Yeah I don't turn loose of money easily. It's much easier if the purchase will earn it's keep, so to speak, but buying something for myself just because I want it, is a pretty hard sell.
Sprkplug I was just like you and with a couple of exceptions was very frugal the first 45 years of my life. Heck, we did not even have a color TV the first several years when the kids were small. 12" B&W. It did not make money and we worked so hard didn't have time to watch it if we would have had a nice one. We worked hard, saved and invested both in the farm and even off farm with retirement savings.
We saved back then so we could do what we wanted now. That is a foreign concept in todays world where modern economists tell us saving is bad, we need to spend, spend, spend to get the economy going. (I don't believe them, by the way, but will admit to doing my part anyway
).
I never went to college but as part of my continuing education used to read a lot of books. One I read (out loud to my wife) early on that we took to heart had the messages of paying yourself first and saving 10% of your income and learning to live on the 90% left. We pretty much did that (started maxing IRA's as soon as they were made available in early 70's) and I credit that and hard work early on being the reason we are able to travel and enjoy many things now. I don't feel a bit guilty for spending it. The ones my age that spent everything they made and even more, when we were doing without and saving for later, already had their rewards. We're taking ours now.
