OK, so I'm obsessed with saving money. My first thought, after I get paid every two weeks, is "How much can I put into savings?" It seems like my wife is not always on the same page, especially since we are trying to save up more money for our downpayment when we move to Jacksonville in a month.

We currently have about $5,400 in savings (not including retirement andinvestments), and by the time we close on a house in Jacksonville (which we haven't found yet), we should have around $7,200. What we are doing is temporarily stopping our investments at $1,400/month and putting it in our savings for more down payment and closing costs. After we sell our current house, we should have roughly $64,700 to put down on our next house.

Is it so wrong to want to save incessantly like that? I mean, that's not to say that my wife and I don't have fun (we've been skiing, camping, and I've taken her on a trip to Orlando recently), but that's money that we could have put into savings to put towards our house.

My wife is not opposed to saving, in fact, she's the one who recommended that we speak to a CFP and invest in First Command. But she would rather take a trip, excursion, or something reasonable rather than stay at home and put that money into savings (because we already are investing roughly $1,700/month).

Does anyone else have this problem?

 

The sooner you let go of money, the happier you're gonna be. I known plenty of people that saved incesantly through their lives only to have a short life after retirenment and their kids blow up the inheritance. Life is too short to just let it go by. Enjoy it more without going overboard. But, this isn't something somebody will make you change your mind and quit, just like alcohol. You have to convince yourself that life is not all about having this or that amount saved in a bank account.

 

I'm kind of like you too. Why am I thinking about retirement and building my emergency fund at age 22? Well I am and I'm not gonna stop. It's kind of depressing seeing my friends who make half as much as me or less going out and having the same amount or more fun than me. But I think I'll be better off in the long run (one could argue I am already). It seems like your wife is like my gf, i.e. the "spender" and you're like me, the "saver." Gotta try to find a happy medium i guess.....

I find it's more satisfying to spend money on things that last like TV's, furniture, electonics, home improvements, etc. than going out to eat/drink at really ritzy places since that stuff just ends up in the sewer system anyway.

 

 

you have a end-goal in mind. If you were just saving just to see how much money you have, that might be a bit on the opsessive-compulsive side.

Keep saving, the more you put down, the lower you mortgage, and hence the more you'll have to invest and/or use for fun.

 

Wow, very mature thinking for a 22yr old. I'm impressed you have the willpower (your friends obviously do not).

Keep in mind the end game: when you're 65 (hopefully earlier) and you can easily retire and live a happy life, your friends will be struggling to make it.

 

Since you need as much cash as possible for an upcoming major purchase I see no problem with saving and not having much fun right now.

But once you get past that, you really need to find a happy balance between having fun/doing stuff and saving.

As previously suggested you could get hit by a bus tomorrow, then all that saving was for nothing. Don't let life pass you by.

 

I think you're just barely saving enough.

Put your foot down now and tell your wife that's just how it's gotta be. Set a precedent now and hopefully your wife won't ever badger you with her frivolous spending ideas again.

 

Thanks. I'm just worried that I'm gonna regret missing something beforehand

It's funny because when I was in school I told myself the first thing I was gonna do was treat myself to a late model 330ci. Well once I got in the 'real world' my plans/goals changed and im keeping the CL a bit longer

 

Are you guys missing the fact that he is pumping 1400 a month into investments, in addition to the cash savings. I'd say he is saving more than enough for a 26 year old.

 

Good point but I look at it the other way.

What happens when you reach your 50s and realize that you won't have any money to retire on? It scares the shit out of me to think that when I reach retirement age that I won't be able to. And god forbid you lose your job at that age.

 

There are times when saving is more important, such as when purchasing real estate. I save every little penny I get right now until i buy a place over the next few months. Food and bills are the only thing my money is spent on. Stop saving as much when you don't have as much to save for.

 

Save for both.

Who says you have to blow a shitton of money all at once on vacations. Plan ahead and enjoy your money. I save right around $75 a month for vacations and I try and go somewhere once a year.

I dont understand how you save $1400 but only have $5400 total. :scratch

 

The 1400 a month goes towards investments, so he doesnt consider "savings". Its a common psychological tactic used by the obsessive penny pincher.

 

LOL, thanks for all the (different) responses guys. I appreciate it. I don't know. Once we get to Jacksonville, we're going to be spending some money on furntiure for the house (about $10K wife says), but she's not getting away with that unless I can get a new 6.1 surround sound system and big screen TV. New mountain bikes. Maybe a scooter for my very short drive to work. Spend and live it up a little. Once that is over though, I'm going to be saving for two years down the road when my wife gets out of the military. No more free health care . That's when she's going to stay home and we're going to start trying to have kids. So the income is going to fall squarely on my shoulders. Now the good thing about nursing is she can walk into any hospital and say, "Give me a job" and they'll pretty much have to, if they're short-staffed. She can pretty much name her salary, too. She will be in the reserves, so she'll get paid when she works, and she can work on the weekends every once in a while to fund our investments. I calculated, without a rate of return, that we would have a combined $90K in investments and retirement when my wife leaves the military in two years, along with approximately $100K in equity in our house and no car payments. Not bad.

I guess I have to live life and relax a little. I used to spend in college a little, and I racked up about $3,600 in credit card debt. I paid that off within one week of working.

I am also somewhat scared of what my parents went through. My dad was laid off in the late '90's, and it was up to my mom to support them, who was an X-ray tech. I'm trying to save up for three-six months salary for the both of us in case we lost our jobs. I guess that's not going to happen since I work for the Department of Defense as a civilian (VERY stable job) and my wife is a nurse, so I need to suck it up, have some fun, and stop worrying!

 

Yeah, total amount that we have in savings, TSP, and investments is approaching $40K. The investments, even though we can cash them out, are not as liquid as our savings, because our savings account is with the same bank as our checking account.

 

Haven't you gone to argentina, vegas and somewhere else pretty recently?

 

I am DEATHLY afraid of getting older and not being able to support myself comfortably...
i will NEVER rely on someone to take care of me when i'm older (financially, at least...i'll probably need an ass-wiper when i'm about 80 i guess )

 

China, Vegas and Argentina

But two were study abroads that my dad helped me out with. Regardless I did save up all of my spending money (including prepatory items like my ipod, two cameras, etc) all on my own. Vegas was paid for entirely by me as well (helped that I won there).

I save a base of $50 plus I roll change plus extra cash I get from rebates and what not...

 

That reminds me.

Now that you are in Jacksonville, mini vacations that cost around ~$300 if you do it right will be easy to do quarterly

 

Yeah we're excited. ALL of the trips that we took were to the state of Florida last year and this year (so far), as we both have family in the state (most Jacksonville, Pensacola, and Gainesville).

We're coming to Jacksonville from the 12th - 21st of May to househunt on the government's bill!

 

I'd say you're doing it right.

Keep putting it away. You'll thank yourself when you're sitting on a nice nest egg 30 years from now when social security is a very distant memory and you're able to enjoy the "golden" years.

 

Yeah, keep saving... It sounds like you've got a good handle on it.. Just don't fall into the trap where you're not having some fun too...

Just gotta know where to pick the places to spend a little bit here and there...

I really wish I would have started saving for retirement back in my 20's...

 

Fixed

 

I like i the way I had it....

 

i feel exactly the same way....been workin ALOTTTT, keeps me away from going out and keeps me with money in the bank, alot of the kids around me dont realize shit and im just trying to get a head start, I could be having a shit load of fun right now, but im straight workin 7-80 hrs a week, all i do now is work sleep and study. But I'm gonna lay off on the work a little and take school into focus a little more. I mean i kick it sometimes with friends and shit but damn alot of people just dont realize how much goin out hurts the wallet.
I think the more money u can save when your younger, will help lead to a more financially stable future later.

Just recently opened up a 9 month CD with 2 grand, decided I'm not gonna need the cash anytime soon why not let it grow a little..first CD i opened up lol

 

Good job. You're way ahead of what I was doing at 18.

 

Nothing wrong with saving money - you can never have enough. Only time it would be a problem is if you and your wife are wearing clothes with holes or only eat spagettios for dinner cause you do not want to spend any money. Gotta live a little like everyone said - but always keep plugging some away. You never know what life is going to throw at you tomorrow.

 

Yeah, thanks for all the responses. We're doing fine on retirement savings and investments, but my thought process was that we can never have enough in savings. The wife thought I was nuts.

A few months down the road, I'm thinking of getting either a pool table, big screen TV, or possibly even selling my Accord and getting a slightly used 2005 TL. Hey, if the wife wants to spend money, let's spend some money!

 

^^^^^^^

Well... At least spend in moderation. lol

Just have fun. But don't go blowing the nest egg you worked so hard to accumulate.

 

Oh believe me, that won't happen. I'm not about to do that. But hey, I believe in compromise. We can split the $10K, and I can use that as a down payment on a TL.

Do I think that'll happen? No because if I want to continue getting laid by the wife, I have to play by her rules. LOL.

 

I think Speedy hit it right on the head. As MY guru Dave Ramsey says, "If you'll live like no one else, later you can live like no one else." That's our goal in the Fast-TL household. I just need to kick my car habit, and ratchet UP my savings to Gatrhumpy standards. The wifey must sign on to the financial strategy, she must see the blueprint and approve the plan so you guys can move forward together. As long as she had one idea about money and you have a different one, you won't achieve all that you can.

 

Fast-TL, thanks for the reply. We're doing well. The wife and I talked about our finances, and it was more of a mental thing with us than anything else. She hates it when I spend money on anything. Anything. Train (I'm an avid train modeler), models, savings, car, whatever. Of course, do I say anything when she buys make-up from Lancome that is more costly than a crack addiction? No.

We had talked about spending $10K on furniture when we sell our house and buy a new one. Now, I want to spend $5K on furniture and put down another $5K on a slightly used 2005 TL. That way I won't be upside down.

I don't know if I mentioned this, but I'm spending approximately $250/month extra on paying down both of my student loans and my car (2004 Honda Accord). Except for the car, I'm paying at least double on my student loans. I'm paying an extra $80/month on my car.

My wife and I are oging to be fine. She came to me Sunday and said, "We're fine. As long as we stick together, we'll be fine. You can get anything you want. I want you to be happy." Man, that felt good to hear.

I think I just might have to reward her with a vacation...

 

^^Good stuff.

 

HAHA nice i like this guy's thinking. I have been saving a ton also, but I have been working my butt off. I am a DOD civilian also, so I know what the TSP is like. I only started back in August, so right now im only putting in 5% of my pay each paycheck which is right around $90/pay. But other then that all my other money is going right into savings. I'm going to be saving up for a DP on a house/condo also. Was told i should have atleast 20%.

When i first signed on my job i got a pretty nice signing bonus. Spent a lot of it on a new surround sound system, big screen tv, new bed and some new furniture. Now im addicted with modding my car

What I have learned is that you dont need to penny pinch ur way through life, but you do need to be able to control your spending.