Savers: Let Go of Spending Guilt
In November we went on a crazy adventure. For almost a month, we travelled all over Thailand - from the mountains of the north to the islands in the south, and saw so many incredible things. My husband and I lead very busy lives, but for a solid month we put it all on pause and focused on each other.
When we got back, we tallied what it cost us to go on this adventure.
YIKES.
I will admit that I had a minor panic attack. Okay, a medium panic attack. The final number was pretty big. Bigger than I expected. (How could that number have been so big!?!??)
In the end it was only a little bit over-budget. The trip is paid for. We still have an emergency fund and retirement savings. We still have enough in the bank to pay the bills. It's just... certain balances were a lot lower than I'm used to seeing them. I had a similar feeling when we paid the downpayment for our condo.
I'm a born saver. Numbers in banks should only ever go up, ad infinitum. Numbers that go down? PROBLEM! PROBLEM!!! No matter how responsibly I've saved for something, or how much I want or need it, I hate spending money.
Obviously, spendthrift behaviour is dangerous, but there IS a balance to be struck.
What are you saving for?
- You should have an emergency fund
- You should have a retirment plan
- You should save for your kids' educations
- You should have a bit of a cushion in your accounts
- If you have a financial goal (vacation, new computer, new house) you should DEFINITELY save for it in advance
But beyond that... what are you saving for? What is the point of hoarding little green numbers in imaginary buckets? Interest, sure, but life is meant to be LIVED. And it's meant to be lived TODAY, while you're young enough to get the most out of it.
I'm not saying that you should throw caution completely to the wind, quit your job and go hike Nepal (though... you could!). I'm just saying that you need to keep some perspective. Money is a tool, nothing more. A pile of hammers is worthless if you refuse to use them and keep banging nails with your shoe.
What adventures are you missing out on today for the sake of little green numbers?
We live frugally SO THAT we can go on big adventures. We keep an eye on our numbers SO THAT we have the freedom to take risks. We spend less than we earn every month SO THAT we can take a break once in awhile and not have the world crumble around us.
But if we never go on adventures, if we never take the risks... what's the point?
March 5th, 2011 - 03:48
I have the exact same problem, I tend to hoard my income as much as possible into my saving account without spending a tiny fraction of it on something that I could use or something that I like.
I hate spending money, especially if I don’t know in advance if I will like the thing I want to purchase. It goes pretty much like this:
- ooh that looks very nice, I want that.
- wait, do I really need that? Will I ever use it that much that I can justify the amount I have to pay for it?
- oh never mind.
I don’t like taking risks in investing in something that will probably make my life a lot nicer, but as long as I’m not 100% sure that will be the case I won’t buy it. And as I’m an eternal doubter I’m verrrrrrry rarely 100% sure, so I buy nothing.
Now that I think of it, this also probably explains why I have no problem buying a gift for someone other than myself.
March 8th, 2011 - 22:02
Thanks Dwight, I’m glad I’m not the only one this way. I love buying gifts, too, but only when I KNOW it’s something the person will LOVE. (‘gifts for the sake of gifts’ like Christmas is a nightmare
)