Money is a strange subject. You can brag about it, but only if you “deserve” the money. You’re supposed to know about your financial health, but no one teaches you. And if spending isn’t your hobby, you’re a bore (hyperboles for everyone!).
My mum calls my dad Rockefeller. He sees something, he buys it. She’s a queen of sales and reductions, the woman that mentions the prize as one of the bought product’s pros. I’m stuck in between with a fancy taste but without the will to empty my wallet for it. Having savings accounts gives me comfort and I’m lucky to have never needed a loan. My parents have told me that you don’t spend what you don’t have and that quality should befit prize. I think before I put money down.
This somehow annoys some people. I’ve never been called a bore to my face, but there has been plenty of remarks about why I “didn’t just” buy a trip around the world/car/house with my savings. I’ve been told that people like me keep the financial crisis alive (because I don’t spend enough) or that my money gets worth less over the years because of crappy interest. And my favourite: “You can’t take it with you when you’re dead!” like it’s an excuse to bankrupt yourself.
I don’t feel held down by these standards. Sometimes it feels silly that as a 27-year-old, I’m worrying about my pension, but right now I have the luxury to do something about it. I’ve never felt a thrill knowing I can buy whatever I want just because there’s money. The only thing I spend shamelessly on is food and travel, and the latter one needs time (off).
I know that all this can be considered as rich people problems, but I just want to share that financial stability isn’t boring. That knowing what your wallet does, isn’t a mood killer. That I think a lot of people could prosper with some financial education. And that swimming around in euro-cents is the best feeling in the world.
Do you think about your financial future? Need tips on finding your inner Scrooge? Or just want an invite for my cents pool? Take to the floor in the comments, it’s free!
4 replies on “I’m a Scrooge and It’s Okay”
We try to balance and I’m pretty happy with our finances. We’re in debt for our house and car, but it’s a low level for our income, and we’re happy with the things we have.
I’d be miserable if I was worried about how to pay the bills every month, or without any sort of safety net, but I also don’t want to work and have nothing to show for it.
If you’re happy with your finances, I say you’re good.
I really hope I’ll never be in the spot of monthly worries. Although I can imagine it’s something you can get used to as well ..
I worry about saving, too. I remember watching my mom trying to find the $7 each for rollerskating day at school for both me and my brother and realizing, “Oh shit. So we’re poor.” (I didn’t have any idea until the fifth grade. We were poor, but happy.) I don’t want to be under the stress that she clearly was. My goal is to have at least $10,000 in savings by the time I’m 30. And I almost never carry credit card debt from month to month.
That having been said, I can be a really big spender, for the right thing. I’ll wait years to buy something I really want, but then when I see the perfect form of it, I just buy it. I don’t really care about price. (Especially since, after waiting so long, I almost always have put the money away to buy it at any cost.)
Oh, definitely. It took me 7 months before I dared buy a pretty expensive bag, but ever since I’ve been very happy with it.