Thank you. The changes I was referring to were:Not sure what changes you're talking about, but I don't know any of late that are disorienting. Maybe I take them to be opportunities....
Has anyone else felt a little disoriented by all the economic, monetary and other personal finance changes of late and if so how do we re-ground ourselves in the new reality and recommit to prudent money management without retreating to a kind of frugality that is excessive and harmful?
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Unless one has psychological issues, it is highly unlikely that one can be excessively frugal, at least not someone who is of high net worth. It's more likely the opposite, being extravagant and wasteful, that one should be cautious of.If you have money to spend, give to charities. I find that the more I spend on myself, after retirement is taken care of, the less happy I am....
And actionably, as long as I still save and invest my target amounts and max out my various employer plans etc, is the extra spend ok or is a retrenchment in order? Especially given interest rates trending downward.
1. Interest rates are way up - so those of us with savings and t bill investors are making a lot more interest.
2. Inflation - prices went way up starting in 2022, so we have had to adjust by paying more, finding less expensive substitutions or cutting items from our budget. In any event we face much higher prices on many things today.
3. The market is way up, so we may feel richer.
4. Our employers may have given us raises etc.
5. Rewards points and cash back, for those of us who use them, may have enabled certain purchases / travel that we wouldn’t had otherwise spent money on, making us feel richer.
That’s a lot of change, as a commenter noted above.
When the Euro currency was introduced in the EU, there was a need for a mental adjustment. People were used to seeing prices in the old currency and found it harder not to overspend. In some countries, stores kept the same pricing but changed the currency, which meant effectively charging double, ad it worked until people wrapped their minds around the Euro and adjusted. At first they carried calculators.
Statistics: Posted by AnnetteLouisan — Sat Aug 31, 2024 7:18 pm