Why do I find it SO hard to spend Money??

foxgloves

I know what the OP means. I spent most of my adult life overspending my budget & since we paid off all our debts & discovered budgeting, I find it much harder to spend money. I think it's because the time I've spent on the new debt-free behaviour is much, much shorter than the time I spent on the old spendy behaviour, so I do have a bit of inbuilt fear that I'll default to my bad old ways if I don't keep my good intentions strong. Also, the economic situation is not showing many tangible signs of recovery for most of us, so I see being cautious as a positive thing because we can't know what is around the corner where finances are concerned.

New_and_Improved_Me

foxgloves wrote: »

I know what the OP means. I spent most of my adult life overspending my budget & since we paid off all our debts & discovered budgeting, I find it much harder to spend money. I think it's because the time I've spent on the new debt-free behaviour is much, much shorter than the time I spent on the old spendy behaviour, so I do have a bit of inbuilt fear that I'll default to my bad old ways if I don't keep my good intentions strong. Also, the economic situation is not showing many tangible signs of recovery for most of us, so I see being cautious as a positive thing because we can't know what is around the corner where finances are concerned.

That’s kind of hits it on the head…I’m trying hard to save for the future. Planning for my retirements and making provisions for the kids.

I find it really hard to spend money on myself.

I think it is largely due to having very little as a child and most of my adult life so far, have always been in low paid jobs.

Now that I do have money, I seem to be wanting to squirrel it away for a rainy day/retirement/kids etc.

Goldiegirl

New_and_Improved_Me wrote: »

Now that I do have money, I seem to be wanting to squirrel it away for a rainy day/retirement/kids etc.

There's nothing wrong with that, indeed, I'm in a savings phase of my life, getting ready for my proposed early retirement.


But don't forget to have some fun and treats now......and be wary of saving all that money for the rainy day, but when the rainy day arrives, find that you are still unable to spend the money, even when you need to

its_maths_not_magic

I get what you mean. I can't believe I was so wasteful with money. I never went in for designer brands, but I did indulge myself with whatever I wanted and now have only debt to show for it. Since my LBM I see things in an entirely new way. I think I view money as a corporial (sp?) form of time. Each £ represents a small slice of time to me, so I find it difficult to part with it - a watch that cost me 4 hours to earn? Not worth it. Since Im never going to get those hours back, that time can be better spent on things I might need in the future, if I really need to.

Also, I have given up watching TV. I realised that TV is a very expensive past time. Advertisers deliberatly present a lifestyle just above the average wage to create a sense of dissatifaction in the viewer. Its this dissatisfaction that urges the viewer to go out and try to buy that lifestyle, subconsciously wanting the happiness that is shown to them. They do this to take every last penny you earn. Since realising this I fill my time with things that enrich my life. I don't have an ipad, a kindle, more than three pairs of shoes, a new car, expensive bedding, jewellry, a watch come to think of it, a wardrobe full of new clothes, yet I really enjoy my life. I practise guitar, create art, spend time with my husband and dog, go for walks in a forrest things like that and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

So yeah, for me, a new watch isn't going to bring you happiness so why waste the time it took earning that money to buy it? Lol, ironically you can buy a watch, but you can't buy time.