How to fall in love with saving money

doughnutmachine

I think having a goal helps you save, be that a fixed amount or a new house etc.

I also think seeing investment income come in is a real incentive to save....

moneyfoolish

latecomer wrote: »

I'm fortunate to have a very understanding OH who despite regularly poking fun at me does appreciate my hoarding of money. I have always been a saver/hoarder - my mum says I struggled with spending as child even on sweeties

You can learn - but only if you want to. The way I look at it is that you can either have something you want now or you could have more later. But you should have a balance - after all there comes a point where you probably wont be able to enjoy the money you have spent your life squirrelling away.

I make lunch nearly every day (for OH too as she wont make it) and dont regularly buy coffee when out and about. I dont miss these things and yet you can spend a lot on them without thinking. I'd rather have another £10 a week to spend on my wife/son than drinking takeaway coffee/lunches. These are the things to change and once you get into the habit then you can look at other areas to see where else you can save from

Good luck

If you miss your coffee and you have a Waitrose nearby just go and get a Waitrose card (it costs nothing) and you can have a free coffee or tea every day! Get your OH to get one too and you can have free ones together!!

cathybird

jimjames wrote: »

One thing to remember is that you are already doing better than the majority of people in UK.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/feb/25/millions-britons-without-future-savings

bloody hell, that says something about how badly the rest are doing!! :eek:

cathybird

Re buying coffees, in fact I don't spend a lot on that - I have one very strong black coffee no sugar at the start of the day and that's it. No tea other than the occasional mint tea, no coffee, nada. So, that helps.

jimjames

cathybird wrote: »

bloody hell, that says something about how badly the rest are doing!! :eek:

Yep although it might reassure you're not alone, it's not really a good situation is it.

Even around the people I work with who are paid reasonable salaries it is surprising the number that are unable to cope with an unexpected expense such as car breakdown or home repairs.

cathybird

jimjames wrote: »

Yep although it might reassure you're not alone, it's not really a good situation is it.

Even around the people I work with who are paid reasonable salaries it is surprising the number that are unable to cope with an unexpected expense such as car breakdown or home repairs.

And I guess it doesn't even begin to address the issue of retirement

Perelandra

"How to fall in love with saving money"?

Although it sounds incredibly Scrooge-like, I found (when I started saving in earnest) that "playing" with the money helped... I didn't really want to save, I wanted to spend! But there had to be some truth in the image of a miser counting his coins by a dim candlelight...

Of course, unlike his namesake, we can't do a Scrooge McDuck and go swimming in it, but setting a target, watching how that target was being approached, doing different scenarios around how fast it could be reached and so on seemed to be the closest equivalent to "playing" with it!

I don't do this any more, you'll be pleased to hear, but it did help at the beginning to be reminding myself in this way of why I was saving.

cathybird

Perelandra wrote: »

"How to fall in love with saving money"?

Although it sounds incredibly Scrooge-like, I found (when I started saving in earnest) that "playing" with the money helped...setting a target, watching how that target was being approached, doing different scenarios around how fast it could be reached and so on seemed to be the closest equivalent to "playing" with it

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Eco_Miser

I should point out that I do not have a target to keep below, the £60-£70 a month is just reporting what I have spent and demonstrating such a low spend is possible with minimal effort. I'm sure I could spend much less by following the tips on the Oldstyle board:). I certainly don't consider myself to live a spartan lifestyle.
If you enjoy food and think it worth the price, then fine; just be aware of what the price is.

daffie

I've never been a spendthrift, but have halved my expenses since losing my job. My top 3 tips would be: 1) Always, always use cash for day to day spending- food, clothes, newspapers etc. Cash is real money leaving your hand. 2) Write down everything you spend for a few weeks. You'll be shocked at how much you spend on unnecessary items. 3) Set up a regular payment into a savings account. There are some excellent interest rates on regular savings and if the money goes out straight away automatically, you hardly miss it. It soon mounts up and you'll start to get the Good Saver Glow! Good luck.