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That's fair. When I say I'm terrible with money I mean more in the realm of saving vs. spending. I have a small amount in savings for emergencies/cash flow safe

That's fair. When I say I'm terrible with money I mean more in the realm of saving vs. spending. I have a small amount in savings for emergencies/cash flow safety but I definitely do not have 6 months worth of expenses set aside or hundreds of thousands of dollars in my 401(k) as some of my peers seem to. Also, if I'm being totally honest my retirement plan is basically to never retire, partly for financial reasons but also because I like working in my current industry and staying busy and don't see that changing. Part of that comes from being in a high cost-of-living area with a child and student loan debt, but I also know that a part of it is due to the fact that I buy things I don't need way too often.

MaulingMonkey 8y ago
Savers are often finding ways to make inertia work for them. Every penny in my 401k was directed there by my employer. I never saw it in the paycheck, I don't think of it as something I have available to spend. Others might use a bank account they don't have a debit card attached to. Or for debts, might set up an automatic transfer to eventually pay it off, and bury their credit cards in a filing cabinet somewhere. Some people find luck with budgets. Don't tyrannize yourself - it's OK to carve out some of your budget for buying things you don't need - but you can balance that with letting yourself save some. And budgets don't have to be 100% set in stone - when my friend wanted some replacement computer parts, he cut back on his food budget (by cooking more instead of eating out) for a bit to "afford" it. I realize this is easier said than done, though! Even if you never plan to retire, having a rainy day fund / a long runway will help take the stress out of layoffs, and give you more time to find the job you want vs the job you need to pay the bills, etc. - hopefully helping ensure you keep enjoying working in your current industry :)

MaulingMonkey 8y ago

Savers are often finding ways to make inertia work for them. Every penny in my 401k was directed there by my employer. I never saw it in the paycheck, I don't think of it as something I have available to spend. Others might use a bank account they don't have a debit card attached to. Or for debts, might set up an automatic transfer to eventually pay it off, and bury their credit cards in a filing cabinet somewhere. Some people find luck with budgets. Don't tyrannize yourself - it's OK to carve out some of your budget for buying things you don't need - but you can balance that with letting yourself save some. And budgets don't have to be 100% set in stone - when my friend wanted some replacement computer parts, he cut back on his food budget (by cooking more instead of eating out) for a bit to "afford" it. I realize this is easier said than done, though! Even if you never plan to retire, having a rainy day fund / a long runway will help take the stress out of layoffs, and give you more time to find the job you want vs the job you need to pay the bills, etc. - hopefully helping ensure you keep enjoying working in your current industry :)