I have the wife and 2 kids, but I am the same exact way. I rarely spend money on myself, but spending on the kids is a different story.
I save my money pretty well, but only in order to spend it on the items I really want. :D I have no problem passing on all the little purchases that I can do without, in order to save for the bigger purchases. Besides parts/maintenance, I haven't bought a piece of lawncare equipment in 2 years (crossing my fingers at this point). Hunting I no longer by all the little gimmick things all that much, no longer want a new bow every year (still shooting my 07 Hoyt and just ordered new strings to keep it another 2 years). My soft spot, is hunting trips. I now view EVERY purchase in life in comparison to hunting trips...it's getting annoying. I nearly bought a new rackpack and a set of David Smith Decoys for turkey hunting...but after I added up what they would cost, It was more than my ENTIRE 5 day trip to bowhunt turkey in Kansas.....I now save money to be able to hunt when/where I want....and only make the gear purchases I need or convince myself I must have (which is becoming harder and harder to do).
Things are slow as work goes so my family has cut way back, I did buy a new bow this year but it is the first in six years, for me I do buy things i have to, some new furniture and repairs on lawn equipment and upkeep on the house. no new cars or trucks until the other ones are paid off, also we paid off all but one credit card this year and will get the last one gone soon. everything i buy is with cash, if i cant afford it i dont buy it. I do have some high dollar stuff from years past that i will keep until the market turn around on, ie.. some racing engines, alot of 401k guitars some i will keep forever, but some things will have to go. I simply buy what i have to have, wish i could buy what i need,and hope to buy what the wife dont catch me buying.....:D:D
You sound just like my wife. She has no problem spending her money on everyone else, but when it comes to spending it on herself....... she just cringes!
Interesting, guys. Ben, the land is actually one of the reasons for my saving habits, although that might never come to fruition, so sometimes I ask myself whether it's worth it to kill myself saving every penny I can. In all reality, home improvement has become my (dare I say it) main hobby as of late, and maybe I'm more willing to spend the money there since I view it as an investment. Who lnows? It's looking like I'm getting the moutain bike, though, so maybe I can change a little, yet:D
I can honestly say that I AM EXACTLY LIKE YOU! There is stuff I need and I would have no problem buying it, but I just put it off and put it off. I always keep saying in the back of my head..."I might find a better deal" or "I will get that later" or "Do I really need that?"!!! There are plenty of people that ride me about it all in fun, but its just the way I am? I never used to be like this but as of the past few years it takes vicegrips to get my bank card out of my wallet!! I am now looking to purchase my first home. I have only been seriously looking for the past couple months, but I have done nothing but research styles/sizes/prices of homes the past couple years! If someone asks me about a home thats for sale in a 20 mile radius from my home town I can tell them everything about it, I actually believe I know more then my Realtor! It will take me forever to buy a home if I dont loosen up a bit though!! All in all I wouldnt say its a bad thing to be like this? It can be frustrating however though!!
I'm real weird (who knew, right?) about spending money. I'll buy $5 worth of PVC to build a chicken feeder so I don't have to spend $25 on a commercial one. I only eat at resturants if we're traveling and even then I usually go to fast food joint and order something cheap. When we're out of venison, I eat chicken thighs and burger. No chips, no sides... (other than stuff from the garden) I haven't been to a movie theater in six years. I hate buying clothes and shoes (this is actually why I pal up to Justin and Todd... free shirts! ). I don't even own a tube of mascara. (tho' I notice that almost all the women hunting celebs have on gobs of mascara... even in the woods. Maybe that's the secret!) One the other hand. It didn't hurt my pride or sense of frugality at all to go spend $15 grand on a little John Deere tractor. I spend oodles on gas to hunt deer... Don't even ask how much we spend to shoot carp.... :D
If its bowhunting or fly fishing related, yes I spend money. Otherwise, I don't feel the need to buy much. For example, my wife likes to remind me how long its been since I went clothes shopping. My usual excuse is we don't have money for that or what I have is fine. If I spent $200 on clothes, all I can think about is what bowhunting or fly fishing item I could have purchased with that money.
Right now I buy everything with cash. I'm trying to get everything I need for this bow hunting season so slowly one item at a time I'm buying what I need. Plus I'm trying to get my dailey drive back up and running so I don't have to use my Blazer (hunting/fishing truck) to get to work.
I spend, probably more than what i should. But i always seem to have a wish list. My wife and I each have our own life petty cash accounts that we spend on whatever. A little tougher now that we've been spending $5-600 a month on gas along with school bills,etc..
I might get schooled myself, it's been a while since I've been on pedals:D Waiting to hear the final word from my brother tonight about it, so we'll see. On a side note, I mowed "part" of my yard tonight for the first time this year, and my cheapness in forgoing the ZTR is coming back to bite me Sort of a side note. If you classify yourself as a "spender," could (or would you) be willing to make major sacrifices for a larger more significant purchase (like hunting land)?
In our situation, the land thing is even tougher, so I would say it's easier to spend due to the lack of affordable land.
My $.02 is just be reasonable. Everything in life is temporary. Spend while you can and put what you can back for a rainy day. Enjoy it!
