TLDR: I'm hoarding cash due to mental trauma of reduced income...
I'm retiring from the military and while I'll be receiving a pension, it's about 1/3 of what my active duty pay was.
Mathematically, this is not an issue. Spouse still works, expenses are low, only debt is the home, networth is positive six figures. We still earn about 3 times living expenses.
Mentally, the fact that income is "down-sizing" is taking some getting used to, the security blanket isn't as big as it used to be (for what it's worth, we lived on 48% or income and invested/saved the rest).
With all of that in mind, I've been grabbing cash from the ATM and putting it in an envelope at home and take great comfort in knowing that despite being in great financial health, that cash is still there if we need it. I always keep an emergency hundred in the wallet (folded up and out sight) and we've kept a couple of hundred in a the lockbox, I've far exceeded that and, take comfort in knowing I could pay for a major home repair, a minor health issue, or even buy a cheap used car with the cash on hand. I even feel compelled to continue to add to the stash and don't know where my upper limit is. I'm doing all of this fully aware of the fact that it's not the best place for this amount.
I know that eventually, I'll come to terms with the reduced income and comfortable with the situation to the point that I can go deposit the cash back into an account that will earn something, I do wonder how long that will take.
Anyone else have a similar "phase".
(for context, we grew up poor and often struggled financially, leaving this gravy train of a miserable job was mentally one of the toughest things I've ever done)