Comments on: Do You “Spend it if it’s there?”

By: J. Money

J. Money — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:54:25 +0000

Awwww, haha, I’m sure I’ll be the same way too once I have kids! And as promised – you’ll be one of the first to know! ;) Thanks for sharing your experience here with us – all helps to get our minds thinkin’!

By: Heather Stephens

Heather Stephens — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:00:20 +0000

Hi J.

My weakness in “spending it if it’s there,” is my family. Example: we just went into a skateboard shop for my daughter’s 10th birthday present today and dropped $175 on a skateboard, helmet, pads, and shoes. Because we shopped smart and the owner of the shop was just plain cool, we saved over $50 on the total bill, but we were planning on spending only $100 to just get the board, trucks, and wheels.

What happened is that the “mom” in me wouldn’t stop thinking, “Her old pads are probably too small now, and her bike helmet doesn’t cover as much of her head as the skateboard helmets do…and oh, yeah, I’ve got a $70 affiliate check from my personal blog I’ve been using as a bookmark all week because I didn’t have time to go to the bank. And it’s cheaper than an emergency room visit, and she’ll be safer, etc.” (All totally justifiable in my husband’s mind too.)

So instead of saving that money like we were planning on (for new tires ironically), we spent it today. If it wasn’t there I don’t think we would have spent it since we’ve lived without a credit card for 2 years now as we’re working to pay things down. I guess we did better than we would have in the past, but winter’s a-comin’ and mama needs new tires.

Great discussion you’ve got going on here! Thanks for the fun read and food for thought!

Heather

By: J. Money

J. Money — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:17:39 +0000

That’s great you found something that works :) That’s the real key to the whole thing.

By: KC @ PsychoMoney

KC @ PsychoMoney — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:37:26 +0000

When I have cash in my pockets I tend to spend it on stupid little things. With credit cards I don’t spend it. There is something about keeping my bill as low and not having stupid little things show up on the bill or something.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:23:54 +0000

@dojo – Yeah girl!!! You figured out how to rock it, well done! :)
@Edward Antrobus – Well, you may not “need” it exactly, but you obviously WANT it at those times ;) Which is fine, if that’s what the money is supposed to be for.
@Donna Freedman – True, but if you save first w/out knowing how much you can save, you’ll end up going in debt. So you’ll have $500 of debt while you have $500 in savings! haha…

By: Donna Freedman

Donna Freedman — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 22:57:09 +0000

Here’s one suggestion: Automate your savings. You can’t spend it if it ISN’T there. If you tell Ally Bank or ING Direct to siphon $500 out of your checking account each month, you learn to live on what’s left.
Since it takes a few days to get the money back out, perhaps you’ll come to your senses before buying that new Benz. Or 1,000 sticks of gum.

By: Edward Antrobus

Edward Antrobus — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:52:48 +0000

J. The cash in my pocket is usually for that very purpose. But for some reason, it burns a hole in my pocket and I spend it on things I don’t need, like an extra cup of coffee or lunch when I’ve brown-bagged it.

By: dojo

dojo — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:30:43 +0000

It’s VERY easy to spend money, when you have it. I’ve done mistakes too, but weird enough, in the past months, though I earn 5 times more than 2 years ago, I spend LESS. Now I buy food and what’s needed and not splurge on stupid things anymore. once you get some discipline going on, you can keep that ‘inflation’ under control ;)

By: J. Money

J. Money — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 05:47:45 +0000

@SmartAssetTeam – I keep from spending it, personally, until I Really want to buy something :) It doesn’t matter to me whether I have the cash in my hands or not — if I want something bad, I’m gonna go out and buy it either way. But if you’re asking how “others” do it, yeah – I don’t know. That’s the part I’m confused about ;)
@bogofdebt – Awww, I think that’s a wonderful quality to have :) Though you should probably get better about being good to yourself too!
@Jen – That’s def. tricky and the problem most people see to have unfortunately. I think you’re right on track w/ getting it OUT of your account and invested/deposited somewhere where it’s harder to touch! I read a book once on this guy who opened up an account on the other side of town, set up auto xfers to it every month, didn’t register for online access, and then tried to forget about it. Since it was too far away to just “stop in” and he didn’t have easy access online, it was a PAIN to ever go get it out so he just left it and lived his life for a few years, looking at the statements every few months. Maybe you can try that? It worked for him :)
@Melissa – At least you know yourself! It’s much easier to try and fix things when you KNOW how you operate :)
@Kelsey @ Zero to One Million Challenge – Agree! I hope to always be able to purchase things that are very important to me no matter if their big or small. Being financially secure like that is a huge blessing :)
@Christa – Thanks for sharing :)
@MommaStar – Haha… That’s the part that drives me crazy! Just spending cuz you have the money to do so! Not that I’ll ever tell another person how they should be using their money, but if I’m ever asked for advice you better believe I’m gonna whip it all out ;)
@Jenna, Adaptu Community Manager – Yes, that’s def. true — you DO end up paying more as you get older, at least from high school age up to your 30’s-40’s (then maybe it levels off?). But at the same time, you should be making more too so at least that’s comforting :)
@Leslie – Makes sense! Especially if you don’t *want* to spend money on those little things you enjoy.
@Foxie – Haha yes! Your financial priority is showing me a good time in those cars whenever it is we meet up :) I SOOO need to ride in them soon!
@Dannielle @ Odd Cents – It’s all about priorities, my friend! Some people value things none of us would imagine…. but that’s okay, since it’s their money ;)
@Edward Antrobus – Yeah, or you could do the whole “take out $100 in cash every paycheck and use that just for little random stupid things” deal :) Any money I have in my pocket is allowed to be spent anyway I desire. Oooooh, that should be another post of mine! Haha… I’m making a note.
@Brad Moore -That seems to be the consensus among some :) Guess it’s all about knowing yourself and what the best way to do things is!

By: Brad Moore

Brad Moore — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 02:39:15 +0000

I used to have a problem with that….if I had it in cash, then I would spend it. Especially when I was a college student.

Maybe cause I am an old man now. But it’s not the problem it was. I think also has something to do with having wife and 3 kids now. I think I would feel guilty knowing I just blew 3 dollars and yet I didn’t give her that same opportunity.

I have had clients tell me, however, that spending the cash makes one more frugal – rather than simply swiping!