What's your attitude about money?

H

hellomimi

Namaste šŸ™
Location
City of Angels
All of us have a relationship with money, it affects us directly or indirectly. Some have lots of it, others say they don't even have two pennies to rub together. I'm not asking your financial situation or your net worth.

Is money your master or is it your slave?
Are you a saver or a spender?
Do you discuss money issues before getting into serious relationship? Is it a deal breaker if you're not on the same page?
 

hellomimi said:
All of us have a relationship with money, it affects us directly or indirectly. Some have lots of it, others say they don't even have two pennies to rub together. I'm not asking your financial situation or your net worth.

Is money your master or is it your slave?
Are you a saver or a spender?
Do you discuss money issues before getting into serious relationship? Is it a deal breaker if you're not on the same page?
Click to expand...
Well, I can not get into a serious relationship and since Iā€™ve been married over 48 years . . . As much as my husband and I fight, which is a lot, we have never fought over money. Not once. We are both spenders and while I try to save, he is not a saver.
 

My parents didn't have much money and I was determined that I wouldn't be like them. I wouldn't say I was a 'slave' to money, but I dread not having enough, so I'm definitely a saver. Mrs. L on the other hand says that we've worked hard for what we have so now is the time to enjoy our money. She's correct (as usual), so although I spend a lot more now, I'm still careful to keep a good amount in reserve.
 
hellomimi said:
Is money your master or is it your slave?
Click to expand...

Neither
It's just a way of trading

hellomimi said:
Are you a saver or a spender?
Click to expand...
Both

I put away X amount
Never see it

If I need something, I get it
Turns out, I don't need much

Now, my wife.....
If it were up to her, we'd be dining on gruel and water, wearing squirrel hides, and foraging for things in dumpsters
I don't complain
But
She scares me sometimes


Since we're posting music vids on money
this one's my fav

 
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I'm a bit of Both... I save quite a bit, and I leave it alone.. but I'm not afraid to spend if I need something !

My husband OTOH, is happy not to spend anything at all if he could get away with it ( unless it's a new car )...I have to dangle a financially worthy carrot over his head just to get him to pay 1/2 towards our annual trips...
 
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I've been a saver since I was in 4th grade, kept doing it when I was married. Needless to say, even my X acknowledged, we prospered because of me.

When I became single, I convinced myself it's time to splurge and spoil myself. I'm still in full control where money goes. I have zero debt. I save 25% of my earnings which I call GFJB (generous fund just because) and the rest goes to pay essential, recurring bills and charities. So far, so good.
 
I am grateful to have the privilege of observing people's relationship with money. These are two extreme cases:
1. I got close to a friend in pre med school and found out later she was the daughter of a tobacco magnate. One time, we were at a high end store (i just window shopped ā˜ŗ) she didn't even look at price tags and she bought items in different colors!

2. During internship, we were assigned to far flung poor areas. As much as the poor folks appreciated the missions we did, I saw how generous they were of their meager resources. Bottled soda and crackers were a luxury to them, most could hardly afford it but they offered it to us to show hospitality and gratitude. We accepted to honor them.

I realized we have different ways of looking at money. I can safely conclude it is easier to be generous when money is overflowing but the true test of generosity is when there is very little and still share it with others.
 
I don't know about you peons, but I own the Empire State Building. Well, I own 1 share of stock in the corporation that owns the building. I get "rent" checks every couple of months deposited directly into my savings account. Last time, I made $0.22. That makes me happy. I always loved the building, and while I may own just a door knob in the place, I still own it. I have enough money to keep me warm and fed. And I'm content with what I have. Nobody would call me rich, but I'm not destitute either. I can live with that, and my "rent" money
 
at age 18, got my first full time job... credit card... starting buying what I want on credit (debt), cause life is short and I deserve it. lol... . so many mistakes made with money over many decades. I paid my "stupid tax"... stupid tax is what you pay when you do something dumb that costs you money.

decades later, I'm debt free, frugal (aka cheap)... spend less than I make... I live debt free and that is the way I like it.
 
Spouse and I are both spenders. We also decided halfway through our careers that due to some financial reverses, we were going to maximize our earnings in our chosen careers, but NOT do the insane 60+ hr workweeks that were becoming "the way to get ahead on the corporate ladder".

We wanted a work/life balance and after a decade of very tight budgeting, got back on our (financial) feet. What really saved us was that we realized we were less than 20 yrs from retirement, and it was time to start doing some serious planning.

Wasn't easy, but we identified where we were, what we wanted to do in retirement, and how to maximize our options as we aged. We have always been 100% honest about money with one another. We have never argued about what to spend our money on. When we disagree, we work it out and find a solution we can both live with.

After 10 yrs of early retirement, we currently enjoy twice the income we had when we were working. No kids so we have long term care insurance if we need facility care.

We are VERY fortunate. Planning made a huge difference for us. We never did make as much as almost all our friends and family members did.

Spouse tends to worry more about $$$ than I do. But that's probably because I handle the details of our day-to-day expenditures as well as managing the relationship with our CFP advisory firm.

I'm not a detail person. I stopped balancing the checkbook decades ago, once everything moved on-line.

One of the best things about being in a good financial position is we are able to give generously to any charity or charitable cause, without consideration of tax offsets. In the past writing a check for $25 was okay but giving $100 would have been possible only a few times each year.

Thankful those days are over. Especially with the rise in GoFundMe as well as political organizations, there are many worthy causes to support.
 
My parents lived through the great depression and were strict about money. They would buy whatever they needed or wanted, but took pride in saving over time to always pay cash. The only thing they ever paid over time were houses and cars.

I took that attitude with me. And, I was also a fan of Suzy Orman's and her philosophy of 'pay yourself first'. Every month, I put a certain amount into savings and have adjusted my living expenses to live on what is left. At this time in my life, I seem to have everything I need, so I can even save some money out of my living expenses.

I also give a small donation to charity every month. Luckily, my husband had the same attitude about money and left the finances up to me. Now that he's no longer with me, I just keep handling finances the same as I did all those years.
 
I've always been careful with money both in saving and spending, and have managed to balance things out plus put money aside for rainy days and now retirement. Don't let it rule you but be pragmatic how it's spent. Of course there are times when it's good to splash out, big meals, cars, man cave things :)
 
We have good food to eat, a roof over our head and clean clothes to wear. We donā€™t travel or go on vacations each year. Well my husband travels for work and across the country to visit his parents once a year. We donā€™t go to restaurants to eat but occasionally we get take out for special occasions. Frivolous spenders we arenā€™t but we are far from frugal. We research our purchases to get the best deals but not obsessively so.
Note: We are very generous with charities
 
Saver - it's probably because I grew up in poverty. I have what I need and don't like acquiring more stuff but sometimes I feel as if I don't spend enough. I used to enjoy reading posts about saving but now I prefer reading blow the dough posts.
 
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