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You aren't alone! I'm positively atrocious with money. I'm 28 and I'm just now beginning to really get a handle on it. I have a good salary, and live in a beautiful apartment with close friends. But I still live paycheck to paycheck.
The oddest thing is that I'm not living extravagantly, at least not by my standards. I do eat out regularly, and I have a few luxuries (Karate class, high-speed internet), but my car is broken down and I find myself wondering how I'm going to pay for my tux rental for a friends wedding.
I think it comes down to a standard of living concept. We make decisions about how we want to live our life, and do our best to live that way, even if it means sacrificing having a larger savings account, or feeling guilty about it later.
One difference though, is that I almost never feel guilty about how I spend my money. I decided a long time ago that while I may never be rich, I'm going to live comfortably and enjoy myself. Unless I'm flat broke (which has happened a few times when room-mates were out of jobs etc.) I won't penny pinch or deny myself or my friends/family the use of what money I have.
It seems to come down a lot to accepting responsibility for the choice. I choose to live a bit recklessly. I didn't really have any money at all growing up, so being broke doesn't scare me very much. As a result, living from paycheck to paycheck doesn't make me feel terrible most of the time.
That said, I'm trying to get out of that pattern a little at a time. I get paid again next Friday, and it looks like I'll have about $80 or so left that I can put towards the aforementioned tux rental. It's not much, but it makes me REALLY happy.
I make $80 in less than 5 seconds trading ES futures. You are all pathetic.
So much comes down to our belief in instant vs. delayed gratification. Ask yourself is what you are buying going to make you happy now, or happy forever. Base your spending so that more gets set aside for the forever category.
@Anonymous - Way to go with your insightful discussions regarding someone's spending habits. Not only did your comment have absolutely nothing to do with the subject, it shows that the ease in which money can be made (or lost) can affect how one's spending.
@Norcross - sorry you are unhappy in your cubicle today.
"That said, I'm trying to get out of that pattern a little at a time. I get paid again next Friday, and it looks like I'll have about $80 or so left that I can put towards the aforementioned tux rental. It's not much, but it makes me REALLY happy."
Boo-freaking hoo.
This "GenY" crap is freaking retarded. Yeah, I would classify as such...and you people make me ashamed to be forcibly lumped in any category with you...
@Anonymous ouch! I do get the whole idea of 'Gen Y' being overplayed, but it just so happens that a a lot of where it appears on the internet and in conversations around the office have personal resonance for me. I just know I like learning and developing.
RE: this post. Managing money can be tricky. I remixed a budgeting tool I found on Get Rich Slowly.org and made a post on the website for the AmeriCorps Community Technology Center's VISTA website.
How to Stay Financially Stress-free On a VISTA Budget
http://ctcvista.org/node/1243
Most VISTAs are working at poverty level to help serve other impoverished communities using media technology.
Cheerio!
Morgan
I can really relate to 'not having much when growing up so hence, not being scared of not having any money' but this is sometimes troublesome when figuring out how much to *really* ask for (or know what to do) when a raise or some nice professional package presents itself...
@Anonymous - Well, other than the fact that you won't even share any information about yourself, I'll indulge you for a moment:
1. Unhappy in my cubicle: I actually have an office, complete with a window and a door. 5th floor, next to the corner conference room. And I was actually working from home today, since my wife was recuperating from surgery
2. Getting "lumped in": I'm a 'tweener' myself, being born in 1980, and thus being put in both categories. I'm also put in the 'white male' category, 'young married professional' category, and I'm sure a few others. But unlike you, I contribute to the conversation, input when appropriate, and butt out when needed. You seem to do none of those. So why not, instead of wasting time here, go back to your futures and Forex trading, which you clearly seem to have mastered?
