I have a sickness; I'm scared to spend the $$$$

[Amasov]

I guess it's a good thing? I don't know. All I know is, I'm terrified of spending money a lot of the time. Whenever I get a paycheck, my first instinct is to put it away and not many any huge purchases. Sure, I'll buy a book, DVD/BD or something like that, but anything over $50, I start to get nervous. I don't know why.

What's REALLY scaring me now is that I'm going to be buying Adobe CS5 (or 5.5 now) and that's going to cost a pretty penny. I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for it, but my mind just can't seem to be at ease. Don't get me wrong, over the last three years, I've been able to save a lot of money, but it seems I've fallen into this pattern of just wanting to save and save and save and use no money outside of paying rent/utilities/other bills.

I'm good with saving money, but spending it is a whole other matter.

 

[RoJoHen]

I have the opposite problem.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, I don't think this is a bad thing at all. As long as you're still spending money on things you need (food, shelter, clothes, etc.) don't feel bad about being frugal.

 

[Amasov]

I have the opposite problem.

Want to buy me CS5?!

 

[6079SmithW]

When I read the thread title I thought this was going to be about you being ill and not able to afford medical expenses. Glad to see that is not the case!

I'm kind of the opposite. It's so easy to buy things off amazon and there's lots of books and games I like but if you don't pay attention the costs can add up quick. I try to limit myself to items that are less than $30.

 

[lurok]

When I read the thread title I thought this was going to be about you being ill and not able to afford medical expenses. Glad to see that is not the case!

Ditto. Frugality, restraint and careful budgeting all good things. But sometimes life is too short to deny yourself the odd pleasure...

Oh, and think of CS5 less as a luxury than as an investment...

 

[RoJoHen]

I also recommend getting a Best Buy credit card.

 

[Amasov]

When I read the thread title I thought this was going to be about you being ill and not able to afford medical expenses. Glad to see that is not the case!

Ditto. Frugality, restraint and careful budgeting all good things. But sometimes life is too short to deny yourself the odd pleasure...

Oh, and think of CS5 less as a luxury than as an investment...

Totally. Thing is, I use it at work, but also need/want it for home use. My company also wants us all to be set to work from home if we have to. I don't have CS5 at home yet, so I'm thinking they might even help me out with this purchase, but I'm not expecting that to be the case.

 

[lurok]

Totally. Thing is, I use it at work, but also need/want it for home use. My company also wants us all to be set to work from home if we have to. I don't have CS5 at home yet, so I'm thinking they might even help me out with this purchase, but I'm not expecting that to be the case.

They should get it for you or at least contribute. Or maybe they can purchase with company discount? Can't you also write it off on your expenses/personal tax allowance? As a self-employed here in UK I know I could as legitimate work expense. So win-win.

 

[{ Emilia }]

Happy to help with spending your $$$$.

Shame the bloody $ is so damn worthless these days.

 

[Amasov]

Totally. Thing is, I use it at work, but also need/want it for home use. My company also wants us all to be set to work from home if we have to. I don't have CS5 at home yet, so I'm thinking they might even help me out with this purchase, but I'm not expecting that to be the case.

They should get it for you or at least contribute. Or maybe they can purchase with company discount? Can't you also write it off on your expenses/personal tax allowance? As a self-employed here in UK I know I could as legitimate work expense. So win-win.

I'm not 100% sure on writing it off on my taxes, but I'm going to mention it in the hopes that they may contribute. I'll be very surprised if they bought the whole thing, but a contribution I'd totally accept.

 

[Holdfast]

Money is a delightful thing, but only for what it can do for you. I don't just mean in terms of buying things; it's also a shield from the vicissitudes of life as well. So if you're enjoying it more by saving (for instance: planning towards an early retirement, or other particular financial goal) then good. If you're not actively managing this accrual of wealth, not working it hard while its being saved, and have instead just become actively anxious about spending, then in your shoes I'd be thinking about why money has become such an important thing in life. Think of money as a commodity like any other.

 

[FrontLine]

Amasov, of all the problems to have, yours is a good one. Sounds like you know you have to spend the money. That is the key, as long as you spend it when you have to spend the money then you should be ok. Just tell yourself you are not blowing it, but spending it on a necessity. Oh and please tell me with your frugal ways that you are investing your money and not just letting it sit in a savings account.

 

[FalsePriest]

I have the same problem. As soon as I get a paycheck, I take some cash out for the month's expenses and put the rest into savings. I tell myself I'll use the savings for something nice down the road, but I never end up spending it because I can't stand having my bank account go down. The only way I'm actually even able to plan for the vacation I want to take this summer is to save up the money in hard cash, not just in the bank account. This way it's like I've already spent the money and don't have to make a withdrawal from my account. I'm working on loosening up, but I can definitely relate and understand how frustrating it all can be, never being able to let yourself indulge in anything purchase-wise. What's the point of saving if you can never bring yourself to spend it?

 

[sojourner]

Sounds like a permanent case of "buyer's remorse"! Not a bad thing.

 

[Amasov]

Very rarely do I make large purchases. Early this year, I bought a new Mac that was about $1,700.00. Don't laugh, but it was the first time that I ever spent money on a product that was over a thousand bucks. I got scared, but it was a necessity and I quickly "recovered" from it both financially and mentally. I told myself when I made the decision to buy a new Mac that I need to buy CS5 and it's going to run me close to what the Mac did cost. I just didn't buy them both together, but in retrospect, I probably should have. Making two purchases at such a high cost isn't something I am too comfortable with.

Once I get CS5 out of the way, I think my mind will totally be at ease. I'm not sure what it is I'm afraid of.

 

[RoJoHen]

Very rarely do I make large purchases. Early this year, I bought a new Mac that was about $1,700.00. Don't laugh, but it was the first time that I ever spent money on a product that was over a thousand bucks. I got scared, but it was a necessity and I quickly "recovered" from it both financially and mentally. I told myself when I made the decision to buy a new Mac that I need to buy CS5 and it's going to run me close to what the Mac did cost. I just didn't buy them both together, but in retrospect, I probably should have. Making two purchases at such a high cost isn't something I am too comfortable with.

Once I get CS5 out of the way, I think my mind will totally be at ease. I'm not sure what it is I'm afraid of.

Did you put it on a credit card, or did you pay for it in full when you bought it?

 

[Amasov]

Very rarely do I make large purchases. Early this year, I bought a new Mac that was about $1,700.00. Don't laugh, but it was the first time that I ever spent money on a product that was over a thousand bucks. I got scared, but it was a necessity and I quickly "recovered" from it both financially and mentally. I told myself when I made the decision to buy a new Mac that I need to buy CS5 and it's going to run me close to what the Mac did cost. I just didn't buy them both together, but in retrospect, I probably should have. Making two purchases at such a high cost isn't something I am too comfortable with.

Once I get CS5 out of the way, I think my mind will totally be at ease. I'm not sure what it is I'm afraid of.

Did you put it on a credit card, or did you pay for it in full when you bought it?

Paid in full.

 

[RoJoHen]

See, THAT is a scary thought for me. Give me a credit card any day.

 

[Amasov]

Yeah, of course. I just didn't want to add another monthly cost to my already annoying ones. You're still spending the same amount of money, it's just a question of WHEN you do it, I guess.