That goes against the usual advice. Experts typically recommend increasing your retirement savings over time. In May, former Head of Retirement Solutions for JPMorgan Asset Management's Solutions Anne Lester wrote for CNBC Make It that she typically tells"people to aim to replace 70% of your annual pre-retirement income, at minimum." If you plan to travel a lot in the years post-career, that percentage should be higher, she added.
But Frankel says she'd rather reap some of the rewards of her frugal youth while she can."I'm sensible, but as I get older, the more I spend," she says."I can lean into what I've saved up, and I'm not working just to leave money for the next generation." Frankel's"save now, spend later" financial strategy mimics the career advice she gives young people. Last month,that young people should work their hardest in their 20s, when they have the most energy and the least amount of responsibility. In both instances, Frankel says building proactive and diligent habits from a young age will allow you to live more comfortably later in life.
These lessons are hard-won from her own personal experience, she says. For example, years ago, Frankel says she checked off the wrong box on a tax form, and the simple stroke of a pen on the contract cost her millions of dollars. In retrospect, she notes, paying for expensive legal guidance would have functionally saved her a lot of money.
"I didn't have fancy business managers at the time, so again, you get what you pay for," Frankel says.