The Stress of Saving Versus the Stress of Debt

Since the hubby and I do not have any debt, we do not know the stress of debt, but there is definitely stress in saving money. First, you have to be vigilant about deals and sales when you want something.  Then you make sure you use your coupons. You also do things like budgeting to make sure that you have money to save.  Then after you save your money you have to figure out how to allocate it and manage it so you don’t lose what you worked for to inflation and other larger forces. Sometimes I do find managing our growing portfolio to be a pain in the butt.  One time my hubby laughed at me when I groaned at the dropping interest rate on our accounts and he jokingly said that he used to manage his money by spending it and I should do the same and cut out all this stress.  I glared at him a bit and told him that the interest rate on his entertainment fund as prescribed by The Baglady Budget also dropped.  At that moment he screamed in a dramatic fashion, “Nooooooooooooooooo! SCREW YOU FEDERAL RESERVE! YOU STOLE my game money!”

Surprisingly after eight months of marriage, the hubby and I almost never fought about money issues even though he is more of a spender.  I think one reason that we do not fight about money is that we have no debt.  From what I have read in the news and heard from friends, the stress of debt is very draining and even debilitating. One woman wrote me saying that she feels like she is always behind on the bills and she hates that feeling because it is like she doesn’t have control over her own life.  Unfortunately sometimes it creates a vicious cycle because research showed that when we are sad we tend to spend more money than usual. When I watched the movie Maxed Out, I was shocked that people actually killed themselves over credit card debt. I can’t say I know how that feels,but I imagine it is extreme psychological torture for people to take such extreme measures.

I think will take the stress of saving money over the stress of debt any time of the day. I don’t mind that the hubby and others laugh at my Ferengi ways because I find it funny, too. I have also learned a lot about the world and the economy through my research into how to manage my money.  In the end, the work I put into saving money gives me a sense of security and well being. Every month I pay our bills and then add up the amounts in our various portfolios and give the hubby a short net worth report. It’s always good to know that we have a financial cushion to fall back on and we are  ahead of the bills, and I truly believe that it is good for our marriage.

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