# I finally have some money saved up...and I feel bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 4, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-have-some-money-saved-up-and-i-feel-bad/649338 "2013-02-04T21:29:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-have-some-money-saved-up-and-i-feel-bad/649338/61 "2013-02-07T14:08:19Z")
Oh, and here’s another tip that will help you feel better about saving money: budget a regular monthly donation to charity. As your salary grows, so does the amount you donate. That way you can remind yourself that you ARE helping others even though you are also saving. (Plus, it’s a decent thing to do.) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-have-some-money-saved-up-and-i-feel-bad/649338/62 "2013-02-07T14:11:02Z")
> [@Quasimodal](#): > > Again…much has happened to me in the past six months. Feel free to read my previous posts. One (seemingly) positive thing event in my life right now is that I have some money saved up (about 18k). Good for you. Consider it an insurance buffer against unemployment or illness. $18K is a lot of money but you’ll blow through it very fast when you’re not earning. I also suggest you look at how much you’ll need as a deposit for a house. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-have-some-money-saved-up-and-i-feel-bad/649338/63 "2013-02-07T15:36:31Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Please, the “rich=bad poor=good” attitude is all over this board. I don’t think it’s necessarily a “liberal” or “conservative” thing. I’ve seen people all over the political map with weird and unhealthy ideas about money or success. I think it has more to do with the economic state they grew up in. People internalize that they are inherently “not good enough” or “don’t deserve it”. Or maybe they associate wealth and success with negative connotations. Like if you grew up with the bank constantly threatening to forclose on your house, you might feel weird about taking that job at Citi. People tend to be uncomfortible stepping out of their “class”. More money means a greater ability to do things you want to do. It also tends to be associated with jobs requiring more responsibility. But if your friends don’t make as much money, they can’t do those things with you. I don’t know why people feel like they need to “help others” just because they have a bit of cash. I earn my money. I don’t hate work, but I’d certainly rather be doing something else with my time. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-have-some-money-saved-up-and-i-feel-bad/649338/64 "2013-02-07T15:45:08Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Please, the “rich=bad poor=good” attitude is all over this board. I’m not sure that internet message boards are representative of opinion. I believe that they tend to polarize and people take positions much stronger than are held in real life. I know card carrying SOCIALISTS in real life and their opinion is not nearly as strong as you describe. (And I think that is a huge societal issue right now - the nature of discourse has us all at the edges). ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-have-some-money-saved-up-and-i-feel-bad/649338/65 "2013-02-07T16:11:15Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I don’t know why people feel like they need to “help others” just because they have a bit of cash. Because seeing others suffering is not fun. Of course, one of the nice things about having some money is that you CAN help out. Not the entire world, of course, and not with everything, but if one of **Quasimodal** ’s poorer friends hit a rough spot out of sheer bad luck, he’s now in a position where he might be able to offer more to his friend than just consoling words - and it’s precisely because he has money saved up that he could do that. Saving isn’t evil. Saving is prudent. Greed is evil, but you don’t have to be Richy Rich to be greedy, and plenty of people who are rich aren’t greedy. I think a lot of people confuse the two, which is why they feel funny about having some cash. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-have-some-money-saved-up-and-i-feel-bad/649338/66 "2013-02-07T20:31:11Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Voyager, the attitude I’m talking about is the general belief that having any money at all is bad, the idea that people with money are bad and people without money are good. Not an attitude I’ve heard - except maybe from resentful people who have no money, are angry about it, and resent those who do. And that crosses party lines. Look at the number of people who think that teachers are overpaid and have cushy jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-have-some-money-saved-up-and-i-feel-bad/649338/67 "2013-02-07T20:36:24Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Please, the “rich=bad poor=good” attitude is all over this board. Rich people who get gigantic bonuses for destroying the economy = bad? True enough. Rich people who earn their money honestly and who give much of it away - I haven’t seen a lot of hate for them. There is some, but there is probably more hate for the poor around. And $18K being rich? Not at all. ---
**Author:** ![OneDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c68b51/32.png) [@OneDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneDay)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-have-some-money-saved-up-and-i-feel-bad/649338/68 "2013-02-07T20:45:25Z")
> [@Quasimodal](#): > > Again…much has happened to me in the past six months. Feel free to read my previous posts. One (seemingly) positive thing event in my life right now is that I have some money saved up (about 18k). Somehow I worry that my choice to keep working and save money says something negative about me. I decided to work hard this year and endure my commute to make this happen, but perhaps my values are misplaced. Maybe I should work less and enjoy life more. Maybe I am a money / class obsessed person and I don’t appreciate the simple joys of life. I do like working though. If I had chosen not to work this year I might have been in debt at this point. Can accumulating wealth really change who I am and how others perceive me? I’m only 30, so for some people 18k will seem like alot, and others, not very much. I also own my car and have no debts. 18K is not a lot of money, Quasi. I own my home and SUV ourright and insure both, but in the event of a hurricane or tornado (“wind damage”), I’m still responsible to pay for like 20% of the cost of repairs – that would eat right through 18K. No one needs to know how much money you have. I learned early in life that you are better off poor-mouthing people then they won’t place expectations or demands on you. But you have every right to take care of yourself – in fact, you are supposed to have at least 6 months salary set aside in case you cannot work for a period of time…that’s not excess, that’s a necessity. And a home mortgage should not be the norm – you should own your home outright or else it is a debt and you’re not ahead of the game. I have student loans, but they provided me 3 degrees that have given me a higher quality of life and a means to support myself; so although I hate debt, I wouldn’t trade all of my education. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finally-have-some-money-saved-up-and-i-feel-bad/649338.md?page=3)