is this normal savings behaviour

joeblags

so every 4 weeks I get paid, every 4 weeks I put money away into my tsb & Lloyds monthly saver , great ive saved something. But then what happens is I tell me self I have the rest to spilt between spending on entertainment , new household items ect , but I then try and not do this and try to spend as little as I can so that I can put more away more saving. meaning each month I only buy what I have to. I know im doing it , I just cant change my feeling towards wanting to save more. this week im off work so managed to spend some money, new expensive microwave on offer, ordered a new PC desk. Now I need to replace the flooring in the front room & hall way aswell as some new blinds, after spending this money ill feel like that's it now I need to save because ive spent enough even though its items that NEED replacing!!


this can be normal behaviour can it?

fromtheshires

Saving becomes a game. I saved £5 last month so this month im going to save £6 and so on. There are things that I have needed doing (like new windows and doors) and I was upset that my savings goal hadn't been met and my funds had been dented meaning I earned less interest when I finally got round to doing them.

I tihnk most people on here will feel the same when it comes to their savings, but then again, what are savings for? They are designed for when you need to replace / repair sometihng so you arent taking out money on credit.

Ballard

Everyone will have different goals and desires for their savings. It's wise to have some cash to fall back on and a few months salary seems to be the general guide.

It's entirely up to you to do whatever you feel happy with, though. If, for example, your sofa is a bit past it and you can spend some of your savings without taking too much of a chunk out of it then that's the sort of thing that it's for.

I saved over the past couple of years as redundancy was highly likely. That happened late last year and so I was able to go on a big holiday and then take my time finding a job. I've only just started looking in earnest and although my savings are diminishing I'm fine with that as that's what I put it aside for.

colsten

If you hadn't been saving, you couldn't have afforded the new expensive microwave and the new PC desk.

Put some of your savings aside for your retirement, too, and some for frolicking.

joeblags

I didn't use my savings to buy the desk or microwave lol . it was taken from the money left which is suppose to be spent without feeling guilty haha. as for savings, I have more than a few months wages. I rent a house so was sorta saving the chance of buying a house but to be honest, the rent is cheap and I can live here for life if need be. I starting saving 2 years back for when my car gives up but it only ever needs little things replacing which I do my self so unless the piston rings go or the ecu becomes broke, im planning on keeping it going.

fromtheshires

is the flooring needing replaceing due to wear and tear? Not that I know a lot about rented accom but wouldnt it be down to the landlord to replace flooring if its not fit for purpose (assuming you havent damaged it). Secondly, would you be allowed to change the flooring wihtou permission?

joeblags

im allowed to knock walls down if I want lol, everything is down to my self, including bath panels and even cracks in walls! , its a local housing company.
the foor is only cheap stuff and was destroyed by a pc chair that didn't have rubber wheels!

fromtheshires

Wow. I didnt realise they were that easy going. I would have (wrongly) assumed rental sector was very strict.
I personally would replace if it needs doing.

joeblags

VERY easy going, if I knew I was going to stay here or even want to buy the place, I would replace the bathroom & kitchen but for now , save save save lol


a lot of people have some sort of grudge against people in housing / council houses but if your going to be renting, why not rent from them? I don't feel as if im paying a landlords mortgage off, I wont get a letter telling me to leave in 6 months because they want to sell. can alter / move / change what ever I like. huge garden and my rent is a tad less than £400 a month.

Eco_Miser

joeblags wrote: »

this can be normal behaviour can it?

The only abnormal part to me is the feeling that you should be spending money.

Seriously, I have no problem spending money (£thousands for stuff that should see me out) on things I need, or even just fancy, but I don't say ' I have this unspent money that I budgeted for spending, what can I spend it on?' Unspent money is saved, by definition.

Spent money is gone, no need to replace it faster than budgeted (those without significant savings may take a different view on this).

Maelwys

Part of how I look at it is that if I save then whenever time comes to repair or replace worn-out things, I can afford to replace them with decent quality* things that last longer and save me more money in the long run.

Just as long as I'm not tempted to buy expensive things when I don't actually need them... :rotfl:

Realistically there's always going to be a balance between buying everything all round you and never spending anything at all. Spending sensibly. My significant other puts it quite well - "You're good with money but you're not tight!"

*"Expensive" doesn't always equate to "Decent Quality"... but it's nice to have options other than breaking out the duct tape!