Haha! I'll have to hide this podcast from my husband because he's a strong believer in spending what you have to enjoy life. His mom is the same. Whereas, my upbringing is that you MUST have savings for retirement. I had to find a middle ground to avoid insanity because, in my younger years, saving was my priority.
I think lack of money is one of the biggest stressors. However, I agree that hoarding is no good, and my mindset allows me to not squander, but still not miss out on experiences just so you can have a big fat account.
Btw, when I was about your age, I had a long-term boyfriend who had a lot of money but was known to be stingy (not a minimalist, just stingy on himself and to others of course). I was independent, which was one of the things he said that attracted him. One night he took me out for my birthday dinner at a fine restaurant (in a tourist town in Montego Bay, Jamaica). He was so stingy, that he didn't order a meal for himself. The restaurant manager knew me well because I was a Concierge at a hotel and I sent my guests to his restaurant.
The restaurant manager waited until I was finished eating, and came to the table and said, "Since it's your birthday, the meal is complimentary, as you send us customers all the time." My boyfriend was so angry that the restaurant manager waited till the end... He said that if he knew that the meal was free, he would have ordered a meal for himself.
The funniest thing is that I figure that the restaurant manager clocked what was happening because my boyfriend was a well-known hotelier with a reputation for being stingy 😆 🤣
Ha, same! I think you need a balance, though. A friend of my mom's told me she's not gonna spend her money now (when she's still in good health and could travel or whatever), instead saving for a retirement home in old age. It was the single more terrifying statement I've heard. Obviously, blowing it all on a party or a trip isn't the wise alternative, either.
Same here. Romania's still very haunted by its Communist past, and there's great fear of poverty and of not having what you need. It's what stops me going down the minimalist path as much as I'd like. I look at things like an old sweater or a toy and think, but what if I won't have, or my children won't have in the future. Best to save it, just in case. That's the Communist part at play, when kids really didn't have what to play with.
Jesus, that's nuts. I don't understand how he thought you might enjoy your birthday when he just sat there, what, sipping water? Ha! That was a clever move on the restaurant manager's part to subtly draw attention to his behavior. Very cheeky, love it.