Do you ever feel really guilty about spending?

doodles44 · #1 (**permalink**) 12-05-2006, 06:16 PM

I'm wondering if anyone else out there has ever felt guilty about spending money/not being able to save as much. Since I started getting interested in saving/living below my means recently, I'm wondering if this is something I should get used to.

Even though I save ~15% of my net income each month, I still feel guilty about not being able to save any extra. Most months I'm able to put away something extra - even if it's just $25, $40 or $100. This month it will be nearly impossible to save any extra! (Although January will be good again). How do you maintain the momentum and the drive to keep going? This is not even a setback since I'm STILL SAVING, yet I'm getting down on myself about it!!

frugalmomof1 · #2 (**permalink**) 12-05-2006, 06:22 PM

Sometimes I feel guilty when I spend money on myself. But for the most part I am frugal and careful how I spend my money, so I think an occasional 'splurge' is ok.
I save quite a bit and and working to pay off debt. Seeing the debt decrease and the savings accounts increase is enough to keep me going.

Bookie · #3 (**permalink**) 12-05-2006, 08:19 PM

No, I don't ever really feel guilty about spending.

Sometimes I do feel stupid about spending.
Sometimes I do feel self-indulgent about spending.
Sometimes I do feel wasteful about spending.

But guilty? No.

m.f.walters · #4 (**permalink**) 12-06-2006, 05:22 AM

Because we started with budgets this year I don't feel guilty spending my allotment for any particular category, since I know we're paying off debt and saving money every month. However, I DO feel guilty occassionally because our frugal living of 2006 has been a tough transition for our daughters. Last night my older daughter (who needed to buy a dress for her semi-formal and we'd allotted $150 already) came to me and said she was just going to wear last year's dress. "Seemed silly to buy another just for a few hours", she said. I am so proud...she's starting to understand the whole concept of saving/not spending, and she's only 16!

Broken Arrow · #5 (**permalink**) 12-06-2006, 06:02 AM

I don't feel guilty anymore.

I'm at a point in my financial life where if I really want something, I will research it to death while I slowly save up to buy it. By the time I have saved up enough, 2 to 4 weeks have gone by, and by then, I think the itch of impulse buying has subsided and I know exactly whether I really want it to not.

I still have a hard time parting with the money... but I'm a man! I can be strong! Yes. Just... have... to... learn to... let go!

Aleta · #6 (**permalink**) 12-06-2006, 07:50 AM

Since I had my first garage sale this year, I look at spending in a whole new light. After you see what your stuff is really worth in a garage sale and what people are willing to pay for it, you see future spending differently. I think long and hard about buying some item that may by impulsive for me or someone else. I don't want for stuff to end up in a garage sale. Might as well buy useful things for other people and for yourself for that matter.

LivingAlmostLarge · #7 (**permalink**) 12-06-2006, 08:26 AM

Yes and no. Occasionally I impulse buy, can you say laptop or Wii. But I don't spend on daily stuff and neither does DH. We are in general pretty frugal and we enjoy spending on vacations and going out to eat. But we don't drive super fancy cars, in fact we each have owned only 1 car we bought with our own money. I guess it's just your "latte" factor.

threebeansalad · #8 (**permalink**) 12-06-2006, 09:28 AM

Yes-- I do. We don't have a lot of wiggle room since our income is low (we're both FT graduate students). I worry about the income we've lost by making this decision to go back to school... all the while getting older and not being able to save for a house, contribute a lot to retirement, etc.

Ima saver · #9 (**permalink**) 12-06-2006, 09:41 AM

No, I don't feel guilty about spending because I try very hard not to be wasteful with my money. As long as I have my credit cards always paid off every month, I feel ok about my spending.

JanH · #10 (**permalink**) 12-06-2006, 11:37 AM

Do you allot some money in your budget to play with? That might help the guilty feelings that you should save it instead. Most everyone needs to play once in a while! We identified our "guilty pleasures" and allotted a modest amount to them. It could be eating out or movies for some, clothing for another. For us, it's books and an occasional CD. We don't budget much, but when we shop for those things, we actually enjoy the purchase and use more than when we were buying like crazy.

fairy74 · #11 (**permalink**) 12-06-2006, 12:17 PM

not any more, I used to when my finances were a mess. Once dh and I set up a good budget, I knew how much I could spend on necessaries and extras and was prepared in case of any setbacks. Also I know which stores are triggers for me to overspend (Barnes and Noble, shoes stores, stationary stores) and I avoid them like the plague!

JanH · #12 (**permalink**) 12-06-2006, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fairy74

not any more, I used to when my finances were a mess. Once dh and I set up a good budget, I knew how much I could spend on necessaries and extras and was prepared in case of any setbacks. Also I know which stores are triggers for me to overspend (Barnes and Noble, shoes stores, stationary stores) and I avoid them like the plague!

I have the same stores on my list! Including the hobby store.....and the bakery.

PRICEPLUS · #13 (**permalink**) 12-06-2006, 04:08 PM

Sometimes I feel guilty about spending. I try to use my money wisely and I usually do. I just am obsessed with getting out of debt though and spending bothers me when I think I could have put the money on debt!

Broken Arrow · #14 (**permalink**) 12-06-2006, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRICEPLUS

I just am obsessed with getting out of debt though and spending bothers me when I think I could have put the money on debt!

Hehe. Me too.

disneysteve · #15 (**permalink**) 12-06-2006, 06:06 PM

I don't think I ever feel guilty about spending, though I do have a hard time bringing myself to do it sometimes. No matter what we spend, we always continue all of our savings contributions, so spending a little more on something doesn't in any way derail our savings plan. I'm more like what Bookie said earlier: stupid, wasteful or indulgent, yes, but not guilty.

vishenda · #16 (**permalink**) 12-07-2006, 11:36 AM

I earn and spend and spoil myself wisely.

lrjohnson · #17 (**permalink**) 12-07-2006, 04:47 PM

No, actually I don't. I am living way below my means so that even splurges are blips on the radar. Sometimes I regret a purchase-almost always food!-but that's about a whole 'nother issue.

jmerinka7 · #18 (**permalink**) 12-12-2006, 12:19 PM

I feel guilty when I cannot press down myself to spend my money. It is a holliday season and I went couple times to stores or web looking for some present for myself, choose one and left store without anything in my hands.

Ima saver · #19 (**permalink**) 12-12-2006, 02:34 PM

I know that we eat out too much and sometimes I feel quilty about that. But then I remind myself I am not a high maintenance worman. I don't spend on make up, hair dos, tanning booths and manicures. We had one worker whose wife spent about $150 a week on all those things, every week.
I buy only enough clothes to get buy, I can't remember the last time I bought a pair of shoes, maybe 5 years ago??
My eating out at night is part of my allowance, but if we could not afford it, I would not do it.

pjmama · #20 (**permalink**) 12-12-2006, 08:19 PM

I have a rather obsessive personality, so I refuse to let myself be guilty. I'm more of a mindset that it's more productive to look for ways to cut back if I overspend somewhere else. There are always sacrifices to be made somewhere. But usually I allow myself enough in the budget to cover my wants as well as my needs. I dont see anything wrong with splurging every once in a while.