[Aggie93]

Needing less retirement income is a nice side effect to living below your means. If your standard of living becomes 85% of your income, you only need to replace that amount - Ceteris paribus. This has actually come under attack since retirees are generally healthier now and are more active. But, I think the point is valid.

As someone else said, it gets easier with time for two reasons. First and foremost is the physiological impact of keeping up with the Jones. Once this is gone, you won't mind buying a 3 year old car, staying at a lower priced hotel…It all adds up.

Also as savings grow you are able to pay for items that were previoulsy financed. This can make cash flow a little messy, but is better in the long run.

I’d also suggest accelerating payments on your mortgage. I think it has lost popularity with interest rates so low. I just paid my off because I didn't think I'd be able to get the same return on my money, especially on a risk-adjusted basis.