*OK, there are some special exceptions out there like minimum wage workers with a family of 4 to feed… but generally speaking…*
You know what makes me really angry about my friends?
That they keep whining that they have no cash. I guess I’m just frustrated, but I feel like saying to them: LOOK! Families of 4 or 5 can survive on much less than what you’re making, but they just make priorities in life. You have money, you just don’t spend it well.
Take my friend B for example. She whines that she never gets to go anywhere, or do anything fun because she doesn’t have the cash for it since she’s paying down her student debt and her credit card debt.
Then she whips out her credit card in a shopping binge and goes to Holt Renfrew to pick up some small, but luxuriously expensive items like a new MAC eyeliner, or something under the $300 range, but she doesn’t actually buy what she wants – she buys a substitute.
Then she feels good, and has fun with the item… but then the vicious cycle repeats and she starts whining that she never has any money to buy the latest Balenciaga or Marc Jacobs purse that she’s been pining after ever since she saw it in Vogue.
When I ask her about what her plans are for retirement or savings, she gives me a look like I’m crazy for even mentioning retirement at our age. She figures she’ll marry someone rich and he’ll love her so much that he’ll take care of all her money issues.
Ladies, there is NO Prince Charming coming!!!!
And even if you do get someone like that, I hate to say it but 50% of marriages end in d-i-v-o-r-c-e, so you still better get your financial act together and figure out what’s going on.
Anyway…
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
Thanks, FB ; )
Val: I concur..
Meg: 🙂
Thanks Valley Girl!
@Meg: Fabulous points!
Meg: Ditto. My shopping style has changed. LOL.. and I like your last line “Prince Charming didn’t get rich because he loved spending” LOL
Dolly: Ditto.. SUCK IT UP princess… lol that’s what I’d love to say.
stacking: Yep.. and you can’t pretend to have independence like that
Dog: I totally agree. I’m so lucky to have what I have..
Auburn: LOL 🙂 Even then, EFs should be healthy and in place 😉 But you mean forever right?
twentysomething: NP… and my budget is tight too so I know how you feel
I totally agree. I have very recently organized my money (with the help of your awesome spreadsheet!), and although my budget’s tight, I still believe it’s doable…!
One thing I do know is that I have never and will never rely on a man financially…unless I decide to become sick and can’t work!
That’s actually what I say to myself sometimes. That I make three times the national average for a FAMILY and I don’t have it together.
Prince Charming is ME, and if I’m not that charming, I guess nobody is unless they’re selling.
Great post. I was talking to a girl who was complaining about still living with her parents, but then went on to purchase a $1000 designer bag. If you want that lifestyle, you are going to have to live at home for years!
Good Post! I get SO tired of hearing everyone’s excuses all time. I just want to tell people to suck it up or shut it up cuz I don’t want to hear it.
I also hate people who make excuses for why I can do it but they can’t. Here’s the only difference between us… I take responsibility for my money habits.
I’ve learned my lesson about cheap but not quite what I wanted substitutes — especially when it comes to fashion. It’s much better to save for what you really want or do without.
Friends like that can get annoying because obviously you care for them and realize that they’re going to have to really face the consequences of their actions. I have more than a few friends who could use a big reality check, but that’s not something I can give them. I can set a good example, I can give them ideas for getting what they want for less, I can be there when they need a shoulder to cry on, and I can share what I have (more in terms of stuff than money). However, I try to not to make judgemental comments because I don’t want to damage our friendship — and because I know that making them feel bad about themselves will just make things worse.
And no, waiting for Prince Charming is definitely not a solution. If anything, bad money habits will scare him off because most guys don’t want to wonder if a gal just loves him for his money. Plus, Prince Charming didn’t get rich because he loves spending.
She has no 401k? Maybe you can gently suggest to her to save a little every paycheck both for retirement and for a designer purse fund that she can dip into when they go on sale at the end of each season.
woman, fabulous article! how frustrating it is! i was just like your friend, but now i’m realizing that if i cut out the little stupid things that really just pile up in my apartment, i can get a fabulous larger item that will be a REAL investment!
i needed a new wallet so i did some freelance web work, restrained myself from buying small, “dumb” purchases and ended up buying a pretty nice michael kors wallet 🙂
I so know what you mean. I have friends/ acquaintances like that too. The constant complaining about money, despite them making a good living, simply because they cannot set priorities. It’s some bizarre sense of entitlement at play or something. I really don’t get it.