# Are you feeling better off financially?



## janus10 (Nov 7, 2013)

Tonight I walked to the grocery store with my wife because we know this warm weather isn't going to be around in a few weeks.

It was around 9pm so fairly empty. We get to the bakery department and I'm looking over the marked down rack (items that are close to or past best before date). My wife gently chides me saying I shouldn't look at the stale items.

And, I don't do it out of some moral objection to the waste of food and my duty to consume slightly older food rather than let it be thrown out uneaten. It's just a longstanding habit to seek out ways to save money - plus I'm not bothered by the lack of freshness on certain items.

But, I catch myself and think about how well off we are. Maybe by some definition we are rich, but I'd say I feel strictly middle class. When I was younger, and made and had a lot less, I felt more flush. 

I think this was because I spent more freely and didn't worry about saving for the future. The future which is now much closer to being the present.

The less I spend, the less well off I feel. On the surface, this seems counterintuitive. 

Anyone else have a similar weirdness?


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## tygrus (Mar 13, 2012)

I feel well off and very luck but I also feel very hamster wheel-ish, like we are lurching between boom and bust and artificial stimulus and fake economics and that somewhere down the line, this all bites us in the ***.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

janus10 said:


> Anyone else have a similar weirdness?


Nope but I think that feeling is related to 'bunker mentaility'. The more one thinks there are ghosts and demons out there, the more a person believes that to be the case.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

I feel we are doing OK but with mortgage debt, I feel like we're behind in life. As soon as the mortgage is killed...life will be MUCH better and more liberating.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

I've been there. When you start out poor you always feel a cold wind on the back of your neck and hear the faint howling of wolves in the distance.

I could tell you about some very famous people who had strange quirks about money, sometimes insignificant amounts of money, for the same reason.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

I think the question is answered by the NDP victory in Alberta and the NDP leading the federal polls.

That would never happen if people were content with their lives.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

Many people are never content with their lives. 

Changes in governments are inevitable, especially when a party has been in for several/numerous terms. 

The grass is often greener until you actually get over in the field next door and see it isn't.

Regarding the question, no we're not feeling better off financially. Our total income is less than half of what it was 15 years ago. 

However we are feeling very content and special, living a great life in retirement and doing most any of the things we want.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

My spouse and I have this conversation often. We KNOW we are dong fine, however we don't FEEL it.

When we were younger, we spent what ever we wanted, and didn't save nearly as much. We felt a lot 'richer' though, even though our networth was considerably less. We have a very healthy networth, and good incomes but now we are much more aware of our spending. I will always take a few minutes to see if there is a better deal, and think twice about buying something. However, we do spend what we want though in the end. I believe I will always be like this now. 

I attribute this feeling to just understanding more in what I value, and the biggest factor is now that we have kids, we are thinking about their future not just us. I personally feel u too my kids are out in the world on their own, then I need to be more frugal and show them how to be too. I feel that whatever we have is not enough because I can always pass it along to the kids. I never used to think that. So I sort of get what you are saying.


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## crazyjackcsa (Aug 8, 2010)

My wife and I talk about this often. When I look at where we were just eight years ago, the difference is night and day. When we started out we had no kids and no RESPs, no RRSP, and our mortgage 2/3 the value of the house. The cars were old and held together with primer paint and prayer. The house was a fixer-upper.

Now we have two kids and they each have an RESP, the retirement portfolio is on track. One car is old but isn't in danger of falling apart, the other is new. The mortgage is 1/4 the value of the house. It's still a fixer-upper but there's a new roof, new windows, new carpet and new doors. 

Our net worth has been growing by 10% a year for a decade.

What I mean to say is that I don't feel better than yesterday, or last week, or even last year. But if I look back over the long term, it's getting better.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

I am trying to pay heed more to .........."be thankful for what we have." instead of wishing we had more.


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

Yes, we do feel better off financial. Our investments have done incredibly well over the past three-four years and inflation has been low.

But part of the question is comparative. There is a growing income gap in Canada. The cracks are beginning to show.

We are Albertans who voted NDP. Not because we did not feel better or worse off financially. We just felt that the Conservative Party did not deserve our vote based on 40 plus years in power and 10 years of incredible mismanagement. And we are very happy with the new Government so far even though demographically and socioeconomically we are firmly in the group that traditionally votes Conservative provincially.


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## janus10 (Nov 7, 2013)

Plugging Along knows what I mean. 

I can remember making one fifth and having a networth one tenth of what I do now and having less concern. I think that is more to do with focusing on the here and now vs. decades of future retirement where there will be no employment income.

In my head I know we are in great shape, but my gut isn't silent.


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## Moneytoo (Mar 26, 2014)

I remember working at an electronics store, earning less than paying for transportation and two babysitters who looked after our 1.5 year old daughter - and not worrying about a thing. One night we went out after work with co-workers, I ran to the bank machine (didn't have a credit card yet) and tried to withdraw 50 bucks - but only had 25 in my account. So I withdrew 20 and only had drinks that night (no food) Next day was a payday, and my husband was earning a whopping 40K/year, and I felt very secure...

...now we go out a lot, together or separately, and don't feel secure (at least my husband doesn't) unless we have 50K+ stashed "for emergencies" lol


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## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

Well, let's see... my net worth is higher, I have savings, no credit card debt, and I have more stuff than before... so, in that way the answer is "yes". But I am actually earning less money now than I was 8 years ago.

The moment I look at house prices I suddenly feel less well off, though... certainly not "middle class" and not likely to be in the next 10 years.


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## jaybee (Nov 28, 2014)

Slightly because my childcare expenses went down, when my oldest started school. Cash flow is tight, but child care will soon be very little, and the cottage should be paid off withing 5 years.

We spend what we need. We're frugal. We spend a lot on child care. The small amount that is left over for investment, and debt repayment. Life will be much better when both kids are in school, and we only have to worry about before and after school care.


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## kork (Jun 9, 2012)

What a great thread! 

I often think back to the days my girlfriend (now wife) and I moved in together. She was working making $10 /hour and I was working my way through college. We had $800/month rent and a car... Somehow, we felt rich because we could afford things without thinking too hard into the future. A new tv meant saving up half and putting the rest on a credit card... And then paying it off. We leased a new Hyundai Accent... $232.34/month. On average, we had about $300 extra to spend on top of food, rent, etc... The super bonus months were when there were THREE PAYCHECKS because of how the dates landed on the calendar.

I remember feeling so mature when I started my bi-weekly RRSP contribution... I was officially grown up!

And today, we have a net worth, two kids and a healthy income... But I feel poorer... No new cars, house repairs that keep popping up, years that are passing... 

It's an odd phenomenon...


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

janus10 said:


> Plugging Along knows what I mean.
> 
> I can remember making one fifth and having a networth one tenth of what I do now and having less concern. I think that is more to do with focusing on the here and now vs. decades of future retirement where there will be no employment income.
> 
> In my head I know we are in great shape, but my gut isn't silent.


I sometimes think ignorance is a bliss, and wish the days back to my blissful days. I am a ways from retirement, but now and am past the 1/2 point of my adult working life. I remember when I first started working and was saving for Retirement in day one, I thought 'wow, I am in great shape'. Now that I have life experiences behind me which have included, kids, layoffs, medical issues, career blips, investment failures, market failures, a couple of recessions and everything else, I wonder am I saving enough for the unknown. I am half way time wise, but don't know if I am half way financially, even though o have so much more now. 

Don't get me wrong, I am totally thankful for what o have, and on paper, it looks great, but I keep thinking what else is coming that I may not have planned for. 



kork said:


> What a great thread!
> 
> I often think back to the days my girlfriend (now wife) and I moved in together. She was working making $10 /hour and I was working my way through college. We had $800/month rent and a car... Somehow, we felt rich because we could afford things without thinking too hard into the future. A new tv meant saving up half and putting the rest on a credit card... And then paying it off. We leased a new Hyundai Accent... $232.34/month. On average, we had about $300 extra to spend on top of food, rent, etc... The super bonus months were when there were THREE PAYCHECKS because of how the dates landed on the calendar.
> 
> ...


I lol at the three pay checks, I used to think it was big bonus. Now I don't even know when payday is, but I am mush more aware of what we spend on. 

I thought I was so grown up when I started investing and walked on to my advisors office. Looking back, I think boy was I naive then. The I thought I was grown up when I got married, then again, when I was promoted on to management, and then with kids, now I realize I am not quite sure I am ever really going to to be grown up. Or maybe I will hopefully just never stop growing as a person. It's this realization that makes me wonder what else is next.


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## Robillard (Apr 11, 2009)

Well, I'm feeling better off financially. This time last year, I was getting ready to move to start a new job, after almost a year out of work. I'll take the stress of work over the stress of unemployment anytime. I'm not sure I'm much happier though. The place I moved to for work is sorely lacking compared to Vancouver where I used to live.


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## gardner (Feb 13, 2014)

janus10 said:


> Anyone else have a similar weirdness?


Yes, I suppose -- but I don't consider it weird. I think it is a habit of self-made wealth to be careful about spending money and to have a respect for what the money could do for you other than by spending it. I feel uncertain which comes first -- do you have skinflint spending habits to begin with, or do you develop them as you save and invest and learn the ability of money to work for you? In my case I think I was a bargain hunter and skinflint before I ever accumulated any meaningful wealth of my own.


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