Encouraging others to spend

[disneysteve]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

I agree that you should treat yourself once in a while if you did a really good job on something, but the treat should not be expencive. It can be something for $2 or $5, but no more than that.

Just curious what type of "splurge" you indulge yourself with for $2. It costs that much in gas to drive to and from the store.

[kealina]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

I agree. What I think some people fail to do is truly think out what indulgences will give them great satisfaction. Some people "treat" themselves all the time to the point where they take it for granted. I think people should think of what gives them great pleasure (fine wine, antique furniture, bath oils, gourmet foods, perfume, travel, electronics) and treat themselves accordingly. It's not the spending on a treat that sometimes bugs me, it's the lack of thought.

i definately agree... it bothers me too... and i know far too many people who do that... the same people who spend everyday on "treats" and then drool over something they want but "can't' afford" because they aren't willing to save their money for something they will truly enjoy... they say they want some of those great pleasures you mentioned (gourmet foods, travel, nice clothes, etc) but don't save for them...

in fact, i agree with almost all of you guys... i understand boe and disneysteve and pretty much everybody here... makes me glad to be here...

ps. as for me and encouraging others to spend i try to take it individually... for myself i occasionally buy a small treat while out if there is a good sale or i have a good coupon but generally (i do make exceptions) i can't bring myself to buy unnecessary things retail, knowing that i could use that same amount of money to get something at a garage sale that i can really enjoy and possibly love for years to come...

[disneysteve]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

the same people who spend everyday on "treats" and then drool over something they want but "can't' afford" because they aren't willing to save their money for something they will truly enjoy...

That really drives me nuts. People who can't prioritize. When someone surrounds themselves with wants and splurges and then whines that they'd love to go on vacation but they just can't afford it. Well maybe if you didn't have a 60 inch plasma screen with surround sound and a leased SUV and a huge mortgage and smoke 2 packs a day, you could put some money aside for a nice trip somewhere.

[Ima saver]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

Gosh disneysteve, you said just what I was thinking. I often mention how we built a house for a surgeon who had 7 leased cars the year we were building, 8 extra closets just for clothes, but when it came time to pay their final bill for a retaining wall, they were out of money and we had to pay it out of our pocket.
I enjoy treating my self sometimes, but I know that I can afford it.

[Gruntina]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

I have friends that have no frugal nature constantly encouraging me that I should treat myself to this and that. In some cases, I think they do that so they don’t feel guilty for the treats they give themselves when they see other people are doing it. I think it’s sorta a condemnation feeling when a not so frugal person is with a frugal person that is happy.

[JanH]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

On the flip side of things, have you ever known a really frugal person to have such a hard time spending on themselves that when you hear them wish for something they won't spend money on, you just want to encourage them a bit to be nice to themselves. I know someone like that. She is doing wonders with her money, but she never does anything for herself. You just want her to enjoy all her hard work once in awhile.

[Ima saver]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

I have never met anyone that frugal, as a matter of a fact, I know very few frugal people.

[Gruntina]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

There was an article in the Money magazine that my dad showed me a few years back. It had to do with a lady that was mad at her brother for encouraging her to put funds in the stock and only to lose it all. She ended up eating hot dogs everyday and people try to give her a new coat for a gift but declined. She saved money long term and when she died she was extremely wealthy. She spent her life saving all that money and lived as she was a bum! Now I need to research to remember her name and info.

[Ima saver]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

I know who you are talking about but can't remember her name. She lost that money but then went back into the stock market. She was very strange. She worked for the IRS her entire life and never made more than $5000 a year, but she saved and invested almost all of it. She did not spend any money on herself, she never married.
She wore the same clothes all the time and went to all the stockholder's meetings to get the free food. She saved every dime she ever made. When she died, she left over 12 million dollars (I think) to a woman's college.
That is how she wanted to live her life.

[JanH]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

That is how she wanted to live her life.

True, and I think that's great. I just wish this person wouldn't want to do more, but feels she can't. Maybe she will eventually learn to ease up on herself. She does have a lot of responsiblities right now. Maybe I am just looking at it wrong. Maybe she has her priorities right now.

[Ima saver]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

We have all heard about the person who lives in one room and never spends a dime on themselves. I have never met any of them and none of us on the forum seems to be like that. My mother never spend a dime on herself, but she felt she had two children to provide for and very little income coming in.

[TinyFish]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

Well, I guess it is always easy to spend someone else's money! I hear all the time from friends and family about how I should spend. My FIL suggested the other day that I should consider the 'value' of an addition we were thinking about. In his opinion, I should spend 100K! On the other hand, I'm sure he meant to give good advice and I often find myself THINKING (but not saying!) how others should spend their money.

I think the issue of having a 'treat' or 'reward' is a real one. Most people don't find saving for really long-term goals intrinsically rewarding on a day-to-day basis. Of course, any 'treat' must be reasonable in regards to your budget and general financial situation. If you have just paid off your mortgaget and are totally debt-free, a more expensive celebration is probably in order than if you just paid off the first of many credit cards.

For day-to-day treats, as opposed to rewards, I think it can be good to budget in some 'mad money' if your budget has the room. Hubby and I are experimenting with this and it is working quite well. It is funny to see how your priorities change for buying luxury items when you only have a little 'allowance' a month to spend on them. Also, I think this prevents one from thinking of 'wants' as 'needs'. With mad money, you can get that manicure, pair of boots, dinner out, book, etc if that's what you really want with your treat without having to fool yourself into thinking you NEED it.

-TinyFish

[lrjohnson]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

Just curious what type of "splurge" you indulge yourself with for $2. It costs that much in gas to drive to and from the store.

I did a blog post on how spending less results in more treats back in June.

[PrincessPerky]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

I love the blog post....

[LuxLiving]

Re: Encouraging others to spend

lrjohnson that blog post of yours reminded me of a story I read once about a lady who had something like 4 hairbrushes, 5 combs, 3 nailfiles, etc., and could never find one when she needed it. So, she got rid of/gave away all but one of each and was more careful of where she put them and thenceforward (is that a wuuurd?) always knew where they were.

A little something called APPRECIATION!

I enjoyed your post.