About three months ago I posted this on r/Frugal Why do I feel guilty about spending money?
I still fight the same dilemma about being extremely cautious and frugal when spending money on myself. I am at the point now that its hurting my mental health when it comes to spending a single dime for myself.
I am sitting on over $32k in my savings account and am getting a raise this month plus a 2nd anniversary bonus in July pushing my yearly close to $120k. I am also sitting on over $100k+ in stocks. It recently made me create a want vs. need list and probably derailed me from spending more money.
Want
1) Build a PC - $2500K cost, replace my 2012 laptop that I use docked 100% of the time, also on its last legs.
2) PS4 Pro (God of War Edition) - Already have a PS4, don't really need it but am I big God of War fan.
3) God of War Deluxe Edition - Combined with the PS4 Pro we're looking at $600.
4) New DSLR - My 9 year old DSLR fell in the sand last summer and finally bit the bullet in December. I take a lot of photos a year and currently have a beefy point & shoot that can hold me over.
Need
1) Nissan Sentra Bumper - recent fender bender
2) Hyundai Sonata Car Alignment - recently changed tires
3) Tower Lamps for Living Room - No lighting in living room and current lamp is falling apart
4) Re-do Bathroom - silicon falling apart, hole in wall, needs update asap. Work on it myself.
5) Remodel Kitchen - Gift to my wife from our tax return. Needs update asap.
6) Re-surface deck - Needs update, paint is very old and faded, wood sticking up.
7) Cut Trees - Large tree lifting my shed and falling over into 4 homes.
8) Remove large trash items - City does not take large items such as old water heaters etc. Have a lot of large items from when we purchased this home 2 years ago that need to go.
9) Replace Windows (Kitchen, basement) - several unsafe windows inside home that are old and poorly insulated. 1x window doesn't even close properly.
10) Yard maintenance -Yard is a mess and needs attention asap. Will work on it myself.
My theory, either I spend the money on my wants now because there's always going to be a need for something. Or Buckle down and forget about my frivolous wants and pay attention to my needs that are more important.
Dammit r/frugal you made me this way. But it also helped me go from $40k in debt 5 years ago to $0. Only $2500 in my savings two years ago to $32,000 plus college fund for my kids.
April 08, 2018 at 09:23AM
