• Home
  • About Us
  • Toolkit
  • Getting Finances Done
    • Hiring Advisors
    • Debt Management
    • Spending Plan
  • Insurance
    • Life Insurance
    • Health Insurance
    • Disability Insurance
    • Homeowners/Renters Insurance
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Risk Tolerance Quiz

The Free Financial Advisor

You are here: Home / Personal Finance / How My Relationship with Money Changed

How My Relationship with Money Changed

January 29, 2020 by Jacob Sensiba Leave a Comment

As I’ve gotten older, my relationship with money has changed. I’ve made mistakes, learned some things, and I found a new dynamic that works for me and suits my goals.

What I was taught

To be perfectly honest, my memory isn’t great, so if I was taught anything about money and how to handle it, I don’t recall it.

It wasn’t something that was openly discussed in our family. My folks took a fairly hands-off approach when it came to teaching us, besides our morals, character, and work ethic. Other than that, they let my siblings and I figure things out on our own.

Over this past year, as I’ve explored my upbringing I went through a phase of being angry with them for not being more hands-on, but after having an opportunity to really reflect, I’m incredibly grateful.

Because of their approach, I’m a very fast learner and a very good problem solver. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Past experiences

During the last two years of high school and a few years after, my buddies and I would always go get fast food, bring it back to one of our respective homes, and hang out.

Because of that, part of socializing I attributed to getting food, and as a result, spending money.

I also went through a period of “keeping up with the Joneses”, so I often spent money on things I didn’t need or I agreed to things I couldn’t afford because I didn’t want to be left out.

The last mistake I made was charging, darn near, everything when we went on our honeymoon. A very costly mistake at that.

What I learned

The lessons I learned I pretty remedial in terms of financial common sense, but it took making those mistakes in order to learn:

  • You don’t need to spend money to hang out with your people. Whether that’s food or entertainment. You can have a good time with the right company, no matter the circumstances.
  • Spending more than you ought to on material things in order appear to have the same social status as your peers is a recipe for disaster. To quote Dave Ramsey, “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.”
  • Stay within your means – I wanted to “do it up” on the honeymoon, so I spent WAY more than I should have. Had I known what I do now then, we would’ve planned things differently, and spent MUCH less.

Me and money now

My relationship with money has changed a lot over the last few years. I think as I’ve matured (and had a child) I’ve realized what is more important, and that spending on frivolous things, and gifts for that matter, is wasteful.

Money isn’t everything, but it’s an important tool. It’s a tool that deserves to be used in a thoughtful way.

I pay my bills, I pay down debt, I save, and set aside a little for fun. The money I save goes into three buckets: retirement savings, short-term savings, and emergency savings.

The short-term bucket is broken down further. Holiday spending, college savings, and experiences.

Spending money on experiences and precious time with my son has taken precedence over spending it on stuff.

He doesn’t get a lot of gifts from his mother or me (Santa) for Christmas, as he gets spoiled by the rest of our families.

More importantly, however, we would rather spend the money on things that create memories, which could include trips or a day at the zoo.

I’d rather him remember the time he spent with myself and others, rather than playing with toys. That’s what creates a happy, memorable childhood.

Related reading:

Psychology and Finance

Financial Mistakes to Avoid

My House and What Brought Me Here

Different Ways to Think About Your Finances

(Visited 164 times, 1 visits today)
Jacob Sensiba
Jacob Sensiba

My name is Jacob Sensiba and I am a Financial Advisor. My areas of expertise include, but are not limited to, retirement planning, budgets, and wealth management. Please feel free to contact me at: jacob@crgfinancialservices.com

 

Filed Under: Personal Finance

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

FOLLOW US

Search this site:


Recent Posts

  • How long should you keep financial records after a death? by Jacob Sensiba
  • Can My Savings Account Affect My Financial Aid? by Tamila McDonald
  • What Advantages and Disadvantages Are There To… by Jacob Sensiba
  • How to Recover Pay Stubs From Your Old Job? by Susan Paige
  • How to Avoid NJ Exit Tax by Jacob Sensiba
  • When Are Manufactured Homes a Good Investment? by Tamila McDonald
  • Appreciating vs. Depreciating Assets by Jacob Sensiba

Copyright © 2022 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework