Most ER docs spend their careers building discipline — grinding through debt, maxing out retirement accounts, and making sure the numbers always work. By the time they reach financial independence, the nest egg is there, but something unexpected happens: the habits that carried them here don’t always translate into the next phase.

Retirement brings a new challenge, not about how to save, but how to spend — and for many, that’s a tougher adjustment than it sounds. Today, we’re going to unpack that paradox and explore why so many of the best savers struggle the most when it’s finally time to enjoy the fruits of their labor.