Are you a Saver or a Spender?

I've pretty much always been a saver. Even as a kid. I had a pretty good amount in my savings account, but unfortunately, I had to use most of it to pay rent since I moved away from home. :( I suppose it's a good thing I had it, though. Otherwise, I would've been screwed and would've had to go back home. And that would NOT have been a good thing!

I have savings and I have saved it for the rainy days. I spend much on food and nothing else. I try not to spend on things that are not useful on my part. I seldom buy clothes, I am not a brand freak, I just buy from bazaar and I buy which are cheap but comfortable clothing rather those expsive and pocket holing clothes.

I'm more into saving money. I feel more comfortable with a nice padded savings account to fall back on in an emergency.

Lets see: 7% of my paycheck is earmarked for a NEW HOME (mutual fund) 17% of my paycheck goes towards retirement (Roth and Regular) 7% of my paycheck goes to Life Ins.(can borrow against it) 5% of my paycheck goes towards UTMA (kids savings in mutuals) 3% of my paycheck goes towards US Bonds 1% of my paycheck goes towards the kids life insurance 12% of the paycheck goes towards debt (mostly a car note) 2% goes to various emergency savings The missus doesn't work outside the home and the above counts towards her ins and IRAs. With 4 kids, the missus is very frugal and rarely spends anything for herself. So, by default, I'm both the saver and the spender. When I have money in my pocket, I'll spend it...but thats not too often...lol I started really planning for the future when I was 22 years old and began with IRAs, Bonds, and Whole Life Ins. When I got married, I matched the savings with IRAs, and Whole Life for the missus. This was a huge endeavor since those three things alone took up 65% of my take home. I looked at savings as something I'd rather sacrifice early in life, then start worrying about it at 50 or so. Nearly 20 years later, I can retire, almost pay for a house in cash, and still have 1 year of emergency money as a backup. Keys to "my" success: 1. I never owned a new car until we could comfortably pay for a van (with 4 kids, reliable transportation was just as important as health insurance. 2. We never kept up with the Jones. 3. We never buy brand name clothes except for a few "suits" I needed for my job. Regular everyday clothes were bought on the cheap. 4. The missus makes all the food from scratch: Noodles, jelly, candy, etc. She likes doing it. 5. Buy in bulk when possible. 6. Save by percentages. When pay goes up, so does the savings. This forces one not to live above their means. 7. Avoid credit cards if possible. I learned the hard way. Find and read a book called "The Richest Man in Babalyon". It changed my spending AND its a fun read. 8. Don't forget insurance. Don't skimp here and understand your options (Life, Car, Health) 9. Dollar Cost Averaging (a little saved every month even in bad markets pays off dividends in the future. 10. Take advantage of benefits. My employer offers free tuition assistance for college. I'm now working on my Masters degree. Technically, I still qualify for food stamps, but my net worth is much more then some of my friends who are VPs of businesses. A little saved everyday goes a long way in the future.

I am definitely a saver. And I wish I could have started earlier in really saving for my future. As it is, I only started saving when I was 26. I started with opening a savings account. Now I also have two savings account, some investment in mutual funds, some in UITF's and two insurances. I have not yet started with the retirement, I guess I will have to buy one when I am finished with the amortization of one of my insurances. What can I say, I am happy with what I have started.

Money burns a medium sized hole in my pocket lol.I've always enjoyed spending money but I tend to spend it less when it's mine then I am more selfish and don't spend as much on anything that we don't need.I DO have a savings account but it's smaller than my monthly bill from what I buy.I haven't saved enough for anything right now and I really need to start thinking about it before I have to be up to my eyeballs in debt.I've kept from getting a credit card though so that's a personal achievement for me I think.

I am a saver, and manage my money very well to stay out of debt. But my husband, he is another story. Spends and spends without a care in the world. It's a constant battle not giving in to him.

Well I'm actually a little bit of both if that's possible. See when I don't have a huge urge to spend I save my money or try to find a way to avoid it, for example borrow it from someone else. But then when I really need something and I take out my money I hate myself for it because I splurge. I can never forgive myself.

both....saver n spender

Help, I'm a spender....lol Unfortunately I have been out of work with a disability for 2 years now. All my savings and retirement money are gone. I am surviving on 1000.00 a month which isn't easy in Mass. especially with all my pets. Hopefully I will be able to go back to work in the next few months. I am planning on becoming a saver asap....lol I am so in debt I even owe the irs over a thousand dollars..."sigh"

My husband and I are definitely savers. Thankfully, we were pretty much raised with the same financial philosophy; that it is very important to put away money for important things like a home of our own, college for our children and savings for retirement. We both began saving for retirement when we were in our twenties. Sadly, we probably still don't have enough to retire on and will probably have to work for years to come, but that is because of taxes mostly. Overall, we have invested our money conservatively enough that we haven't lost any money in the stock market or anything. My only hope is that my children have come to understand not to accumulate debt and to save for their own futures.

- i save money and i have bank account.

I think I am more of a saver. I have a savings account and a time deposit account. After getting my salary, I will already save 30% for savings. I think I will follow your example and start a retirement account when I turn thirty

I am a young man,so I have not started to save money.But when I grow older,maybe I will be a saver!

My father taught me a lot when I was growing up, and that was to save money. I had $10,000 socked away when I was 20 years old. My biggest mistake was marrying the jerk I did who, when the marriage ended, left me in debt up to my eyeballs. I had to borrow money from my father. The guy took the good car, left me with the junker and the loan for the good car. I had to borrow to pay bills, to buy a new car and then I got pregnant and raised my daughter alone for two years. My life has never been the same since. I still my father/mother $31,000 because I haven't been able to afford to make the monthly payments to them. I had a retirement savings plan but had to cash it out. My current husband and I had a savings account but had to close that out too. He has, however, tons of money saved up in retirement funds but has been slowly cashing those out. He has opened a spousal retirement plan for me as well. When I got my insurance settlement I was smart enough to lock some of it away in GIC's. But those have since been cashed in and spent. Unfortunately, as much as a saver my husband is, he is also a spender. Meaning, he spends money we don't have because what he wants, he gets. So now we have a sizeable line of credit. I hate living this way. I used to be an independent woman with my own money. Now I have to rely on my husband to provide for me and my kids and fill myself with worry and guilt because I cannot help provide financially to my family. I don't very often spend money on myself. I am very frugal. But my kids are always wanting or needing something. At 10 and 14 they are growing girls with changing bodies and likes and dislikes. I wish I had married someone as frugal as me, but then opposites attract for a reason. We balance each other out. I suppose if I married someone that frugal I would never go anywhere at all.

It wholly depends upon how much one earns or makes faster money. The saving and spending is later effect of earning. Both these things if not in proportion to the third one I said then has got no meaning. Limited earnings should obey "savings" and excess income doesn't bother "spending!" I am right lalav1?

Unfortunately I'm a spender. I try hard to save but it just doesn't happen. I make plans and budgets but as soon as I'm in the shops I just throw it all away on impulse buys. I told my fiance that we should start saving money for things like emergencies, furniture, new household appliances and things like that. I think this is a good idea because I'd be less likely to spend it if it is also his money, I can't just go spending his savings at the shops! So yeah I do have good intentions when it comes to saving but I haven't found a way to make it happen yet ..

I have always been a saver. I always wait till the last minute to buy something. If it were up to me I would not spend anything. Unfortunately, since my husband had to take a paycut last year we are having a hard time making ends meet. We used to have a significant amount of savings but we helped family and bought some needed things and now we dont have any. I hope to find a job that I can do from home to make some money to help pay the bills before we drown in debt.

I think I am more a saver than a spender. I am aware that later in life I will be more comfortable if I have money in the bank, than if I haven't. I have had to get into debt for a mortgage etc. but I have always paid off loans as quickly as possible so that nobody could be chasing me for debt. I prefer it this way. If I haven't got the money now, I don't buy. I was brought up that way and it means much less stress :-)

I'm a saver, I know the value of money. Now, I'm just a teen without any job, I can't waste my parents' money.