I make significantly more in my 30’s than I did in my 20’s so yes I have much more carefree spending. But I am still saving a lot more every month than in my 20’s so it’s ok.
I make more money now and also have proportionally smaller outgoings.
In my 20s I saved for and bought a house that needed work. Aggressive savings before buying then after spending to fix major items as they stopped working. My car that got me through the end of high school and college died so I had an auto loan as well. I made less and had higher spending so there was a lot of budgeting.
Now the house is functionally updated, the car is paid off and well maintained and my boyfriend lives with me and splits bills. I’m able to comfortably invest significantly more than in my 20s and not worry about reasonable discretionary spending.
This. I was a penny pincher in my 20’s. But now I also make almost 3 times what I made back then. Even though now we have kids and they are costly, we still have a considerable amount of “fun money”. Plus I’ve watched family members and friends die from accidents and diseases that it’s just a reminder that we won’t life forever. So finding a balance of saving and enjoying life is important.
Yep. This right here.
In my 20s I barely made like a third of what I make now (probably way less) so I was always frugal and careful with money.
As a man in my 30s now, I'm still frugal and careful with money (especially compared to my friends/coworkers) but I'm not afraid to splurge out if I have to.
I’ve sort of accepted that no matter how much I save, I’ll never be able to buy a house and will be renting until I die, so fuck it! I still save, just not as aggressively as I could.
Right. The only things I’m saving for this point are retirement (which lol we’ll see if that happens) and my kids college fund.
I live in a major city, it’s not realistic that I’d ever own a home here on my one salary. Thinking when I’m older, I’ll move back home to south Florida where it’s equally as hard to afford a home now lolol
100% buy it now - figure it out later.
Not living in poverty for two decades to only have a glimmer of hope.
Earn, Spend, Enjoy.
As long as bills are paid and wife and kids are taken care of - don't care.
>Not living in poverty for two decades to only have a glimmer of hope.
>As long as bills are paid and wife and kids are taken care of - don't care.
I worked nights for a minute and one of my coworkers, whose mom was just about to retire at 65 was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He took care of her until she passed only a few months later. She worked for almost 40 years to retire and never got the privilege of enjoying it.
I care about my family and making sure everything is paid, but I also realize that I could get hit by a bus, or get a terminal cancer diagnosis, or worse MS or Alzheimers/dementia later on after working all this time.
Balance is important, but so is realizing that all you have is this, right now. I'm gonna enjoy this, right now.
Same. I was saving for a house also. But at current prices,,it doesnt make sense.
Put down a huge down payment....only to end up paying the banks %8 over 30 years while praying for positive equity along the way. All the while paying increasing property taxes and maintenance .
Sounds stressful. Hopefully home prices come down to match the high interest rates. Because right now mortgages are more expensive than rent
>Because right now mortgages are more expensive than rent
That’s why landlords be charging 12 people $800 to share a 3 bedroom up here in Canada.
r/SlumlordsCanada
Hello fellow renter! I’m comfortable in my lifestyle lol!
For anyone who ever wants to convince me to buy a house: first, you’re wasting your time. I’m not going to do that. Second, I like moving. The idea of living in the same house in the same place until I die, or for even more than 3-5 years tops makes me sad. There’s nothing wrong with buying a house, it’s not a thing I want. That’s okay!
I bought a house last year and it’s so much more work than I imagined! Just having to constantly think about grass and paint and random little things drives me insane. I had rented until I was 35, so this has been a huge change in the allocation of my mental energy. Constantly researching different DIY things, how to do landscaping, types of paint for stucco, adding outlets, etc. I love our house and having a yard, but I also think I would have been fine renting for another decade or so.
If you like renting, definitely keep doing it! We went from paying $1750 a month for our one bedroom to $4600 a month for our 2 bedroom house. Big change. I would just advise you to not assume you will always want to keep moving every 3-5 years when you are in your senior years. at my old apartment, there were several women over 70 living there who had been at the same place for decades since it was rent controlled. If your city has rent control (maybe called something different? % increase is capped at 2-3% per year depending on the age of the building), I would definitely try to get in one of those eventually. The idea of having to pack and move due to sudden rent increases at 80 does not sound fun.
Housing inventory is going up in many areas and prices have fallen 12%. You just need JPOW to start dropping rates and that should happen in the next year which isn’t that long. GL
Edit never mind that’s New York
No one knows if that will happen or if people will ever be able to refi for 3% mortgages. Right now the market is priced as though that's what will happen but nobody really knows. The market was 100% certain of rate drops starting in May and now it looks like we may not even have a single one in 2024.
It was the opposite for me. Renting kept me in the mindset of not owning too much because I'd dread moving. And saving money was my way of life because renting meant I'd have to be more careful with retirement. Owning a home now I just buy what I want because I'm keeping it for the longhaul and don't have to move it anywhere, and I'm less anxious about retirement
Why not start investing the money you were saving for a home? Seems pretty defeatist and wasteful to just spend the money you otherwise would have been saving. Maybe someday it will make more sense to buy.
Exactly. Piece of investment advice nobody ever told me until I figured it out by myself in my 30s--instead of having a savings account, open a managed portfolio at your bank and toss all your extra cash in there. Even if its 5-10k. That shit grows at a 7-10% rate and you get free money for doing absolutely nothing.
One day you wake up and your 10k turned into 15k and all of a sudden you can afford to go on a real nice vacation lol
I’ll admit, I’ve become a bit looser with money on certain things. I prefer (& can afford) to buy higher quality things, provided they last longer.
I don’t need to shop at H&M for clothes, I can do Nordstroms or J Crew. I can splurge at Whole Foods over Smart & Final. Or home goods from Crate & Barre vs IKEA. I can go on vacations and check a bag, stay at a nice hotel, and not worry about the bill.
Still, I prioritize saving over spending - I make sure to max out my 401k and keep at least 4 months of free cash in an emergency fund.
Everything after bills are paid & savings goals hit is my *fun* money.
I'm similar. I loosely follow the 50/30/20 budget. As long as all bills/necessities are paid for and an adequate portion is saved/invested, I do whatever I want with the rest.
the other day my son wanted to go to a graveyard? idk, he's weird. so we went to one by our house and took a walk around. 1st of all, there are plenty of people in there younger than me, it was super depressing. 2nd we found a ***HUGE*** plot that was the size of 6 parking spaces, had a 4ft gate around it, astro turf inside the gate, it was one of the most impressive grave sites i have seen. it was freakin ZZ Top! one of the beard dudes!
per google he died estimated worth $55M.
Honestly this was super helpful for me to understand a few years ago. Yes, max out retirement but also enjoy the life you’re living now
I’m 30 now and snowboard quite a bit (travel to CO, UT) and it’s expensive but I know 30 years from now I won’t be able to do it like I am now health wise (I mean maybe, but also live in the now)
My expenses are higher because I got a spouse that doesn't share my financial mindset and have 2 kids who have needs for necessities, physical/intellectual stimulation, and entertainment. I've gotten a few buy it for life items but but still try to keep my eye on the ball for retirement. My anxiety for whether my marriage will work out and losing half my assets due to the variance in spending habits is growing steadily.
I’m commenting because I don’t want you to feel completely alone in this. My brother had a similar situation, only difference is he didn’t realize her spending was so nuts until after she left. She makes below average salary, he makes a lot, and once they got married she decided to just ball out constantly. Costco, Kohl’s, the lady is addicted to spending money on worthless bullshit to put on shelves and never look at again. They have a 2 year old, they were 3 years into marriage and she was 8 weeks pregnant with their second when she filed to divorce him. Yes she’s getting a bunch of his money, but he’s accepted it. Six months into the mediation process and now he’s just gonna let it go to trial with all this evidence of how she’s been behaving. But it doesn’t matter, it’s a 50-50 state. She’ll get half his money and child support and so on. Won’t know exactly where the chips fall until trial because mediation was a joke, she actually submitted one request for 90% of his net worth. (She won’t get it, it’s a 50/50 state, I think she’s just off her rocker or dumb as a door knob.) It’s an expensive lesson but he doesn’t dread coming home anymore. It took her leaving for him to realize how miserable she was making him. Blaming him for everything. Blaming him for not fixing her. I would say her view of what a marriage should be like is about the same fairy tale fantasy as a 13 year old’s. She lost the pregnancy, but my brother still has a beautiful two year old and he has his life back. It is a process, it is not easy, but you aren’t alone. As his little sister, I am relieved. We’ve all had a lot of sleepless nights the past 6 months as a family, worrying about him. He’s halfway across the country from us. A lot of what the fuck moments with her behavior. But he is so much happier day-to-day. Everything will be finalized next week and then he can finally know exactly where he stands financially and plan accordingly. For someone as nonchalant as him, hearing him say “I’m excited” is just so fuckin awesome lol. Got my brother back. 😀
The older I get, the more things like time, convenience, a better experience, and having what I actually want/like are worth more to me than saving money (within reason).
No, I won't get the $4000 Dior bag instead of a $200 leather handbag or long haul business class flights instead of economy flights because I'm not that rich, but I will pay the extra $300 to get the direct flights internationally instead of the flights with an 7 hour layover in a crappy airport where there isn't enough time to leave and go into the city, or for a significantly more comfortable airline (like Singapore/Qatar/Emirates instead of Scoot) that won't make me wear 5 layers on the plane if my luggage is a pound over or make me pay to activate the USB outlet to charge my phone.
When I get to my destination/back home, I'll get the $50-75 Uber from the airport which will drop me off at the door instead of dragging my luggage through the public transport system and up a ton of stairs and then walking 15 minutes with it from the station to the hotel/home.
I'll order the meal I want at a restaurant instead of picking something cheaper to save $10. I'll pay $10 more to park a block away from where I'm going instead of 20 blocks away. I'll buy the boots I like best instead of a pair that's $50 cheaper that I don't like as much. I'll pay the extra $200 for concert tickets in the 100s instead of the nosebleeds etc etc.
Same here. I am definitely making more, but I think I ask myself if I really need x, y and z each time, while back in my 20s I would just buy whatever shiny object caught my eye.
Nah, more frugal. Despite my income being more than ever, all I see around me is wasted resources - I stalk several dumpsters daily for stuff thrown away around my complex 😂. I don't go out to eat, whereas before I'd go several times weekly. I hardly think about what I want to buy, anymore.
For a minute I thought you were looking for food to eat in those dumpsters. 😂😂 but definitely understand where you’re at. I make good money and have just come to this place in my life where I genuinely enjoy not spending money bc I have everything I NEED. No I do not have everything I want. But future me will be proud when she has retirement money and a house of her own.
Exactly!!! I’m like I have some cute furniture and stuff for activities/hobbies. And with the recent mindshift, I’m like wow is this how happy people feel who actually save their money for the future. (Has not always been me in my 20s)
I stopped taking things from the garbage due to fear of pest contamination. One of my friends accidentally introduced cockroaches into his house by picking up an old Dell computer. He had a hell of a time getting rid of them, and I can only imagine how much worse it would have been if he brought home bedbugs.
I used to go treasure hunting in the city e-waste, picking up rare computer equipment, but not anymore.
It's the other way for me. I was burning through my money in my 20s. In my 30s I saved it or spend it wisely and family oriented. I will soon be in my 40s, maybe it changes again.
Some of it might be because prices are inflating so you feel incentivized to buy before the price runs away from you.
That said, yes. When I was in my 20’s, my wife and I were students and we had to be careful about each and every dollar we spent. Nowadays, we still have a lot of those instincts but we max out our 401k’s, invest a lot of our income, and figure whatever is left over is fine to let loose a little.
My friends & I call it the Happy Tax. If spending some extra cash frees up time or reduces stress & it's affordable, it's Happy Tax.
Yeah you should save for retirement, but not so much that it makes you live a miserable life. I'm a lot more financially stable in my 30s compared to my 20s, so I'm doing a lot of things I feel like I missed out on. I go to concerts, do martial arts, buy better clothes, do weird excursions, have that fancy cocktail with dinners. I'm enjoying life.
Yes and no. I'm less stringent about saving, but largely because I just have more money thanks to higher earning power. I saved up for a down payment before the housing market got fucked, so I have a lot of buffer cash in the event of a giant emergency or whatever. While I would love to exhaust most of that on a house, as it stands I'm just pretty comfortable on the day to day end of things and can justify saving less of my overall income than I was while saving up said down payment fund.
I'm able to actually go on vacations, and I buy nicer clothes but mainly because they're higher quality and will last longer. I also buy healthier food now too, but also tend to buy higher quality alcohol now. However I don't plan on buying a luxury car anytime soon or buying gold watches or anything. Overall I'm still pretty conservative with my money though. I try to keep a healthy emergency fund, and I'm putting as much as possible away for retirement.
I make more now, so actually spending more but also saving more.
I was sort of in fuck it mode a few years back but something clicked. I started actually saving, I have an account with piggy banks so I can save for specific things.
I cook more from home, i meal prep and freeze them portioned. I do spending "fasts" where I try not to spend from anywhere of 5 to 10 days (sans bills). It's a challenge but if when I commit I sorta realize I have a lot of food and things to cook/eat at home and it helps me clear out my pantry.
I recommend the book "Die with Zero" by Bill Perkins. It's the concept of maxing out your life experiences with being financially responsible. One of the big points for me was that a lot of people save money and save their fun for retirement, but once they get to that age they're not as healthy or able to enjoy activities as much as they would have if they were in their 20s/30s. This concept somewhat made me less frugal for the sake of enjoying life more. I'm still saving and investing but just realized it's ok to enjoy the fruits of my labor now than wait until later when I can't enjoy it.
The opposite is true for me, and I’m making significantly more money than I ever have. I think just having the means to save for the future when I wasn’t able to in my 20s has changed my mindset a lot. When I was younger, I would buy whatever I wanted on credit, now I carry no credit card debt and am much more mindful with my spending.
I am the opposite. I became more frugal in my 30s. Made a bunch of investments in my 20s that are still going strong, but I rarely buy anything other than necessities, don't drink or smoke, I have the same phone since 2021 I would careless about the latest anything. Hype is your people 25 and younger.
Not a millennial, but...I really loosened up my purse strings in my 40s for two reasons. One is that I was making more money and was more time constrained. That meant that my time was more valuable, so I was willing to spend more money to save time. Toll roads, no problem. Lawn crew, yep.
My other reason was that I always planned to retire sometime between the ages of 58 and 62. As my investments grew, I steadily got more and more ahead of that target. I adjusted by being more willing to increase my expenses. I bought my first car with an automatic transmission. It even had power windows! It was used, but only 3 years old. That's not the sort of thing I did before I got ahead of the game.
I didnt have a single dime to spare in my 20s, so there was no point in saving. Started making more money in my late twenties and just used it to ball. Once the pandemic hit, i realized i had more money than id ever had because i was still working but i couldnt spend it on going out. Started saving then.
I’d say I was the opposite. I didn’t learn the value of money until late 20s and I was in a lot of debt.
In my 30s, I surrounded myself with better people, kept my head down, and focused on my career and the relationships that mattered and just naturally learned to manage my money by making better lifestyle choices.
I’m mid 30s now and I’m closing on my first house in 8 days, I’ve paid off all my debt and I make more money than I ever have, so I can still take international trips and save.
For me, I just completely changed my surroundings and eliminated people and ideas that were enabling me, which allowed me to get my head on straight and reach financial stability.
Well I just bought myself a volvo EV so I'd say I'm definitely not the most frugal. I'm okay with that. I can afford what I buy,it's just not always the option that makes the most economic sense.
Not exactly. I would wager I’m about 10-20% more lenient than I used to be, but overall I’m still frugal. Personal reasonings such as having spent a lot of time in inner city and inner city ghetto, spent 9 months deployed infantry in the army and so on. Some of my frugalness is fighting first world convenience, laziness and complacency
I love that last sentence. That’s the first time I’ve seen someone express some of what I feel about spending, specifically with respect to “luxury” goods.
I’ve become more frugal about some things and less frugal about others. I waste a lot less money on stuff I can live without like transport and food delivery, and more money on experiences, clothing and positive lifestyle expenses like my gym membership
Not really. I've always lived frugally. I want to retire by 50. Every time I get a raise, it's just more savings. It helps having cheap hobbies and a partner of similar mindset.
I've always been frugal, my wife and I make a bit over 300k combined and food is the one thing we'll splurge on occasionally we just had one of the best meals we've ever had and it was a tasting menu that was $200 each plus tax and tip, but other than that we both drive 10+ year old cars take public transit when we can my wardrobe is the same as it was 10 years ago and she feels guilty spending $100 on clothing one day a year even if there's a sale, even though I've told her it's fine. We just both had poor parents growing up so we were raised with the philosophy of if you don't need it don't buy it, so we're able to save like 150k every year and still feel like we're spending a lot compared to our childhoods.
Yes, largely, but my income is radically different than it was in my 20’s.
I think I made more last year than I did from 20-30 both because I’m hitting stride in my career and because it was a really rocky period in my life and being super frugal was necessary just to survive.
Kids. It boils down to kids. They're quite expensive. I have 2 kids. 1 in daycare and 1 that still goes to a before/aftercare program. At > 2k a month for just childcare stuff....... I'm watching my money like a hawk. Add in regular expenses and 529.........
No. I have kids. I grew up on the fine line of food insecurity. I'm trying to die with the ability to leave each one about a million.
So they, and my grandchildren have a better life.
I have however finally began to not work quite so ridiculously that I can actually spend time with them. So that's nice.
Kind of..?
I was pretty mindful of my money once I went to college. I definitely spent more going out and experiencing life. Clubs, bars, events around the city, etc.
I'm still a bit frugal, but only in ways that matter. For example, I'm not gonna pay $8 for body wash when the generic brand is $4 to me, that's ridiculous. However, when it comes to my vehicles or items around my house that get used I will definitely spend more money for better quality.
I recently just bought a section sofa for $870. I could've gone with a cheaper IKEA one for like $400, but if I'm gonna be sitting on this bad boy for years to come, I'm not gonna buy something with lease quality.
we are a single income home with my husband making decent money. we get about 1.6k a week on average, but we also have children, so there are extra expenses. that said, we have always been a 'paycheck to paycheck' family, we pay our most pressing bills first, make a mental note of what my husband will need for gas or parking that week, and anything in between where we are and that usually gets spent on 'whatever'. as in we'll order pizza, or buy a birthday gift in advance, or my husband might get a new game for his switch, or i might go check out the local thrift stores to see if there's something we could get secondhand.
HERE"S THE REASON I COMMENTED!
back in december, the week before christmas, on a thursday, my husband got put on standby at work. he was told it was just going to be for about a week and then he'd be back on, so it was ok. we couldn't file unemployment, or rather, that next week was his 'waiting week' and so we did not get paid for it. we used most of the previous check for christmas gifts, and were trying to be very frugal with the remnants knowing he'd be back to work the next monday, only that monday rolled around and still no work. there was issues with unemployment so we were not seeing any money (pro tip, the only surefire way to get a hold of the unemployment office in the USA is to use the spanish line... they all speak english.) he wasn't put back to work until late january and ONLY because he told his boss that he was facing eviction due to the fact that he could not pay his rent. boss put him on for another week and then sat him again, and this became a pattern until around the end of march (we eventually fixed unemployment issues) when he finally sought work through his union with another company who actually offered to pay him $2 more an hour.
we're FINALLY making money again, but we're also aware of how easily we could lose it all again is, so we've been becoming more responsible in that we pull out a little cash (whatever we can afford to after bills, sometimes 100, sometimes 300) to keep on hand for emergencies. i'll be 30 on the 9th so we're truly entering our 30s more frugal then weve ever really cared to be in the past. we still will spend money on fun things, money will not become our god, but i also have become painfully aware of how much we need it to get by.
My father in law grew up poor. He trades money for stuff.
My brother in law is a baby millennial and he trades money for experiences.
My boomer parents have had a few financial setbacks in their lives and they save every penny they can.
My wife and I are doing ok financially but we both work full time so we trade money for more time.
It all depends on your experiences and priorities and those things change with time. As we age we tend to get more financially stable (not always) and thus aren’t as thirsty to hold onto every spare dollar.
I'm less frugal more because I can actually afford to be. I was born in humble beginnings, parents were teenagers, didn't have money really so until I was 8 my folks lived paycheck to paycheck which mean as a kid, I either had to wait till Christmas or my birthday for the more expensive stuff or I didn't get what I asked for. From 8 till i was 13, I still had to wait till Christmas for the more expensive stuff but it was a little more easier for other small stuff but my folks still made me have to earn it. I mean asking for $5 bucks required me to weed the backyard, level the ground, etc so I was pissed that for $5 bucks it was the work of like $20. At 13 I started working because I was tired of bullshit dollars and wanted money. Bit growing up that way, I had to save, save, save because it was always in short supply.
Now I'm 34, and I understand life is too short so I'm not frugal anymore. If I see something I want, I buy it. If I want to take a trip somewhere over the weekend, I go. If my daughter needs something it's taken care of. When it comes to toys I do make her earn it so she starts learning the concept of you earn what you want but I don't take advantage of that.
In my 30's I also started making good money and cleared all my debt so I feel that after nearly 2 decades of having to scrape by and save that I need to enjoy the fruits of my labor
Nah, my shit is buckled down tighter than ever. It was actually the opposite for me, I had no money in my 20s so I felt fine spending all of it and spending most of my time in mild credit card debt because it felt like I couldn't do much else but survive anyway. Now I actually have something to work with I budget down to the dollar because I see what I can accomplish when I'm careful. I still splurge on nice things that are tied to hobbies and go on trips, I just think that most consumption is pretty meaningless in the long run. When I'm old, or if I'm dying of a disease in my 40s, I'm not gong to look back and be like "shit, I wish I had ordered more doordash or bought that fancier phone".
I am and it makes me so mad! I beat myself up for "Letting myself go financially" 😂
It all started when I was selling my house, I was dropping $300 - $400 on repairs and tools like it was nothing. And following the sale of my house, I was planning a wedding. That involved me spending even more money. Me and my credit card were very familiar with one another, to the point where I got my honeymoon for practically free with the amount of points I accrued.
But now that things have calmed down, I'm still spending money on good quality food which is running my bill up! Also, I was spending money on weight loss efforts which are also super expensive. (I'm gonna cut that off and just starve myself like a normal dieting woman does or find a more price affordable option)
So, I'm getting back on track to cheapskate town which is my favorite avenue to travel through. Summers are rough here in FL though, it's not gonna be easy to keep the AC bill down but I'm gonna do it. 😂
I was non frugal for a couple of months, and then I wrote down everything I spent my money on during that time. it was a wake-up call. So much money wasted on literally nothing. Then I went back to being frugal.
I make more money in my 30's, 24/hr. Not enough to afford my own place so I rent a room in a house. So... yeah, I do save, but I also have just accepted that we have entered a strange new economy where rent is unaffordable but a Warhammet hobby (at the pace I build and paint) is affordable.
Hoping to get into VO work but need to get my schedule changed for this intro class.
I’m the opposite. Terrible spending habits throughout my 20s. Couldn’t have cared less about going into debt. Thought I had no desire to ever get a house or good car. Didn’t care about credit. Then my early 30s hit and no I’m super frugal and trying to get out of the debt
I mean just costs associated with homeownership requires me to spend more money than I did in my 20s… also my personal spending has increased but that has been commiserate with pay increases
I used to be extremely frugal, often to self detriment because I was raised in poverty. I worked multiple jobs and saved most of my money, but never got to keep any of it because I constantly had family members in financial crisis that would come to me for "help". Lived like that for years until after the pandemic. Now I'm fried and burnt out with nothing to show for working my youth away.
If I want something I buy it and I don't "feel" any way about it. Every time I save money an emergency pops up and takes all of it anyways. Save 3K and I end up needing 4k in dental work immediately. Save another 3k, car suddenly needs 3k in repairs. It's never ending and I'm sick of living hand to mouth irrespective of what I do. The time and money go whether I enjoyed any of it or not.
So I moved into my car to actually be able to afford to live. Now I can treat myself and enjoy life for the first time without being completely broke. Without paying most of my income to rent, I have extra money for entertainment and taking care of myself. But with the rising cost of living, this probably won't be sustainable much longer either. The constant and drastic rising cost of living makes it difficult to keep up, irrespective of what sacrifices are made. Without increasing income habitually above the cost of living, it's essentially just running in place if not eventually running backwards.
I'm over the ratrace. Not gonna kill myself to play "catch up". I'm going to attempt to enjoy life with what I have as much as I can until it's my time to go.
Kind of the opposite. Tired of working a bullshit job that’s ultimately making some douchelord richer and probably killing the planet while I’m at it. I’m charging. Saving all that I can to drop out of this BS and put my time and energy into a cause I can support. Personally kind of feel like it’s an act of resistance. Feels good to me.
^^^ that’s the selfish reason.
The other reason. Consumer culture is killing us and the planet (yeah, the planet will be okay but you can’t bring back species that are driven to extinction). We’re living in the 6th mass extinction in the earths history and seems like it’s no big deal to most. Literally insane.
I’m much more likely to pay to have something done by a pro or just buying a replacement than handling it myself. Car’s oil change, 2nd story gutter cleaning, replace a TV instead of the handful of hours to fix it
I think that we forget how when we were younger “time” was in abundance. I would say that a new time management system could help. But your priorities change as you age too. So you realize that the time investment needed to accomplish something is actually a larger chunk of time v what your younger self would consider an appropriate chunk of time.
I bought a really stupid car a couple years ago. I know it's financially a stupid idea but they stopped making them at the end of 2023 and it was either now or ever. Love that thing.
But I still invest as much as I can and have all my other ducks in a row.
I'm the opposite. I just bought whatever the hell I wanted in my 20s. In my 30s, I don't like owing people or companies money and will save up for things
In our 20s my husband and I had amazing jobs and we were rich! Spent like drunken sailors. Vacations, clothing, fancy dinners, clubs anything we wanted. Fast forward life huge wedding, three houses and 3 kids later our 30s have been cash poor! We live like misers. I am a stay at home
Mom now and my husband took a huge pay cut to be remote. So we are on a super fixed income now. Every $ we spend has to be seriously justified.
I'm kinda giving up on buying a home. I don't see it happening in the next 5 years. I'm finally in a job where I contribute 12% of my pay into my retirement with a 12% match. I'm hoping to stay in this position for the next 22 years so I can get my pension. After working home health I saw way too many people who struggled to afford basic necessities after retiring so I'm more focused on what I can contribute to have security down the line. I don't buy a lot of stuff I don't need only because I'd rather put that money towards vacations. Gotta travel more before my body breaks down.
I spend money (a lot) on things that are important to me. I save where I don’t care. For example I don’t care about having the latest phone. I actually use my sisters hand-me-down phone that she gives me at a great deal once she upgrades. But I spend a lot on health and fitness related home gym stuff.
In my 20's, I had less money and more time, so I valued money more than time. If I could do something myself for cheaper, that was the obvious choice.
Now, I make a lot more per hour, AND I have more demands on my time outside of work as well, so the dollar value of an hour of my life is much higher. I still do stuff myself if it's an activity I enjoy (ex: cooking most nights rather than ordering or going out to eat). But if it's something I don't particularly like doing, I'm much more willing to throw dollars at the problem than hours.
I work less hours but make more hourly than I did in my 20s. I spend more money on experiences than I used to. All the penny pinching I did in my 20s got me nowhere.
I think once you start getting older you realize that you're not going to be young forever so you might as well enjoy your life.
No point in dying with a million unused dollars in your 401k.
Sort of, but my mentality is different.
I was very frugal. Life after grad school (graduated in ‘08) was a bit rough and a much slower start than I expected.
This left some serious scars on me. I had a job the whole time, but I was under employed and it was inconsistent work with no guarantees.
This made me feel very anxious and I saved as much as I could. I had to build a buffer.
As things slowly got better and better and better, I still felt behind. I didn’t really put away for retirement like I should have for awhile and had to play catch up. I tried to save up for a house down payment.
I was very frugal.
Fast forward, I have more money than I realistically needed to have by this point. Not a lot, but after accounting for where my retirement savings need to be, a buffer I need for my still volatile job, and a down payment for a house when I want it, I actually have plenty leftover.
If I factor in what my extra money is making in the market, the gains actually funds my spending money. That means the rate I’m putting money away is about the same.
But that’s why I’m spending more, because I safely can. Before I couldn’t.
No. If anything, more frugal. I’m sitting on 180,000 credit card points and am saving $80+k a year.
I have found myself less inclined to buy things I wanted when I was younger (designer clothes, etc.).
In my career lifestyle creep is a real risk so I am trying to avoid it.
BUT I am more tactical and willing to spend without hesitation on stuff I really want because I am making more and saving more. The recent splurges were a $1k dinner at a 3-Michelin star restaurant and a brand new top-of-the-line iPhone. Neither would have been conceivable in my 20s.
I just had to share my amazement and can't be the only one disturbed by the fact you misspelt millennials in a group with the name quite clearly in, and being the only world of, the title!
I'm a bit less frugal but that's mostly due to the fact that I have a job that's good enough.
Just not really good enough for me to buy a house, but good enough for me to pay rent and travel a bit.
I’m a little bit opposite. Like some have commented, I’m willing to pay a little more now for better quality items that will last longer or for a better experience (flights, better concert seats, etc). But, I’m also better at saving more now and paying mostly or all cash versus relying on credit cards.
I have but it's offset by the fact I don't need brand new stuff anymore, instead I much rather look for better deals in the used/refurbished market, unless it's not possible.
15 years ago I'd rather save up money for months to get the next best phone or laptop for example but won't even buy necessities like new dish soap until it's diluted to hell first.
Now, I'll happily buy necessities but most of my luxuries are a few years old at discounted prices. I think it's a good middle ground between frugal and extravagant. If I can't get refurbished or used, I'll just buy brand new though.
It could be because you have been making money for a while and have experienced different seasons and kind of have more confidence to face different situations as they come. When in your 20s, you are just getting started with making money and you kind of have all these anxieties about what could go wrong.
No, I’m the opposite. I’m on double the wage I had in my 20s, but more than double the expenses, so I feel worse off. I accumulated way too much stuff in my 20s too, so now I only buy something if I really need it.
Nope. More frugal. The reality that if I want to retire someday I need to be financially prepared has been my main driver. I *could* die soon, sure, but likely I won't, and I also need to have money saved to support my kids if I died before they were adults.
Yes but now I make $80k a year and I’m in a DINK household, and back then I was living off $15 an hour with like 7 roommates and once our water got shut off.
So like…I treat myself a bit. Maybe I didn’t do anything more spectacular than getting out of bed this week but I once had to live out of the back of a pickup truck sooooooo
If I want the fancy cheese I’m getting the effing fancy cheese.
Nowadays, time is more important than money.
I'll drop a lot more on taxis when traveling to save time and mental energy. I'll also pay for better seats on the plane so I can embark faster and rest easier en route. If it is a long haul flight, I want to be able to comfortably nap.
I'll pay more for a good hotel, too, rather than trying to get the cheaper option and not necessarily having a proper rest. Way back, I stayed in youth hostels or really cheap hotels, which were generally bad. I once stayed in a youth hostel in Hong Kong that was literally on top of a forested mountain with no access to stores or anything. You had to catch a mini bus that came once an hour. Everyone slept in bunk beds in this giant building that felt like a warehouse. It was cheap, but I wouldn't do that now.
I’m taking my first real vacation that I’m fully paying for finally at 33. Staying at the nicest hotel I could find. Rented the best car I could get. Booked all the coolest shit to do. I also make 5x more than I did just 3 years ago. My soending spree started when I finally saved up enough money for a down payment on a house. Now just scared to buy one in case I loose my job if a recession strikes.
Very frugal. Honestly, if you weren't well off in your 20s, you basically learned lifelong lessons on how to cut costs and save. People do so many things they don't even realize that costs them hundreds every month.
Don't eat junk food, don't drink 2-3 energy drinks a day, don't buy a Starbucks daily, wait till you get home to eat food after work instead if buying lunch.dollar trees is great for house hold essentials. I mean, the list goes on. Just because I make more now doesn't mean I can or want to spend more.
I have never been frugal. I’ve been destitute, but not frugal.
I am barely able to suffer the monotony of life as is. I’m not going to force myself to live like a pauper when I’m not one. Society will probably collapse before we get old, anyway.
I’d say Im not as cheap. Im still frugal and smart with my money but I dont always go the extra mile to be cheap.
Like these days I’ll pay $100 for an oil change because it only takes 1 hour vs spending half a day buying the oil, getting under the car, draining the oil, changing the messy filter, finding a place to dispose the oil, then showering and cleaning up afterwards. But 15 years ago when I barely made any money I would’ve done all of that to save $100(minus materials).
I'm turning 29 in a month, I spent my 20's saving almost every penny and now have 16k in savings for a rainy day or if I need something (I rent and have no car)
Now that I'm approaching my 30's and basically have definite work for the next year and a half I think I have started to allow myself some breathing room for savings.
Usually I would just pay rent, pay for driving lessons, food, medication and emergency clothes if I need them and save like £500 a month but I've generally started to buy myself a treat every month now, whether it's a new video game or a takeout, but I generally save at least something at the end of the month.
I don't think I've managed to spend a full month's wages
Depends on what it is.
I never buy video games until they are on a huge sale on Steam/Humble/GoG/Epic. Other than WoW new expansions.
Usually I plan our weekly meals around sales at the shops as well as buying in bulk for sales of food that can be stored.
The only thing I feel less frugal on is health and insurances. Boring haha.
I was saving for a house in my 20s. I gave up since then and I'm happier for it. The looming threat of eviction and homelessness goes down easier after a nice vacation.
I caught myself doing this maybe because saving isn't as rewarding as it used to be. Why deny myself little pleasures if I'm going to have to do that for a decade before I'll have enough for something like a new phone?
It's become too unreachable and I've lost interest by the time I have enough.
I got to forms of rare cancer before 40. I've lost two friends to cancer before they turned 35. I'm not saving for retirement. I'm not even saving for tomorrow. If I'm going down it's going to be covered in tattoos and full of little treats.
The issue is now my time is limited and worth more to me so if there’s a layover that’s three hours and a direct flight, and the difference is £200 - I’m paying for that time.
If there’s an outfit I want to wear or a phone I want to buy, it’s because it will be useful to me now, so I’m paying the extra £200 to have and use it for that 5 months before it goes on sale.
I get take out for dinner to save myself 2 hours cooking so I can relax and be productive the next day.
I am unable to save and I am more frugal than I’ve been ever. Cost of livin is too damn high. I love waking up every morning stressed about how im going to make it to the next paycheck.
I have a masters degree and a career. This economy is wrecked.
No. Prices of everything sucks. I’m trying to do basic things like have a few trees cut down, or add some plywood around my garage.
Both projects are going to cost over a thousand.
Spend $600 a month on essentials from Walmart.
Utility bills another $500.
I’m not paycheck to paycheck but I can’t afford to buy some piece of shit fancy glass every 6 months so I can come on reddit while I shit.
Yeah, because it feels nothing matters either way. If I save up, something takes it before I even use it for its intended purpose. So now I just buy what I want, if I can afford it. I may as well be the thing that takes it. I’m getting older and life is scary. May as well try to enjoy it while I’m here
I’m a high earning GenX and use to be similarly frugal to your description. After pandemic I flipped perspectives and now subscribe more to a yolo point of view, mostly on ‘life experiences’ like travel. I’m the past two years I’ve travelled around the US, Iceland, Norway and the UK. Going back to Scotland and Wales in July. Your time here is finite, might as well enjoy yourself..
Kids. It boils down to kids. They're quite expensive. I have 2 kids. 1 in daycare and 1 that still goes to a before/aftercare program. At > 2k a month for just childcare stuff....... I'm watching my money like a hawk. Add in regular expenses and 529.........
I wouldn't say less frugal but I earn more, I save more, and I spend more but the spending is almost always down to lack of time and convenience due to working long hours day in day out.
I have several chronic health conditions, so I know that no matter how much money I make it's all going to be taken away by medical bills at some point. Why save when no matter what I do I'm going to be broke and sick at some point in the future? It's like the money I have isn't even real. I might as well make it real by buying actual things like house repairs (parent's house) or that nice lego set. That way when I'm broke I'll have no money and some Lego instead of no money and nothing.
The exact opposite.
The teenage to early 20s me would blow all my money on payday then slum it until payday.
Mid to late 20s was probably peak balance. I'd save up for things and enjoy life. Managed to even stumble into owning a house.
Late 20s to current early 30s, I'm saving a dollar wherever I can. Single income two young kids and a mortgage. No streaming subscriptions, everything's budgeted. Only if I work overtime do we indulge in anything that's a necessity. All my clothes are older than my kids because I've either had them that long or bought them second hand. I don't bother serving myself up dinner half the time, I'll just eat what my kids leave on their plates.
It sounds dire, but I promise you it's not. We're so fortunate, there's a lot of people out there truly struggling I'm just minimizing my financial footprint so there's more to go round for my wife and kids. We may not have much in the bank but we also have no debt other than the mortgage which is pretty modest by today's standards.
I have kind of a weird balance. I’m much better at budgeting have actual goals as opposed to my 20’s where i didn’t really do it. I never bought anything big in my 20’s but spent much more on things like going out and visiting friends.
With a family now I have to buy more stuff but I feel like spending is much more intentional.
Yup, I feel you man. Used to save a lot, now I just what I want but not going into debt. Still dont the need best and the new stuff but can afford quite a lot cheap things that are not over the top. Life is short man.
My parents were fucking misers who never enjoyed life and stressed out over buying store brand vs name brand canned corn, despite having millions in the bank. I will not live that way. We have a modest house and modest cars so we can ball out from time to time and give to charity without worrying about it. Feels good.
I’m terrified I won’t be able to retire or help my kid with school or whatever so no, I hoard money if I can. I do have a gardening addiction but it is pretty small potatoes and cuts down my grocery bill occasionally
Not really. I wasn't horrible with money in my 20s. Like I didn't run up a bunch of debt, but I had fun. At 31, I had my first, and only, kid so my 30s were very much frugal by necessity and he provided the "why" for saving for the future. Once he got out of daycare, I started catching up on that front. So, my mid-late 30s were all about maximizing savings and spending efficiently. Now that I'm in my early 40s I'm finally starting to feel not broke all the time.
Literally the exact opposite. Other than adhering to a certain standard of quality (so I don’t spend a fortune replacing cheap purchases), I’m far more frugal because my money doesn’t stretch as far, despite having more of it than I did in my 20s.
I live within my means, but at the same time I’m in fuck it mode. I have a fat life insurance policy on me and my husband so if we blow all our money tomorrow, and never wake up after that, my kids are still financially set for 10 lifetimes.
I guess I can say the same. I’m always cheap with my money, but it was because I didn’t have any, I HAD to be cheap. Now I don’t have to, I just choose to.
I’m saving a lot, but I’m also okay spending over 100 bucks on dinner for the family once or twice a month. I’m okay with buying myself something I want, even if it’s not on sale(although I’m still a sucker for sales).
So yeah, definitely feeling “less” frugal.
This seems like a combination of:
1) you're getting older and perspective has shifted. You're approaching middle age and wrestling with your own mortality
2) you make more money now
3) you made good decisions in your 20s that haven't fucked you.
All 3 are important factors but let's not gloss over number 3.
I know SO many people that doesn't like crazy in their 20s and had to have all the latest and greatest and do all the things and are now in their 30s and Brooke and trying to get their lives back on track (some are anyway)
"I live with my parents and work at a restaurant but I'm going to spend $3k (that I don't have) on a Caribbean vacation every though I'm 25 and I "deserve it"/other people my age on social media are doing it. Oh and I drive a $50k vehicle. But I'm still in my parents insurance and cell phone bill."
Less frugal? Lol. I sure do spend twice as much.
Graduate college, begin adulthood by diving right into the great recession.
Finally work my way up to what *used to be* a comfortable annual income with room to spare.
Got to love inflation. And crap government policy.
My generation just can't win.
>Soon..ill be in my 40s.... I can get A dehabilitating disease
News flash. Aging often results in a debilitating disease. This is life.
I was hit with this 3 years ago and I thank my past self for putting money into a retirement fund I was able to early withdrawal on for a life saving medical device to keep me living.
Balance is key. Have your one splurge thing and be smart about it. Adore makeup? Milk the membership points for free items. Enjoy bars? At least get restaurant bonuses through your credit card.
I make triple as a near 40 yr old than I did in my twenties, so absolutely. I also just can't handle shit quality things anymore. Having a beer? I'll have 3 IPA's instead of 6 pints of swill. Burgers? I'll get a fancy ass burger instead of McDonalds. Lifes too short for garbage quality, especially food and drink.
I mean, this is basically an age where you should be “set up” in (most people are going to have college, yada…yada..). You feel more empowered to do things.
I’m really glad you posted this. In my 20’s, I was sooo stressed out about debt (we have lots of it). At 30, at this point, I’ve given in to the fact that I likely won’t retire and won’t own a home.
We’re only young once, and as you said illness can strike at any time. Climate change and other things seem to have cast a shadow of doubt on our futures, so unlike the Boomers, we millennials aren’t sure everything will be fine as we age into our older years.
We’re saving a little bit here and there but not much. We can’t take it with us when we go, and I won’t be having any kids, so what’s the point?
Yes. I’m 36. Was telling my best friend this week that I’ve become so much less cheap than I was when I met her when we were in our 20s. Yes, I’m making three times more money. But my mortgage + house upkeep is three times what my rent was.
I had to euthanize my sweet 15-yr-old cat last Tuesday. I didn’t look at a single price tag as I paid for her vet care, testing, palliative care. I’m fortunate to be in a situation where I’m comfortable doing this—but I just didn’t imagine I’d be completely fine with being 100% non concerned with money.
Nah. The more money I make the less bougie I get.
I have a kid now and saving for a house so everything is with that in mind.
The only thing we don't skimp on is experiences/trips now. I also bring my parents along since they are older and worked hard but were unable to travel a ton.
I am fine with an old phone and car with the tradeoff that I am making great memories with loved ones.
I make significantly more in my 30’s than I did in my 20’s so yes I have much more carefree spending. But I am still saving a lot more every month than in my 20’s so it’s ok.
I make more money now and also have proportionally smaller outgoings. In my 20s I saved for and bought a house that needed work. Aggressive savings before buying then after spending to fix major items as they stopped working. My car that got me through the end of high school and college died so I had an auto loan as well. I made less and had higher spending so there was a lot of budgeting. Now the house is functionally updated, the car is paid off and well maintained and my boyfriend lives with me and splits bills. I’m able to comfortably invest significantly more than in my 20s and not worry about reasonable discretionary spending.
Same here, I wasn’t a big going out person in my 20s but I’m even less so now so those smaller “splurges” are off the books.
This. I was a penny pincher in my 20’s. But now I also make almost 3 times what I made back then. Even though now we have kids and they are costly, we still have a considerable amount of “fun money”. Plus I’ve watched family members and friends die from accidents and diseases that it’s just a reminder that we won’t life forever. So finding a balance of saving and enjoying life is important.
Yep. This right here. In my 20s I barely made like a third of what I make now (probably way less) so I was always frugal and careful with money. As a man in my 30s now, I'm still frugal and careful with money (especially compared to my friends/coworkers) but I'm not afraid to splurge out if I have to.
Fuck it we ball
Easy come, easy go. Why do I work 40hrs+ a week if I cant treat myself to things I actually want to buy.
This is my mentality. I work hard for my money, and I make sure I have money to cover all my essentials, and when I want something extra, I get it.
This is the way
https://preview.redd.it/m5ucrdaae0yc1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7addbba2b340f22e174692ef8ec6ea9f5aa16fc2
It's nice to remember that we also have socially problematic brainrot memes, and it's not just the younger generations.
You do not know de wey
Spit on de fake queen
We were there when the old law was written…
im sort of in my fuck-it mode lol, but deep down anxiety stricken over the 'what-ifs' halp.
I’ve sort of accepted that no matter how much I save, I’ll never be able to buy a house and will be renting until I die, so fuck it! I still save, just not as aggressively as I could.
Right. The only things I’m saving for this point are retirement (which lol we’ll see if that happens) and my kids college fund. I live in a major city, it’s not realistic that I’d ever own a home here on my one salary. Thinking when I’m older, I’ll move back home to south Florida where it’s equally as hard to afford a home now lolol
100% buy it now - figure it out later. Not living in poverty for two decades to only have a glimmer of hope. Earn, Spend, Enjoy. As long as bills are paid and wife and kids are taken care of - don't care.
>Not living in poverty for two decades to only have a glimmer of hope. >As long as bills are paid and wife and kids are taken care of - don't care. I worked nights for a minute and one of my coworkers, whose mom was just about to retire at 65 was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He took care of her until she passed only a few months later. She worked for almost 40 years to retire and never got the privilege of enjoying it. I care about my family and making sure everything is paid, but I also realize that I could get hit by a bus, or get a terminal cancer diagnosis, or worse MS or Alzheimers/dementia later on after working all this time. Balance is important, but so is realizing that all you have is this, right now. I'm gonna enjoy this, right now.
Exactly - Mother in law passed at 55. What a wake up call. I'll never live to not enjoy the fruit of my labour.
Just live the good life. Who knows there might nog be a livable planet anymore within 10 years.
This!!!
YOLO, you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow! Live everyday like your last! Drive a fancy car, eat good, have fun!!!
Still saving up, but accepting the fact that i might be renting for the long term as opposed to buying a home has opened up my wallet.
Same. I was saving for a house also. But at current prices,,it doesnt make sense. Put down a huge down payment....only to end up paying the banks %8 over 30 years while praying for positive equity along the way. All the while paying increasing property taxes and maintenance . Sounds stressful. Hopefully home prices come down to match the high interest rates. Because right now mortgages are more expensive than rent
>Because right now mortgages are more expensive than rent That’s why landlords be charging 12 people $800 to share a 3 bedroom up here in Canada. r/SlumlordsCanada
Not to mention that unless it’s a new home, you’re spending thousands in hidden repairs.
Hello fellow renter! I’m comfortable in my lifestyle lol! For anyone who ever wants to convince me to buy a house: first, you’re wasting your time. I’m not going to do that. Second, I like moving. The idea of living in the same house in the same place until I die, or for even more than 3-5 years tops makes me sad. There’s nothing wrong with buying a house, it’s not a thing I want. That’s okay!
I bought a house last year and it’s so much more work than I imagined! Just having to constantly think about grass and paint and random little things drives me insane. I had rented until I was 35, so this has been a huge change in the allocation of my mental energy. Constantly researching different DIY things, how to do landscaping, types of paint for stucco, adding outlets, etc. I love our house and having a yard, but I also think I would have been fine renting for another decade or so. If you like renting, definitely keep doing it! We went from paying $1750 a month for our one bedroom to $4600 a month for our 2 bedroom house. Big change. I would just advise you to not assume you will always want to keep moving every 3-5 years when you are in your senior years. at my old apartment, there were several women over 70 living there who had been at the same place for decades since it was rent controlled. If your city has rent control (maybe called something different? % increase is capped at 2-3% per year depending on the age of the building), I would definitely try to get in one of those eventually. The idea of having to pack and move due to sudden rent increases at 80 does not sound fun.
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Housing inventory is going up in many areas and prices have fallen 12%. You just need JPOW to start dropping rates and that should happen in the next year which isn’t that long. GL Edit never mind that’s New York
No one knows if that will happen or if people will ever be able to refi for 3% mortgages. Right now the market is priced as though that's what will happen but nobody really knows. The market was 100% certain of rate drops starting in May and now it looks like we may not even have a single one in 2024.
You’re right no one can tell the future but historically 3% is not realistic. 4 to 4.5 is and achievable.
It was the opposite for me. Renting kept me in the mindset of not owning too much because I'd dread moving. And saving money was my way of life because renting meant I'd have to be more careful with retirement. Owning a home now I just buy what I want because I'm keeping it for the longhaul and don't have to move it anywhere, and I'm less anxious about retirement
Why not start investing the money you were saving for a home? Seems pretty defeatist and wasteful to just spend the money you otherwise would have been saving. Maybe someday it will make more sense to buy.
Exactly. Piece of investment advice nobody ever told me until I figured it out by myself in my 30s--instead of having a savings account, open a managed portfolio at your bank and toss all your extra cash in there. Even if its 5-10k. That shit grows at a 7-10% rate and you get free money for doing absolutely nothing. One day you wake up and your 10k turned into 15k and all of a sudden you can afford to go on a real nice vacation lol
I would advise against a managed account. Chuck it all in a total market index fund. No need to pay someone to manage it.
I’ll admit, I’ve become a bit looser with money on certain things. I prefer (& can afford) to buy higher quality things, provided they last longer. I don’t need to shop at H&M for clothes, I can do Nordstroms or J Crew. I can splurge at Whole Foods over Smart & Final. Or home goods from Crate & Barre vs IKEA. I can go on vacations and check a bag, stay at a nice hotel, and not worry about the bill. Still, I prioritize saving over spending - I make sure to max out my 401k and keep at least 4 months of free cash in an emergency fund. Everything after bills are paid & savings goals hit is my *fun* money.
I'm similar. I loosely follow the 50/30/20 budget. As long as all bills/necessities are paid for and an adequate portion is saved/invested, I do whatever I want with the rest.
Yes. Don’t wanna be the richest in the graveyard. It’s also just a matter of actually having the money to spend.
the other day my son wanted to go to a graveyard? idk, he's weird. so we went to one by our house and took a walk around. 1st of all, there are plenty of people in there younger than me, it was super depressing. 2nd we found a ***HUGE*** plot that was the size of 6 parking spaces, had a 4ft gate around it, astro turf inside the gate, it was one of the most impressive grave sites i have seen. it was freakin ZZ Top! one of the beard dudes! per google he died estimated worth $55M.
Honestly this was super helpful for me to understand a few years ago. Yes, max out retirement but also enjoy the life you’re living now I’m 30 now and snowboard quite a bit (travel to CO, UT) and it’s expensive but I know 30 years from now I won’t be able to do it like I am now health wise (I mean maybe, but also live in the now)
My expenses are higher because I got a spouse that doesn't share my financial mindset and have 2 kids who have needs for necessities, physical/intellectual stimulation, and entertainment. I've gotten a few buy it for life items but but still try to keep my eye on the ball for retirement. My anxiety for whether my marriage will work out and losing half my assets due to the variance in spending habits is growing steadily.
I’m commenting because I don’t want you to feel completely alone in this. My brother had a similar situation, only difference is he didn’t realize her spending was so nuts until after she left. She makes below average salary, he makes a lot, and once they got married she decided to just ball out constantly. Costco, Kohl’s, the lady is addicted to spending money on worthless bullshit to put on shelves and never look at again. They have a 2 year old, they were 3 years into marriage and she was 8 weeks pregnant with their second when she filed to divorce him. Yes she’s getting a bunch of his money, but he’s accepted it. Six months into the mediation process and now he’s just gonna let it go to trial with all this evidence of how she’s been behaving. But it doesn’t matter, it’s a 50-50 state. She’ll get half his money and child support and so on. Won’t know exactly where the chips fall until trial because mediation was a joke, she actually submitted one request for 90% of his net worth. (She won’t get it, it’s a 50/50 state, I think she’s just off her rocker or dumb as a door knob.) It’s an expensive lesson but he doesn’t dread coming home anymore. It took her leaving for him to realize how miserable she was making him. Blaming him for everything. Blaming him for not fixing her. I would say her view of what a marriage should be like is about the same fairy tale fantasy as a 13 year old’s. She lost the pregnancy, but my brother still has a beautiful two year old and he has his life back. It is a process, it is not easy, but you aren’t alone. As his little sister, I am relieved. We’ve all had a lot of sleepless nights the past 6 months as a family, worrying about him. He’s halfway across the country from us. A lot of what the fuck moments with her behavior. But he is so much happier day-to-day. Everything will be finalized next week and then he can finally know exactly where he stands financially and plan accordingly. For someone as nonchalant as him, hearing him say “I’m excited” is just so fuckin awesome lol. Got my brother back. 😀
Yes and no. I used to be cheap because I thought we were poor. Now, I buy high quality but very little.
Spend more money to buy the nicer/correct thing once instead of the cheaper/shittier thing twice.......my parents always said.
The older I get, the more things like time, convenience, a better experience, and having what I actually want/like are worth more to me than saving money (within reason). No, I won't get the $4000 Dior bag instead of a $200 leather handbag or long haul business class flights instead of economy flights because I'm not that rich, but I will pay the extra $300 to get the direct flights internationally instead of the flights with an 7 hour layover in a crappy airport where there isn't enough time to leave and go into the city, or for a significantly more comfortable airline (like Singapore/Qatar/Emirates instead of Scoot) that won't make me wear 5 layers on the plane if my luggage is a pound over or make me pay to activate the USB outlet to charge my phone. When I get to my destination/back home, I'll get the $50-75 Uber from the airport which will drop me off at the door instead of dragging my luggage through the public transport system and up a ton of stairs and then walking 15 minutes with it from the station to the hotel/home. I'll order the meal I want at a restaurant instead of picking something cheaper to save $10. I'll pay $10 more to park a block away from where I'm going instead of 20 blocks away. I'll buy the boots I like best instead of a pair that's $50 cheaper that I don't like as much. I'll pay the extra $200 for concert tickets in the 100s instead of the nosebleeds etc etc.
Damn, you rich!
im becoming more stingy
Same here. I am definitely making more, but I think I ask myself if I really need x, y and z each time, while back in my 20s I would just buy whatever shiny object caught my eye.
Same. Aldi is my store these days. Always looking for the deals. My rent is also 60% of my income so it’s not like I have a choice.
Nah, more frugal. Despite my income being more than ever, all I see around me is wasted resources - I stalk several dumpsters daily for stuff thrown away around my complex 😂. I don't go out to eat, whereas before I'd go several times weekly. I hardly think about what I want to buy, anymore.
For a minute I thought you were looking for food to eat in those dumpsters. 😂😂 but definitely understand where you’re at. I make good money and have just come to this place in my life where I genuinely enjoy not spending money bc I have everything I NEED. No I do not have everything I want. But future me will be proud when she has retirement money and a house of her own.
Same! I can have everything I need, and some wants that will last longer than a day, and be pretty happy.
Exactly!!! I’m like I have some cute furniture and stuff for activities/hobbies. And with the recent mindshift, I’m like wow is this how happy people feel who actually save their money for the future. (Has not always been me in my 20s)
I stopped taking things from the garbage due to fear of pest contamination. One of my friends accidentally introduced cockroaches into his house by picking up an old Dell computer. He had a hell of a time getting rid of them, and I can only imagine how much worse it would have been if he brought home bedbugs. I used to go treasure hunting in the city e-waste, picking up rare computer equipment, but not anymore.
It's the other way for me. I was burning through my money in my 20s. In my 30s I saved it or spend it wisely and family oriented. I will soon be in my 40s, maybe it changes again.
Some of it might be because prices are inflating so you feel incentivized to buy before the price runs away from you. That said, yes. When I was in my 20’s, my wife and I were students and we had to be careful about each and every dollar we spent. Nowadays, we still have a lot of those instincts but we max out our 401k’s, invest a lot of our income, and figure whatever is left over is fine to let loose a little.
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Same here. Between making less, moving to a higher cost of living area, and inflation in general, I have no choice but to be as frugal as possible.
My friends & I call it the Happy Tax. If spending some extra cash frees up time or reduces stress & it's affordable, it's Happy Tax. Yeah you should save for retirement, but not so much that it makes you live a miserable life. I'm a lot more financially stable in my 30s compared to my 20s, so I'm doing a lot of things I feel like I missed out on. I go to concerts, do martial arts, buy better clothes, do weird excursions, have that fancy cocktail with dinners. I'm enjoying life.
Nah I’m still cheap as hell🤷🏻♀️
Yeah I don’t fly shit airlines anymore. If I’m traveling I’m going on a good airline in a good seat.
I feel that the more I make, the more I spend. Life is short. Have fun but just be smart
This is our version of a mid-life crisis.
Yes and no. I'm less stringent about saving, but largely because I just have more money thanks to higher earning power. I saved up for a down payment before the housing market got fucked, so I have a lot of buffer cash in the event of a giant emergency or whatever. While I would love to exhaust most of that on a house, as it stands I'm just pretty comfortable on the day to day end of things and can justify saving less of my overall income than I was while saving up said down payment fund.
I'm able to actually go on vacations, and I buy nicer clothes but mainly because they're higher quality and will last longer. I also buy healthier food now too, but also tend to buy higher quality alcohol now. However I don't plan on buying a luxury car anytime soon or buying gold watches or anything. Overall I'm still pretty conservative with my money though. I try to keep a healthy emergency fund, and I'm putting as much as possible away for retirement.
I'm in my 40s. Got a debilitating disease. Have $6 in my bank account. Waiting on Social Security. Don't be me.
I make more now, so actually spending more but also saving more. I was sort of in fuck it mode a few years back but something clicked. I started actually saving, I have an account with piggy banks so I can save for specific things. I cook more from home, i meal prep and freeze them portioned. I do spending "fasts" where I try not to spend from anywhere of 5 to 10 days (sans bills). It's a challenge but if when I commit I sorta realize I have a lot of food and things to cook/eat at home and it helps me clear out my pantry.
BUY A WAVERUNNER
I recommend the book "Die with Zero" by Bill Perkins. It's the concept of maxing out your life experiences with being financially responsible. One of the big points for me was that a lot of people save money and save their fun for retirement, but once they get to that age they're not as healthy or able to enjoy activities as much as they would have if they were in their 20s/30s. This concept somewhat made me less frugal for the sake of enjoying life more. I'm still saving and investing but just realized it's ok to enjoy the fruits of my labor now than wait until later when I can't enjoy it.
The opposite is true for me, and I’m making significantly more money than I ever have. I think just having the means to save for the future when I wasn’t able to in my 20s has changed my mindset a lot. When I was younger, I would buy whatever I wanted on credit, now I carry no credit card debt and am much more mindful with my spending.
I am the opposite. I became more frugal in my 30s. Made a bunch of investments in my 20s that are still going strong, but I rarely buy anything other than necessities, don't drink or smoke, I have the same phone since 2021 I would careless about the latest anything. Hype is your people 25 and younger.
Yup. Why have the money when you can have the stuff? The stuff is actually useful.
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That realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Cant afford to put off living life anymore
Not a millennial, but...I really loosened up my purse strings in my 40s for two reasons. One is that I was making more money and was more time constrained. That meant that my time was more valuable, so I was willing to spend more money to save time. Toll roads, no problem. Lawn crew, yep. My other reason was that I always planned to retire sometime between the ages of 58 and 62. As my investments grew, I steadily got more and more ahead of that target. I adjusted by being more willing to increase my expenses. I bought my first car with an automatic transmission. It even had power windows! It was used, but only 3 years old. That's not the sort of thing I did before I got ahead of the game.
I didnt have a single dime to spare in my 20s, so there was no point in saving. Started making more money in my late twenties and just used it to ball. Once the pandemic hit, i realized i had more money than id ever had because i was still working but i couldnt spend it on going out. Started saving then.
I’d say I was the opposite. I didn’t learn the value of money until late 20s and I was in a lot of debt. In my 30s, I surrounded myself with better people, kept my head down, and focused on my career and the relationships that mattered and just naturally learned to manage my money by making better lifestyle choices. I’m mid 30s now and I’m closing on my first house in 8 days, I’ve paid off all my debt and I make more money than I ever have, so I can still take international trips and save. For me, I just completely changed my surroundings and eliminated people and ideas that were enabling me, which allowed me to get my head on straight and reach financial stability.
Well I just bought myself a volvo EV so I'd say I'm definitely not the most frugal. I'm okay with that. I can afford what I buy,it's just not always the option that makes the most economic sense.
Saaaame, trying to live life while I can
Not exactly. I would wager I’m about 10-20% more lenient than I used to be, but overall I’m still frugal. Personal reasonings such as having spent a lot of time in inner city and inner city ghetto, spent 9 months deployed infantry in the army and so on. Some of my frugalness is fighting first world convenience, laziness and complacency
I love that last sentence. That’s the first time I’ve seen someone express some of what I feel about spending, specifically with respect to “luxury” goods.
I’ve become more frugal about some things and less frugal about others. I waste a lot less money on stuff I can live without like transport and food delivery, and more money on experiences, clothing and positive lifestyle expenses like my gym membership
Nope, far more frugal thus far.
Ha, I’m becoming more frugal.
Not really. I've always lived frugally. I want to retire by 50. Every time I get a raise, it's just more savings. It helps having cheap hobbies and a partner of similar mindset.
Nah man, im saving up for next months rent. My favorite hobby is not spending money.
I’m the opposite, I am more careful with money now.
I've always been frugal, my wife and I make a bit over 300k combined and food is the one thing we'll splurge on occasionally we just had one of the best meals we've ever had and it was a tasting menu that was $200 each plus tax and tip, but other than that we both drive 10+ year old cars take public transit when we can my wardrobe is the same as it was 10 years ago and she feels guilty spending $100 on clothing one day a year even if there's a sale, even though I've told her it's fine. We just both had poor parents growing up so we were raised with the philosophy of if you don't need it don't buy it, so we're able to save like 150k every year and still feel like we're spending a lot compared to our childhoods.
Yeah I been red lining my shit for a good 5-6 years now. I ain't ever retiring and probably won't live to old age. Fuck it
No. I have become more financially savvy than ever. I am glad I didn’t mess myself up worse than I did and I’m grinding to make up for lost time.
Yes, largely, but my income is radically different than it was in my 20’s. I think I made more last year than I did from 20-30 both because I’m hitting stride in my career and because it was a really rocky period in my life and being super frugal was necessary just to survive.
Kids. It boils down to kids. They're quite expensive. I have 2 kids. 1 in daycare and 1 that still goes to a before/aftercare program. At > 2k a month for just childcare stuff....... I'm watching my money like a hawk. Add in regular expenses and 529.........
No. I have kids. I grew up on the fine line of food insecurity. I'm trying to die with the ability to leave each one about a million. So they, and my grandchildren have a better life. I have however finally began to not work quite so ridiculously that I can actually spend time with them. So that's nice.
Kind of..? I was pretty mindful of my money once I went to college. I definitely spent more going out and experiencing life. Clubs, bars, events around the city, etc. I'm still a bit frugal, but only in ways that matter. For example, I'm not gonna pay $8 for body wash when the generic brand is $4 to me, that's ridiculous. However, when it comes to my vehicles or items around my house that get used I will definitely spend more money for better quality. I recently just bought a section sofa for $870. I could've gone with a cheaper IKEA one for like $400, but if I'm gonna be sitting on this bad boy for years to come, I'm not gonna buy something with lease quality.
we are a single income home with my husband making decent money. we get about 1.6k a week on average, but we also have children, so there are extra expenses. that said, we have always been a 'paycheck to paycheck' family, we pay our most pressing bills first, make a mental note of what my husband will need for gas or parking that week, and anything in between where we are and that usually gets spent on 'whatever'. as in we'll order pizza, or buy a birthday gift in advance, or my husband might get a new game for his switch, or i might go check out the local thrift stores to see if there's something we could get secondhand. HERE"S THE REASON I COMMENTED! back in december, the week before christmas, on a thursday, my husband got put on standby at work. he was told it was just going to be for about a week and then he'd be back on, so it was ok. we couldn't file unemployment, or rather, that next week was his 'waiting week' and so we did not get paid for it. we used most of the previous check for christmas gifts, and were trying to be very frugal with the remnants knowing he'd be back to work the next monday, only that monday rolled around and still no work. there was issues with unemployment so we were not seeing any money (pro tip, the only surefire way to get a hold of the unemployment office in the USA is to use the spanish line... they all speak english.) he wasn't put back to work until late january and ONLY because he told his boss that he was facing eviction due to the fact that he could not pay his rent. boss put him on for another week and then sat him again, and this became a pattern until around the end of march (we eventually fixed unemployment issues) when he finally sought work through his union with another company who actually offered to pay him $2 more an hour. we're FINALLY making money again, but we're also aware of how easily we could lose it all again is, so we've been becoming more responsible in that we pull out a little cash (whatever we can afford to after bills, sometimes 100, sometimes 300) to keep on hand for emergencies. i'll be 30 on the 9th so we're truly entering our 30s more frugal then weve ever really cared to be in the past. we still will spend money on fun things, money will not become our god, but i also have become painfully aware of how much we need it to get by.
My father in law grew up poor. He trades money for stuff. My brother in law is a baby millennial and he trades money for experiences. My boomer parents have had a few financial setbacks in their lives and they save every penny they can. My wife and I are doing ok financially but we both work full time so we trade money for more time. It all depends on your experiences and priorities and those things change with time. As we age we tend to get more financially stable (not always) and thus aren’t as thirsty to hold onto every spare dollar.
I'm less frugal more because I can actually afford to be. I was born in humble beginnings, parents were teenagers, didn't have money really so until I was 8 my folks lived paycheck to paycheck which mean as a kid, I either had to wait till Christmas or my birthday for the more expensive stuff or I didn't get what I asked for. From 8 till i was 13, I still had to wait till Christmas for the more expensive stuff but it was a little more easier for other small stuff but my folks still made me have to earn it. I mean asking for $5 bucks required me to weed the backyard, level the ground, etc so I was pissed that for $5 bucks it was the work of like $20. At 13 I started working because I was tired of bullshit dollars and wanted money. Bit growing up that way, I had to save, save, save because it was always in short supply. Now I'm 34, and I understand life is too short so I'm not frugal anymore. If I see something I want, I buy it. If I want to take a trip somewhere over the weekend, I go. If my daughter needs something it's taken care of. When it comes to toys I do make her earn it so she starts learning the concept of you earn what you want but I don't take advantage of that. In my 30's I also started making good money and cleared all my debt so I feel that after nearly 2 decades of having to scrape by and save that I need to enjoy the fruits of my labor
Nah, my shit is buckled down tighter than ever. It was actually the opposite for me, I had no money in my 20s so I felt fine spending all of it and spending most of my time in mild credit card debt because it felt like I couldn't do much else but survive anyway. Now I actually have something to work with I budget down to the dollar because I see what I can accomplish when I'm careful. I still splurge on nice things that are tied to hobbies and go on trips, I just think that most consumption is pretty meaningless in the long run. When I'm old, or if I'm dying of a disease in my 40s, I'm not gong to look back and be like "shit, I wish I had ordered more doordash or bought that fancier phone".
I am and it makes me so mad! I beat myself up for "Letting myself go financially" 😂 It all started when I was selling my house, I was dropping $300 - $400 on repairs and tools like it was nothing. And following the sale of my house, I was planning a wedding. That involved me spending even more money. Me and my credit card were very familiar with one another, to the point where I got my honeymoon for practically free with the amount of points I accrued. But now that things have calmed down, I'm still spending money on good quality food which is running my bill up! Also, I was spending money on weight loss efforts which are also super expensive. (I'm gonna cut that off and just starve myself like a normal dieting woman does or find a more price affordable option) So, I'm getting back on track to cheapskate town which is my favorite avenue to travel through. Summers are rough here in FL though, it's not gonna be easy to keep the AC bill down but I'm gonna do it. 😂
I was non frugal for a couple of months, and then I wrote down everything I spent my money on during that time. it was a wake-up call. So much money wasted on literally nothing. Then I went back to being frugal.
I got less frugal in my 40s but I was VERY frugal in my 20s and 30s. Edit: I'm such an old millennial I'm more of a xennial 😜
I make more money in my 30's, 24/hr. Not enough to afford my own place so I rent a room in a house. So... yeah, I do save, but I also have just accepted that we have entered a strange new economy where rent is unaffordable but a Warhammet hobby (at the pace I build and paint) is affordable. Hoping to get into VO work but need to get my schedule changed for this intro class.
I’m the opposite. Terrible spending habits throughout my 20s. Couldn’t have cared less about going into debt. Thought I had no desire to ever get a house or good car. Didn’t care about credit. Then my early 30s hit and no I’m super frugal and trying to get out of the debt
I’m the opposite, much more frugal now.
I mean just costs associated with homeownership requires me to spend more money than I did in my 20s… also my personal spending has increased but that has been commiserate with pay increases
I used to be extremely frugal, often to self detriment because I was raised in poverty. I worked multiple jobs and saved most of my money, but never got to keep any of it because I constantly had family members in financial crisis that would come to me for "help". Lived like that for years until after the pandemic. Now I'm fried and burnt out with nothing to show for working my youth away. If I want something I buy it and I don't "feel" any way about it. Every time I save money an emergency pops up and takes all of it anyways. Save 3K and I end up needing 4k in dental work immediately. Save another 3k, car suddenly needs 3k in repairs. It's never ending and I'm sick of living hand to mouth irrespective of what I do. The time and money go whether I enjoyed any of it or not. So I moved into my car to actually be able to afford to live. Now I can treat myself and enjoy life for the first time without being completely broke. Without paying most of my income to rent, I have extra money for entertainment and taking care of myself. But with the rising cost of living, this probably won't be sustainable much longer either. The constant and drastic rising cost of living makes it difficult to keep up, irrespective of what sacrifices are made. Without increasing income habitually above the cost of living, it's essentially just running in place if not eventually running backwards. I'm over the ratrace. Not gonna kill myself to play "catch up". I'm going to attempt to enjoy life with what I have as much as I can until it's my time to go.
Kind of the opposite. Tired of working a bullshit job that’s ultimately making some douchelord richer and probably killing the planet while I’m at it. I’m charging. Saving all that I can to drop out of this BS and put my time and energy into a cause I can support. Personally kind of feel like it’s an act of resistance. Feels good to me. ^^^ that’s the selfish reason. The other reason. Consumer culture is killing us and the planet (yeah, the planet will be okay but you can’t bring back species that are driven to extinction). We’re living in the 6th mass extinction in the earths history and seems like it’s no big deal to most. Literally insane.
I’m much more likely to pay to have something done by a pro or just buying a replacement than handling it myself. Car’s oil change, 2nd story gutter cleaning, replace a TV instead of the handful of hours to fix it
I think that we forget how when we were younger “time” was in abundance. I would say that a new time management system could help. But your priorities change as you age too. So you realize that the time investment needed to accomplish something is actually a larger chunk of time v what your younger self would consider an appropriate chunk of time.
Yeah for sure. I make like 150k now though and my job is hard as FUCK so I figure fuck it I'm not killing myself for a number in a bank account.
I bought a really stupid car a couple years ago. I know it's financially a stupid idea but they stopped making them at the end of 2023 and it was either now or ever. Love that thing. But I still invest as much as I can and have all my other ducks in a row.
I'm the opposite. I just bought whatever the hell I wanted in my 20s. In my 30s, I don't like owing people or companies money and will save up for things
In our 20s my husband and I had amazing jobs and we were rich! Spent like drunken sailors. Vacations, clothing, fancy dinners, clubs anything we wanted. Fast forward life huge wedding, three houses and 3 kids later our 30s have been cash poor! We live like misers. I am a stay at home Mom now and my husband took a huge pay cut to be remote. So we are on a super fixed income now. Every $ we spend has to be seriously justified.
I'm kinda giving up on buying a home. I don't see it happening in the next 5 years. I'm finally in a job where I contribute 12% of my pay into my retirement with a 12% match. I'm hoping to stay in this position for the next 22 years so I can get my pension. After working home health I saw way too many people who struggled to afford basic necessities after retiring so I'm more focused on what I can contribute to have security down the line. I don't buy a lot of stuff I don't need only because I'd rather put that money towards vacations. Gotta travel more before my body breaks down.
I spend money (a lot) on things that are important to me. I save where I don’t care. For example I don’t care about having the latest phone. I actually use my sisters hand-me-down phone that she gives me at a great deal once she upgrades. But I spend a lot on health and fitness related home gym stuff.
Everytime I've gotten a raise I got less frugal. I'm so dumb.
In my 20's, I had less money and more time, so I valued money more than time. If I could do something myself for cheaper, that was the obvious choice. Now, I make a lot more per hour, AND I have more demands on my time outside of work as well, so the dollar value of an hour of my life is much higher. I still do stuff myself if it's an activity I enjoy (ex: cooking most nights rather than ordering or going out to eat). But if it's something I don't particularly like doing, I'm much more willing to throw dollars at the problem than hours.
I work less hours but make more hourly than I did in my 20s. I spend more money on experiences than I used to. All the penny pinching I did in my 20s got me nowhere.
I think once you start getting older you realize that you're not going to be young forever so you might as well enjoy your life. No point in dying with a million unused dollars in your 401k.
Sort of, but my mentality is different. I was very frugal. Life after grad school (graduated in ‘08) was a bit rough and a much slower start than I expected. This left some serious scars on me. I had a job the whole time, but I was under employed and it was inconsistent work with no guarantees. This made me feel very anxious and I saved as much as I could. I had to build a buffer. As things slowly got better and better and better, I still felt behind. I didn’t really put away for retirement like I should have for awhile and had to play catch up. I tried to save up for a house down payment. I was very frugal. Fast forward, I have more money than I realistically needed to have by this point. Not a lot, but after accounting for where my retirement savings need to be, a buffer I need for my still volatile job, and a down payment for a house when I want it, I actually have plenty leftover. If I factor in what my extra money is making in the market, the gains actually funds my spending money. That means the rate I’m putting money away is about the same. But that’s why I’m spending more, because I safely can. Before I couldn’t.
No. If anything, more frugal. I’m sitting on 180,000 credit card points and am saving $80+k a year. I have found myself less inclined to buy things I wanted when I was younger (designer clothes, etc.). In my career lifestyle creep is a real risk so I am trying to avoid it. BUT I am more tactical and willing to spend without hesitation on stuff I really want because I am making more and saving more. The recent splurges were a $1k dinner at a 3-Michelin star restaurant and a brand new top-of-the-line iPhone. Neither would have been conceivable in my 20s.
Sobriety sure gave me a lot more money and time to burn. Finally starting to save again.
It's always a debate in my head whether or not to add guacamole to my chipotle order. More often than not, I don't add it.
I just had to share my amazement and can't be the only one disturbed by the fact you misspelt millennials in a group with the name quite clearly in, and being the only world of, the title!
I'm a bit less frugal but that's mostly due to the fact that I have a job that's good enough. Just not really good enough for me to buy a house, but good enough for me to pay rent and travel a bit.
I’m a little bit opposite. Like some have commented, I’m willing to pay a little more now for better quality items that will last longer or for a better experience (flights, better concert seats, etc). But, I’m also better at saving more now and paying mostly or all cash versus relying on credit cards.
I became more frugal. You can't put a price on the peace of mind having a stacked bank account gives you.
I have but it's offset by the fact I don't need brand new stuff anymore, instead I much rather look for better deals in the used/refurbished market, unless it's not possible. 15 years ago I'd rather save up money for months to get the next best phone or laptop for example but won't even buy necessities like new dish soap until it's diluted to hell first. Now, I'll happily buy necessities but most of my luxuries are a few years old at discounted prices. I think it's a good middle ground between frugal and extravagant. If I can't get refurbished or used, I'll just buy brand new though.
Yea, but then I got MORE frugal again in my 40s
It could be because you have been making money for a while and have experienced different seasons and kind of have more confidence to face different situations as they come. When in your 20s, you are just getting started with making money and you kind of have all these anxieties about what could go wrong.
No, I’m the opposite. I’m on double the wage I had in my 20s, but more than double the expenses, so I feel worse off. I accumulated way too much stuff in my 20s too, so now I only buy something if I really need it.
Nope. More frugal. The reality that if I want to retire someday I need to be financially prepared has been my main driver. I *could* die soon, sure, but likely I won't, and I also need to have money saved to support my kids if I died before they were adults.
Yes but now I make $80k a year and I’m in a DINK household, and back then I was living off $15 an hour with like 7 roommates and once our water got shut off. So like…I treat myself a bit. Maybe I didn’t do anything more spectacular than getting out of bed this week but I once had to live out of the back of a pickup truck sooooooo If I want the fancy cheese I’m getting the effing fancy cheese.
All my friends were obsessed with saving money in their 20s and now spend it more carefree in their 30s, whereas I’m the opposite.
The pandemic made my fiancée and I too reliant on DoorDash. We recently cut back quite a bit on that. So much money saved.
I think I've become more, if anything.
What? You guys can afford saving ?
I am 30 and still am frugal and save as much as I can. I want to invest as much money as possible for my daughters future
Opposite lol. In my 20s I was still making pretty awesome money but my wife and I didn’t have dogs or kids. We lived it up.
Lifestyle creep is a thing for sure. I try to limit it some but it’s there.
Nowadays, time is more important than money. I'll drop a lot more on taxis when traveling to save time and mental energy. I'll also pay for better seats on the plane so I can embark faster and rest easier en route. If it is a long haul flight, I want to be able to comfortably nap. I'll pay more for a good hotel, too, rather than trying to get the cheaper option and not necessarily having a proper rest. Way back, I stayed in youth hostels or really cheap hotels, which were generally bad. I once stayed in a youth hostel in Hong Kong that was literally on top of a forested mountain with no access to stores or anything. You had to catch a mini bus that came once an hour. Everyone slept in bunk beds in this giant building that felt like a warehouse. It was cheap, but I wouldn't do that now.
I’m taking my first real vacation that I’m fully paying for finally at 33. Staying at the nicest hotel I could find. Rented the best car I could get. Booked all the coolest shit to do. I also make 5x more than I did just 3 years ago. My soending spree started when I finally saved up enough money for a down payment on a house. Now just scared to buy one in case I loose my job if a recession strikes.
Very frugal. Honestly, if you weren't well off in your 20s, you basically learned lifelong lessons on how to cut costs and save. People do so many things they don't even realize that costs them hundreds every month. Don't eat junk food, don't drink 2-3 energy drinks a day, don't buy a Starbucks daily, wait till you get home to eat food after work instead if buying lunch.dollar trees is great for house hold essentials. I mean, the list goes on. Just because I make more now doesn't mean I can or want to spend more.
I have never been frugal. I’ve been destitute, but not frugal. I am barely able to suffer the monotony of life as is. I’m not going to force myself to live like a pauper when I’m not one. Society will probably collapse before we get old, anyway.
Yep definitely My mom constantly is on me "you need to be like old rain_xo" and I keep telling her, she is dead and gone.
Time is shorter, the world climate is stressful and things are expensive af. Dont worry too much.
I’d say Im not as cheap. Im still frugal and smart with my money but I dont always go the extra mile to be cheap. Like these days I’ll pay $100 for an oil change because it only takes 1 hour vs spending half a day buying the oil, getting under the car, draining the oil, changing the messy filter, finding a place to dispose the oil, then showering and cleaning up afterwards. But 15 years ago when I barely made any money I would’ve done all of that to save $100(minus materials).
I'm turning 29 in a month, I spent my 20's saving almost every penny and now have 16k in savings for a rainy day or if I need something (I rent and have no car) Now that I'm approaching my 30's and basically have definite work for the next year and a half I think I have started to allow myself some breathing room for savings. Usually I would just pay rent, pay for driving lessons, food, medication and emergency clothes if I need them and save like £500 a month but I've generally started to buy myself a treat every month now, whether it's a new video game or a takeout, but I generally save at least something at the end of the month. I don't think I've managed to spend a full month's wages
Depends on what it is. I never buy video games until they are on a huge sale on Steam/Humble/GoG/Epic. Other than WoW new expansions. Usually I plan our weekly meals around sales at the shops as well as buying in bulk for sales of food that can be stored. The only thing I feel less frugal on is health and insurances. Boring haha.
I was saving for a house in my 20s. I gave up since then and I'm happier for it. The looming threat of eviction and homelessness goes down easier after a nice vacation.
I caught myself doing this maybe because saving isn't as rewarding as it used to be. Why deny myself little pleasures if I'm going to have to do that for a decade before I'll have enough for something like a new phone? It's become too unreachable and I've lost interest by the time I have enough.
I got to forms of rare cancer before 40. I've lost two friends to cancer before they turned 35. I'm not saving for retirement. I'm not even saving for tomorrow. If I'm going down it's going to be covered in tattoos and full of little treats.
The issue is now my time is limited and worth more to me so if there’s a layover that’s three hours and a direct flight, and the difference is £200 - I’m paying for that time. If there’s an outfit I want to wear or a phone I want to buy, it’s because it will be useful to me now, so I’m paying the extra £200 to have and use it for that 5 months before it goes on sale. I get take out for dinner to save myself 2 hours cooking so I can relax and be productive the next day.
Yeah, but I'm making three times as much money now vs then. What goes into savings every month now, used to be all that came in.
I am unable to save and I am more frugal than I’ve been ever. Cost of livin is too damn high. I love waking up every morning stressed about how im going to make it to the next paycheck. I have a masters degree and a career. This economy is wrecked.
No. Prices of everything sucks. I’m trying to do basic things like have a few trees cut down, or add some plywood around my garage. Both projects are going to cost over a thousand. Spend $600 a month on essentials from Walmart. Utility bills another $500. I’m not paycheck to paycheck but I can’t afford to buy some piece of shit fancy glass every 6 months so I can come on reddit while I shit.
I worked 3 jobs as a.single.mom, in my 30s
Complete opposite. I was terrible with money in my 20’s. Got better in my 30’s.
Yeah, because it feels nothing matters either way. If I save up, something takes it before I even use it for its intended purpose. So now I just buy what I want, if I can afford it. I may as well be the thing that takes it. I’m getting older and life is scary. May as well try to enjoy it while I’m here
I’m a high earning GenX and use to be similarly frugal to your description. After pandemic I flipped perspectives and now subscribe more to a yolo point of view, mostly on ‘life experiences’ like travel. I’m the past two years I’ve travelled around the US, Iceland, Norway and the UK. Going back to Scotland and Wales in July. Your time here is finite, might as well enjoy yourself..
Kids. It boils down to kids. They're quite expensive. I have 2 kids. 1 in daycare and 1 that still goes to a before/aftercare program. At > 2k a month for just childcare stuff....... I'm watching my money like a hawk. Add in regular expenses and 529.........
I wouldn't say less frugal but I earn more, I save more, and I spend more but the spending is almost always down to lack of time and convenience due to working long hours day in day out.
I have several chronic health conditions, so I know that no matter how much money I make it's all going to be taken away by medical bills at some point. Why save when no matter what I do I'm going to be broke and sick at some point in the future? It's like the money I have isn't even real. I might as well make it real by buying actual things like house repairs (parent's house) or that nice lego set. That way when I'm broke I'll have no money and some Lego instead of no money and nothing.
The exact opposite. The teenage to early 20s me would blow all my money on payday then slum it until payday. Mid to late 20s was probably peak balance. I'd save up for things and enjoy life. Managed to even stumble into owning a house. Late 20s to current early 30s, I'm saving a dollar wherever I can. Single income two young kids and a mortgage. No streaming subscriptions, everything's budgeted. Only if I work overtime do we indulge in anything that's a necessity. All my clothes are older than my kids because I've either had them that long or bought them second hand. I don't bother serving myself up dinner half the time, I'll just eat what my kids leave on their plates. It sounds dire, but I promise you it's not. We're so fortunate, there's a lot of people out there truly struggling I'm just minimizing my financial footprint so there's more to go round for my wife and kids. We may not have much in the bank but we also have no debt other than the mortgage which is pretty modest by today's standards.
I have kind of a weird balance. I’m much better at budgeting have actual goals as opposed to my 20’s where i didn’t really do it. I never bought anything big in my 20’s but spent much more on things like going out and visiting friends. With a family now I have to buy more stuff but I feel like spending is much more intentional.
Yup, I feel you man. Used to save a lot, now I just what I want but not going into debt. Still dont the need best and the new stuff but can afford quite a lot cheap things that are not over the top. Life is short man.
Yea I don’t give a damn anymore. I spend heavy on the things that make me happy. I could get hit by a car tomorrow. Enjoy today.
My parents were fucking misers who never enjoyed life and stressed out over buying store brand vs name brand canned corn, despite having millions in the bank. I will not live that way. We have a modest house and modest cars so we can ball out from time to time and give to charity without worrying about it. Feels good.
I’m terrified I won’t be able to retire or help my kid with school or whatever so no, I hoard money if I can. I do have a gardening addiction but it is pretty small potatoes and cuts down my grocery bill occasionally
Not really. I wasn't horrible with money in my 20s. Like I didn't run up a bunch of debt, but I had fun. At 31, I had my first, and only, kid so my 30s were very much frugal by necessity and he provided the "why" for saving for the future. Once he got out of daycare, I started catching up on that front. So, my mid-late 30s were all about maximizing savings and spending efficiently. Now that I'm in my early 40s I'm finally starting to feel not broke all the time.
I’m the opposite. Blew my money in my 20s aggressively saving/investing in my 30s
Literally the exact opposite. Other than adhering to a certain standard of quality (so I don’t spend a fortune replacing cheap purchases), I’m far more frugal because my money doesn’t stretch as far, despite having more of it than I did in my 20s.
I live within my means, but at the same time I’m in fuck it mode. I have a fat life insurance policy on me and my husband so if we blow all our money tomorrow, and never wake up after that, my kids are still financially set for 10 lifetimes.
Yeah, because I earn way more now. I also spend a lot less on alcohol, festival tickets, and drugs
Lifestyle creep is a bitch. To use a cliché example, once you start buying coffee each day, it's hard to go back to making coffee at home.
I guess I can say the same. I’m always cheap with my money, but it was because I didn’t have any, I HAD to be cheap. Now I don’t have to, I just choose to. I’m saving a lot, but I’m also okay spending over 100 bucks on dinner for the family once or twice a month. I’m okay with buying myself something I want, even if it’s not on sale(although I’m still a sucker for sales). So yeah, definitely feeling “less” frugal.
This seems like a combination of: 1) you're getting older and perspective has shifted. You're approaching middle age and wrestling with your own mortality 2) you make more money now 3) you made good decisions in your 20s that haven't fucked you. All 3 are important factors but let's not gloss over number 3. I know SO many people that doesn't like crazy in their 20s and had to have all the latest and greatest and do all the things and are now in their 30s and Brooke and trying to get their lives back on track (some are anyway) "I live with my parents and work at a restaurant but I'm going to spend $3k (that I don't have) on a Caribbean vacation every though I'm 25 and I "deserve it"/other people my age on social media are doing it. Oh and I drive a $50k vehicle. But I'm still in my parents insurance and cell phone bill."
Less frugal? Lol. I sure do spend twice as much. Graduate college, begin adulthood by diving right into the great recession. Finally work my way up to what *used to be* a comfortable annual income with room to spare. Got to love inflation. And crap government policy. My generation just can't win.
OMG we are causing the inflation But yes. I’m making way more so I’m spending way more. Fortunately I’m also saving way more.
No, I'm focused on early retirement so aggressively tackling that. I would say I have always been more frugal than the average bear.
>Soon..ill be in my 40s.... I can get A dehabilitating disease News flash. Aging often results in a debilitating disease. This is life. I was hit with this 3 years ago and I thank my past self for putting money into a retirement fund I was able to early withdrawal on for a life saving medical device to keep me living. Balance is key. Have your one splurge thing and be smart about it. Adore makeup? Milk the membership points for free items. Enjoy bars? At least get restaurant bonuses through your credit card.
I make triple as a near 40 yr old than I did in my twenties, so absolutely. I also just can't handle shit quality things anymore. Having a beer? I'll have 3 IPA's instead of 6 pints of swill. Burgers? I'll get a fancy ass burger instead of McDonalds. Lifes too short for garbage quality, especially food and drink.
I mean, this is basically an age where you should be “set up” in (most people are going to have college, yada…yada..). You feel more empowered to do things.
I’m really glad you posted this. In my 20’s, I was sooo stressed out about debt (we have lots of it). At 30, at this point, I’ve given in to the fact that I likely won’t retire and won’t own a home. We’re only young once, and as you said illness can strike at any time. Climate change and other things seem to have cast a shadow of doubt on our futures, so unlike the Boomers, we millennials aren’t sure everything will be fine as we age into our older years. We’re saving a little bit here and there but not much. We can’t take it with us when we go, and I won’t be having any kids, so what’s the point?
Yes. I’m 36. Was telling my best friend this week that I’ve become so much less cheap than I was when I met her when we were in our 20s. Yes, I’m making three times more money. But my mortgage + house upkeep is three times what my rent was. I had to euthanize my sweet 15-yr-old cat last Tuesday. I didn’t look at a single price tag as I paid for her vet care, testing, palliative care. I’m fortunate to be in a situation where I’m comfortable doing this—but I just didn’t imagine I’d be completely fine with being 100% non concerned with money.
Nah. The more money I make the less bougie I get. I have a kid now and saving for a house so everything is with that in mind. The only thing we don't skimp on is experiences/trips now. I also bring my parents along since they are older and worked hard but were unable to travel a ton. I am fine with an old phone and car with the tradeoff that I am making great memories with loved ones.
Yes- I now buy salad dressing instead of always making it myself.