Has the state of the economy changed how you spend? I’m serious. I’ve been reading personal finance and frugality blogs for nearly two years, and there are a lot of blogs out there on these subjects that have been around for years before that. What that tells me is that there are a lot of people out there who were mindful of their spending before the economy really started to tank and people started to get scared and think about replacing their box spring with bars of gold and sod their living rooms to start work on an indoor victory garden. (Side note – in college, my roommate and I thought that sodding our dorm room and building a sod couch was a brilliant idea. Spill something? Oh well! Sadly, this was not a plan that ever came to fruition.)
Since I started blogging and really tracking my finances, I’ve been keeping a close eye on my spending. I know where my money goes. And not just the money I actively spend. I also pay attention to my paystubs. This week, I noticed that my direct deposit was minimally higher than normal. I immediately looked at my paystub to figure out why there was a change and where my money was going.
I use YNAB to track my spending, and I have chosen to not automate my finances and instead hand enter every single transaction. It’s much less tedious than it sounds, and it forces me to spend an extra few seconds with every transaction, adding a level of awareness I’m not sure I had when automatically downloading transactions. Just a personal trick I use and I realize that it’s not for everyone.
What I’m trying to get at here is that I have always been careful to spend wisely and save as much as possible. I do my best to avoid impulse purchases and I research big purchases to make sure that I’m buying the best product at the best price. The economy hasn’t changed that. I’m still just as cautious as I was, and still splurge here and there, but they’re planned splurges.
I have a feeling that for those of you who have been involved in personal finance and dedicated to saving and paying off your debts as fast as possible, you’re in the same boat. But there are many more personal finance blog readers and writers out there now that the economy has taken a turn for the worse, and to you, I say welcome! Maybe that’s one good thing that this economic climate has brought us. More people interested in their finances and saving money. It’s always good to add voices to the conversation.
We’ve been frugal for several years now (not that we were careless in the past, just not quite as careful), but 2-3 years ago we would make little allowances here and there.
We love reading, so I’d occasionally buy used books online and I’d buy little surprise book gifts for my sister and hide them around her room and see how long it took her to notice them. (Fun game.)
We also used to buy quite a lot of toys for our dogs, because we love seeing how excited they get over new toys. But I haven’t bought a dog toy in over a year now, and if I do pick up a used book, it’s off the library sale racks for $.25, $.50 or $1.
If we make any unnecessary purchases these days, it’s usually [junk] food related. :p
I had noticed the same thing with our own finances – we had been pumping up our savings and spending carefully for some time before it seemed that everyone “else” jumped on board. These days, it’s “the norm.” I suppose that’s one good thing the recession brings – a realization that free money doesn’t exist and a return to “the basics.” Nice post!
I’m a life long frugalist so this suddenly being “hip” is a very fun turn of events. I love reading financial and frugal blogs and it is indeed comforting to know so many people feel as I do about strategically saving and savvy spending. It is a relief to find like minds.
Today my thrift mart is having a half off sale. This is how I “go shopping” and I find it’s fun, frugal and fantastic!
Great post!
Great work getting control of your finances.
I wouldn’t be worried about automating your transactions — you can still write everything down, if you log into your online banking on a regular basis to see what’s going on.
Good luck!
I disagree. Sure, I can write everything down and log in to see what’s going on. But will I? And there’s something about having to send that specific payment, even if it’s just an online payment by credit card, that really makes it sink in. Sure, it’s partly psychological. But while I think that set it and forget it is a great plan for saving, it’s not a great plan for spending. Being surprised you have saved a lot is great. Being surprised you spent a lot is not.
Thanks for your comment! You make good points!
[...] at Counting my Pennies asks “Has the economy changed your spending habits?” Hopefully it’s made you think a little more before making unnecessary [...]
[...] If not going out to eat is “getting old” for you, read about the non-financial benefits of eating at home at Passive Family Income. Then head over to Counting My Pennies and read about whether the economy has changed your spending habits. [...]
Naw, I haven’t changed much except from when I first started tracking/budgeting. Other than that, I’m about the same as always.. conscious spending is a nice balance for me
I don’t hunt for sales in big department stores unless I have a lot of time to kill..
Hello! First time visitor here!
I’ll have to say our spending hasn’t changed at all due to the fact we were always the frugal one’s already. If anything our spending might of actually increased due to the light at the end of the tunnel is getting really bright since we will be paying our house off this year and will be 100% debt free!
We just have to buckle back down (me shopping at Save a lot & Aldi’s more versus just Meijers)so hopefully we can get our house paid off a month or so earlier than we have planned!
Yes and no. Because we had to dig out of a pile of debt several years ago, we’re used to restrained spending. Now we’re even more cautious. When we do buy, we buy only quality items that will last a long time and we also try to buy items that increase our self-sufficiency.
[...] am not alone. A recent Counting MyPennies blog post points out that there has been an increase in the number of people writing and reading about [...]