason I asked the question is that it's hard to know if I should cut back now for the sake of the future, or if the money would be better spent now.

No, I'm not going to wait till 70 to start.  I started a long time ago.  Not really interested in getting married.  Manhattan is one of those places where it's OK to be single, sort of.

But on a related topic, does anybody have an opinion whether New York is the best place to retire if the hobby is important?  I have a feeling that I could move some place less expensive, but just about everyone I know is in NY.  Also, there don't seem to be too many places out there where it's more or less OK to be single.  Am I wrong?

Good to know that I might still enjoy this when I'm at that age.  Still, the question is are you the rule or the exception?  I know some people in their late 60's who are still physically fit, but I have a feeling that they are a minority.  All my grandparents were very much out of shape and chronically ill at that point.  Seems unwise to save for that situation.  The actuarial tables only give me the information on whether or not I'll be alive, not if I'll still be healthy at a certain age.

I live in the midwest, am 55 and single. I never really think about whether it is OK or not. Seems fine to me So you don't need to stay in NY because you are single but you may have other good reasons.

I'll live in a little grass shack on a tropical beach and live off of coconuts.

For sex I'll pick up gals on the beach whom I'll regale with my tales of yore and then give them massages.

No rent, no clothing bills, no car, no utilities, no nothing.

Ahhhhhhh!

You did mention that you're single. My advice is never hire an accountant, an attorney, or a financial planner that you feel the need to lie to.

You are asking questions that not only your financial planner cannot answer, but neither can anyone else. The one thing that is certain, you do need to plan for your future, whether or not the hobby is part of your future.

Good luck, and happy hobbying into your 80's I hope.

You can't take it with you and you have another 30 years to save.

Most tropical locations I know have hurricanes.

Coconut milk is a laxative. Oranges and grapefruit would be better.

The girls on the beach will still charge you.

And so will the guy who owns the beach access rights.

Unless its a public beach in which case you cant sleep in your grass hut.

This was my plan 7 years ago. I did make it to Florida but couldnt stand waking up with sand in my hair(I had hair then). Oh and then there's Sand Fleas, Red Tide, Spring Break, Crime, and Tourists.  

I also toyed with the living on a boat idea too a little more feasable except for the summer storms.

But hey man. If you can make it happen...

eom

or whatever label you give it.  Maybe you collect rare bottles of wine costing in 3 digits?