To ask what makes someone “bad with money?”

[SoloWanderer]

I’ve always wondered what people consider as “bad with money.” Is it living paycheck to paycheck, racking up credit card debt, or simply not saving enough? I feel like everyone has a different threshold for what they’d consider poor money management, and I’d love to know where others draw the line.

AIBU to think it’s not always clear-cut and that people’s definitions of being “bad with money” can vary?

Not living within their means.

Plenty of people who live paycheck to paycheck are actually good with money. They have to budget and plan.

It's not about how much money someone has but how they manage it.

Lack of foresight. I have a parent who is bad with money. All he sees is what he has now. If he has 800 in the bank and his rent is due in 2 weeks but he doesn't get paid again for 3 weeks he will happily spend it all on a night out then panic when rent is due. He only thinks in terms of 'now.'

If you consistently spend more than you earn you are either bad with money or in an untenable situation. Both exist, both are horrendous for everyone involved.

Not living within your means and burying your head in the sand and not budgeting.

For the super rich, they have folks to manage their money and assets for them.

For those of us that need to manage our own, we need to know what comes in, what goes out each week or month.

Keeping tabs on bank statements, checking debits have gone out on time, what's disposable income, put some by for rainy day etc.

If you're not on top on your budget, you're not good with money.

My cousin is bad with money. She's bone idle so has never been promoted and doesn't have much but goes on holiday and goes out a lot. She spent about 20k on booze and going abroad.

Spending money they don't have

Frivolous

My DP is bad with money. He is well paid, has no outgoings (lives with parents) and has saved NOTHING over the last 16 years to put towards a house.
He has nothing to show for it either.

I'm bad with money- no savings, loads of debt, always lived beyond my means. My ADHD makes it very difficult for me to budget and I can easily spend loads without really realising. I bury my head in the sand about it while the debts rack up, with nothing saved for the future.

People who pay for luxuries, may be sky tv, a fancy car or out drinking on a regular basis; but then don’t have enough money left to pay for essentials like food or rent.

People who spend like it’s going out of fashion, while not setting up a pension or putting enough aside for a rainy day, or getting in to loads of debt.

I grew up with DPs who took on a lot of debt and although weren’t flashy, just always lived beyond their limited means. The stress at home about money - for decades - was horrendous and put me off debt for life.

If you’re bad with money please stop and think about how it affects your DC. I hated it.

People who have a lot of money but are miserly and obsessed with accruing more are the worst kind of bad with money imo

Just to clarify, I’m not bad with money myself, I’m just interested in understanding how different people define it, and what factors contribute to that perception.

Maybe they have the fear of being old and poor?

Most people live paycheck to paycheck to survive.

But it’s the people that rack up the debt on stupid shit like flashy cars, luxury materialistic items, exotic holidays which they can’t afford.

I would say one of my friends is bad with money. She’s renting atm and saving up for a deposit to buy. Although she’s not saving anything because she spends every penny left that she has on new clothes and cosmetic procedures. She’s always complaining she’s in her overdraft until payday.

To be 'bad with money' in my opinion, you would likely have a tendency to spend more than you have coming in, or be happy to splurge on a good night out, without thinking about how you're gong to pay the rent. So you probably wouldn't sit down and work out what needs to be put aside to pay for rent/mortgage, bills, food, etc., and then put a bit away for emergencies, before going out and spending half your pay cheque on stuff that you don't actually NEED. Then, what makes it worse, is people like this, often whinge about how hard up they are, whereas if they managed their money properly, they would probably get by fine. Of course I do realise there are some people who simply don't have enough coming in to pay all the bills etc., in the first place, especially with the cost of living as it is, but equally, there are people who don't want to bother making the effort to go to work, and earn the money to buy the things they want. I'm afraid I'm also not a great believer in having things on credit, unless you can get a 0% deal, but again, I realise that for some people
credit is the only way they can afford to buy the bigger things that they need, like cookers, washing machines, cars, etc. Oh, and I could never pay for a holiday on credit card, as I'd be worrying the whole time about having the bill hanging over me, long after the holiday has been and gone, but that's just me, and we're all different.

My ex is bad with money, and it was one of the main reasons I left him. His two major problems are a lack of ability to do long-term planning, and champagne tastes on a Prosecco budget. He seems to have a delusional belief that his lack of preparation for the future will be fixed by some kind of last-minute windfall.

He has less in retirement savings than I do despite being 12 years closer to retirement… and he only has savings at all because I made him start when we were together. I ring-fenced my vastly larger deposit when we bought a house together so when that’s sold he will not be left with enough to buy more than a 1-bedroom apartment. He has a business that has decent turnover but is unsalable and will have next to no residual value when he becomes too old to run it.

He does have a shitload of designer t-shirts and sneakers, expensive plants and books about music though.

Meanwhile, since leaving him I’ve socked away thousands of dollars, taken the kids on an overseas holiday and fully refurnished my home.

Spending more than you earn.

Making decisions that you can't afford.

It's not about the amount of money that you have but what you choose to do with it.

after recent events i plan to save as best as i can, ill be honest before that it was pay check to pay check and sometimes over spending which i realise was in error, although in a strange way, thanks to recent events i now aim to be better and save when i can

I’m bad with money yet have no debt (apart from mortgage) and savings!

As my mother would say, it burns a hole in my pocket until I spend it, I do have ADHD though so I’m basically at war with myself.

The trick is to transfer out savings on payday and never think of them again !

also I married someone who is very astute with finance and I would never make a big purchase without discussing it first, sometimes I don’t even need to discuss it and I can just channel my inner DH voice 🤣

By deciding to put holidays and luxuries on a credit card. By not considering scrimping and saving up for things.
By expecting to be able to go out and get drunk as often as you want.
By living a champagne lifestyle on a lemonade income.

Perhaps a little being bailed out when younger and rinsed and repeat.

Spending a high proportion of your income on things which are an extravagant. For example i know someone who earns £1900 a month, they spend £600ish on a luxury car per month. A car is essential yes for getting to work etc, but not one costing so much.

I would also say that just because you have managed money to be able to save for something doesn’t necessarily mean that you are good with money either. Saving up thousands for a new designer handbag when you don’t have a rainy day fund is stupid.