I am not the sort of person who naturally just saves money – it has always gone out of my bank accounts nearly as fast as it has gone in. Earned $500 that week? Great, that meant I had $500 to spend that weekend. Of course living paycheck to paycheck becomes quite stressful, especially when you get paid every two weeks and have no money left after the first week. When you are young and single this isn’t so bad, but as you get older it gets quite embarrassing. Also once you have a partner and/or family to support it really is not an acceptable way to live!
Save those $$!!
Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having fun. I’m a big believer that life is to be experienced and enjoyed, and that there are few better things than a steak and garlic mashed potatoes. But I was going about it the wrong way. If I saw something I wanted, I’d just go get it. I had a credit card, but luckily for me at that time, I hadn’t figured out exactly how the whole balance thing worked. I was nervous about using it because I was afraid that I wouldn’t pay it off on time only because I didn’t understand the bill and that I’d get huge fees and ruin my credit. At least I had enough sense to understand that.
Because I never used a credit card, I had to constrain my wants and needs into my budget, with the wants almost always winning out over the needs. When SD Gal and I got married, I literally brought almost nothing to the table in terms of financial help.
I imagine that if finances had come up more often as a serious discussion point during our courtship, we probably would have dated quite a bit longer, or at least until I had some more money saved up. However, I lucked out – SD Gal is the consummate saver, looking to hold on to every last cent she can. It was her reserve that helped us get through our first married months and all of the extra fees and things you need when you first get married.
Together, we’ve made a good balance. She tends to lean towards the ‘lets save it’ side, and I still have one foot firmly planted in the ‘we’ve worked hard, let’s party’ side. We’re usually able to come to a good compromise, and we’ve saved quite a bit more than we’ve spent. That tells you who usually wins in our house.
The one thing she has really figured out to save us money on every day expenses is the art of using coupons for everything. Even simple things like getting new phone plans - she used a verizon promo code to cut her phone bill in half and when my phone crapped out and I couldn’t really afford a new one she found me a straight talk promo code that let me get the cell phone I wanted with no money needed up front – smart lady!
I’m glad we’re saving. I’m much more comfortable having a cushion in the bank, and I know that if something does happen, we aren’t going to be left high and dry because we can’t pay for anything. On the other hand, it’s still important to enjoy the fruits of our labors. Failing to do so will result in a boring life, and I don’t want that either. Now that things have balanced out we can afford fun, but I’m glad we saved first. How do you balance saving and having fun – when are you comfortable using your savings for enjoyment? Do you ever feel remorse – like you should save your savings (yes, that was intended) for a rainy day?