Spending Money on Yourself

I have a hard time buying things like clothes, new TV, new computer...something like that. Then again, i have no real problem spending the money on a nice meal

 

I don't like to spend money on myself. I get a lot of buyer's remorse most of the time. I just shell out the money when my wife tells me to.

When we were younger and poorer, I'd want to limit our purchases to preserve money. Now, I want to limit purchases to preserve space. When my wife wants to buy something (or unilaterally does so), I ask "where are we going to put it?"

 

somebody has to keep the economy going!

 

if i like it i buy it

 

I'm curious.. all of you folks with that have all of this extra money to spend...one question: are you putting the recommended 15% of your income into retirement savings? Roth IRA's, 401K's, 403B's, etc?

 

Yes. Every year.

 

Kinda. 401k is limited to $16,500. Also, I'm self-employed so I have a SEP IRA instead of a 401k. But the basic answer is yes, I do max out my SEP IRA, which allows for more money than a 401k.

 

I don't splurge on myself in a way that you asked in the original post, but I do spend quite a bit of money on my health. I eat only the best, high quality, organic foods and drinks. I get weekly massages and pretty much spoil myself in that area.

 

Yes, I'm putting actually a bit more than 15%. But I have a high income and I'm single with no kids, so I have plenty of money for myself. I also don't have a mortage or car payment. I rent and I pay cash for vehicles. I also go to vegas about 6-7 times per year and travel internationally.

 

thats a good thing, so you wont lose money easily. i, on the other hand, have a hard time not spending money. i'd buy new tees, shirts, jackets, jeans, than some games, another game, some electronic ****, other electronic ****

 

Yes, max amount allowed.

My dad left home when I was eight. You know what he said to me? Have fun, stay single.



I was eight.

 

I work for a retirement plan company, and I do contribute to my retirement.

 

I also dont have a mortgage or car payment. It's great how much you have left to spend when you arent servicing debt.

 

I just bought the first 7 seasons of scrubs.


Does that count as a big investment? (best investment ever btw!)

 

I don't spend money much on a day-to-day basis. I don't like going to the movies (it's the only place other than maybe an airplane where I can sleep comfortably), I eat out rarely and even then it'll be something not very expensive. I usually make something at home to eat. My one food vice is if anyone wants to go to a churrascaria or something, I'm usually game (although even that's rare). If I buy things like tv's, I'll pay a good price for them, but I try to get good use out of them instead of replacing them every 2-3 years. I'll buy a good car, but will drive the hell out of it or until it just starts giving me too many problems. Computer equipment I upgrade every 2-3 years, so that's probably a vice. I still haven't bought a used car, which is probably a bad thing, but I don't buy cars I'm not willing to pay cash for - I hate paying monthly interest on purchases/payments and avoid it whenever possible. I don't care how anyone cares to justify it as being "good debt", screw it - I avoid it. I also don't buy cars every 3-4 years.

I don't have a problem buying clothes. I grew up not really being able to afford "cool" clothes, so I find most of the overpriced crap out there today easy to avoid (I mean seriously : plain t-shirts cost $1-$10, but put some company's name on it and now it costs over $20? Get real. It's still a dumb cotton t-shirt. lol.). All this being said, my biggest vice isn't electronics/gadgets as many of my friends would guess, but rather : cologne. I love cologne. I'm like a nerd who loves cologne...wth? But... I've toned down my cologne purchases, too, lately.

I don't have a budget, but take each purchase and analyze the pro's and con's of the purchase, its necessity vs. its luxury, etc. At the end of every year, I look to see where my monthly payments (for things like internet, phone, other subscriptions, etc) are going and try to do make them cheaper and/or see what I may be able to do without. If I add a monthly payment, I try to cut out somewhere else if possible, etc.

 

Travel and eating. All the time, and without thinking (not so good ).

 

That right there is the key to saving and making your budget work for whatever lifestyle you choose. Know how you spend your money and adjust according to your priorities. Once my wife and I started doing this, we were much better about saving and spending money on things we really wanted rather than blowing it on a bunch of stuff that was wasteful or low priority.

 

I used to be a lot more of a penny-pincher than I am now. But I've kinda loosened up my spending a bit more in recent years.

My philosophy on big purchases is: avoid them whenever possible. I ask myself if I really need this big thing I'm about to buy. HOWEVER, when I do decide I'm going to get whatever it is (big meaning more than $1000), I like to get something that's fairly premium/high-end. Simply because I want to be really sure I'm happy with my purchase, such that I won't want to replace it soon. Examples: sleep-number bed. Supports my back, and it's got like a 20-year warranty or something. HDTV: got 120hz when it was brand-new, and my TV still holds up fine today. I almost always buy computers that cost around $1800, so I can keep them for 3-4 years without lagging too far behind.

Small purchases I used to consider much more... but at this point, if I really want it, I pretty much get it (anything under $50). Which means I don't really limit myself on how many videogames I buy. Which is why I now own 50 bajillion videogames.

 

I don't go out and buy much stuff... I have sort of convince myself to buy items like a tv, ps3, games? Don't mind spending money on food. I also spend money on supplements.