Why are you trying to save money?

Yesterday, reader Anne left this comment:

Kristen, I think I just got a fun idea for a post. I was reading through the frugal hacks and wondering for what reason people were saving money. Some, of course, because this is a difficult season, financially, in their life. But others might be saving for a home down payment, a fabulous vacation, to quit an oppressive job, to go back to school, to have another baby, etc.

It would be so nice to get an idea what everyone’s dreams/goals are. What do you think?

I think this is a great idea! Some of you are probably really clear on your “why”, but for others of you, maybe it’ll be a good exercise to really figure out what the “why” is behind your savings efforts.

I’ll go first, and then I’ll turn the floor over to you.

So. Why do I try to save money?

Let’s start with the past.

Then: Saving money was absolutely essential

In the first ten years of our marriage, we really did not have a lot of money. One could say that we had no choice but to be frugal, but in a sense that’s not true.

We always have choices; it’s just that if we hadn’t made frugal choices, we would have paid dearly for it.

On a high income, you can make poor spending choices and still be ok.

But if we had been stupid with our finances, we would have ended up in a pile of debt in about two minutes.

Careful spending really kept us from going into the red, and it gave us just enough of a savings cushion to help us weather emergencies.

A sub-point here:

If you want to live well on a low income, creative frugality is super important

Most people aren’t really too enthused about a life of deprivation, so frugality is partly about staying out of debt, and partly about trying to experience the pleasures of life for less.

Want to eat fancy bread? Bake it yourself.

Want to vacation at the beach? Go in September, bring your own linens, cook in the condo, and do your own departure cleaning.

Want to dress your kids well? You’ve got to shop clearances off-season and pick through loads of hand-me-downs.

Want your kids’ rooms to look nice? Paint the walls yourself, and then get free furniture and paint it yourself.

Want a hotel night with your spouse? Apply for a credit card ahead of time, get the free night sign-up bonus, and then book your overnight.

Anyway. In the past, I was being frugal to:

a) Keep us out of debt

and

b) Make our lives as nice as possible on a small income

Now: Saving money is more of a choice

In mid-2006, Mr. FG made the switch from the warehousing industry to the IT industry. From that point on, we’ve steadily been getting more and more breathing room in our finances.

However, this increase in income has been slightly less, “Whee, now we’ve got tons of money!” and more like, “Whoa, we’ve got a lot we need to spend money on right now. Good thing our income went up.”

This is partly because our kids got older and entered a more expensive stage of life (16 year olds are more expensive than 6 year olds, in my experience*) and partly because after a decade of lower-income living, we have some things to catch up on.

 

*6 year olds do not need things like braces, wisdom-teeth removal, car insurance, or college classes!

For instance, we did not start our retirement savings nearly as early as recommended. We were so busy just trying to stay out of debt, we had nothing to throw at retirement.

And until recently, Mr. FG  had never had a 401(k) match at work.

So, why specifically do I pursue frugality now?

I am not as uptight about spending as I used to be, since we have more breathing room. But I do still try to keep expenses down.

Why?

We still have unmet financial goals

Here’s a sampling! We want to:

• pay off our house
• give to others
• save for retirement
• help our kids with college expenses
• pay for college for me if I decide to go back

Smart spending can help us meet those goals.

So, it’s less about staying out of debt now, and more about reaching toward goals.

And that is definitely way more fun.

It seems not-smart to pay more than necessary

Why would I buy food at Safeway rather than Aldi, when what I get at Aldi is perfectly acceptable to us?

Why would I not look for a coupon code?

Why would I not buy the refurbished model, or a barely-used item from Facebook Marketplace or eBay?

If I can get something perfectly good for less money and not much effort, that just makes common sense to me.

Get something for less, and then you have more to save or to spend on something else.

I am already pretty good at saving money

Years and years of practice at frugal living have given me some pretty good skills.

This means that many frugal things are just second nature to me now, and that makes it pretty easy to save.

Lots of frugal activities have other benefits

I would keep some of my frugal habits even if I had five million dollars, just because they are overall good things to do.

• Reusable items reduce trash output.
• Cooking at home instead of getting takeout is almost always healthier.
• Some homemade items just taste better (like applesauce!)
• Buying items that will last reduces the need for manufacturing and also reduces waste.
• Avoiding food waste helps reduce landfill methane.
• Using the library means I don’t have to store all the books we read.
• Selling our gently-used items ensures that they go to a home where they will be used (rather than in the trash)

I think that’s probably enough about me. I’d like to hear from you!

Why do you try to save money? What’s your goal?