Why do I like spending money?

glamma - I love your simile, 'tighter than two coats of paint' which describes my late FiL perfectly!

Lovely to see your name again Mrs JJ

Mrs JJ no need to feel guilty if what you want gives you enjoyment and pleasure and you can afford it then in my book it is a need no contest !!

I do find myself struggling with the difference between 'need' and 'want'!!! Also know that I am incredibly fortunate in having a secure pension income, enough to cover all the basics in a reasonable level of comfort and enough left over to indulge myself quite a lot.

Our real weakness now is travelling - the planning and anticipation is at least as good as actually doing it.

Should I feel guilty about persuading myself that a want is a need?

We are also fortunate to have our income gauranteed from pensions so have no worry as to the every day bills we have to pay,we also have a decent amount of savings which give us that extra comfort,but I learnt a lesson from late FIL,he was a dear man but tighter than two coats of paint when it came to spending money when he was alive, mr.glamma and I lived at the family home just after we married he insisted on TV turned off at 9pm prompt and he lived in a house which you all will recognise from early years as the toilet was in the back yard,to get to the loo you had to go through the kitchen and turn on the light at night to see where you where going and he was fond of turning off the kitchen light when one of us had taken the trip down to the loo,"surely you know what you are doing at your ages" he would say it's costing me money for you to p-- he would say,never mind the times I nearly decapitated myself on the yard brush making my way back to the kitchen.When he died we found many many unopened wage packets throughout the house and 4 different bank books containing vast amounts of money.For that reason I spend and enjoy what I buy I never buy something I don't need (not sure mr.g. would say the same)

I don't understand your comment, isthisall. Please expand!

Greatnan "She died at 59, her husband remarried a much younger woman who had a great time spending all the savings."
OMG!

It depends on whether spending and shopping has become an addiction. My daughter ran up huge debts by buying things she did not need or really want (all part of her mental health problem).
I don't buy things - I spend all the money I have left after paying for essentials on travel, so I suppose you could say I buy experiences. I don't save for the future, as I have a guaranteed income from my pensions, but I put as much as I can each month into my travel/emergency fund (I will need a new car eventually, the management committee might decide to repaint the flats, etc.)
My mother had a friend who saved every penny, did not even have a washing machine, never had a holiday, etc. She died at 59, her husband remarried a much younger woman who had a great time spending all the savings. I have also read of old people who lived in penury and were found to have a good deal of money when they died. I suppose even saving can become obsessive. Live for the day - it might be the only one you have, but avoid going into debt if possible.

Good question,saving or spending: Which is good? The answer is that they both are. More spending, by individuals or corporations or the government, means more demand, more production, more jobs, more prosperity. More savings means more investment, more production, more jobs, more prosperity. The trouble is that a dollar can be saved or spent, but it can't be both. So every dollar we spend is one less dollar we have saved and vice versa.

http://cashone.com

vegasmags "Surely nobody enjoys paying the gas bill?"

Yes, but I enjoy being warm!

Point taken up later by absentgrana

Spent megabucks this morning on 3 bras and pack of 5 pants! Not sure I enjoyed it but I will enjoy getting rid of the greying garments I have been wearing! i will feel 'uplifted'

Not to me when I get that rush to the head!

Ah, but a bargain is only a bargain if you need/want it.

Yes! Whether you need it or not!

Getting a real bargain is good!

I don't think spending the money is the pleasure; it's having the things you have spent it on that's the pleasure. Subtle difference.

Just buy British!

I think this is what I was saying absent in that it's only the money you spend on non essentials that gives you real pleasure. Surely nobody enjoys paying the gas bill?

Paying gas bills is still spending money – well, actually using the gas is, but same difference. Money is not something with an intrinsic value that you want to hang on to. It is the thing that enablers you lead the life you want or as close as you can to what you want. The saying goes – You can't take it with you – and (cheery thought) you never when you're going to go.

As long as you're not spending the mortgage/gas bill money why worry? I don't have a lot left after paying for essentials - and I don't imagine many people do - but I enjoy the anticipation of spending and the spending itself. I refuse to feel guilty as most of us have worked hard all our lives and surely deserve a few treats.

I like spending it too. Just wish I had more!
Since I have been on this colitis diet I don't spend it on gorgeous things to eat though....shouldn't have gone to that collectibles sale a couple of weeks ago.... lots of nice glass!
Still, two of the things I got were presents for you-know-what...
I have bought bulbs too. For the spring.

I'm like you Barrow. I take eons often. But then this morning I suddenly bought a music CD 2nd hand on line for £2.25. I don't need it. I enjoyed buying it (guilty pleasure?) Why did I enjoy it? Is that Good or Bad? I feel it ought to be bad, but is that just boring Northern Protestantism again? I bet they don't feel this way in Italy!

I'm doing my best!

Depends whether you have got it to spend.

Better for the economy to keep consuming - go for it!

It takes me a long time before I make a large purchase. I have just made a purchase which I thought about for 4 months.

I grew up with very little money (my father was disabled in a work accident - in the days before the compensation culture) so money was very tight. I have never forgotten that.