Spending now makes me feel guilty!!

GEEGEE8

I'm a student, so very poor lol - well, I'm actually okay as long as I'm careful.

Anyhow, my grandma gifted me £500 at Christmas to buy a new laptop as my old one died and she wants to help me get through uni (she's ace!).. but I took about 2 weeks to find one that I liked and even then felt guilty about getting it! Even though it wasn't my money I had to spend.. I got a slightly cheaper one than £500 and spent the rest on ink and a binding machine for my assignments.

With my own money I have become very tight! Big purchases I used to just buy now and think later, nowdays I spend so long thinking that I end up talking myself out of it lol.

I do tend to struggle with small silly spends, like cans of drink, snacks whilst at uni, magazines, newspapers and 'bargains' that I see but never use.

I'm 27yrs old now and I'm starting to think this is what happens when you get older and start to want to save for the nice things in life.

Sounds to me like you really wanted that TV, and I would be more worried if you weren't pondering your decision.. that would be worse as you would spend money and not think about it..

PollyFlinders_3

Wasteful is spending money on things that you will either forget you have, or will put away and never use. I think as long as you have the money available, then you should never regret spending it on something you will use most days, and will get a huge amount of pleasure from each time you use it. Enjoy the TV, and the space it has given you

Sublime_2

Don't feel guilty about your new toy. You earned it you deserve it! :j

Barros

i thought it was just me that felt this way - i even started a threat on it in the saving forum! (spend, save, spend,save?)

i am mid-late 20's and manage to save about £800-1000 p/m and have built up good savings for a dpeosit for FTB but this month since logging on to MSE i am much more focussed on smaller savings' so even though its baltic outside, walking everywhere to save a few ££'s on travel; taking ANYTHING to eat for lunch/dinner and using everything i have, emptying the cupboards etc

luckily i have treats and toiletries from christmas which will do me a good while, but now i dont realy have a desire to treat myself. i manage to go out 5-6 times a week after work with friends in the activities i enjoy, but i cant bring myself to shop -

someone on another thread said that for every £ you save for your deposit, its like saving £2 off your mortgage - which is a total incentive !

bertie200

I feel the same way, since joining this forum I seem to be very reluctant to pay out for anything, and if I do have to buy something I spend ages finding the best deal!

Just wish I had started all this years ago!

still better late than never I guess!

teachersaver

I think you need to find a balance.

Can you afford it? Is it worth it? Do you really want it? Waiting helps, if you still want it a week later that's great it's not an impulse buy.
After you realize you really want it, can afford it etc, then the fun part starts, finding the best deal- I treat it like a game.

discodiva123

i think its all about balance. I'm more careful now than i used to be i thought nothing of blowing credit cards on living in a city centre flat, out all the time, buying stuff because i wanted them,

now im back at the parents the cards are gone and i'm chipping away at the debt, i still treat myself but now i'll be armed with vouchers for lunch with friends, shop in the sales, take me luch to work etc and decide whether i need or want something, we work hard i see nothing wrong with treating myself, but careful treats and wise choices are the way im slowly moving forward

Niksan

Don't worry about it, although I guess the guilt will have passed by now, but I think I've coined a term for this. It's the Niksan Overzealous Frugality Syndrome (NOFS).

Ironically, in my hayday, I was guilt free spending money I didn't have on plastic, and when I came to my sense and sorted myself out I hate buying anything, clothes for example, new ones will only be bought when they have to be chiselled from my person. Currently my big TV has blown, and the bedrooms portable is in its place, I'm too lethargic to replace it.

chickilegirl

Amazing amount of guilt that we all have! I became debt free last year and have been building up my savings, first target was 3 months wages, then I set another and hit that at the start of March. Have gone totally off the rails the last couple of weeks, new clothes, weekend away, stupidly expensive meal as a treat for my partner, brother and his wife....but then I got to thinking about it. I spent years scrimping to pay off the debt, I have reached my current savings challenge, and I can afford the silly splurges of the last couple of weeks - you only get one life and sometimes you need to live it and have fun! I'm going to set myself a new target for the next 6 months to give me something to focus on but any extra is going to be for playing!

Francesanne

LittleLauz wrote: »

So lately I've been very MSE and been stashing away any spare cash at the end of the month into my savings account.
However, Today I have bought a brand new big (ish) flat screen TV!!
And whilst I can afford this as I have managed to save extra this month what with working extra hours over Xmas etc, I feel quite guilty about making such an 'extravagant' purchase. Though to be honest I did need a new tv as I have been watching a little portable one since I moves into my own place over a year ago.
I love, love, love my new toy though and it defiently makes my sparsely furnished living room look more homely, and yet I cant help but feel a little guilty about spending all that money on a bit of a whim.
But then I also felt resentful about spending £3.95 on the takeaway secret recipe book this morning from amazon, as well as various other much cheaper purchases in the past few months.
Could it be that I just don't like spending ANYTHING anymore!!
I need to find a balance between being money concious but not over agonising about things I so buy I think.
Anybody else feel guilty for treating themselves? Or am I just crazy!! Lol

I've decided life is far too short to begrudge yourself something you really want. As long as you can afford to treat yourself and it doesn't involve getting tied up in debt, go for it. My old mum use to have a saying 'there's no pockets in shrouds' and it's so very true.