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Are you a spender?

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Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
1,160
Whatever that means. We’ve definitely been spending less during this lockdown period. I’m wondering if this will result in us altering, in any way, our spending habits after restrictions are lifted.

I spent some of January on a Founders trip to India supporting WildlifeSOS. I remember one dinner sitting with a couple of the older women I’d got to know and they were saying that throughout their lives they had never splurged; the only thing they had splurged on were animal charities. They also chose to forgo the shopping expedition that was organized for one afternoon of the trip. I couldn’t resist the shopping trip and thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.

Has the concern and accompanying lifestyle restrictions of this pandemic made anyone rethink how they spend money. While I’m always likely to have a “fun” budget, I like to think I have reassessed some of my spending behaviour and I'd hope to take this forward to the future.
 
We’re actually spending more shopping at pricier grocery stores and eating out more often to support our fave local restaurants. Our fun budget is pretty limited (by choice) as is so that’ll remain the same. But I think a lot of people will trim the fat during uncertain times. Nothing wrong with being frugal. :))
 
I have always been very frugal. My dad says I'm tighter than two coats of paint!
Saving money is almost like sport for me. So I haven't really changed anything during this time.
 
I must admit I’m a spender. I like nice things and nice things cost money. From designer clothes, bags, shoes to the stuff I collect Jadeite, jewelry, Art, Art Glass, minerals and crystals. Everything costs a pretty penny. But I don’t see it as me actively looking for expensive things to buy. It’s just that I have a budget which opens up more choices. I grew up and was raised to think we had only enough for our basic needs. Although I knew my parents had “pretty stuff” I always felt I couldn’t afford those. After graduating college did I only realize I could actually afford stuff. But it doesn’t mean I don’t work hard for what I have now. I work and I work hard.

Did the pandemic made me take a look at my lifestyle? YES made realize everything is trivial. I sit here in my room and house looking at all the pretty stuff that don’t mean anything in this pandemic. I basically catalogued my collections for ease of dividing if and when I perish in the pandemic. Hard realization that I’m not taking anything to the grave. Will I change my spending habits after the pandemic probably a little. I’ll still spend on the things I like but on the back of my mind make choices to also spend on things that matter. Probably get better insurance, stock up on PPE’s, etc.
 
I’m a selective spender. When I worked I never bought my lunch or takeaway coffee. Ever, even when earring 6 figures!
I always took my lunch and snacks and drank the office coffee. I barely went to hairdresser, just a cut, no blow dry and I’d cut my own fringe (you guys call them bangs). When I bought my first apartment finances were so tight I also walked to work and home when I could and shopped food specials and bulk buys wherever I could. I sold my car because it was too expensive to keep. I never went on holidays, I’d stay local and not spend much. Usually I’d cash in some of my annual leave (here in Australia we get 4 weeks a year, I’d cash in 2 weeks worth).
However I still bought jewelry. I have always bought jewelry. I still bought quality clothes, shoes and handbags. I was frugal but had a sharp eye for a bargain. Thirty years on I still have that black cashmere jumper. Cost me $800 and I reckon I’ve worn 1,000 times! When I bought that jumper everyone was gobsmacked. So much money. Well, do they have any of those fashion jumpers they bought each year to wear just 1 year? A friend worked out she spent easily $5,000 on jumpers and none of them she loved and none of the she still has.
So spend, but spend wisely. Buy quality, buy beauty and love it and have it last.
 
I get anxiety spending money; so this is perfect for me right now bec dh ordered a lovely handbag for me (early anniversary gift).

I know I will love it but right now I'm anxious & feeling guilty over the cost.
 
Bron357 said:
I’m a selective spender. When I worked I never bought my lunch or takeaway coffee. Ever, even when earring 6 figures!
I always took my lunch and snacks and drank the office coffee. I barely went to hairdresser, just a cut, no blow dry and I’d cut my own fringe (you guys call them bangs). When I bought my first apartment finances were so tight I also walked to work and home when I could and shopped food specials and bulk buys wherever I could. I sold my car because it was too expensive to keep. I never went on holidays, I’d stay local and not spend much. Usually I’d cash in some of my annual leave (here in Australia we get 4 weeks a year, I’d cash in 2 weeks worth).
However I still bought jewelry. I have always bought jewelry. I still bought quality clothes, shoes and handbags. I was frugal but had a sharp eye for a bargain. Thirty years on I still have that black cashmere jumper. Cost me $800 and I reckon I’ve worn 1,000 times! When I bought that jumper everyone was gobsmacked. So much money. Well, do they have any of those fashion jumpers they bought each year to wear just 1 year? A friend worked out she spent easily $5,000 on jumpers and none of them she loved and none of the she still has.
So spend, but spend wisely. Buy quality, buy beauty and love it and have it last.
Click to expand...

Bron, you are a person after my own heart.
I happily spend on jewelry & real estate but balk at things I can do for myself like manicures, garden care, car detailing, house cleaning, pet grooming and DIY home repairs....and bang cutting LOL

I have a few great designer items, like a Chanel runway coat which I bought preloved for for my DD’s wedding. I love it like I love my teddy bear, and it will last a lifetime =)2
 
Great question OP. I have been thinking about this a lot. I grew up in an environment where money was not a concern, and as a result spend irresponsibly. Compile poor fiscal management with the fact that I chose a minimum wage job (that I love), adulting is sometimes difficult. I am frugal about many things and buy used clothes and furniture, but also spend every last free penny on holidays, underwear, and bling. We are moving to a smaller place next month in anticipation of a recession and potential unemployment. At the moment we have very little in savings. My salary has been severely affected by the lockdown but it only makes up a fraction of our household income. We were due to move anyways. But the decision to downgrade rather than upgrade came as a direct result of the virus and it's long term economic implications. However, during lockdown we have been ordering food from restaurants more frequently than we ever used to go out. I feel like it's our part in keeping businesses afloat AND we have a delicious meal :lickout:
 
@Bron357 'Selective spender' I like that and am probably in this camp too. I am generally very careful with money, hunting out deals, saving on bills and utilities etc. I come from a working class background and have had to work very hard and save to get to where I am now financially.
.......and i enjoy sparklies and see them as both a treat and an investment! :mrgreen2:
 
We are definitely spending a lot more money on food at the moment, because we’re having to order everything online, and source from wherever we can get food.

We’re savers and spenders :lol: We live debt free, and don’t buy anything we can’t afford. Our big indulgences are holidays, we’ve already had 2 trips cancelled this year, managed to get a full refund for one, waiting on a refund for the second, and basically waiting until the next trip gets cancelled so we can get a refund on that.

This is likely to be the first year where our holiday expenses are going to be considerably less than normal, which means I ‘may’ be getting a little sparkly something instead :mrgreen:
 
no for the most part I am not...hubby on the other hand seems to like to spend money...I am actually struggling with buying a newer SUV, I know I should because prices are great and I would like a newer one (mine is a 2009 with 101,000 miles) but I just cant seem to actually go out and spend the money...
 
I actually don't know why I spend any money on possessions. Not attached that much to what I own other than the sentimental stuff, most of it lives in the closet and I relish the idea of tossing it every time I see it. Not that it is 'ugly or cheap'. It's generally neither -- it's just that extra stuff makes me somehow uneasy. I get uneasy whenever I have a huge excess of stuff I am not wearing or using on a daily basis.

Strangely this does not stop me accumulating more junk, but it makes me apt to avariciously toss a few bags full of items (including a bunch of my husband's possessions) every few months :roll:. Luckily my husband is not attached to his possessions (he rarely notices they're missing and usually doesn't care).

I don't really like keeping sentimental items either -- but these are actually the only ones I think have any intrinsic value. Actually they're probably the only ones that inspire joy. As sweaters etc can be replaced pretty easily no matter how much they cost.

I doubt this will change my habits though, I'll probably keep acquiring clothes I can't really wear to work (why on earth would I have so many of these? There's only 2 weekend days! Also why do I have like 7 sweaters and 5 formal coats? I live in the tropics and it is arround 90 degrees here all year round. It makes no sense. The coats are expensive so I am loathed to toss them but really it is pretty senseless), and already have a shopping list for new toys for my daughter. Who enjoyed the mass preshutdown toy and electronics shopping expedition immensely.
 
Now I am. When my DH and I first met I was a saver. I saved and put money into investments so by the time I reached my mid twenties I was able to buy my first apartment. A few years before I met Greg and I paid for it (a 30 year mortgage) in 3 years by saving.

I lived well enough on my (very) modest salary and was able to by my home in my twenties and still travel on vacation (Alaska as an example) every year. I had a great life when I was single. I met Greg and by the time we were married he had changed me a bit into a spender but to be fair I changed him a bit too from a spender (which yes he is) to a bit of a saver so we sort of met in the middle.

As I get older I tend to care less about saving a dime here and there and go by the adage to avoid being penny smart dollar foolish. Life is short and I want to enjoy it (within my means of course) and I buy what I want as long as I know we can safely afford it. So less of thrifty shopper and more of a spender these days. And well these past 5 weeks we have been spending so much on groceries and cat supplies etc. The prices are pretty high here but I am not even blinking. We need what we need and I am grateful and thankful we can afford it.

We bought all our cars preowned and where we can we save money.

One area I was always generous in and still am generous in is giving to charities. Mostly animal charities but also some other charities and we donate 10% of our income to these charities every year. They are near and dear to our hearts and we won't skimp there for as long as we are fortunate to be able to do this and hopefully we will always be able to donating generously to causes we feel are worthwhile.


ETA: Just reading the replies now and like @Austina I would say we are savers and spenders. LOL that's it exactly. And we live well within our means. That has been ingrained into me as a young child. My family is smart about money and saving while still enjoying life and my parents were able to raise us and pay for our education on their very relatively modest salary. They instilled into us values that served us well for our adult lives. Thanks mom and dad. I really do owe it to them.
 
Polabowla said:
I get anxiety spending money; so this is perfect for me right now bec dh ordered a lovely handbag for me (early anniversary gift).

I know I will love it but right now I'm anxious & feeling guilty over the cost.
Click to expand...

Don't feel guilty please. You deserve it. Enjoy it and wipe any guilt from your mind.
Happy anniversary!
 
I used to spend heaps on clothes and random junk.

Then I went hippie and stopped buying "stuff" because it won't decompose.

That said I love jewelry so spend a fair bit on that. That and food are my vices.

However I'm really conscious of plastic so I haven't had a bubble tea or take away drink in years because of all the plastic that I can't reuse.

Pre covid19 I brought my own containers for take out. Post covid19 I wash take out containers to be reused again one day.
 
I fit into selective spending. Not into buying clothes/shoes/handbags or make-up. My car is 13 years old, Iphone is a 6, as long as they continue to work then no need to spend money to replace them. As a child of the 80's I was spoiled, pretty much got everything I asked for until my father remarried.

Bling is my downfall but even then if I want something new there is typically a clean out of the jewelry box. With jewelry (and everything else) if I "need" something I always try to buy secondhand first with some exceptions obviously.
 
Selective. I don't like to buy clothes, shoes, makeup, do salon visits, purses, etc.

I do spend on jewelry, obviously.
 
We are periodic spenders. I will go for months with nothing new, but then I will spend more than I should on new clothes. Now that I am retired, I decided to try for a year with no new clothes (this was before the quarantine and makes even more sense now.) We put off fixing up the house and then do a big remodel. That kind of thing. I like to say my husband will never spend a nickel if he can spend a quarter, and he likes quality in things like his clothes, his tools, his tech, his BBQ grills — you get the idea. But he is not frivolous and does not shop often. I relate to the person above about clutter. I get rid of things constantly, and it also makes me uneasy to see anything sitting around unused. More and more I feel like I don’t want to leave a lot of junk for my kids to go through. This makes it hard to contemplate jewelry purchases because there is so much I think is beautiful, but it would drive me crazy if it were not worn regularly.
 
I have always been a spendthrift and always will be.:D
 
I am normally very thrifty and this pandemic has made me more so. The one splurge I’ve had, other than food, has been new tablecloths. I found some nice cheerful ones on sale online. I also made sure to be stocked up on high quality dark chocolate, since it is a “vegetable”. Other than that, we have been eating spring greens from the garden. It is a blessing to be able to be home and stay safe, when others don’t have that as an option. I feel like I am living in abundance with my simple life.
 
I am probably more of a spender than saver, but I am somewhat cautious. I have bought quite a few things the last couple months. Biggest being to LV handbags. DH bought a couple new tools. He is really a saver.
Even more than spending, I love giving. We have been able to do a fair amount of that during the pandemic and that makes me really happy.
 
I am a spender married to a miser. It causes problems. I can keep cash because it flies right out of my wallet. The quarantine saving us a lot of money. I online shop and when it comes time to pull the trigger I take pause and pull back. We will be on retirement soon and I don’t need a thing. God help me when things open back up! I spend on little things more than big things.
 
I'm a selective spender who tries to be an investor. I've overall been successful with picking out a few stocks that I plan to keep money in, Warren Buffett style of investing, plus I put the majority of my investment money into mutual funds managed by other people.

What this means practically, is that I'm taking advantage of 0% APR on a couple credit accounts to slowly pay down bling purchases while funneling money into my retirement accounts. I will eventually have to slow or stop my spending on bling to improve my credit, which is mid-700s instead of the 800+ it was at before I started buying bling and keeping balances on 0% APR cards.

Bling is one of the things keeping me happy in these COVID-19 times. I tried to get back into less expensive hobbies, with very little success. However, creating a budget and planning my spending is a high priority TO-DO for me.
 
AprilBaby said:
I am a spender married to a miser. It causes problems. I can keep cash because it flies right out of my wallet. The quarantine saving us a lot of money. I online shop and when it comes time to pull the trigger I take pause and pull back. We will be on retirement soon and I don’t need a thing. God help me when things open back up! I spend on little things more than big things.
Click to expand...

That's our dynamic too. I'm definitely the spender and he's definitely the saver. The only thing we agree to sparing no expense on is the animals... But outside of their medical needs even that isn't sparing no expense - we buy bulk wherever we can, we buy the sale flavours, we buy the simplest collars, they get our old towels and cushions and mattresses for bedding, we do baths and grooming at home.

He'll ask me when he buys something "unnecessary" that costs $100. I think nothing of dropping $400. I've gotten much better at remembering to tell him because he reviews our credit statements monthly and he hates surprises! I think around $500 is where I want his explicit affirmation before spending on something frivolous.

We both work. He makes more than I do but we're in similar salary bands. My spending habits change when there's a large discrepancy (like after my company went under a couple of years ago and I was unemployed for a few months) - I wasn't comfortable spending money that "I didn't earn". However, if another woman says she feels uncomfortable spending money that her spouse brings home I'm up in arms right away, and if a woman ever told me that her spouse was uncomfortable with her spending money that he brought home I'd steam from the ears. So I recognize the hypocrisy. My other half sees everything we earn as "ours", no qualifiers.
 
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I love the term"selective spender", thanks @Bron357 !

I have always liked nice things. I value quality and timeless elegance. I have always loved a bargain, and the hunt for that one perfect item, too.

DH hates shopping and accumulating "stuff" . He's not a spender on himself, but he's an incredibly generous person. Not only money - wise. I love this trait in him.
 
I am enjoying the responses.

I asked my husband if I am a spender, because in my mind he most definitely is not. He said that I am not a spender but he thinks he is!!
He classifies his hobby as a car collector as being ‘spend-y.’ I do the same with jewelry, but otherwise, I guess neither of us are spenders even though we now could be.We actually just love a good value. Neither of us need much to make us happy.
So I think we all have our own definition of what being a spender or not looks like.

It was an interesting and fun discussion for us.
 
I spend money on jewelry, concerts, theater, good food and vacations. I save a lot and spend on the above when I feel I can. I don't put much money into cars, clothes, or eating out.
 
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