Saving money and enjoying life

bambilegs

What is your philosophy when it comes to saving money and enjoying life?

jimjames

Mine is to save money and enjoy life. What's yours?

LateStarter

Well I like to do both. So I do.

Zero_Sum

Some people seem to think its an either/or situation. You either become a miserly hermit who never does anything or goes anywhere. Or you're a mad party animal living life to the max racking up tons of debt in the process. Like all thing in life theres a happy medium. You can still do stuff & enjoy yourself, but being responsible living within your means & making provision for future expenses.

Bravepants

My philosophy:


1. Don't buy the "biggest house you can afford" - buy one that suits your size of family. If you live alone, or as part of a couple, you don't need a 5 bedroom house!


2. Never buy a new car - as soon as you have driven it off the forecourt it's lost thousands in value. Buy a car that is 3 or 4 years old. Even better buy a modern classic, that will either keep its value, or even increase in value over time. Maintaining it could be a hobby, and needn't be expensive.


3. Never get a loan to buy a car!


4. Spend time on personal development and enhancing/learning new skills to improve your pay.


5. Pay yourself first...as soon as your pay cheque arrives in your bank save a proportion, say 10%, that way you are not tempted into "saving what's left at the end of the month", which never works.


6. Always pay your credit card off FULLY each month. If you need to get into debt to buy something, then you can't afford it.


7. Don't buy the latest gadget as soon as it comes out...never queue up for a new iPhone!


8. Buy what you need, and not necessarily what you want. Hedonic adaptation will kick in after a few weeks and your happiness level will be just the same as it was BEFORE you bought that expensive gold chain that is currently hanging round your neck.


9. Declutter your home to free up more space and time (time cleaning, sorting, storing, worrying about your possessions, insurance etc.)


10. Get yourself one or more inexpensive hobbies - learning something new that doesn't cost the earth. You can learn new things and study by using freely available courses available from the Internet. Develop interests that don't involve money. Unless it's something very important to you, for example music lessons, art lessons, language learning and other self-development etc.


Errrm that's all I have for now, no doubt something else will occur to me!

reeac

Bravepants wrote: »

My philosophy:


1. Don't buy the "biggest house you can afford" - buy one that suits your size of family. If you live alone, or as part of a couple, you don't need a 5 bedroom house!


2. Never buy a new car - as soon as you have driven it off the forecourt it's lost thousands in value. Buy a car that is 3 or 4 years old. Even better buy a modern classic, that will either keep its value, or even increase in value over time. Maintaining it could be a hobby, and needn't be expensive.


3. Never get a loan to buy a car!


4. Spend time on personal development and enhancing/learning new skills to improve your pay.


5. Pay yourself first...as soon as your pay cheque arrives in your bank save a proportion, say 10%, that way you are not tempted into "saving what's left at the end of the month", which never works.


6. Always pay your credit card off FULLY each month. If you need to get into debt to buy something, then you can't afford it.


7. Don't buy the latest gadget as soon as it comes out...never queue up for a new iPhone!


8. Buy what you need, and not necessarily what you want. Hedonic adaptation will kick in after a few weeks and your happiness level will be just the same as it was BEFORE you bought that expensive gold chain that is currently hanging round your neck.


9. Declutter your home to free up more space and time (time cleaning, sorting, storing, worrying about your possessions, insurance etc.)


10. Get yourself one or more inexpensive hobbies - learning something new that doesn't cost the earth. You can learn new things and study by using freely available courses available from the Internet. Develop interests that don't involve money. Unless it's something very important to you, for example music lessons, art lessons, language learning and other self-development etc.


Errrm that's all I have for now, no doubt something else will occur to me!

l

Biggest house that you can afford. Certainly worked for us. The shabby prewar place that we were just able to buy in late 1976 was out of reach a year later and in 1998 we sold it for 11 times what we paid for it. Subsequently it went up to just under £1M. During our ownership we enjoyed living in a spacious place set in a peaceful environment and within walking distance of our childrens' schools.

Bravepants

reeac wrote: »

l

Biggest house that you can afford. Certainly worked for us. The shabby prewar place that we were just able to buy in late 1976 was out of reach a year later and in 1998 we sold it for 11 times what we paid for it. Subsequently it went up to just under £1M. During our ownership we enjoyed living in a spacious place set in a peaceful environment and within walking distance of our childrens' schools.

May have worked in the past, but this day and age???

reeac

That's probably true. In the old days inflation effectively gnawed away at a mortgage so that it gradually became less painful.

lpgm

I saved money so I didn't have to do paid work anymore, and I enjoy life because of it. I'm in my 40s.

Bravepants

My dad once told me that in the 60s his uncle offered to lend him (interest free) about £1000 to buy a house outright! Unfortunately his relationship with his then fiance fell through and so therefore did the loan and house purchase!

badger09

bambilegs wrote: »

What is your philosophy when it comes to saving money and enjoying life?

Deja vu?

Sweetcake:cool: