We are retired too. We don’t save anymore. Yes, we accumulate monies separately, but that is for the travel account. All travel is paid for in advance, except what we spend during the trip.

I think our older generation has an advantage in that the only time we could use credit in our formative years was for a car loan or a mortgage. We would get paid every Friday (later, every other Friday), walk the check to the bank, X amount to checking for rent, etc., Y amount to the passbook savings account, and the rest in pocket. Could I afford to do this? Lemmee see, reach into the pocket for a yes or no. One rule we had was Friday night after work at the bar, we could only spend left over money from the previous week, not new money for the upcoming week.

By the time credit cards were generally available and in use, we had our spending practices established, plus we had more income. It is easier to live within your means when your means are higher.