|
|
Post by 950nancy on Aug 22, 2014 1:09:48 GMT
Thankfully a saver. I do spend some on things I want, but for the most part, we both saved a lot whenever we could. Now the house is paid for, the college fund is complete (he threatens to go for 10 years!) and I can retire at fifty in May if I want. Both of our parents were very frugal, so I think we just ended up that way.
I should add that we take a really nice vacation every year. My parents never did that (camping for 3 weeks), so I made that a priority for us.
|
|
back to *pea*ality
Pearl Clutcher
Not my circus, not my monkeys ~refugee pea #59
Posts: 3,149
Jun 25, 2014 19:51:11 GMT
|
Post by back to *pea*ality on Aug 22, 2014 2:02:26 GMT
We have always been savers but after seeing some people we care about leave this life too soon never to enjoy what they saved in their retirement years we have been spending more. However, when I look at the projected dollar amount of savings we need to retire it gives me agita! I don't think we are going to hit the target and that will mean changing our lifestyle. But I would like to live a much smaller house with a much simpler life so maybe it will all work out.
|
|
janeliz
Drama Llama
I'm the Wiz and nobody beats me.
Posts: 5,641 
|
Post by janeliz on Aug 22, 2014 2:12:41 GMT
I'm a mixture as well.
I tend to be a guilty spender, though. I treat myself and then beat myself up about it. I'm always sure we're going to end up in a van down by the river because I just had to have another Kate Spade bag.
|
|
|
|
Post by Zee on Aug 22, 2014 2:14:13 GMT
I'm a spender. I tell people I'm a grasshopper. I say that too, lol You can't take it with you. We do have savings but not what it could be, to be honest. I don't want to scrimp and save only to die when I'm 50 having never had the joy of a new purse, an extended vacation, a smartphone, nail polish, scented candles, etc etc. I'm not really extravagant but I like to live well.  |
|
|
|
Post by hjs on Aug 22, 2014 2:16:19 GMT
I am a spender.. but dh is not, so we tussle around and end up sort of in the middle. That doesn't make me a saver, just a slightly less spender!
|
|
Olan
Pearl Clutcher
Enter your message here...
Posts: 4,050
|
Post by Olan on Aug 22, 2014 2:59:23 GMT
I am a saver who splurges or in other words.... I forgo what others consider necessities for things others consider splurges. I save so I can take expensive vacations but if vacation times rolls around and I don't have enough for a "perfect" vacation I don't plan a road trip to a nice B&B I just let the money "roll over" into the next year and take a big vacation at a later date. Essentially I'm go hard or go home hahaha. I also buy the very best that I can afford. I don't have a dozen 20.00 persons I have a couple nice ones. |
|
|
|
Post by jmd74 on Aug 22, 2014 4:32:55 GMT
I am definitely a spender. We have lived all over the world so we splurge on travel and things specific to the region that we will always have in our home. I also love shopping for almost anything!
|
|
|
|
Post by anniefb on Aug 22, 2014 8:53:59 GMT
Mostly a saver but I do treat myself occasionally eg a nice holiday every year or two. I'm thankful to have a well paid job which does help with retirement savings. I'm single so need to support myself. I guess the advantage is I can decide where the money goes.
My parents were very careful and hard working and I think I've been influenced a lot by their approach to finance.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lindarina on Aug 22, 2014 9:35:19 GMT
I'm close to being a saver, and my husband is a total saver.
Because we use our money wisely, we appear to have more than we actually have, in the eyes of some spenders, if that makes sense. We've gotten jealous comments from family members who are horrible with their money, and it drives me crazy. They have this attitude that everything must be so easy for us, like we have no struggles in life.
What they don't realise, is that our income is actually quite low (I'm a fulltime student right now). But we plan most of our purchases. We don't need everything new, we shop sales, we only splurge on things we really want, etc. I don't feel deprived, because those things I do get, are things I really want.
|
|
|
|
Post by melanell on Aug 22, 2014 13:20:42 GMT
I may only live once, but I could be here a long time. I need some money to keep me going all those future years. |
|
|
|
Post by apeacalledliz on Aug 22, 2014 13:54:13 GMT
Neither until recently, we had lived paycheck to paycheck for many years and saving anything was near impossible, when we did get a little extra we used it to pay over due bills or buy things we needed. Now my business is taking off and husband has been at his job for almost 20 years and the kids are all almost grown and out of the house we do have a little extra play money and we are playing at this point. We took our first vacation together a couple weeks ago( it was a working vacation but still), just got back from taking my daughter on her 16th b-day trip to Six Flags... the most she had ever been to was a local cheesy amusement park... stuff like that we are splurging on after 20 some odd years of not being able to.
We will start saving some and DH does have a 401K through work but mostly I am of the enjoy it while you can mindset. I don't want to scrimp and save now and then be too old to enjoy it later.
|
|
|
|
Post by jmurray on Aug 22, 2014 13:55:05 GMT
We save for a bit then splurge for a bit. But we don't splurge to the point where we eat into our savings (ie we don't go backwards).
|
|
|
|
Post by Scrapbrat on Aug 22, 2014 14:08:19 GMT
Both. My monthly budget includes amounts for retirement savings, emergency savings, vacation savings, and sometimes something else I'm saving for (at the moment, a new fridge). The budget also includes all of our monthly expenses, plus an amount for miscellaneous, unplanned expenditures.
|
|
|
|
Post by Darcy Collins on Aug 22, 2014 14:15:07 GMT
I suppose people would classify us as savers. We've always lived well below our income level, and saved and invested. We do spend on things that are important to us though - travel is probably our biggest indulgence. My husband and I agreed before marriage that 20% of our income would go into savings and we would live on the difference. In reality, things definitely changed - 401ks, stock options, employee stock plans, deferred compensation plans, 529 plans, etc all adjusted our buckets of saving versus spending - but philosophically we've stuck with the idea that there was a portion of our income that we would let grow for the future.
I'm actually really glad we were so diligent early in our marriage, I've actually found it harder to limit spending as the children have gotten older - kids activities are EXPENSIVE.
|
|
|
|
Post by wandawoman on Aug 22, 2014 14:49:21 GMT
Very much a saver. Sometimes I don't spend when I know I need to, but we've have times in the past when unexpected things happened and if we hadn't saved some we would have had a very hard time. I just feel better with a cushion.
|
|
|
|
Post by Miss Lerins Momma on Aug 22, 2014 15:24:54 GMT
I'm the spender, DH is the saver. We balance each other out.
|
|
|
|
Post by threegirls on Aug 22, 2014 16:59:40 GMT
My parents were big time savers. Mom and Dad had been married 60 years (he died this summer). We never went on big vacations or wore designer anything. We never had fancy new cars or a house full of stuff. Our house was in a nice community and we went to excellent schools. We were a happy family and my parents never had the stress of not being able to pay bills. Dad was a good saver, made smart choices with his hard earned money and invested wisely. I never felt deprived of anything, especially love.
I guess this rubbed off on me as I am a saver. My husband is too. We have three kids to send to college and we don't want them to have any debt.
|
|
