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Saving vs Spending, I know im not the only clown in the circus of life to have trouble juggling these two issues. Am I the only person who makes a little, spends alot, and saves none? I swear saving money and trying to stay looking atleast halfway decent is a hard task. Some how I've worked it out in my mind that its not healthy for one to work, work, work, then save, save, save and not enjoy the fruits of their labor. I do know that its smart to save but its hard to work five to seven days a week, get a check, then put it all in the bank. From my understanding we as African Americans do not make good consumer choices in comparison to other cultures (ex: Asian, White). They say we spend too much of our money on things that have no value, like clothes, chains and expensive cars. i do believe this to be partially true but i also believe the things we buy offer other value that may not be economic. As I take a look at my observation and interactions with other cultures I've noticed that we seem alot more confident in ourselves and the way we look. African American men and women have a certain unmistakable swagger in their demaenor. I believe part of this is due to these consumer choices we make to buy the new shirt and ride around in the nice cars. Honestly, I dont have a new car but I have bought a couple new shirts lately and there's nothing that can replace the feeling of looking in the mirror and knowing Im gonna be the freshest individual in the building. It dont help that Im a NUPE too, whaaaaaat!!!!! you cant tell me nothin.......lol Does anybody else feel me?
Posted By: Ezra Johnson
Sunday, July 6th 2008 at 3:32PM
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I understand exactly what you mean... It's beenan issue that I have been dealing with recently. Do I want to save or spend? In the end I chose to spend because, like you said, nothing can replace thefeeling of looking in the mirror and knowing Im gonna be the freshest idividual in the building
Monday, July 7th 2008 at 2:11AM
Deleece Smith
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Well I'm in my 30s and although appearance is important having the expensive cars and clothes is not important to me- I've grown up from that point of view. Besides nowadays there are so many ways that you can get nice clothes and a decent car at a budget. Looking good at the end of the day is not cool if God-forbide you lose your job and can't afford a place to live in because you never saved. It is said that you should have AT LEAST 3 months of your expenses saved up just in case. Ways to start doing that is to just to save a little bit at a time. Five to ten dollars a month adds up, as opposed to nothing per month. Some jobs even have direct deposit savings where you will be saving and never miss the money because it is immediately taken out of your check before you see it.
Monday, July 7th 2008 at 9:37AM
Jai Rich
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I've been there...I can't say living pay check to pay check was fun, but it's how I got by for almost a year and a half... I was an "impulse buyer." I'd get paid and not really think about the things that mattered like bill's, food, and saving. No I would walk up and down every aisle in the store looking at eveything and saying to myself, "hmm I need that." When in fact it was something I "wanted" and because I had the money at the time I bought it... When you are broke, you become a finacial pro... You make better choices when you are low on money, almost everybody does... You weigh your options on whether or not you really need something or if you should save what little money you have for something else... When payday comes around though, the finacial pro goes away until your pay check starts to diminish... I used to spend over 80% of my pay within the first few days of getting it, then I would have to pray that I made enough next check to cover bill's and other things... Being broke and not saving also took it's toll on relationships and my social life with friends and family... I couldn't go out as often because I didn't save any money too go out... I was always borrowing and not paying back all of it in a timely manner... It wasn't until I joined the Air Force that I realized am 21 and may checking account has $112.37 in it... I've been working since I was 15 and all I have to show for those years is a hundred bucks and some change??? So I started off small... I had 10% of my pay directly deposited into my savings account and the plan was to leave it alone....Didn't work...lol I got tempted and started using it, so I opened a savings account with a bank that was miles away from me, and I declined an ATM card so that the only way I could get to my money was to go to the bank... It worked, however I'm now overseas and don't have immediate access to the money if I ever needed it... So I said this isn't going to work... I need to be disciplined enough to have access to my money, but not spend it... So I took a class in budgeting... you should always keep a security net of money incase of an emergency... I set myself first at $1,000 and I said that I will not let my account drop below this amount... After a while of saving more than I spent and being selective at what I buy I moved my net to $3,000. I still by the things I want, but not all at once like I used to. I try to always make sure that it's something I can afford and if it's something that will last me or is worth the amount of money I spend for it... Once I drew a budget out for myself I was able to see where my money was going and what I needed to cut back on in order to save... I started learning more about investing, earning interest, CD's, etc... I encourage everyone to research these different avenue's to make your money work for you... I received a "hazardous duty" bonus when I returned from my first deployment to Iraq... It was $6,517.00. I put all of it into my savings account and haven't touched it... Since 2006 it has gained me almost $300 in interest for just sitting there in my bank... For more info contact any finacial institute and find out what's right for you... But at the end of the day you have to look at yourself and say, "Do I have enough money saved up to hold me over if I lost my job today? Will I be able to survive long enough to find other means of income??? If the answer is no, get to saving... You can still have all the things you want, but you must prioritize your money needs over your wants...
Tuesday, July 8th 2008 at 6:00PM
Devon Smith
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You are so on the beam! That's a old time saying that your right! I'm working and I can barley keep my head above the water. There is all way's more bill's than money,when you think your ahead your hit back 25 yard's. We all have this look at me complex. Because we have ajob and pay bills we should have money but how can you when every thing goes up but your pay check??? I feel sorry for the your mothers and fathers trying to make it in this world now. I'ts nothing like they taught us in school. They changed the program and never gave it to any one eles to read, like us the people who make under 25,000 a yr. The vote we have is a joke now. When we gave kids the right to divorce there parents and we go to jail for there wrong choices, you know there's a God and you can't wait to get to the other side because this side goes no where.All I can say is do what you can even if it's pennys they add up too.
Wednesday, July 9th 2008 at 6:11PM
Vivica Bunnell-Myers
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I can understand completely. We, as African Americans, spend too much money on items that are not needed. We need to start building equity and be more mindful of our purchases (things that do not depreciate after we purchase them). I also feel that this is a reason why our most of our communities are underdeveloped. There has to be a change somewhere. I too enjoy my pointless purchases. However, people, this is inclusive of myself, have to comprehend that making little sacrifices today to gain much more in the future would prove to better.
Thursday, July 10th 2008 at 4:59PM
Meghane Gainey
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