Are you spending, saving or paying down these days?

[pigletto]

We are almost debt free and were going to sock away cash to buy a new vehicle when the time came. We are a one car family. Our engine seized and the car is a goner.

Used prices are beyond ridiculous so we are buying new. We went much smaller this time and just what we need. We can walk most places. We are in Canada and when I convert from litres to gallons we are paying $6.02 usd per gallon, or $7.68 per gallon in Canadian for our gas.

Groceries rise every time I walk in a store. I’m a price watcher and I used to know exactly what was a good deal for our budget. But with constantly changing prices and packages shrinking I don’t even know what’s a good deal anymore.

We had a trip to Disney that had to be cancelled several times so was fully paid long ago. So we went ahead with it and had a nice time, but it’s the last one for a long time.

Honestly I do take an interest in personal finance and pay attention to conditions around the world. Things are precarious and getting worse. I’m trying to save as much as I can as I am worried about what is ahead.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Unfortunately, we're spending more at the moment. We saved a ton of money during the lockdown. We were both fortunate enough to keep our jobs and work from home during that time. We have no mortgage or car payments. We only bought groceries and necessities so most of our pay went to savings. Fast forward to this year, we were suddenly hit with a $15,000 plumbing bill! Just before that happened, we had ordered a new couch, which we probably wouldn't have done if we knew the about the plumbing costs that were coming. We had also planned and partially paid for a trip out of state to visit our son and see him perform in a summer show. (That one is non-negotiable. Nothing would keep us from seeing him!) The flights are paid for, but the second payment on the AirBnB is going to to hit in about a month. Fortunately, we have savings to cover all of this. None it will leave us destitute or without a healthy emergency fund. I just liked seeing that savings account where it was! I picked up two weeks of summer school duty, so that pay will help.

 

[tasha99]

That's an interesting perspective, are your loans fixed? This sort of hedging only works if you are betting that rates will go above where you are and you expect you'll eventually be able to enjoy the difference between your fixed rate and where the rates might go. If the rates you are paying are variable, it doesn't work because what you pay will just rise along with the market like in the 80's & if the rates you pay are high you may or may not get there often, or at all.

Yes, fixed and very low. We never even considered variable since interest rates were at historical lows when we bought the house, and we refinanced a couple times to get it even lower. It's 2.25%, so trying to get it a little lower with a variable rate seemed too risky. It mostly works if your pay also goes up with inflation, and we're very lucky in that my husband just got a pretty big raise, so that's how it's inflating away.

 

[robinb]

I said "Spending More". Most of our spending is on travel right now and prices are up. We're traveling more and spending more when we travel. Other than that, we don't buy a lot of things at home.

We are not "Saving More" because we are still saving a lot and maxing out my DH's 401-K contributions. It stick my fingers in my ears and close my eyes and say "la la la la la" when it comes to the stock market

We are not "Paying Down" because we don't really owe anything. We pay our credit cards in full every month, our mortgage is paid off and we are down to only one car loan which will be done in a couple of months.

 

[Kim&Chris]

Spending more. I just paid $125.00 to fill up in New Jersey.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Interesting that I'm not seeing splurges for vehicles, jewelry, electronics and other luxury stuff like that which was done in the 80's and just before 2008 with brands and prestige items, maybe there was a reboot.

Seems people are focused on spending for things that could impact long term quality of life like finances, furniture, home care, bucket list & family experiences so the consumers head is not where it was before & I'm right there with everyone else. We're all gathering the things we think we'll need for the next 'whatever' & we went from grasshoppers to ants in the moral. Curious very curious, can't help but wonder how the next few years will play out.

Yes, as far as "splurges" go these days, according to everything I'm reading...the shift away from "consumer goods" and back to "services"....like travel and experiences is happening in full force now. Target had a bad quarter...announced last week I think, and then today they announced that their profit margins are going to be even worse, because their inventory is way too high with "stuff" that everyone filled their homes with for the last couple of years. During the pandemic, everyone got a lot of new furniture, outdoor furniture, appliances...new TVs, lots of "Live, Love, Laugh!" and "It's Wine O'Clock" signs....and so Target is stuffed...f with all the wrong "stuff".

Now a lot of people are coming off the sidelines to travel....go back to concerts....etc. And I also think you're right in people focusing more on finances, especially now with higher inflation....they are paying more attention....on the lower income scale they are now being forced to direct any discretionary income they had....towards things like gas, groceries and rent. For DH and me....the whole experience of the pandemic and conditions in general have made us more focused on retirement savings/returns/planning...etc, and we were super focused *before* the pandemic...now I guess, we're laser focused.

 

[Snowysmom]

I would say spending less. I don't have a mortgage any more. Food and gas are areas that I am spending more on but it does not yet come up to what my mortgage payment was. Travel has been less than usual this year but I am spending on a family trip to Disney. I pay my portion as well as transport back to the airport and one character meal. Still less than I have spent on a Disney trip in the past. Alot of the trip has been paid for with airfare credits and other savings from canceled trips in 2020.

 

[mrodgers]

Haven't had debt in the 3 years since I paid off the car, but I just replaced it with a payment, so I have a debt again. I just throw an even round up to the nearest $100 on it, first payment was only earlier this week.

Youngest just graduated, so tomorrow's pay is my first full pay. I'll be saving a lot more than I have been. But I also need to support a 2nd one going into college so am gearing up to spend more than I have been.

I guess I'm doing all 3.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

We finished paying for college in 2021, so we are doing a little bit of spending on deferred home maintenance. Other than that, we are paying down the mortgage and the one car loan we have, upping our retirement savings and saving for an eventual wedding.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

Unfortunately spending. Relocated and bought a new house. There was nothing done by the builder to the back so I am having a patio, sod and irrigation system put in. I also had to have the deck stained. Hoping to get it all paid off by the e d if the year.

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

I'm doing a bit of a combo. I am saving more now so I can spend it later. I have my paychecks split so they direct deposit into two different accounts - one for vacations/car payment and one for spending. I upped the amount going into the vacation account so I can splurge on a 1-bedroom concierge suite on the Fantasy next year. If I am able to cut my spending and keep it at this rate or increase it even more, we may be able to do more concierge trips in the future so I definitely have motivation.

We are fortunate that both DH and I drive electric so the gas cost isn't affecting us. The stations close to us are well over $6 a gallons so it's relief that I don't have to adjust for that increase. Our electricity company is owned by our city so we don't have to pay expensive PG&E either.

I want to spend more and landscape both the front and back yards. They both need to be gutted and completely re-done, but I think it's going to be at least $30-40K and it feels irresponsible to landscape in the middle of a drought.

Our only debt is our home and my car. DH paid cash for his and mine will be paid off in a couple of years.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I think I am ending up spending more overall, not just due to price increases... stupid me has just been buying too much stuff lately. That and this time of year has too many birthdays and stuff to get through.

I did pay off my CC last month. I had one of those 0% interest offers that was like 18 months. I had a balance for a. year and some change, so I paid off the balance from a savings account before the interest kicked in.

 

[slo]

I chose other - nothing has changed for us.
We are spending money on getting DD18 ready for college, but we haven’t been buying other things so it balances out.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Slow and steady wins the race.

I'm tempted to look back and gather old bills from 20 and 10 years ago just to see how much less I am paying each month in total interest to all sources of debt now, I wonder where most of us land with that?

It sounds like a lot of people have changed the way we do things so yay us!

 

[emmybee]

It's a little of both. I continue to save with 401k, investment, and savings accounts. Annoyingly, big bills pop up every so often, so I'm forced hand over my money. Once or twice a year, I seem to go and buy myself something frivolous, but those are only emotionally painful choices, not financial ones. I didn't plan on going to DL this year, but with the family making noise about that, it was an easy Bday/Father's day gift. Of course, that requires a dip into the savings, I'm sure. But I have no debt, I pay off the credit cards every month, and a little gets stowed away.

The challenge will next year because hubby wants a big vacation at DW. We've never been to FL, and I do want to go, but I'm really going to hate demolishing the savings over that. Again, it'll be emotional pain, not financial.

 

[Drewsdad]

mostly saving more, driving less also

 

[Shellyred8]

The only long-term debt we have is our mortgage (cars paid off, CC's paid in full every month). We are working on getting that paid off early. We are hoping to have it paid off in 2 more years (which will be 19 years early!).