Poll | 08/19/2009 11:00 pm

Are you a saver or a spender?

Read more about: Budget, Money, Personal finance, Saving, Spending

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Out of six kids, five of us are bad with money and only one ended up being as thrifty as our mother. Our dad wasn’t great with money either. Don’t know if this means the trait is inherited.

By Laura Ward on 08/20/2009 1:19 am

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I think it’s inherited insofaras the examples set by our parents. Your mother may have been thrifty, but how often was she able to demonstrate it? Perhaps on one was actually watching her. I didn’t really know that we were "poor" growing up, but I got from both of my parents a sense that every cent be spent with caution—to wait a little while before buying something to make sure you really want it. We grew up in "delayed gratification" circumstances where little to nothing was bought on credit and we had to save for what we wanted. No such thing as allowance, because chores were expected as part of our contribution to the family, not something we did only to be compensated. But I could ask dad for a dollar here and there if I wanted a little pocket money. My mom’s a little more of a spender as when circumstances are good she can’t see the big picture, but dad was so tight he squeaked. All three of us kids landed in the middle.

By Karleen S on 08/20/2009 9:28 am

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The spenders in our family ended give financial control to the spouses. The one sibling who is thrifty ended up marrying a thrifty person herself. Growing up, we weren’t given any money. So your response has a point on why we didn’t learn to handle money as adults.

By Laura Ward on 08/20/2009 1:04 pm

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I helped raise 4 stepkids and there are more things passed through DNA than I ever thought. All 4 of them are on some sort of welfare, lazy and just waiting for someone else to do the work for them. They DID NOT learn that from living with their dad and I. Their mother once called me to ask what sizes the kids wore for winter coats, shoes, etc. I hesitated but I told her. Then she said she was going to contact a local charitable organization to get them to bring the kids these necessities for Christmas. I told her that I would discuss it with my husband, him being the dad and all. I called her back and said thanks, but no thanks. If they show up at our door we will tell them to take them to someone who needs them, we can provide for the kids just fine. She had no problem with it and evidently she passed that on to her kids because they have no problem being on welfare. It makes their dad and I sick, but they are older and out of the house and nothing we can say or do will make them be stand up citizens.

By jules verne on 08/23/2009 11:50 am

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I have to spend for the necessities. I do try and safe a little. It’s always a good idea to have money available in the event of emergencies and need. I never denier myself if it’s something I want. I earned every cent and deserve to have what I want if I can afford it.

I’m not extravagant and foolish. I pride myself on being a wise consumer.

By L. C. on 08/20/2009 3:57 am

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I am a spender and a saver. However, it is more important to me that I save the save amount of money each month. I’ve been doing that most of my adult life. I was taught from an early age by my father that when I receive a paycheck, "Pay yourself first." It was good advice.

I love handbags. However, I only buy one a year. I can buy one a month but I can’t justify it. When I can’t justify something I back away. In today’s economy, the baby boomers, especially, are holding back on spending as they head towards retirement and tidy up their investment portfolios.

By deber B on 08/20/2009 5:44 am

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My mom always taught me: Save on the small things; spend on the big things.

By Lee Harrison on 08/20/2009 6:46 am

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As a child of parents who weathered the Great Depression, all I ever saw was thrift. Not that they didn’t buy new cars when they needed them, but they got their money’s worth out of them. No mortgages on our house. Not debt in our house. Certainly no credit cards.

With that as a background, I became a buy-wisely type of person which can be translated into a buy-some-save-some habit. When I make an unwise purchase, and I certainly do at times, I’m annoyed with it for weeks… just ask my kids.

By Marjorie C. on 08/20/2009 6:51 am

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Here you go, Marjorie––we now have common ground. My parents also weathered the Great Depression, although because they had money, they didn’t experience the devastation. My father was a dentist who treated some of his patients who were hurting financially, free. They paid him in chickens and eggs. My mother––the one who had the money––was taught early on by her German grandfather and father–-both entrepreneurs, to manage money very carefully, and be frugal. This frugality reigned in our family––we never wasted anything, made do when making do made sense, spent wisely, and so forth. Our house also was mortgage free––it was bought with cash. Same with cars and appliances. When credit cards, much later, came to fore, my mother couldn’t understand why people would buy something they couldn’t actually pay for. I tried explaining the dynamics of buy now, pay later in increments, but she didn’t and never could adjust to that way of thinking. So, like you, I have frugality ingrained in my DNA––try as I might to crazily spend, I can’t do it. I do want quality and pay dearly for it, like my Persian rugs, or a work of art, say, but then, my mother did the same thing.

By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 08/21/2009 10:01 am

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Hahahaha, Phyllis, "My parents also weathered the Great Depression, although because they had money, they didn’t experience the devastation. My father was a dentist who treated some of his patients who were hurting financially, free. They paid him in chickens and eggs." This is exactly my background too. My father told me, since I was born right in the middle of the depression, that the family had more stuff to eat because his patients brought veggies into the office to pay him.

By Patrice Baldwin on 08/21/2009 4:56 pm

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Yah, Phyllis, same song, second verse… I buy quality and skimp on the junk.

By Agyness O on 08/21/2009 10:16 pm

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I am often considered frugal. I didn’t grow up with much, although, I had everything I needed, If I ever got something that I just wanted, It was a treat. I have carried that to today. Buy what is needed first, pay all necessary bills, then, if there is money left, treat yourself.

By Eldebbo C on 08/20/2009 7:59 am

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I was taught to prioritize that way. Number one requirement: roof over your head. Don’t spend anything until you have that money, and so on. I’ve always secured my rent, and now mortgage (yeah, I have one), before anything else. There are always food programs if that’s ALL I have.

By Karleen S on 08/20/2009 9:31 am

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I save when it really matters , for big things or to make ends meet. However , if I have the spare cash and its not designated to some place … it will be spent or saved to be spent on something specific. Generally its on other people though , I like to take my family and friends out to eat or to do things.

By Danielle Greisl on 08/20/2009 9:03 am

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I have a budget, consequently a road map for how to use my money.

I don’t think in terms of "spending" or "saving". It sounds so so so dualistic and appears that you could get caught in a "right/wrong" mentality with this approach.

I think in terms of taking care of necessities, investing in my home, finding the best return on my money that I have invested and having a sensible fun along the way.

By Suzanne Frazier on 08/20/2009 9:07 am