Spending Block

[stphnstevey]

My point was more to test your boundaries and stop to think about how that makes you and feel and try to pinpoint why.

Some people with your way of thinking start off saving money as a challenge to themselves - the can I save £1 million while only on a £30k salary types. Others have gone through a really tough time financially and it scared them into being super careful. You need to be honest with yourself about why you have taken this route. There's absolutely no shame in saving money - it's a great trait I wish I was better at - but if it's affecting your life and wellbeing then it is a problem.

Yes, pushing the boundaries will likely help increase the boundaries

I am this way as my family had very little growing up and I was taught how to be good with money. However I also then got a good income and the principles don't seem to quite apply (eg. second hand furniture to buying new whatever is needed - the vast difference in price is difficult to justify, even when you have the money)

[ladymuck]

Maybe you are right in not buying stuff, or at least as right as people into consumerism.

Where I think you should work on yourself is not taking time off. I aim for 210 to 220 days worked per year (assuming no bench time). I usually manage 210 because I like to take some time off. Set yourself a target like that, and split it into quarters:

Q1 (Jan to Mar): 60 days
Q2: 55 days
Q3: 50 days
Q4: 55 days

If by the end of Q2, you've worked >115 days, take some extra time off over the summer. If by the end of Q3, you've worked >165 days, take a short break in October or some extra time off over Christmas.

That's a really good suggestion.

When I first started contracting, I used to see holidays as things paid for twice - loss of earnings plus cost of the holiday. Took me a couple of years to snap out of that and base my budget / earning target on a 40 week working year (which is 200 days). Once I turned it around and targeted a rate that paid the bills with three months a year off I relaxed a lot more about it. I don't tend to take that much time off - it depends on a whole heap of stuff - but the point is that I know I can and not be adversely affected. Working more than 40 weeks is a 'bonus' in my eyes which usually means the earnings get spent on a holiday

[Old Greg]

Yes, pushing the boundaries will likely help increase the boundaries

I am this way as my family had very little growing up and I was taught how to be good with money. However I also then got a good income and the principles don't seem to quite apply (eg. second hand furniture to buying new whatever is needed - the vast difference in price is difficult to justify, even when you have the money)

If you don't see the value in buying new, then don't. Nothing wrong with that.

[ladymuck]

Yes, pushing the boundaries will likely help increase the boundaries

I am this way as my family had very little growing up and I was taught how to be good with money. However I also then got a good income and the principles don't seem to quite apply (eg. second hand furniture to buying new whatever is needed - the vast difference in price is difficult to justify, even when you have the money)

I'd buy second hand over new too! I was livid when my Gran threw out a genuine, original Ercol day bed frame. Older furniture tends to be better designed, well made and, frankly, more interesting.

[Gibbon]

My income increased dramatically when I started contracting but I continued to spend the same as before and my saving increased. I have enough money to buy things and would not be in debt
I struggle to take time off work as it is unpaid time and I compare what I could earn
I am often happy with things as long as they are still functional and rarely replace things until they stop working
Example would be a mobile phone, kitchen, bathroom, car etc
Saving money has become an obsession and it can effect negatively effect an experience as I look for a voucher or bargain or search for the cheapest price
I have read this might be money dysmorphia
I wondered if anyone else has experienced this and how they overcome it?

Well done for not blowing it, like I've seen many do and then panic when the renewal doesn't appear. I was a bit like you for the first 5 years, having been skinted through a divorce etc. I always kept my outgoings at permie level and yes the savings started almost by themselves. Now I have a comfortable warchest I rationalise how I spend. Some things are worth the money, but each is different as to what. I spend mine on trips abroad, use to be lots before my current situation. Clothes are easy to rationalise, buy some good quality stuff that you're happy with and feel good in and think about price per wear, i.e. if you wear it a lot it becomes cheap. Same with a car and furniture. Good stuff looks and feels good and is likely to last.

[GhostofTarbera]

Thanks, I have tried, but I do tend to end up back where I started

I have found the only way is to force myself, often in smaller amounts

I am trying to go with the concept that money can be converted into something that brings happiness. Success isn't how much you have in the bank when you die, but how many experiences that made you happy that money had brought you

But living to that mantra is harder than it sounds

You are a very long time deed (as Tarby would say) You will be a rich man lying in your grave

I’ve lost count where spending money as brought me happiness (also things that don’t cost money)

Send me £5K I will record how much fun I can have on it over a weekend to give you some examples



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[Old Greg]

I also buy cheap phones. Current beauty is the Nokia 2.2 - €79.

[ladymuck]

Do you buy banger regularly? I tend to but a 2 to 4 year old car every 10 years and run it into the ground.

My olde jalopy is 16 years old! Had our 10th anniversary last year. She's still beautiful, reliable, and fun to drive.

[Old Greg]

My olde jalopy is 16 years old! Had our 10th anniversary last year. She's still beautiful, reliable, and fun to drive.

My Scirocco is 11 years old.

[vetran]

Do you buy banger regularly? I tend to but a 2 to 4 year old car every 10 years and run it into the ground.

Yes pretty much, buy it <5 year old, then run until the maintenance gets too high or someone drives into it as its normally an instant write off > 8 years. If I ding it gently then I carry on. A towbar is a great investment, people don't park up your jacksie in car parks etc.

Current car is 11 years with me it was 5 when I bought it but I was mainly working from home. 128,000 now on the clock bought at 60,000, costs about £600 year depreciation & maintenance - tax & Insurance extra. I was going to change it ~2 years ago but life intervened.


Next car is probably going to be an older Jag or similar as I doubt I will be doing the miles in future. That way I can look lie an enthusiast not a cheapskate!