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Spending Thoughts, Saving Thoughts

December 2nd, 2020 at 02:34 am

One of the things I've noticed this year since paying off our debt is that I have gotten a little too free-spending.  Or maybe it just seems that way.  Well, I know it is with eating out, though we've cracked back down on that, but I am wondering about whether or not I truly am on other things.

Maybe it is just because we went so long without replacing things and upgrading things that now that we have the money, I am just getting what I put off getting.  I've replaced all of my pans, gotten an electric citrus juicer, bought clothes and shoes, and of course all the mattresses and I'm about to buy a freezer that I've been saving for and have the money for a propane grill so when we are ready to get it we can.  I mean, I budget for, and save for these things and I limit what I get in any one month, but lately it seems like we are having packages arrive daily.

I know some of that is Christmas gifts coming and some of it is gluten free food I can't get locally and vitamins and whatnot, but I can't help but feel like it is out of control.  Only I don't think it is.  I just think it is allowing us to get things after not for so many years while we tackled the debt.  Maybe I just feel guilty for spending, period.  Is this a thing that happens once you are debt free?  Is it just because I have loosened the purse strings?

Replacement mode does seem to be winding down now.  I will be saving for a new knife set, though, and then new pots and then we should be good for a long while, I think.  They are pricier than I've had before, but the pots are made in America and the knives are made in Germany, and they are higher quality.

The thing is, I still want to build the Emergency Fund to three month's salary and eventually to six and maybe even eventually to a year after that.  I feel like I can't do that while I am in replacement mode.  I am adding some, but I feel like I could be doing so much more.  I do plan on buckling down in January and making consistent deposits to the EF.  And we do plan on raising our retirement contributions in January as well.

I guess we will be moving on from this soon, but the feelings behind so much spending have been building up.  It probably is quite normal.  I just want to rein it back in for 2021.  The focus really needs to come back and move into that gazelle intense phase again.  That seemed easier to do when we were paying down debt than it is to just save.  I have to get over that.

 

Posted in Just Rambling | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Spending Thoughts, Saving Thoughts”

  1. ceejay74 Says:
    December 5th, 2020 at 08:12 pm 1607199176
    1607199176

    I do remember that feeling. I guess whenever I want to rein things in, I designate a certain amount that can be spent each month in any category, and try not to go over that. That's more or less what we're planning for the 2021 budget, which will be very different because we only have one fixed income now (or will once NT's severance runs out in a few weeks). Conversely, you can set the amounts you want to go to saving or whatever, and what's left over is what can be spent.

  2. rob62521 Says:
    December 6th, 2020 at 07:48 pm 1607284083
    1607284083

    I understand your feeling, but it sounds like you aren't spending on stupid things. Replacing things like pots and pans is good because you use them.

  3. disneysteve Says:
    December 8th, 2020 at 06:23 pm 1607451822
    1607451822

    I've often noticed we get a bit "spendy" after a windfall or a change in our situation. It never lasts, though, and we always return to our normal pattern soon enough. There's nothing wrong with rewarding yourself a bit for paying off a debt or getting a raise or cutting some other expense.

  4. LivingAlmostLarge Says:
    December 9th, 2020 at 06:33 pm 1607538782
    1607538782

    I think it's what happens when you live "gazelle" extreme to quote dave ramsey for years. You push off things that would be "spread" out spending say buying a new pot set year 1, then year 2 a knife set, then a freezer year 3, if you get my drift. Things that would have been part of the normal spending were pushed off and instead the moment you finished baby step 2 you have a ton of deferred gratification and you did change your behavior and are paying cash. But you aren't living like nobody else.

    I'm more of the preventative type. I like to prevent things I see happening with investment in money rather than waiting till it hits and I feel panic from needing something "right now" and feeling pressured to buy something not on sale or at what is peak pricing because I really need it.

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