Which do you prioritise

[boymum36]

Living for the now or saving for the future? I'm trying to do a mix of both but sometimes I don't know which to prioritise. Shall I have a takeaway or save the money etc.

My Dad was always planning for future retirement, he didn't live til retirement. My Aunt the same, currently end of life aged 66....save a bit for the future but my advice is live for today!

See my user name 😂
It's not all or nothing though

Work in stages
Do you have 1K emergency fund? If not save that
Do you have debt ? Yes pay it down
Do you have 3-6months instant access cash -no save that
Then move onto longer term savings goals

Takeaways,are limited to monthly and birthdays etc here

Live for today because tomorrow isn't guaranteed. As long as my bills are paid and we have enough food I'm happy

Once you have the basics sorted you can relax a little
I found the allure of " stuff" wears off when you have other priorities

I save for the future (short term and long term) every month, but not to the total detriment of today. Spend enough now to enjoy life whilst having an eye on the future.

Agree @CuriousGeorge80

There is nothing like the pain of regret when you find yourself in a sticky situation and you could have saved to offset that.

Choose your pain
The pain of discipline
The pain of regret

It is tricky getting the balance right, but both are important. Have the takeaway, just not every week. I have found it does get easier to save as DC get older, and I have been more able to focus on my career to increase what I earn. I'm glad I went on the holidays and had fun when I was younger.

Both are important, it's a balance that everyone needs to get for themselves.

You have to have savings if something goes wrong and to try and make your future as comfortable as possible.

You also have to be aware that the future might not happen, you could die at any time, and you need to enjoy your life in the present.

It's very much an art and an individual decision.

We have, to a certain extent, always budgeted.

We were lucky and, except for one brief time when my husband was made redundant, money has not been a problem. I was very glad we always had some “emergency savings”.

We both worked, most of the time and did not suffer any major heath issues. This allowed us to make decisions and looking back we have tended to focus on the future rather than the present. So, for example, we decided to have one car (rather than two) and that allowed us to overpay the mortgage a little each month and we are now mortgage free. However, I do appreciate how lucky we were to have that choice.

Both really, at times have tipped too much both ways!

At the moment I’m leaning toward live for now due to some shit I’m going through but that little voice in my head holds me back!

Don’t have the answer but definitely think balance is best.