Does this make me an U miser?

[LockedAway]

I am pretty frigid with my income:

10% goes into my savings account
40% goes into my investment account
15% goes to my parents so they can enjoy their retirement
20% goes to "essentials" i.e. food, petrol, bills etc
15% goes to "lifestyle" i.e. dinners out, clothes, makeup etc

I own my house outright. The thing is, I have way too many family members/friends/neighbours who constantly tell me I should be out "enjoying life" more. I am not in the least bit interested in extravagance or partying or having the latest, fanciest things. Does this make me an U miser?

Sort of. What are you saving FOR? What are your financial goals? I mean, if you've calculated that you need to save/invest that much in order to have a comfortable retirement, fair enough. If you're going to keep adding more and more to the savings pile until you die, surely even you've got to admit it's a bit of a waste :)

As long as you intend to enjoy your retirement as you ensure your dps do. . .
Nobody can doubt your loyalty and regard for your dps. .
Just remember to spoil yourself sometimes too!!
Keep up the good work!!

Depends what your income is. Living on 35% of £2 million is a very lavish lifestyle indeed.

My expenses look similar. Kept getting similar comments but they stopped after relatives saw how we were able to buy the things we wanted outright without any debt. Investments are great because if managed wisely you will get a far better rate of return than cash. I have doubled and even tripled some of my capital over the last decade.

Depends if you are living so frugally that you are failing to enjoy your life right now or if you feel you have a good lifestyle and don’t need to spend more than you do.

I can't imagine giving my parents just 5% less than all my bills and other important outgoings. That's very generous.

Saving is good, but you can't take it with you!

What are you saving for? Do you deny yourself easily affordable things (while still being able to save) because you hate spending money?

Depends whether you go on about it to others e.g. No I can't do x because it's too expensive ..

ThePants999 It's not so much for retirement purposes. Savings are primarily for "rainy days" because of the sheer volatility of my industry + charity if I come across worthwhile causes. And this might not necessarily make sense and it's difficult to put it into words, but my investments are there because I like "growing" money? They don't serve any cause, to be honest. I just enjoy the thrill of watching my numbers go up.

Never really had a problem with all this till earlier today when someone I care about called me a "greedy scrooge" and that "money is wasted on people like you".

Yes you sound a bit tight

It's important to save savings to fall back on but if you are damaging relationships and feel unhappy in yourself, then you've gone too far.

I save every penny I can so I can retire early
You might want to leave a legacy or set up charity trust
It's your business
The only thing I would pay for is a bigger flat but the way the prices have gone, I'd have to work years extra to pay for it
I don't need to buy more stuff
I don't want to go out more often
So I'm all good
If you're happy, ignore the naysayers

Oh and fuck off money is important if you can save it, you never know when jobs will go or indeed just go wrong on account of new owners or whatever.

Jelly "Depends whether you go on about it to others e.g. No I can't do x because it's too expensive"

I don't go on about it but if a friend asks me to go to a posh restaurant, yes I'll say that. I don't earn a lot, I don't want to spend a days wage on food. I'm not complaining, just stating a fact.

We have a friend who is a miser , he travels a lot but always stays in cheap hostels / camps / grotty hotels , earns masses ,has minimal outgoings . Every time he needs to spend anything it has to researched to the nth degree , has to look everywhere to see if he can save 2p . He literally has no food in the house has he buys exactly what he needs to eat and no more . He has no children , no partner and frankly I can't see what he's saving it all for . Dh reckons he has upwards of 1.5 million sitting somewhere, but does he really enjoy life - I've no idea but it wouldn't be my way of doing things - I'm all for having savings but you only get one go at this - live a little !

I'm a big saver/investor. Have a large mortgage so don't get to put as much towards savings/investment as if like, unfortunately.

Does your thriftiness impact negatively on others? Ie, will you buy the cheapest drink when it's your round, only to order a double vodka and Coke when someone else is paying?
To me, saving your money at the expensive of another is miserly.

I am not good at spending money on myself. I earn plenty, and don't stint on DC - but can't bring myself to have a smartphone - the thought of paying £30 per month on a contract is just too much.

Silly really, because I have the spare money - just can't bring myself to splash out like that.

Would never see others go without though.,

It's not unreasonable to do what you want with your own money and without knowing your income it's impossible to have an opinion about whether you're living well or very frugally. Not that you've asked for opinions on your lifestyle I suppose.

I wonder though given someone you care about is commenting so harshly might you be a bit miserly? I mean that person was pretty rude to use those words of course but to be honest I do know some people who are definitely very comfortable yet can be inclined to make a bit of a production about how expensive everything is and how they just wouldnt pay X for whatever. That does get wearing tbh.

Its your money, do what ever you like with it! You don't have to explain yourself to anyone else, people who call you 'Scrooge' make it sound like they're jealous and want some of what you have. As long as you're happy what else matters. And I totally understand the thrill of 'growing money', my husband looks at his investments daily and loves to see how much he's making. Enjoy yourself OP, and ignore the others x

Well those seem to be harsh comments. It's obviously up to you to decide how to spend your money but I would question what you do for enjoyment. if you have hobbies and have nice days out while still
managing to save all that money then you're not being miserly just prudent. If however you don't go to places, won't eat out ever because of the cost, won't ever spring for pretty, life enhancing purchases then I would say that saving money is being prioritised over actually living.

Seeing as you have posted that savings and investments are just there for rainy days and to dabble in so to speak, you really do need to start thinking of your own retirement plan. Other than that, it's up to you what you do with your money.

You save 50% of your income. Which is commendable. And probably why you now own your house outright. There a website mrmoneymustache that you may find interesting. The idea being that you live frugally and save (rather invest) heavily so that you can afford to retire and live the life you want sooner.

With 40% investment you are well on your way to achieving this.

Does spending 35% of your income give you the lifestyle that you want? If yes do not worry about being perceived to be a miser. Noone knows what the future brings. This way you are protecting yourself against a future where you may not be able to work and you will be able to live the way you want.

Bear in mind if everyone did it the economy would grind to a halt. But few of us are able to be that restrained.

Who said it to you? And in what context?

By %alone it is hard to say if you are being miserly. The fact that you give 15% of your income to your parents suggests generosity not miserly ness

You are most definitely not a miser if you give 15% of your income to your parents. That is very generous and I'm a tad envious that you can afford to do it.

Good for you OP.

That's what I thought Hesterton and HelloF