Why do people save?

RG2015

Linton wrote: »

Perhaps paradoxically, being able to buy anything one wants seems to control one's wants. After all you can always buy it tomorrow. Just having more "stuff" provides little attraction.

In theory the basic purpose of continuing to focus on save/invest is to guarantee long term financial security. However to be honest the main reason is because it's interesting.

When I was young I would walk past our local toy shop and lust after the contents of the shop window. On the odd occasion I actually acquired something, the buzz faded quite soon. (I wish though that I still had that 007 DB6 ).

The chase is often more enticing than the outcome. Remember that the US Declaration of Independence mentions the pursuit of happiness not happiness itself.

JustAnotherSaver

I do both - saving & investing. I wish i'd started investing sooner but i didn't so hey ho.

I save because i don't like being caught out. My parents struggled, i saw that & decided i didn't want to be like that - hence why i was 30 before i moved out, didn't drink, never smoked, 'only' earned 15k per year at the time +/- and built a deposit of £40k. That's with a lot of time off work sick at that time too.

So if my car goes boom - i've got cash to get a new one.
If my roof needs fixing or an appliance goes bust, or i feel like treating myself or whatever - there's cash there & i'm not in a position where i need to go begging family for a loan.


I invest because without investing i'll be working until i'm dead. I don't particularly like working anyway so i'd like to retire as early as i possibly can, whatever age that may be.

Nationwide8

It occurs to me reading this thread if there comes a point in life where savers become try-to-be spenders ? If you have no family members to leave money to or want to leave money to....and no one else really you want to leave your life savings/assets/house etc to.Or even that you feel you have made provision enough for family.

If you end up in a home any assets above £23000 ( I think ) will be used to finance your care.So the money you have spent a life time building up,worked for,scrimped and saved for is slowly eroded.
If you have no money you will be looked after anyway.Money gives you more choice I suppose but you get the point.
If you manage to stay at home with no paid for help from anyone is it better to spend while you can the money you have saved all your life rather than leave it to a charity or whatever.( again if no family or they have been left enough )

Sorry its a bit of a diversion from the original theme of the thread and I don't want to open the hornets nest of who should pay for elderly care but can a life time saver become a late in life spender and should they even try ??

Linton

Nationwide8 wrote: »

It occurs to me reading this thread if there comes a point in life where savers become try-to-be spenders ? If you have no family members to leave money to or want to leave money to....and no one else really you want to leave your life savings/assets/house etc to.

If you end up in a home any assets above £23000 ( I think ) will be used to finance your care.If you have no money you will be looked after anyway.Money gives you more choice I suppose but you get the point.
If you manage to stay at home with no paid for help from anyone is it better to spend while you can the money you have saved all your life rather than leave it to a charity or whatever.

Sorry its a bit of a diversion from the original theme of the thread but can a life time saver become a late in life spender and should they ??

As I said in my post, the purpose of saving is to gain control of one's life. Those of us lucky enough to be in that position are unlikely to want to change course towards the end of our lives. The thought of running out of money so that I was under the control of the local council fills me with horror. Sufficient money will enable you to continue living in your own home when the council would find it cheaper to send you to a care home.

The other reason for not splurging all your savings is that you dont know when you are going to die. You might be one of the increasing number of people who live to 100+. It would be a shame if you ran out of money at 90.

bigadaj

I think the FIRE principal works well, at least the FI part, retirement is optional and different for so many people.

Saving gives you independence and the opportunity to do what you want when you want.

It's relatively speaking a small percentage of people in a limited number of countries for a tiny percentage of human history that have had the opportunity and choice after all.

getmore4less

when in the later phase of life there comes a point where you need to transition from saver to spender/giver.

longevity is an issue but I have decide take the view than even if I live long my spending needs will reduce and cashing in the house will pay for the end game.


I have over a lot of years seen too many people transition from being able to do stuff(but tending to put it off) to becoming border line home bound in a very short time then it is too late.

if your projections are comfortable and still seem to be saving treat yourself/family a bit, or throw some more money at things you do already like holidays.

davieg11

There may be an increasing number of people living to 100+ but I doubt it would be a shame running out of money at 90. Not many people at that age doing much with their life.

Puddylove

There's definitely a balance to be had between enjoying life now, and saving for the future.

Doing either to excess is probably not a good idea.

cosh25

As a 25 year old I worked full time from age 16 and found myself blowing my wage every month and It wasn't until last year and I got made redundant. I found myself with no money, a car on finance, rent etc as I had not saved anything, supose I was a bit nieve and thought I was invincible. After this and when I got another job, I promised I would never let myself be in that situation again. So I joined MSE and have observed the forum to help me save. Hence I'm here now and have a very healthy saving pot. I guess this was my motivation to save.

enthusiasticsaver

I have always been a saver and now we invest too. We saved for holidays, cars, home improvements and invested in pensions and peps, tessas, isas and now Sipps and stocks and shares isas.

The reason we saved Are many and varied. My dad always said it was cheaper to borrow from yourself so we never pay interest. We save in various pots for emergencies, house and car, holidays, gifts and long term early retirement/children and university/wedding/grandchildren pot.

i like the security of knowing we have a large security blanket should we need it. Our daughters are the same but their savings pots obviously smaller.

We do also like to spend as well as save and have limits what we will scrimp on to save for the larger items. I very rarely buy lunch out unless out with family or friends and think supermarket meal deals are a rip off. Same goes for coffee shops and takeaways and they are an infrequent treat rather than everyday occurrence.we do eat out in restaurants, we go on holidays and we do lots of diy. I don't splash out often on clothes makeup etc but buy carefully. I also tend to buy quality goods which last a long time and don't like clutter so most things are carefully considered before being bought.