Saver or Spender? 50/50 Approach & How to Balance Enjoyment & Savings

[wolram]

Is your philosophy to put money away for retirement or spend it and enjoy it while you can, i seem to take a 50/50 approach, just can not resit buying
but know i should save.

 

[FredGarvin]

My philosophy has definitely changed with age. When I was just starting out, I spent, but I'd like to think it was for good things, like working on my first house, etc...Still, there was a lot of spending to do. I think now that I am established, I don't have the need to spend a lot other than pay the bills. Every once in a while the mood hits when a cool toy comes along, but that's not very often. Now a days, it's definitely save time. I try to sock away as much as possible into ye olde 401k.

 

[JasonRox]

My approach right now is just to get the debt paid off first and then start saving.

I'm not a big spender really. Not a big saver either.

I do plan on saving and investing once I'm done school though.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Neither, poor me.

 

[Beeza]

Spender. My life philosophy is that I'm only here for a good time -- not a long time.

 

[JasonRox]

Spender. My life philosophy is that I'm only here for a good time -- not a long time.

Becareful though. If debt gets out of hand, the debt will control your life and ruin it, so that good time won't exist and a couple years because you have to make up for that last 2 years.

 

[Danger]

I try to save, particularly now that I'm getting old, but whenever there's a surplus something uncontrollable happens to make it go away. For instance, my entire paycheque that I got last Friday was gone by Monday night due to a funeral in another town along with our rent coming due. Then there are vehicle repairs and whatnot that can't be avoided.

 

[wolram]

Neither, poor me.

Money will come your way some time

 

[Beeza]

Becareful though. If debt gets out of hand, the debt will control your life and ruin it, so that good time won't exist and a couple years because you have to make up for that last 2 years.

I don't have any debt except for the inevitable student loans, which I take sparingly. I just don't save much of my money, but do live within my means.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Money will come your way some time

Not if my wife and kids have any say.

 

[Moonbear]

My natural inclination has always been to save. Whenever someone gave me money as a present when I was a kid, I'd want to go straight to the bank to put it in my savings account. My one grandmother used to try to insist I was supposed to spend some of it on something fun, but that never stopped me from squirreling it all away.

As I've gotten older, I've learned to spend some. I still lean toward saving...I have my retirement account that gets a fixed amount every paycheck (and every few years, I adjust that amount up a bit as I earn more and have a little extra to set aside), and then I have other accounts for goal-oriented saving toward things that are more like investments (i.e., toward a downpayment for my next house), and some for rainy day funds for emergencies, but I also don't want to be such a penny-pincher that I never do anything enjoyable with my life, so I do spend on things like vacations, nice furniture to make my home a pleasant place to live, the ocassional splurge on a gadget or clothes or dinner out. I just don't do it often, and always have in mind a portion of the budget that is available for little splurges that won't cut into my long-term savings so I don't have to worry about going into debt should some emergency come up (i.e., hospitalization, major home repairs, etc.)

 

[Cyrus]

I live at home, so I don’t really have any expenses and it allows me to save a Ton of money from work. My parents pay for school, but I try to help out by buying my own books (which end up being around $600 bucks each semester, ouch!).

That’s the reason why I’m flying and bought a new bike. I saved that money from working throughout college. There are things I don’t mind paying top dollar for though (bikes, motorcycles, airplanes, RC airplanes) because I learn how they work, how to operate them, get to use them all the time.

But there are some things I don’t like buying and complain about. I don’t care for jewelry (other than buying a class ring, as an accomplishment). I don't wear a watch unless I have to dress up and use the one my grandfather gave me (a simple black band swiss watch). I don’t buy CD's that often. I have about as many movies or DVDs as fingers. ( I don’t download them off the net, if I want a song Ill buy it from I-tunes for $0.99). I don’t supped-up my car and put rims on it, or other obnoxious stuff people do around here.

I don’t believe in putting money in a bank and letting it sit there. It’s useless. The interest is peanuts. Hopefully if I get into grad school they will pay me $30k a year, so when I graduate I will come out with around $50k. Either I can use that as a down payment on a house or I can buy a used Cessna or something. But I don’t want to buy something like a new car with it. Honestly, buying a house with it would be the smartest move.

My school is only about $4,500 a semester, so its not that bad considering that you can put that on your taxes. I am glad I don't go to a private school that would have cost me almost $20-30k a year. Not worth it IMO.

Im not married, don't have kids, don't have cost of living, and I don't give people expensive gifts or any gifts (and I don't want gifts in return, just give me a card at *most*). I think I spend my money in a smart way.

 

[wolram]

I think i feel guilty for spending a large amount on my (hobby) i could
have put it to better uses, when i reckon up how much i have spent
the figures seem to scream out IDIOT, but then i think i have done
my spending for now and can start saving again.

 

[Cyrus]

Hobbies are expensive. If you spent it on motorbikes, money well spent. You got to take apart your bike, fix it, learn about it, and put it back together.

I think hobbies are the best way to blow your money. Many people don’t have a hobby. I find those people are the ones obsessed with having a nice car or clothes, because they have nothing else to do.

 

[wolram]

You guessed :smile

 

[Anttech]

My philosophy is to make so much money I can't help but save easier to say than implement..

 

[Smurf]

right now I have a net total of.. 300 dollars. Canadian. Hey, I'm a student. I tend to save a lot during the summer, and then lose it all somehow during the semester.