[flash]

Your situation is similar to my brother and ex-SIL, and is why they divorced. They "saved", but they spent to make themselves feel better, and when the crises came they had to turn to family to bail them out (ouch all around bad idea). Brother worked 3 jobs, but everytime they had "extra" it went to whatever caught their eye.

They thought MD and I were crazy to say we could not afford things when we were working hard. But when we were both disabled six months after buying a house, it was our SAVINGS that pulled us out until we could get back on track.

Savings is not SAVING unless you are NOT SPENDING it, and it is too easy to rationalize that you saved $1 on an item, so you afford a $10 meal. Or that the rebate site you shop through is giving 10% back, or the store is giving $10 off if you buy $100, so you spend more than intended or even more than you have, and yet feel good about it.