Has saving affected your mental health.

Albermarle

Flugelhorn said:

Interesting thing that comes up in many comments (and something I find myself) - is keeping up with price increases and what is "normal" for say a restaurant meal or a bar snack etc etc  - takeaway lunches on a day out - the Xmas works do etc  similarly for a woollen sweater, pair of boots - if there are things you don't buy very often then it can be a surprise when you see how much they are a while they may be a reasonable price, the immediate reaction is "I'm not paying that for it!"  

At the occasional sports event I attend, I have it in my head that a burger ( for example ) should cost about £5.
Then I give myself a talking to about effect of Covid, recent food inflation etc and accept that I might have to pay say £6.50.
In reality they seem to be around £8 at minor events, which I grudgingly accept if I am hungry and they look OK.
However at bigger events they are £10 or even £12, ' How Much !' so I just get a bag of crisps instead. Daft really as I can easily afford it.

VNX

Albermarle said:

Flugelhorn said:

Interesting thing that comes up in many comments (and something I find myself) - is keeping up with price increases and what is "normal" for say a restaurant meal or a bar snack etc etc  - takeaway lunches on a day out - the Xmas works do etc  similarly for a woollen sweater, pair of boots - if there are things you don't buy very often then it can be a surprise when you see how much they are a while they may be a reasonable price, the immediate reaction is "I'm not paying that for it!"  

At the occasional sports event I attend, I have it in my head that a burger ( for example ) should cost about £5.
Then I give myself a talking to about effect of Covid, recent food inflation etc and accept that I might have to pay say £6.50.
In reality they seem to be around £8 at minor events, which I grudgingly accept if I am hungry and they look OK.
However at bigger events they are £10 or even £12, ' How Much !' so I just get a bag of crisps instead. Daft really as I can easily afford it.

Interesting and I agree with this and others. 

Especially for me because personally I don’t socialise or go out much and I don’t spend on myself that it’s not like I see the regular small increases. So when I do spend or go out I think Blimey I’m not paying that!

whereas food is a good example, of course I buy food regularly and so small increases are easy to accept/ adjust to so I don’t go round a supermarket and exclaim at the prices but yes say clothes or a meal out because it’s so infrequent I would exclaim at the price 

subjecttocontract

NoMore said:

I find it’s the people who just save for savings sake or for a ‘rainy day’ are the ones who have trouble spending these savings. 

Having an actual aim and goals for savings helps you spend it when the time arrives. 

But that doesn't apply to those who are already wealthy and who already have or who earn far more than they spend. In that situation, if you can't or don't spend it, by definition, you save or invest it for 'a rainy day'.

NoMore

subjecttocontract said:

NoMore said:

I find it’s the people who just save for savings sake or for a ‘rainy day’ are the ones who have trouble spending these savings. 

Having an actual aim and goals for savings helps you spend it when the time arrives. 

But that doesn't apply to those who are already wealthy and who already have or who earn far more than they spend. In that situation, if you can't or don't spend it, by definition, you save or invest it for 'a rainy day'.

It exactly covers those people, they are saving with no aim and can then find it hard to spend all the extra wealth they have, that's the point I'm making.

VNX

NoMore said:

I find it’s the people who just save for savings sake or for a ‘rainy day’ are the ones who have trouble spending these savings. 

Having an actual aim and goals for savings helps you spend it when the time arrives. 

It’s funny too how we can change. 

As I said previously to this this describes me to a tee. Currently I am not saving for anything as such but I just save as much as I can at the end of each month to add to my savings. If I didn’t add to them for a month or two or three it wouldn’t matter a jot yet I would feel I’ve let myself down after payday if I hadn’t added X hundred to my savings, this is where I feel I have my perspective all wrong and this thread has helped shine a light on this.

I remember say 10 + years ago saving for a car, and saving the deposit for my house of course when it came to spending that money it had a noticeable impact on my savings but I didn’t worry or overthink it I thought I had a goal and that’s that 

now I can’t imagine being this version of me, the thought of taking such large sum of money out of savings is behind comprehension now 

thank you to all who have posted and continue to post, I’ve found reading this thread and replying very useful to me 

MisterMotivated

Aminatidi said:

When I want a new iPhone I'll just buy one but I don't feel obliged to go out each year and buy the brand new one.

One way of keeping the poor, poor, seems to be convincing people to renew things they already have.  Why not get a new iPhone every 2 years when your contract offers one rather than paying off the phone then switching to a cheaper SIM only deal?  Why not get a new car every 3 years on finance trading the old one in and taking a hit on the depreciation meaning you don't really build up much 'equity' in it.

I'm happy enough with my 13 year old car that's reliable and modern enough that I don't feel embarrassed driving it.  My last car was 20 years old when I sold it for parts (mainly the fancy wheels).  I loved it, but it began to rattle a bit and sometimes brought about childhood paranoia that people were judging me and assuming I drove it because I couldn't afford anything better (in the end, it wasn't worth replacing the flywheel, so sold it for £400 after buying it for £2,000 ten years prior).

Likewise, I am happy enough with my 7 year old iPhone 7.  It still runs all the apps I need it to and has enough storage for a decent amount of music.  I do plan to replace it next year, though this is partly because I fancy an upgrade and partly because I promised my dad my old one when I did replace it.

Nebulous2

Albermarle said:

Flugelhorn said:

Interesting thing that comes up in many comments (and something I find myself) - is keeping up with price increases and what is "normal" for say a restaurant meal or a bar snack etc etc  - takeaway lunches on a day out - the Xmas works do etc  similarly for a woollen sweater, pair of boots - if there are things you don't buy very often then it can be a surprise when you see how much they are a while they may be a reasonable price, the immediate reaction is "I'm not paying that for it!"  

At the occasional sports event I attend, I have it in my head that a burger ( for example ) should cost about £5.
Then I give myself a talking to about effect of Covid, recent food inflation etc and accept that I might have to pay say £6.50.
In reality they seem to be around £8 at minor events, which I grudgingly accept if I am hungry and they look OK.
However at bigger events they are £10 or even £12, ' How Much !' so I just get a bag of crisps instead. Daft really as I can easily afford it.

I've done some of that. We used to have an international market, and I enjoyed a wander around it, and getting some food. The trigger for me was when the German sausages went over £5. We never went back to the market after that, and eventually it folded and stopped coming. 

I'm in the midst of a campaign against the caravan club at the moment. Prices for sites have more or less doubled since pre-covid. While we could afford it, that isn't the point. They have allowed their budget to run completely out of control and believe all they need to do is charge more and everyone will just pay. I know a few members who are really concerned about it, to the point of giving up caravanning completely. We've cut back our usage dramatically and have put plans to upgrade our caravan on hold. 

Albermarle

The trigger for me was when the German sausages went over £5. We never went back to the market after that, and eventually it folded and stopped coming. 

I went to one of the posher racecourses recently ( only in the cheap seats of course), and one of the food vans was selling a not very large Bratwurst sausage, in a very cheap white roll for £12.

Daylight Robbery !

jimexbox

MisterMotivated said:

Aminatidi said:

When I want a new iPhone I'll just buy one but I don't feel obliged to go out each year and buy the brand new one.

I'm happy enough with my 13 year old car that's reliable and modern enough that I don't feel embarrassed driving it.  My last car was 20 years old when I sold it for parts (mainly the fancy wheels).  I loved it, but it began to rattle a bit and sometimes brought about childhood paranoia that people were judging me and assuming I drove it because I couldn't afford anything better (in the end, it wasn't worth replacing the flywheel, so sold it for £400 after buying it for £2,000 ten years prior).

This is why I find the BIK tax rates for fleet electric vehicles a total disgrace, cars are replaced every two or three years. Which is far from being 'green', all subsidised by the mug taxpayer. The least environmentally friendly getting a huge tax break. Give tax breaks for those who keep a car long term! *rant over*

Martico

I wonder also if some of this more recent "need to save" mentality comes from the experience of covid and how its onset shaped society. It was such a massive and sudden destabilising force on the (inter)national psyche. Someone who is now 20 would never have felt the financial stability and security experienced by their elders in their adult life.