Comments on: The Real Reason People Save Money

By: TheWalrus

TheWalrus — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:16:11 +0000

Hey, nice blog! I grew up paranoid about saving because I know what it’s like to have parents live paycheck to paycheck. It’s a very stressful lifestyle and it leaves the door open for hard times should an emergency take place.

TheWalrus

By: Alex Liu

Alex Liu — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 11:15:33 +0000

Yup. What you did was crazy for the short term because it’s really not worth it because of those tax policies and people’s habit.

But when you look in the long term, you are the smart one. Although future is not something you can predict, you are willing to take the risk and be who you are right now!

Alex Liu

By: vsjhoc

vsjhoc — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:39:31 +0000

If you have trouble paying your bills when they are due because of cash flow issues, ask your creditors (utilities, car finance company, insurers, credit card companies, etc.) to change your due dates if too many fall close together.

Big creditors don’t care what day of the month they get paid so long as they get paid on time consistently.

By: Meg from The Bargain Queens & All About Appearances

Meg from The Bargain Queens & All About Appearances — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:05:47 +0000

Well said!

I try to think of every purchase in similar terms: do I prefer to have this, or to pay down the debt. The fact that I have debt shows (at least in my case) that sometimes I have preferred the stuff.

I’m not totally against having debt, but my preference for not having debt is getting a lot stronger and that’s what’s really helping me spend less.

By: A Marino

A Marino — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:30:57 +0000

To Chica: I think that many in the world think that Americans have stashes and that’s why they buy so many material goods. The truth is that their stash is in a plastic card called credit, which is why we are having problems in this country. Many are just living above their means instead of saving.

By: Chica Marks

Chica Marks — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:08:37 +0000

Thanks, Cortni Marrazzo, for sharing your thoughts about why you save money. For what it’s worth I share your preferences and I like saving money too.

The personal saving rate in your country is very very low, despite the paucity of social safety nets compared to other industrialized nations. Is that because of policies focusing on increasing the divide between the very rich and the rest of us, or is it because most people don’t share your preferences for saving?

You wrote “There are people that prefer to have all the nice material things instead of the security of knowing the bills will be paid.” If these people, who don’t share your preferences for saving, are numerous enough to bring the savings rate down to or below zero, then why is the consumer spending such a worry?

I don’t mean to be confrontational — I already stated that I agree with your reasons for saving and share them too; however, it has always appeared to me that Americans spend on nice material things because they have a stash. Obviously my perception is awry in the face of current evidence, and I don’t know why I persist in believing Americans are rich — maybe it’s the inundation of advertising or the full parking lots in the mall or the cars I see on the road.

“Granted there are no guarantees in life”… a gentle constructive suggestion for you or another on your team of contributors for an article, if one hasn’t been printed already (please someone give me the URL) but what is “enough”? How does one get to the point of being 99.6% sure that they can handle sudden disability, flood/fire/famine, sudden loss of immediate family, sudden loss of job, in a country with a poor safety net and a rough economic future ahead, before sprinkling some disposable income around the community in terms of spending? That’s what keeps me up at night.