do we spend more than we should?

When you have no money to spend it is amazing to see how other people spend money so easily on things they do not need. I have learned to live without so many things that I now consider them unnecessary to my life. I do have money but I try never to buy anything I don't have a use for or which is not useful to me. I think it is a good idea for money matters to be taught in school. It may help to prevent people getting into so much debt. Some people just spend without thinking, always wanting to buy the latest things in fashion, which they don't really need and can't really afford to buy.

Mandatory money management courses might not be a bad idea at all in the schools. Look at all the college kids that have huge credit card debt - those darn credit card companies send them applications and away they go. On another side of it, my parents generation did a lot more saving than my generation. We are more the instant gratification generation and our kids have been brought up the same. We are working hard to charge now - so it's never too late.

I always think that I'm a wise spender. But if you ask me if I have any savings my answer would be a big NO! I try to spend within my means but just can't keep my savings untouched. Now, I'm jobless and I realized how important it is to save for the future.

I have a basic rule when I go out and I see something that I just have to have, I ask myself Will I die if I don't buy that. If the answer is No then I put it back, but sometimes I say yes cause I won't have it. I agree, we need to curb the spending on a lot of things that we don't need and save a few bucks for emergencies, I had to have the top line in the cellphone connection when I started a couple months ago, $60. gives you all they got and I had internet too, but I have hardly used it. I can lower my bill each month have unlimited long distance, 24/7 talk time and call waiting and caller id, for $40. a month that is $20 bucks saved, I think we have to try out the new stuff till we find out we really don't need all that frill.

Hello there my friend. I think that nowadays we tend to spend more than we should and I totally agree with you on this discussion. There is a need to save money for a "rainy day" and I really think that it's vital to have some kind of back-up money. Good discussion here. Have a nice day. :)-

Ditto. A lot of people are in debt right now because they spend more than what they are earning. Sometimes they buy things that they don't need and they don't really use. Last week, I went through my closet and some of the clothes in there were from years ago and haven't been used once. What a waste of money! If only had more self-control then. Oh well, at least I know better now. :) I agree. It would be great to teach children on how to effective manage their finances. It's important that they learn, even at an early age, that they need to save up and that it's much better to own a business than work for one.

I find it best to put off buying things that I don't really need because something is going to come up that I will have to spend money on. If I'm not careful I won't have the money when I need it. In the last few weeks I have had to have major dental work, multiple car repairs, eye exam and contact lens, regular bills, vet visits and meds, plus the high gas prices to deal with. It would be a while before I can spend on luxury.

I totally agree with you. We should know how to use our money, what we earn after so much hard work. Personally I am concerned about on what I am spending my money. We should not be stingy, but also we should not spend our money like crazy. People who knows how to manage money, they never face a bad day economically. We should teach our children from childhood, how to manage money or how to spend effectively.

i think you are right. due to commercials we are tempted to buy many things that we really do not need at that time. they are doing their business and we are losing money as such.the panic button should be pressed and so all should be careful.

i think we do. it seems that no matter how hard we try not to spend on frivolous materials we can't seem to help ourselves, i think it would be good practice to have 'mad money' a certain amount we set aside just for those frivolous stuff.

Yes i agree, i hope schools and university must have their share in teaching students on how to handle their money. Me, i attended this one day seminar on how to handle money and save it for the future, it really really helps me on tightening my budget. And this is what we need now and the concern for global warming.

That's so true! I used to be like that too because I wanted to have a lifestyle! Now, I don't spend that much and I try to spend within my budget, and actually I feel financially better. Currently, I try to save money for my retirement and plan for other hobbies or interest. I think we should spend on something we want to learn or do for a long time, but we definitely should not spend on materialistic things on impulse!

I know exactly that we need much money for the future. To buy a house, to raise the children, to support our old parents and ourselves, each task is tough. So we have a general plan to save money for the future. We lead an ordinary life and occasionally spend on some luxury we can afford. I personally think it's not bad to enjoy some luxury occasionally because life is also supposed to afford such kind of satisfaction. Besides, I think financial management is important and necessary. But for the children who don't really know what they need and the real value of money, they should be taught about the money issues. When I was still at school, I really didn't know how hard to make money and didn't realize how expensive are the goods I asked my parents to buy for me. Even now I make money myself I would be hesitate to buy that.

I think we need to spend a little bit of money on things we want, and use it to just have fun, otherwise it we would begin to wonder why we work so hard and not allowed to enjoy life. But there should be a limit to how much we spend on FUN. We shouldn't go over our budget, or put more important things to the side. With the constant change in prices, we need to constantly examine what we are spending, and possibly rearrange our lifestyle to fit into our budget.

I understand needing and wanting are two different things. But some times a want is a need. I mean if you are ONLY buying things you need such as food and water then you don’t get any satisfaction out of working or life. My husband and I have two bank accounts and a savings account. The first is for our bills the second is for spending. Each pay check we take X amount out and put it in our spending account the rest stays in the bill account. The savings account is for the larger things we need (currently saving for new kitchen cabinets) or emergencies. From the bill account we pay – mortgage, utilities, credit cards, and so on. From the spending account we buy – groceries, gas for the cars, and wants. This has helped us to budget the way we need to. We know that if it is in the spending account we can spend it, if it is not then we don’t have it. Ever since we started this we have been able to pay our bills on time and in full plus have money to spend. I think that this could work for any one who is making enough money to pay there bills. I mean I know a lot of people don’t make enough money to pay there bills let alone have spending money. The way I feel about it is if you try you can have it all (bills paid and spending money). But you have to TRY!

I spend only for my family. I am the sole bread winner of my family and I have just a few money to get going. So I am really very particular with my spendings.

I see it all the time: People spending more than they should. From a national economic perspective it is good because spending stimulates the economy. But for the individual person doing the excessive spending it is disastrous.

i think that we spend more than we should. some of us are on set incomes. we spend beyond our means when we see something we want and don't really need. we do it to keep up with the jones'. that is why americans are in debt. we have to turn to debt consolidation programs to help us get out of debt. we let our spending get out of control.

Definitely! For the small group of earth residers that buy stuff for need rather than want, I salute you! I used to shop for clothes like I grew up in loincloths, looking back now I cannot understand why I felt such a great need to keep buying clothes and stuff. But now I have train myself to be as much as a miser as I can. I do still buy stuff I want sometimes, but now what I can rent or hire, I will not buy. I am not sure if a mandatory course of managing finance would help me, it seems to me spendthrifts is like a terminal disease. But I know investment courses would have been better. Teach me how to fish rather than try and wean me off seafish.

Well it all depends. Yea we probably spend more on what we want rather than our needs. However if you are paying your bills on time and have the extra to spend then go for it. I think there should be a school class on that as well. It would help for better planning and better use of money.