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I save nearly every dollar I earn and it sucks.

K

Kendo

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 4, 2011
2,398
1,014
Taking out the usual expenses like rent, cable, phone, gym membership, and car insurance, the only thing I spend my money on is eating out occasionally. My last big purchase was a MacBook Air last year and even then, I only bought it due to the 20% Kindle Special Offers discount from Amazon so when I sell it, I'll actually end up making money. Before that my last computer purchases were in 2004 and 2008 so I buy one every 4 years.

I'm not a penny pincher or anything, I just don't have anything to buy. I already own a PS3 and an Xbox 360 that I bought a few years ago so I generally buy a few games at $20 when they become Greatest Hits and go on sale. And I bought an HDTV a few years back so I'm set there.

What does everyone spend their money on? Don't get me wrong. Saving is a very good thing. But you also have to enjoy life, no? A ton of my buddies are always complaining about how they have credit card bills and they are in debt, and yet I'm here on a message board asking for advice on things to buy.
 
ask Charlie Sheen :eek: seriously though get a girlfriend and you will find lots of places to spend your money
 
Kendo said:
Taking out the usual expenses like rent, cable, phone, gym membership, and car insurance, the only thing I spend my money on is eating out occasionally. My last big purchase was a MacBook Air last year and even then, I only bought it due to the 20% Kindle Special Offers discount from Amazon so when I sell it, I'll actually end up making money. Before that my last computer purchases were in 2004 and 2008 so I buy one every 4 years.

I'm not a penny pincher or anything, I just don't have anything to buy. I already own a PS3 and an Xbox 360 that I bought a few years ago so I generally buy a few games at $20 when they become Greatest Hits and go on sale. And I bought an HDTV a few years back so I'm set there.

What does everyone spend their money on? Don't get me wrong. Saving is a very good thing. But you also have to enjoy life, no? A ton of my buddies are always complaining about how they have credit card bills and they are in debt, and yet I'm here on a message board asking for advice on things to buy.
Click to expand...
As I am starting to actually have money, I generally buy stuff that I didn't have before, however once I get these things, I'll probably not be spending much.

I've recently bought:

Clothes, however, most of which were from gift cards.
A computer and peripherals for that computer.
A Zune.
Music.

Most of them were basically one-time purchases so that once I have them I won't be buying anything else really.

However, I am planning on buying:

Xbox/PS3
A membership for Xbox Live if I decide on Xbox
A wireless adapter for Xbox if I decide on Xbox
Games for the Xbox/PS3
New tv/monitor

Just because you have money, doesn't mean you need to spend it. Once I'm done buying everything on that list, I'll probably just stop buying stuff for the most part.
 
Is refreshing to hear someone else not living off credit and within their means. Keep it up. :)
 
After all necessary expenses, I spend maybe $1,000-1,500 on myself every year (2011 was an exception to this - spent $2,000 after buying an iPad 2, HP touchpad, and building a gaming desktop). The only other thing I spend money on is my friends - most of them are in debt from school so I usually cover most, if not all, of the night whenever we go out.

You don't have to buy things and spend money to enjoy yourself. You have your priorities straight. Your friends should learn from you.
 
Go places, do stuff, make the most of it.

Your lifetime is a one way street.
 
So after "enjoying life" you have money left and you're complaining that there's nothing else to buy to help you enjoy life more?

First world problems :rolleyes:
 
Travel. Fly places... go an see foreign countries... have different experiences.

Go to see concerts / theatre / opera / ballet.

Learn stuff. Learn to do something artistic, play a musical instrument.

All these things should not only be enjoyable, they'll make you a more interesting person.

Mord said:
Your lifetime is a one way street.
Click to expand...

Yes, and we're a long time dead.
 
Rather than seeing it as a problem, see it as a blessing. There are many people who would rather be in your position.
 
you can also mail me a check :D i'm sure i could help you spend that money :p
 
I spend a lot of my extra money on cycling stuff. Bike maintenance, parts, cycling clothes, off-season riding (I bought a $200 trainer to let me ride indoors). This adds up to as much as $500/yr.

Parts include: new grip tape twice to thrice per season, new grips once per season, new cables every other season, as much as 20 tubes per season (those nasty goathead thorns will get ya!), and new tires every other season.

Cycling clothing consists of: jerseys, shorts, knickers, legwarmers, armwarmers, gloves, etc. I buy these very often, but they also last a lot longer than a lot of bike parts.

I am cutting down on bike stuff this year so that I can afford a new iPhone in August, when I'm eligible for an upgrade. I will probably get a 32GB variation of the iPhone 5/6/whatever they end up naming it. I am also cutting down on what I spend on my current bike so I can be able to afford a nice carbon road bike in a couple years.
 
After binging (sp) on myself, the wife, and the kid since my last deployment, I'm actually in debt lol so now I don't spend too much anymore, I put most of my check towards bills and I tell you what, it's a great feeling to look at my bank account and see it rising...even if it's all gonna go bye bye in one click once I get enough to pay my CC off
 
eric/ said:
Same. Poor college student here. Textbooks ain't cheap.
Click to expand...

no kidding. i'm about to start my last semester. unfortunately for me, because of work/commuting/availability of the classes i needed, i've been less than full time for the past year. so in november I had to start paying back my loans too. not even graduated and I already have to pay my loans on top of the tuition/fees/expenses for my last two classes. so broke. :(
 
Look, what you are doing is not bad. It's not like you are doing extreme stuff like dumpster diving for all your food and using cardboard boxes for furniture. I don't know if your are from the US or not, you are already doing way better than most Americans. Many people in this country have little to no savings, are in debt up to their eyeballs, and only a paycheck or two away from bankruptcy.

I'm similar in my purchasing patterns. I don't own a modern console (though I did just build a gaming PC), and I buy all my games used or through Steam when they go on sale. I just sold my my old Powerbook and old iPods for money toward a new MBP, so I understand where you are coming from.

Anyway, on to the questions. Do you have any hobbies aside from gaming/tech? Sports like biking or golf can eat up a ton of money. I like target shooting, and that can burn a lot of money if you let it. I also have a weakness for books.
 
yg17 said:
So after "enjoying life" you have money left and you're complaining that there's nothing else to buy to help you enjoy life more?

First world problems :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Word.

I don't understand people that complain about having too much money; or whine about not knowing what to spend their money on. Give it to charity, feel a bit better about yourself, and shut up. Sorry for being candid, but that's how it is. Children go to bed hungry night after night. Hell, even your local animal shelters have a devil of a time finding enough money to stay open.

My advice is to donate your excess time and/or money to someone who will not question what to do with it.

:)
 
You should look into investing as well!

Get your nose into some rising stocks, or maybe put money towards a money market/CD every once in a while. A Roth IRA will accrue interest over time, with the final sum being able to be withdrawn tax-free (capital gains eats other stocks alive).

There are many ways to invest, with varying levels of risk and reward. I think this would be the smartest if you're looking for a healthy way to spend.
 
Kendo said:
Taking out the usual expenses like rent, cable, phone, gym membership, and car insurance, the only thing I spend my money on is eating out occasionally. My last big purchase was a MacBook Air last year and even then, I only bought it due to the 20% Kindle Special Offers discount from Amazon so when I sell it, I'll actually end up making money. Before that my last computer purchases were in 2004 and 2008 so I buy one every 4 years.

I'm not a penny pincher or anything, I just don't have anything to buy. I already own a PS3 and an Xbox 360 that I bought a few years ago so I generally buy a few games at $20 when they become Greatest Hits and go on sale. And I bought an HDTV a few years back so I'm set there.

What does everyone spend their money on? Don't get me wrong. Saving is a very good thing. But you also have to enjoy life, no? A ton of my buddies are always complaining about how they have credit card bills and they are in debt, and yet I'm here on a message board asking for advice on things to buy.
Click to expand...

What I understood from that was, in short;
" I don't buy anything apart from a Mabook air a PS3 an xbox an hdtv and eating out and buying games"
I really don't think you have anything to worry about. Apart from the fact that you seem to want something that you don't know you want yet.
If you have loads saved, I suggest investing it. I made £3400 one year whilst at uni from my £900 loan. Carpe Diem
 
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