Can you save too much?

bigfreddiel

Having had the savings bug since my thirties I think I've saved too much and not spent enough!

Own my house, own my car, no debt, no dependents, have good pension - worked out the same as my full time working wage, and have getting on for £1m in various investments.

And I still have trouble justifying spending anything over £30!

Does anyone else have a similar problem?

fj

If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply! [purplesignup][/purplesignup]

Neil_Jones

Can never save too much.

schiff

In a similar situation, except for the £1M. Possibly won't ever need my savings as I live comfortably out of income, buying whatever I want when I want. It's a nice situation. I still look for value in things though, bargains, discounts, the MSE type of things. I'm half Yorkshire, maybe that's it

melanzana

What are you saving for? That is the question. Security, or are you insecure I dunno.

I took early retirement age mid 50s and save to spend now. The rainy day is here!

I do not want to be the richest body in the crem. And the heirs can go sing for it too!

coyrls

bigfreddiel wrote: »

Having had the savings bug since my thirties I think I've saved too much and not spent enough!

Own my house, own my car, no debt, no dependents, have good pension - worked out the same as my full time working wage, and have getting on for £1m in various investments.

And I still have trouble justifying spending anything over £30!

Does anyone else have a similar problem?

fj

For clarity, are you including the value of your house in the "getting on for £1m" figure? If not, then yes, you should think about spending more and raise your figure for justifying spending above £30 (which must be exhausting for you).

enthusiasticsaver

I like to have savings but only for the sake of being able to do or buy the things we want. A security net is fine but I do not see the point of just accumulating it. We gift a lot to our daughters and granddaughter but I see you have no dependents. We spend on holidays and our home and going out on meals, theatre etc.

If you don't spend it what do you intend doing with it? £30 is quite low to consider you need justification to spend over that. We are having to pay £30 for a one hour Segway experience next week. It does not go far these days.

melanzana

Seems to me that SOME savings, frugality whatever can become an obsession, well especially when it is not necessary anymore.

For me, I think the decision to save to spend (as I do now) can only be based on a solid sense of security. And I have nothing like OP has either!

Comes the day when you have to say "it's mine, I worked hard for it, and now it's my turn"

I would be very interested to know what makes people save forever!

Mrs_Z

I don't know about saving too much but what I have noticed that I often have trouble spending small sums. Say £30 worth of clothing - I probably see something I like, I go home and think about it, and then in a weeks time I may or may not go back and buy it. Two years ago when we bought our last house £500+k decision was made in less than 10min :eek:

Startup1985

I would rather live a life full of experiences, adventures and memories than have a million in the bank which I panic about spending 30 quid of. But that's just my opinion and we are all different.
As long as I have enough to survive if the worst was to happen and I am saving a bit for retirement then a little spending is no bad thing. Who wants to get to the 60's or 70's with a million quid in the bank and a million regrets of missed opportunities? Certainly not me.

Dird

Absolutely. If that whole £1m was outside pension then the government is going to steal £300k for the Jeremy Kyle folk upon your death. Time to start splurging

[Deleted User]

Startup1985 wrote: »

I would rather live a life full of experiences, adventures and memories than have a million in the bank which I panic about spending 30 quid of. But that's just my opinion and we are all different.
As long as I have enough to survive if the worst was to happen and I am saving a bit for retirement then a little spending is no bad thing. Who wants to get to the 60's or 70's with a million quid in the bank and a million regrets of missed opportunities? Certainly not me.

Surely these 2 things are not mutually exclusive? Experiences, adventures and memories don't have to cost a lot. You can reach your 60s or 70s with a million quid in the bank and no regrets of missed opportunities. I'm on a journey to climb every munro and visit every inhabited island in Scotland before death. Costs very little to pursue these objectives but brings joy beyond measure.