Can you save too much?

Teacher2

I haven't a million and my savings are jointly owned by my DH and myself but I have been frugal and am not short of a bob or two. My DH and I have and will have very modest pensions and we are not sure they will cover our fixed costs and the cost of living, much less that they will keep pace with inflation.

However, what matters to us in our financial planning is safety and security. We do not want to lose what we have worked so hard to earn and on every penny of which we have paid tax. Others, as you can see from what has been posted so far, value experiences far more highly and make the very valid point that you cannot take money to the grave.

Therefore, whether you choose to spend or be frugal is entirely down to your personality and values.

To me your point that you have all these assets and are rightly proud of doing so and that you struggle to spend more than £30 at a time seems to indicate that you are in the 'prudent' camp and wouldn't be comfortable with splurging.

My mother in law, a very prudent woman, once said to me, 'I don't need to spend money to be happy but I like to think I have the funds if I want to.' I think this was wise and, I too, like to know the money's there if I need it. It actually, ironically, takes all the desire to spend away and I end up saving not spending.

schiff

If your income, including income from investments, exceeds what you really want to spend your money on, what happens? You finish up saving too much - to quote the thread title.

I could afford a few cruises each year but that doesn't appeal to me; I could afford a posher set of smart phones but I'm happy with what I've got; I prefer my own cooking to most restaurant meals I go out for; like many men I'm more comfortable in casual gear than an Armani suit. I've got family and friends and I'm very content. I'm generous in attitude.

Spending would only be for the sake of it and it wouldn't give me that much pleasure.

Investing and saving is like a hobby really and I get a lot of satisfaction out of it - like so many on here obviously do.

manuel_ritz

What are your reasons for saving too much? I mean it's no sin to save too much but I'm sure you have your own reasons. Don't deprive yourself from enjoying a part of your earnings because that will give you satisfaction.

droopsnoot

Lolly88 wrote: »

Hmmm I wouldn't be so sure about that. Don't underestimate how desperate some people are to get on the housing ladder.

Ironic that if the poster does actually kill, then they probably won't need their own house any more, for a few years at least.


I've got into a position where I've a reasonable amount saved / invested, and what tends to come up in my mind when I'm buying stuff is that while I can afford to buy the thing, firstly how long it's taken me to acquire the money to do that, and secondly how long it will take me to replace it.

schiff

I can't help it! It happens. I can't make myself more content by spending, as I said. One reason I've never done the lottery is that I would give any big winnings away. My family are all comfortably off, I know they would find ways of spending extra cash as that's the way they are.

I don't get into the psyche of the top footballers. They earn more money per week than ordinary mortals earn in several months. What do they do - posh houses, posh cars (usually several), expensive wives (probably!), gambling. None of which appeals to me - though an expensive wife might help me to spend surplus funds!

Ray_Singh-Blue

Newly_retired wrote: »

My parents lived extremely frugally, yet there was still a surprisingly decent amount to inherit..

"Yet", or "So"? I think dying with wealth generally means someone has been thoughtful about their spending- and probably happier for it.

Perhaps some people get to a stage in life where have their spending pretty much dialled in, it isn't going to change much no matter what they earn. So their saving rate is basically determined by their income. In which case to me the question is not "can you save too much", but "can you earn too much"?

I think yes - if your job stops you doing other things you would like to do in life.

There's a saying "first generation shopkeeper, second generation banker, third generation poet". I think it's used to talk about migrant populations, but perhaps also can describe the seasons of an individual's life. We start off having to work hard and hustle, then start to get wealthy and have to manage that, until we can be liberated from the chains of labour and can focus on higher things.

I would hate to get to 70 or 60 or even 50 with a lot of wealth, but without ever having "been a poet". But I don't think that's about saving too much, it's about working too much.

Pincher

Amusingly, I find myself in the position that I need to hire somebody to housesit the house if I do go on holiday.

The burglars around here don't really care you are in the house. The house opposite saw movement in the shed, and called the police. I saw the police standing in the road, blue light flashing, around midnight. The burglars just scarpered. What helicopter, what chases? Nobody was ever caught.

Next door to that, they were sleeping upstairs, and they jimmied the front door, and took the big screen TV in the front living room. This was when big screen TV was worth something.

Next door to that, they levered open the double glazing window, and went in.

So, I need to save up, extra, not for the holiday, but the house sitter as well. I have some relatives who can fly in to housesit, but it takes a lot of arranging. They have a life, so they can't come just because I found a cheap deal in Egypt, like RIGHT NOW!

adonis10

I'd like to say you can never have too much, but that is a rather sweeping statement as I would love to have £1m but really have no need for £1bn, for example.


I think I would say no but only until all the necessities are paid off; if you own your house outright, have no debts, have a good pension provision, have 10's of £000's in cash, don't HAVE to work to live etc. then I think there comes a time where one has enough and can spend a bit more freely, if they so wish. I personally would as when I am gone £1m is no use to me, but I would obviously keep a healthy amount as backup for the time I am here.


Perhaps the OP doesn't want to be frivolous etc. and wants to accumulate as much as poss to pass on, which is fair enough. Not for me as there are so many great things that money can enable and I'm here for a finite time to enjoy them, but it really is each to their own.

amycool

I get quite a lot of pleasure from giving to charity - especially smaller charities with low overheads where you know where the money is going. If I ever had a million pounds and nothing else to spend it on, I imagine I'd take great joy in helping those who haven't had the chances I have had.

Eco_Miser

Teacher2 wrote: »

We do not want to lose what we have worked so hard to earn and on every penny of which we have paid tax.

Really?? No personal allowances, no ISAs?

There has been no tax due on a great deal of my income.