Do you enjoy saving money?

[fairy74]

I love to spend, spend, spend, so no saving is not my favorite activity. However I dislike being beholden to anyone or thing, so my love of independence outweighs my love of spending and this leads to my saving. As budget man said, I too have make it automatic. It is getting easier for me to save now that I am pregnant...hopefully that will continue to be true after the baby is born as well DH is a natural born saver so he's a good influence as well.

[crabbypatty]

I like to spend but often feel guilty about it. I like knowing that my ability to save has provided me with experiences that other people have missed out on.

[kealina]

like others, i enjoy watching my balance grow...i also enjoy finding bargains for things i use and finding new ways to save or make money...

[Gruntina]

Only to a point!

I like watching my balance in my checking rise and watching my 401k rise and the etc. But I have to admit.. I LOVE to watch my debts go away!!!!!. There nothing quite like the feeling of financial freedom where you do not owe anyone money.

There are times I play games to see how much I can save to motivate myself but sometimes it drives me insane to the point where I make myself uncomfortable just to get that rush of higher savings. There is just to many good things going on in life I rather enjoy more and life.

I rather get a rush from cuddling with my fiancé and play outside in the sun as such, but with financial freedom.

I still do like to save but not so adamantly as I have experienced before, I believe I have I have overdid it and lost that "game" motivation thus prefer a balance.

[MonkeyMama]

I can say yes I love to save. Nothing beats financial security. Knowing a lost job or a pay cut won't hurt so much. That is a better feeling than anything money can buy.

[Coleroo]

I love it! It feels so awesome - and to think I've gotten a head start at 24 years old...how great is it going to be in 10 years? 20 years? I want to leave my kids a legacy and provide for their future when they're old too. I want our "legacy of saving" to extend generations from now - its a great feeling to think that my saving choices now will have such a positive impact even after my hubby and I are gone.

The "we CAN do it!" factor also feels great. When hubby and I first married last june, I use to think there was no way we could make it without our credit card - especially since I was in the "gotta get those 5% rewards on my 0% card and i'll pay off every month too!" trap. By November we had racked up $10,800 worth of credit card debt - just from wedding "stuffs", honeymoon, and daily living... and all our cash money was gone too. How the heck did we accumulate so much in just a few months? I wasnt decked out in furs or jewels... we had no fancy toys.. no new furniture...we didnt go on any other trips... wow. We finally said ENOUGH!

Now, we haven't touched a card since November (cut them all up) - my hubby worked overtime so christmas was all in cash (without affecting our bills) and we've cut our CC debt down to $4500 left - and have $500 in savings, $500 in roth, and increased my own 403b contributions to 15% ( i was at 10%).

All of our bills have still been paid on time - And we haven't missed the cards at all. I found that once the "gotta use the credit card" mindset is gone, managing money is a lot easier (and you spend a lot less).

So yes. I love saving. Its a mindset you have to get into - kinda like the biblical "old things have passed away - behold all things are new!" - but once the "saving" mindset hits, you wont ever want to turn away to old habits.

[nanamom]

I enjoy handling our money. Not personally but mainly electronically. I check out bank account daily to make sure stuff is paid and love getting zero balances on most of the cards. I really like seeing out EF go up and our Vacation (go see GKs) fund rise. Savings is great, paying things off is great, playing with the money is fun (sharebuilder, prosper etc) Spending isn't as lasting but I admit it isn't bad if it is for someone I love.

[Ima saver]

I really enjoy saving and I alway have. When I was a kid my favorite toy was my bank. I enjoyed putting the money in there. I love seeing the interest grow each month. I know I am going to have to buy a new riding mower and I hate to have to take the money out of the savings account.

[JanH]

I used to love the feeling of spending and having something new. The something new feeling wears off. Now, it has been replaced with the feeling of saving, challenging myself, watching the money grow. I love it! I still like getting something that I've saved hard for and enjoying it. But I like it most because I saved and worked toward it instead of working to pay it off! And I buy less stuff, so each thing saved for is more thought out.

[JoyJoy]

I was first introduced to saving when I was in grammar school. We used to purchase stamps to buy savings bonds! I have loved to save every since!

Paying yourself first is the way to go!

Nice thread and great answers!

[Scanner]

I enjoy investing, not so much saving.

But I need to save to invest.

Fine difference, I'll admit but there is a difference between saving and investing.

[Ima saver]

Well, I have about half my money invested in mutual funds. But I have the other half in a money market and I enjoy watching the interest add to the account each day. Since I am getting about 5.25%, it does add up.
(I have to keep quite a bit in cash because we build spec houses.)

[th_tan]

I wouldn't say its fun to save, but I enjoy looking at my savings account and looking at the numbers. They sure do add up after awhile.

[tabbycat31]

I make my savings "goal oriented" and often I will have several goals at one time. Most of my savings are in ING direct.

I have various accts in ING.
They are "savings" which is a liquid emergency fund. Currently it's at 12K, my goal will be to get that to 20 for just about a year's worht of expenses

Then there's "jewelry" which is for my jewelry business that I am trying to start up. I started it with $20, and so far it's only grown by a few cents interest. However half of any sale I make will go in there, and that will be used for supplies, etc

Then there's "car" which is a car replacement fund. I also started that with $20, and it's at about $2000 right now. I really got intense on this one when my car died, and it was supposed to be for a downpayment. Now it looks like I will buy my dad's car for much cheaper, and that will be towards my next car.

Then there's "retirement' which I will sock money in, and then fund an IRA closer to the time I file my taxes. I put all of my refund this year in that acct so I won't have to worry about coming up with the $$ come December.

As I get more specific goals, another subacct will be opened for it.

[PauletteGoddard]

I like working to achieve my goals and seeing progress. I don't like saving money though, it gives me a headache. "What can I do to cut down my electricity/gas/water costs?" Figuring out if spending $ will give me a decent payback $$. Trying to keep on top of two people spending money when neither of us writes anything down. Receipts to be used for the tax year getting lost everywhere. "Are we better off owning than renting? Where do I put all these loose coins? If a CD is paying 5.09% a year do I put money in that or do I use my money as extra principal in my 5% mortgage? Is it worth trying to find paper rolls for them, or should I fork over an 8% to CoinStar? Is it worth the thirty-nine cents mailing or the 6-mile drive to deposit money? Trying to keep a price book so I'll know whether to buy chicken breasts at any of four retail outlets. Having no outside-the-home job, this might be a fun way to exercise my investigative and analytical skills, but traffic and a FT-and-then-some job leave me brittle and unable to have calculator/spreadsheet fun at the end of the day: all I want then are hugs and a good cooked dinner.

[PetMom]

I started our strict savings plan (mainly more of me saving though)
3 months ago. Today is the first day I have felt blah about it.

I had forgotten that spending money was basically an activity
to do. The long weekend afternoons at the park for free are
not such a great idea when a cloudy day is here.

I so wanted to go out and spend today - not much - but it
still would have been $30 or $40 on something that is not
necessary.

I used the boring afternoon to look over our
spending and really saw in actual figures how far we have
come and how great it is to have a financial cushion in the
bank. We used to have to stagger our bill paying racking
up late fees as we tried to find the money to cover expenses.

[Ima saver]

Saving money is an activity too, you just have to find ways to have fun with it!!

[baking23]

I've always enjoyed saving, since I was little, so a big yes from this corner.

[bigsaver]

Saving money is a pastime for me. My parents gave me the nickname Ebenezar.

[rob62521]

Originally Posted by bigsaver

Saving money is a pastime for me. My parents gave me the nickname Ebenezar.

Well, Eb, you can laugh all the way to the bank! :-)

I think enjoying to save money is often a result of changing your mindset and realizing the security of having a nest egg is valuable, and very enjoyable because it allows you to dream of things you could do with the money. We have a friend who spends a lot of money he really can't afford. It appears the thrill of the hunt is really his high because after he gets the item, he soon grows tired of it, but the anticipation was the real enjoyment. He hasn't caught on to that yet.