Slave to saving

sooty&sweep

Money is a tool to allow you to do what you want & need to do.

Savings are important but I've heard too many cases of people who've died rich but haven't done the things & been the places they wanted to go. They always intended to do it next year !

Plan for the future but enjoy the here & now too !

Jen

lalman

sooty&sweep wrote: »

Money is a tool to allow you to do what you want & need to do.

Savings are important but I've heard too many cases of people who've died rich but haven't done the things & been the places they wanted to go. They always intended to do it next year !

Plan for the future but enjoy the here & now too !

Jen

My grandfather died in that sort of boat. He had a big old house, had enough money for 5 retirements but never spent it. He always wanted a Mercedes but his health deteriated to a point where he couldn't drive.

I am not saying he lived with regrets because he achieved so much in his life and like all of us, he loved seeing his bank balance climb and climb and climb... but as Jen alluded too, there has to be a strategy or plan for it... either use it up in retirement, want to give your kids a good start in life... set up your grand kids for life.... if I didn't one day want to one day get married and have kids, I think my strategy of saving 60% + of my salary would be very different...

tight_is_right

I'm in a similar position, definitely a slave to saving, but also don't think twice about spending on things I 'want' - though these are relatively few!

I really recommend a book called 'your money or your life'. The main message of it is to align your spending with your life goals. If you buy something that helps you achive your goals then it's money well spent, otherwise you probably didn't need it and could have saved the money instead.

Working out life goals is the tricky bit. If you're struggling to justify spending anything then the chances are you're floating along without much purpose, in which case find something you're passionate about and you'll have no problem happily spending that money.

ShootForTheMoon

Interesting reading... I'm of almost the opposite view!!
I save in a disciplined, structured way, but when it comes to spending, I don't mind, because that's what we have worked so hard for!!
Numbers on a bank balance are just security for me... Once we have enough, we just love life and keep topping up!

This year, we spent £5k on a month's holiday in Sri Lanka... Travelling is my passion - yet my partner had never been outside Europe!! It was the experience of a lifetime and memories which we'll treasure forever... I see that as equally as important as the money in our investments, pensions and savings!!

We're both still under 30, so have time on our side for our money to work and hopefully grow!!

I look at my grandparents, with an awful lot of money in the bank... My nan has advanced Alzheimer's and Pops is left home alone... His one wish? That he's spent a tiny fraction of their savings on a world cruise before Nan got ill........... I don't want to end up with regrets!!

Shoot x

money_maker_2

tight_is_right wrote: »

I'm in a similar position, definitely a slave to saving, but also don't think twice about spending on things I 'want' - though these are relatively few!

I really recommend a book called 'your money or your life'. The main message of it is to align your spending with your life goals. If you buy something that helps you achive your goals then it's money well spent, otherwise you probably didn't need it and could have saved the money instead.

Working out life goals is the tricky bit. If you're struggling to justify spending anything then the chances are you're floating along without much purpose, in which case find something you're passionate about and you'll have no problem happily spending that money.

THIS IS ME! I often feel like this. I want to go travelling. Always have and the plan was to go after I finished college. I had been working my bum off to get a few ££££ together and go with my best friend. But the last year of college I met my fella and my travelling plans went out the window

I've made up my mind about this now. I'm going to reach my £20k target, then put £10k of it away in an account somewhere seperate from my everyday accounts, so I can just forget it and keep it as my emergency fund.
£10k must be enough right?

The rest I am going to spend on the wedding and a honeymoon (somewhere I have never been so I can tick it off my list of todo's) and if there's any left over I'm going to spend it on me!

From then on I plan to only save £50pm and spend the rest of my wages on things I want, when I want them.

Thanks for the wise words from everyone.

ShootForTheMoon

Good for you!! You won't regret it!! It will put a whole new perspective on life... When you see how other cultures live and love you will suddenly have a whole lot less "wants" anyway!!!

Beware... Your "bucket list" gets longer, not shorter though!!! Not that it's a bad thing!! :beer:

Shoot x

psionicman2000

the best thing to do about using savings for a wedding if you don't want to use your savings is to wait for a few months and when you get paid, put what u normally put into ur savings/ISA account into a seperate savings account so u can spend on a new car or wedding etc therefore you don't feel like your chewing into the savings that you already got.

Michael

noclaf

whilst its good to enjoy life a bit im also a lot more careful with my money..coffee is still hitting the wallet hard since I buy at least 2 per day but relatively not too bad.
Im 33 and still to hit £20k savings though...I could and should of had double that by now in the bank..been working in the city since early 20's but thats what happens when you spend your 20's out drinking every week, living the high life buying fancy watches, shoes and other items which we dont really need. Ive travelled a few places too so now am happy to be a bit 'boring' and maximise savings every month...I actually get a buzz from saving each month..yes I need to get out more....good luck with all your saving goals for the year!

fromtheshires

lippy1923 wrote: »

Def in the same boat OP. You need to find out WHY you feel like this. After years and years of saving and feeling the guilt and need to justify every little spend, I finally realise why I am like this.

It's because of my OH. He is pants with money and I have to be in charge of everything and anything financial. I give him pocket money after I take enough for all the bills/ living expenses. Even then he always goes into his overdraft (which is my pet peeve).

Because of his need to waste money and go OD each month, I feel extra pressure to save for both our sakes. He's blimin selfish but I love him. God knows what he would do without me!

Maybe if you figure out the reason behind it, you can work to get around it and start enjoying your money a bit more

This is the same as me. I really struggle to spend money yet the other half spends like there is no tomorrow. I know I shouldn't feel like this but as a result of their car being £500 a month to pay back (we had a huge row over this as I wasn't informed) I have to have a what if either one of us gets made redundant as I need to be able to pay everything off.

lippy1923

fromtheshires wrote: »

This is the same as me. I really struggle to spend money yet the other half spends like there is no tomorrow. I know I shouldn't feel like this but as a result of their car being £500 a month to pay back (we had a huge row over this as I wasn't informed) I have to have a what if either one of us gets made redundant as I need to be able to pay everything off.

Yep mine is basically an 'if one of us loses our job' fund.
I think I have enough now to last a good year or more. Would save thousands of £ on nursery fees if one of us lost our jobs anyway so would only need to cover mortgage and other normal bills.

I just treated myself to an iphone 6 :eek:

I justified it a worthy spend as I can't remember the last time I brought something for myself.