Can Savings be just as bad as Debt?

kidmugsy

Find something occasionally that will give you great pleasure. Have you tried motorcycling? Failing which, try an electric bike - fantastic fun. Or learn to ride a horse or sail a dinghy. Plant a pleasure garden. There's lots of ways to enjoy money without being an extravagant poltroon.

Glen_Clark

Savings can be a handicap. Remember the poor sod who pleaded guilty and got 4 years for helping himself to a case of water from an open shop during the riots. I gather he pleaded guilty because he had savings that would have been wiped out with legal costs. If he had no savings they wouldn't have been able to take them away, so he could have pleaded not guilty and been heard by a jury after the hysteria had died down.
If you have liquid assets the establishment have automatically got you by the b*llocks when they take you to court.

sabretoothtigger

Then sentenced everyone harshly Glen, it was the riot part that did it more then the slight crime. Im not sure he could have altered that, its more a case of appeal and hopefully parole

Hermia wrote: »

I do know people like this. A colleague spent last winter shivering and miserable in her house because she won't put any heating on despite having tens of thousands in savings. I think some people just have obsessive tendencies and anything can push them over the edge including saving. I do think some people start out frugal and end up mean.

MY landlord used to argue I should heat the house even when Im at work. He thought it was bad not to have it on, since I was poor and working long hours I never heated more then one room.

My computer is so clunky, I dont imagine ever being that cold as its basically a small space heater its got so many fans and hot elements.
Tell your colleague to insulate the windows, doors, any normal house open to sunlight all day shouldnt even get that cold most of the time if its not drafty

I was looking at this last night, genius idea and almost no cost to get heat - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuxanLdtwZQ

somethingcorporate

A head hunter aged 22 that earns £920k PA? I am somewhat dubious....

gadgetmind

Headhunting is the soft end of the human trafficking business.

calypso_rhapsody

"learn to ride a horse" ... go for it - it's a great way to spend money, have fun and get fit! (it's as much exercise as leisure cycling ... not just 'sitting there' if you do it right!)

But be warned that if you get hooked and end up owning horses it is not only expensive but massively time-consuming ... i wouldn't be without mine for the world though!

VT82

quantic wrote: »

I know this is generalising but it must be nice to just do whatever you want with minimal worry of the consequences?

I hear ya on this one! I've got enough saved to go out and buy the car of my dreams with cash, but I don't because I know I shouldn't. But I got really envious when I saw a 'pay weekly' shop advertising one of those stupid beds with a TV that comes out of it - thinking it must be kinda nice to have no worries other than knowing that you can afford your next payment of £4.96 for your stupid TV bed!

gadgetmind

VT82 wrote: »

I've got enough saved to go out and buy the car of my dreams with cash

Cars are a depreciating asset so need to be bought from income rather than capital.

If you don't know what this means, then don't buy a car until you do.

moneysavingtomcat

quantic wrote: »

I read an interesting comment on another forum, the guy was basically saying that saving had become an OCD for him in the same way that debt is for some other people. Basically, suggesting that a none healthy (obsessive) focus on savings, can be just as harmful as having debt to your mental well being.

I used to worry about debt when I had it, now I'm starting to worry about not saving enough, ha. I'm my own worst enemy! How do you guys strike a happy balance?

While I don't think either is good, I certainly don't think that obsessive saving is as harmful as crippling debt.

An obsessive saver, once they have their epiphany, can easily go out and spend some of their hoard. Someone with masses of debt can't just pay it off in an instant.

pqrdef

moneysavingtomcat wrote: »

An obsessive saver, once they have their epiphany, can easily go out and spend some of their hoard.

If only. But I just can't. I feel like my hand's on fire if I try to pick up a debit card. And I was vomiting for 3 days when my bonus interest rate expired.