Are you spending, saving or paying down these days?

[LuvOrlando]

I just read that supposedly people are spending more but we're not, although I went into this spring intending to do so I never got that moment of calm which let me breathe easy and spend for fun. We're still doing exactly what I started to do in 2020, which is either save or paydown with every bit of extra preparing for the next hit, suppose I'm just twitchy & shell shocked now. With gas prices as they are I would have thought there would be less driving, but I'm not seeing it, I would have enjoyed less cars on the roads but it's not a thing I'm experiencing. There is no slowdown in traffic so I was thinking maybe there are lots of people who have been doing the opposite of spending too. We now own one car ahead of schedule & am on our way to buying a second vehicle ahead of schedule to avoid payments which could damage credit reports, this will mean 3 vehicles paid for and only one note out there. We are holding steady with all our utilities having a few months credit for an emergency and are just stashing for emergencies - not in 401K because I want it liquid and our recently graduated full time working kids are still with us so they can pay off all college loans and start saving for their own houses. The ONLY thing I'm NOT doing right now is spending regardless of what the news says, so I figured I'd ask to see what other people are doing.

Whatcha up to?

 

[Meriweather]

I have nothing to pay down.
I buy things I want or need to be replaced, but that has been the way things have always been.
I am not going to physical stores as much as I used to, so I voted saving more

 

[shh]

The past two years, several of my appliances have collectively bit the dust - so that's where the bulk of my spending has been going - unfortunately at the worst time too - can't be too picky a shopper right now, given inflation rates and shortages. That + gas cost + some unexpected veterinarian fees for the Furry Ones. Much less travel though for now, so saving a bit there. I'm waiting out this summer as the prices and crowds are nuts. We'll hopefully do some travel this fall/winter.

 

[SteveH]

Beyond our home and 1 car we don't have much debt. We heading to Hawaii in July and just bough new couches so I can't say were not spending but we're trying to be smart about it. Already have emergency funds established and adding to them, been through other recessions so we're getting ready for another one now.

 

[Colleen27]

I don't have anything to pay down but I'm both spending more and saving more. We're in a pretty comfortable spot at the moment, with me working more than I have since before the pandemic and our youngest moving on to public high school which eliminates a pretty big monthly tuition bill, and gas prices aren't hitting us as hard as most because DH has a company car and gas card and I work from home. So it is really only an irritant, enough to get me to combine errands more often and gripe about airfare but not enough to force any belt-tightening. But I'm definitely part of that post-pandemic rebound everyone is talking about in terms of travel and concerts/theatre, and my spending in that area has increased even compared to pre-pandemic.

I do think I'm going to do something that was unthinkable to me a year ago, though - I'm pretty sure my next car is going to be a plug-in hybrid rather than the gas model I'd been considering, since the wait list for my first choice is unlikely to come through by the time I need it anyway.

 

[RedAngie]

About the same as always.

 

[Dcgc28]

We’re spending more than in the past. But I guess with a 6yo 2yo and one on the way it’s expected.

 

[meremac]

Spending about as much as we normally do. Saving/investing a little less right now due to the way the market is going. Instead, paying down DH's school loan and our mortgage more.

 

[tvguy]

Spending more, only because since we retired a year ago, we have zero income coming in, living off savings. No Social Security for another year and a half. But we planned for that. Looking at our grocery bill from a year ago, the bill is about the same, just buying less expensive cuts of meat and really only buying other items when they are on sale.

 

[Sinder]

We don’t have anything to pay dow so aside from spending more on necessities we are trying to save more by not buying non necessities. I guess we are kind of breaking even.

 

[mamamary]

I think we’re spending and saving at the same time. We don’t have any debt. We paid cash for a new car recently and a bathroom reno. I also feel like we’re sort of saving as both kids are done with college now and other than small vacations we are definitely saving there. So a little of both.

 

[GAN]

Other than a mortgage that's covered by rental income, I don't have any debts right now beyond monthly expenses food, gas, golf, and rent that I pay. I've been putting more towards my retirement which is only 3-5 years away and saving as much as possible because the next few years could be tough and having cash available will be a big plus.

 

[legler2250]

Trying to cut corners on all monthly expenses to continue to keep my vacation / Disney budget inflation proof! This is one thing I will not sacrifice =)

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I'm saving more because of my trip in September. When it's not a Disney trip year I save a bit. I'm not allowed to have more than $2000 in the bank, so I keep it below that for any emergency that might come up.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Trying to cut corners on all monthly expenses to continue to keep my vacation / Disney budget inflation proof! This is one thing I will not sacrifice =)

Mental health spending for smiles is legit in my book!

 

[MamaBelle4]

We are spending more but not getting more. Which stinks, you know.

But we are also paying down using the "snowball" method to get ourselves out of debt. Already paid off 2 accounts and we just started in March.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I'm saving more because of my trip in September. When it's not a Disney trip year I save a bit. I'm not allowed to have more than $2000 in the bank, so I keep it below that for any emergency that might come up.

Such a strange thing that SSI discourages savings that could help prevent catastrophe, like having the money to care for yourself could prevent so many terrible things why is it a negative they still have in mind from ancient ideas decades old thinking where illness was a scam or something? I see the bias myself and it's so very out of step. Saving limits this low are counterproductive, its awful that disabled people are singled out when the costs of our emergencies swing so wildly and take up so much in resources... one would think there would be encouragement to save to have a cushion when some drugs and treatments are so costly but can prevent much more expensive negative consequences. Savings should be limited to covering a persons most expensive intervention, like you should be able to save for a new wheelchair or a weeks doses of medicine xyz.

 

[ronandannette]

About the same as always.

This. Proportionally speaking. Routine things are definitely costing more and it's eroding our disposable income to a degree.

 

[MamaBelle4]

Such a strange thing that SSI discourages savings that could help prevent catastrophe, like having the money to care for yourself could prevent so many terrible things why is it a negative they still have in mind from ancient decades ago thinking where illness was a scam or something? I see the bias myself and it's so very out of step. Saving limits this low are counterproductive, its awful that disabled people are singled out when the costs of our emergencies swing so wildly and take up so much in resources

Off topic, but this is true of most government programs.

Example: and I've shared this before, my family was homeless for a period when I was a child. We lived in an astro. My dad worked full time. They applied for food stamps because, well they needed it. And they were denied because they had an asset of value - the van we were living in.

If you have medicaid or food stamps or whatever other benefit, you're required to submit all of your financial information. If you save money, you get bumped from the programs.

Although I am sure it is not the intent, but it makes it very difficult to break dependency on these sorts of programs and force people to stay in poverty.

I mean, think about it. Say you're within the income guidelines for health insurance and you aren't paying health insurance premiums. You pay off some bills or balance your budget and are able to start saving money, so you save. Next time you submit your financials, you're no longer approved. Your actual income has not changed, but your savings has. Now you have to hit your savings to pay a bill you hadn't had. And if an emergency comes up, you're up a creek without a paddle. It's unfortunate and the reason a lot of people just cannot fight their way out of poverty situations.

I know this was off topic, sorry!

 

[AndreaDM]

Spending more but not by choice. This old house we bought needs more TLC than we initially thought, we're in the middle of having our driveway redone. It is a necessity not a want, if we didn't take care of it and put in a new drain as well, it was going to cause structural damage to the house. Not a fun way to spend money for sure!