OnlineBookClub.org

Money is a sensitive topic for many people (especially here in Ireland where the tightest of people have thousands stashed under the bed or dont even know what a current account is!) but how good would you be with managing money and sticking to a reasonable budget?

Personally i like to think i have learnt a lesson from my early 20s when i threw a lot of cash away on impulse buys- these days i pay my rent and bills off straight away each month, save some of the remainder and enjoy the rest. As a rule of thumb i try to keep my credit card under 1000euro so i would like to think i hover between sensible and shopaholic.

What about you?

I fairly good with money usually ... but I do have the occasional blow out (on hols & shopping)

I'm obsessive about clearing my Credit card balance each month ... it really kills me to get the bxxxxxds a Euro of interest ... I reckon they have hardly got EUR50.00 in interest since I got my Visa card bet they hate me.

Fran wrote:I fairly good with money usually ... but I do have the occasional blow out (on hols & shopping)

I'm obsessive about clearing my Credit card balance each month ... it really kills me to get the bxxxxxds a Euro of interest ... I reckon they have hardly got EUR50.00 in interest since I got my Visa card bet they hate me.

I started off like you wanting to clear the balance every month but the double whammy of tennis club renewal and 2 holidays stretched it to over a thousand but im trying hard to bring it down! Its great to have though..

Haha i'm not very good with money.
Example: i skipped my electric bill last month and bought very tall shoes instead. Its my weakness.....

Very tall shoes instead, haha, nice Dum.

Okay, so I am so younger than you guys, haha, but personally (and according to others) I'm pretty good with my money on my own.

As soon as I get money I know what portion has to go where and by when, and when the next this is due... I just have this giant map of it in my head that never leaves and only updates.

However, my weakness is I (for some retarded reason) feel obligated to sneak gas money into Chris' car because we drive around so much.
And this last 200 that was supposed to go towards the car and other expenses (the pup destroys any undergarments in sight).
But due to the Joan Jett concert, I paid for Chris' ticket as a thank you, fronted the money for Salami, covered food for her and Dylan at Denny's, paid for Dylan's henna, and his roasted corn...
And covered softball fees for Salami.

On top of buying groceries for the parents that are ungrateful and just complain about what I get...

I help people, bah.

Stinkin' Fascist wrote:Very tall shoes instead, haha, nice Dum.

Okay, so I am so younger than you guys, haha, but personally (and according to others) I'm pretty good with my money on my own.

As soon as I get money I know what portion has to go where and by when, and when the next this is due... I just have this giant map of it in my head that never leaves and only updates.

However, my weakness is I (for some retarded reason) feel obligated to sneak gas money into Chris' car because we drive around so much.
And this last 200 that was supposed to go towards the car and other expenses (the pup destroys any undergarments in sight).
But due to the Joan Jett concert, I paid for Chris' ticket as a thank you, fronted the money for Salami, covered food for her and Dylan at Denny's, paid for Dylan's henna, and his roasted corn...
And covered softball fees for Salami.

On top of buying groceries for the parents that are ungrateful and just complain about what I get...

I help people, bah.

You're an old softie really are'nt you?

I have never had a credit card, so I generally don't have to worry about digging myself into too deep of a hole. I think we all wish we were a little better at saving money, but really do you picture yourself on your death bed saying, oh I wish I had more money in my savings account right now? In terms of leaving some financial inheritance for family and such, there's always life insurance. I guess it's not an issue of whether or not to spend it but about what and when, and I guess sometimes we all say I wish I hadn't bought all that crap before so I could afford to buy this thing now.

Scott Hughes wrote:I have never had a credit card, so I generally don't have to worry about digging myself into too deep of a hole. I think we all wish we were a little better at saving money, but really do you picture yourself on your death bed saying, oh I wish I had more money in my savings account right now?

True. I had a mate a few years ago who used to come on holidays with us and he was as tight with money as you could imagine- always made excuses not to buy a round, used up all his coins before he dared part with paper money and even brought his own food on one occasion, he simply hated spending money and preferred to hoard his cash under the mattress and would rather stay alone in the hotel room than pay for a tourist attraction spot or rollercoaster, i cant stand that mean trait in people who spend their whole lives hoarding their pennies whilst living dull and frugal lives.

My attitude to money is to enjoy it while you can, you cant bring a penny with you. Obviously its nice to have a stash to leave to your family but i would never let that dictate where i go and what i do- go mad when you can but stay sensible a little bit as well.

I am good with money usually ... hee hee,but I do have the occasional blow out

Yes I am an actual softie Fran, haha.

Yeah, I mean having good finances and practices is cool and all, but when there's something out there that you really like or think would make someone really happy then it's totally worth it.
2 weeks ago I had about $13 to my name, but I knew that Chris really really wanted this skull and bones shaped silicone ice cube tray; so I left dinner at Carino's halfway through to go to Border's and send $8 on it haha.
Sure, basically made me broke, but seeing his face in joy and surprise when I gave them to him was all the more worth it.
I would set my wallet on fire to see that again.

Money's no good to ya if you never use it...
That's what it's meant for, use, not pictures and hugs.

I am not the greatest with money, but maybe if I had more of it, I would be better trained, lol

I'll be honest, I 'm not so good with money, any amount of it, and I guess most people are the same

JenFlem2010 wrote:I am not the greatest with money, but maybe if I had more of it, I would be better trained, lol

Nice try JenFlem2010

To be hones I'm a big spender. I'm not a good saver. Lucky for me I have a good job. I'm a landscaper

I'm good with money. Grew up with out much and never acquired expensive tastes. I do spend a lot on travel but I do it cheaply. So I'll take several overseas holidays a year but I'll fly economy, stay in hostels and travel locally by the cheapest means possible.

My rule of thumb is 'be cheap with myself and not with others', so I might decide not to eat out for a bit if I'm trying to cut back but I wouldn't be cheap about buying a birthday gift for a friend.

While you may not find many people who get to their death bed and wish they had more in their savings account (I bet there are quite a few who wish they had more to leave their loved ones) I'm willing to bet there are a lot of older people who wished they'd managed their money better when they were younger so they could have more financial comfort in their retirement.