Save money to live better?

@codris (781)
Italy
February 18, 2012 6:38am CST
Hi tehre poeple, i was thinking about this: if i save money i'll have much of them to spend when i need them, but if i save money i don't go out with friends or go out for dinner and other things. so what is the better thing, to save money for the future or to enjoy your life with them?
2 people like this
7 responses
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
18 Feb 12
I personally don't feel right if I don't have money saved. I don't want to be a burden on my family if something should happen and I also want to be able to help my family or very close friends if they get into a bad situation. Saving money gives me this freedom. You don't have to deprive yourself of everything you enjoy in order to save money. Have drinks at home after dinner rather than buy them at a bar. Have a before-dinner gathering and make your own appetizers for less than half the price of buying them in a restaurant. You and your friends can take turns cooking dinner in your own homes and save hundreds per year and still have a good time. Rent a movie instead of going to the theater. Don't buy coffee from a vendor but make it at home. There are hundreds of ways to save money! Think of it this way--going out with friends is fun but once it's over, it's just a memory. Saving money for bad times or your old age gives you real security and independence.
• Indonesia
18 Feb 12
Hi codris and dragon! I agree with dragon that it's better to save for the future. Indeed we still can have some fun with our friends without spending much money in creative ways. I like saving money but I also love good meals. So I make some of the ingredients myself, like cheese. I'm a male but I love cooking. But that's just beside the point. I do just what dragon says about inviting some friends over or going over to their places. In fact that makes us closer as friends. I tell them that that's the way to have fun in crisis. The world situations are getting worse and worse. Places in my country going down by floods, hurricanes, and collapsing structures. It's high time we made some mending in our lives. In spite of the bad things happening around us, we need also some enjoyment as necessary to relief our minds to be able to survive. The money we save can be used to help our own family or others in dire times. I've had those times when money saving saved, as I once had times when no money left for such hard times.
@dodo19 (47038)
• Beaconsfield, Quebec
29 Mar 12
I do feel that it is important to save for the future. However, that doesn't mean that you can't spend a little, from time to time, and spend some time with your friends, or something. I think that there needs to be some kind of a balance.
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
19 Feb 12
That depends entirely on your circumstances. If you can afford to save some money and still spend some having fun it is good to create experiences with your friends that you will treasure in your memory later on. However, if you can't really afford to spend the money it is better to save it because if you don't have enough money for the future, seriously, you may not have a future as it does cost a lot of money just to live. I know several people who were much wealthier than I could ever imagine being, but they lived very long and are getting close to using up their savings. From this we learn that it is not enough just to have money, we also have to know how to manage it.
@savypat (20216)
• United States
18 Feb 12
I think you need a balance, save a fixed percentage of your income, but allow some money so that you can enjoy yourself and your friends. You may not be able to go out as often as you use to but you need not feel totally without.
• United States
29 Feb 12
Before I got married I never saved money, but I have been trying to save as much as possible. Randy and I are currently not working therefore we are trying very hard to save money. we live with my parents which has been hard because Randy and I really cannot talk about private issues because the walls have ears. I am trying hard to save money so once Randy and I start working we can move out. I am not even sure if I want to live in the state of Nevada (my family is here), but the cost of living is high and if I want kids and raise them we need to live in a area where the cost of living is lower.
@atleya (946)
• Indonesia
22 Feb 12
I think we need to enjoy our life, but remain think our future. You do not need to save all your money. Although you can just save small money, no problem, as long as you can remain enjoy your life (go for dinner, and other things you like).
@indi15 (888)
• India
18 Feb 12
I guess it is important to save money. We never know when we are in some emergency or need money suddenly. If we have saved money ,we could use it. Enjoying life is important but after saving a little.