I had a pretty decent savings rate last year, around 50%. I also had a very high income, which means I spent a ton as well.
A lot of the money spent wasn’t on needs. Lots of clothes, some travel, nice dinners, some toys, etc.
This year we are becoming more conscious of our spending, and shooting for a 65%-70% savings rate.
Even at this rate, we are FAR from “struggling.” It’s basically cutting back on clothes, date nights, and other toys we don’t need.
My hardest part now is I am starting to realize how much TIME I put into researching my purchases. So much time scouring sites, reading articles, reviews, etc. I also realize that the actual research involved was probably more enjoyable than the purchases.
As such, I find myself bored when I have downtime at work and at home, when before I would be searching and reading for planned purchases.
It’s not like I don’t have a life. I’m working 50-60 hrs a week, I go to the gym twice a week, run 4x a week, take dog to play fetch/dog park 1-2x a week, I read before bed, listen to audiobooks to/from work. My wife stays at home and we don’t have kids, so she takes care of all the cooking/cleaning/errands. Aside from that we watch a lot of tv series and movies on netflix. I can only pay so much attention to it though. Last night I didn’t have the gym or run so I got home at 4, took the dog to play fetch, then just kind of lounged around the rest of the night. I live outside a huge city in the south without many regular outdoor activity I enjoy so I’m a bit limited. We rent an apartment so are also limited on projects around the home. Often after working I don’t feel like going too many places either.
Has anyone else ever noticed this? Avoiding sites and pages I used to frequent make me feel like I’ve searched to the end of the internet and there’s nothing left to read. I’m sure this is just a mental thing that might just be “new” and something that will pass over time. It’s pretty dang easy for me to realize that as a whole it is seeming easier to spend less, just this weird, unexpected downside I didn’t consider.