[Closed] Is anyone else really rubish at making money?

I always think I'm pretty crap with cash, and then I look at others and realise that most folk are even 'crapper'.

My wallet has the cash equivalent of a ruptured femoral artery. Vet bills, new flat roof, car needs 3 new tyres etc

To achieve the best you can, be prepared to fail.

Surely it's better just to be happy with what you have?

I don't like doing anything for money. It cheapens it somehow and I put less effort in. It's not a great mindset to have when you live in a capitalist society I'll grant you.

Lack self confidence so get in a rubbish job, then feel trapped and end up staying way too long, then looking for next job I apply for lower and lower end jobs, not believing in my abilities or aptitude and don't think anyone is going to see anything employable in me. Can't afford to be without a job, got a mortgage to pay for and a deteriorating disabled dependent mother who lives with me.

So I've gone from being a software engineer in processes control systems, to a school lab technician, to a vehicle technician/MoT tester, currently looking for somewhere else.

Apart from a summer selling speed in the early 90's I've always made it the the slow and painful way. Thankfully I'm a proper tight bugger and bought a house at 24.
45 now with a 5yr old boy and loving wife and happy as a pig in shit.
03 van, 53 stilo, 26" wheels, etc.. And self employed, I think this helps.

i do ok. bit of buying and selling.
but 1 thing i was told by a bloke years ago, has always stuck with me.
money is only any good when it is being spent, so spend it...move on and earn some more.

ton - Member

money is only any good when it is being spent, so spend it...move on and earn some more.

Something I read today... You don't look up to someone who has 50 cats, or who has a house jammed full of old newspapers, so why are we supposed to look up to someone who's obsessed with gathering more money than they need?

make good sense to me that Northwind.

Something I read today... You don't look up to someone who has 50 cats, or who has a house jammed full of old newspapers, so why are we supposed to look up to someone who's obsessed with gathering more money than they need?

Because we're getting [i]unbelievably[/i] stupid.

..and 50 cats is just ridiculous. 40, tops.

money is only any good when it is being spent, so spend it...move on and earn some more.

Not sure about that.

The only value I have for money is to not have to worry about it. So the financial security of having some savings is more important to me than a big telly/nice car etc.

As a freelance, I work enough to pay rent/bills and then do stuff I enjoy.

Not sure about that.

so what are you saving for? in what way can it make you feel secure?

Should never have sold my first house, 14 years ago had the chance to do a buy to let back then and bottled it. Should have up sized my house many times. However at 40, the next 5 years are going to be make or break for me and mine financially and work wise.

money is only any good when it is being spent, so spend it...move on and earn some more

this is how mrs fong sees it - the way I see it is -

I came into this world with nothing and I still have most of it left 😐

so what are you saving for? in what way can it make you feel secure?

Because as a freelance, it means I can work without fear.

I can do things on my own terms. If I don't want to do something or I don't think something is worth doing - then I don't have to do it.

Without some savings, it's hard to do that because you're always scrabbling to pay rent/bills etc.

Wow. You're amazing!

Who? Copa?

Bit harsh. I get what copa means. Wish I had the balls to go freelance, but I pick flexible working/pension/regular income. I value that.

In his shoes I'd value pound coins just as much.

Edit: Just realised I've probably contributed to this going way OT. Sorry 😐

Without some savings, it's hard to do that because you're always scrabbling to pay rent/bills etc.

in 34 years as a working man, i have never had to scrabble money together to pay bill. money is easily earned, i will and have done all sorts of shit jobs to earn a crust...but always happily.

people set their targets and lifestyles too high, and get dragged into jobs that they hate. lower you targets a bit and become a happier man, not a slave to the £

About 4 years ago, I'm in my early 50's now, I realised that I needed to accept the reality of my relationship with money if I wanted to gain some inner peace. Being self employed for the previous 12 years also meant I created a feast and famine scenario. A particularly lucrative project would generally result with me not taking work too seriously until I had to.

I place very little value to money, yet I used to fret about not having enough or existing hand to mouth, month in month out. I have previously had jobs that paid me exceptionally well and I was equally exceptional at spending whatever my employers gave me.

The way I have altered my relationship with money is down to many things. Primarily, recognising that I have two working legs, arms, eyes, I am healthy, loved and loving, to name a few.

Gratitude and thanks for what I have, not what I have not. I feel happier nowadays than I have been since my late teens.

Sounds trite?

Then you and I are different. Neither of us better, or more right, just different.

My Dad died alone, super-tight, miserable, bitter and selfish and lay undiscovered for almost a week. He was very rich. Guess how much joy his money brought him?

I know of someone who looks like they are going the same way.

It ain't me. I'm living, loving and enjoying whatever I have. I'd rather be able to afford one happy pint in a pub than sit there knowing I could afford 10 but won't as it'd involve losing that money as soon as I've drunk them.

The problem for me is not being able to afford nice bikes / cars / clothes but housing costs. I'd like a house with some more land than a 14' wide strip, but even in mid Wales I'd struggle. (Nothing against mid Wales BTW, just a bit too hard to get anywhere).

Something I read today... You don't look up to someone who has 50 cats, or who has a house jammed full of old newspapers, so why are we supposed to look up to someone who's obsessed with gathering more money than they need?

Wealth is a status symbol

50 cats or 50 years worth of newspapers is a sign of a mental disorder

Neither is necessarily a good thing, but they're not really comparable

Edit: Just realised I've probably contributed to this going way OT. Sorry

How do you feel about Giraffes?

I've never really got it, I keep on working with organisations with no opportunities for progression and at present I am the poorest I've been in my adult life. Strangely despite the evidence and my advancing years I remain optimistic for the future.

I like Giraffes.

Another one here in the "fairly capable, doing OK, could do a lot better but just CBA with it" camp

Pretty good at making decent amounts of money.

Terrible at saving it, despite having reasonably humble material possessions - more of a lifestyle failing

I like Giraffes

Jools182 - Member
Early 40's and still not making enough to pay off my student loan. I'm below the threshold 20 years later

Snap. I work very hard teaching a practical subject, stay late most days designing and making things, always creating, lots of shed building, but never been business minded unfortunately, unlike many of my university contemporaries.

When I do work for people I seem to almost feel ashamed to ask for money for some reason.

I do get frustrated at the difference in recompense in practical careers compared to others. Or at least it seems there is a noticeable difference.

I'm lucky in that I get to use work facilities to satiate my creative thirst, but I suspect I could earn or could have earned substantially more elsewhere.

Meh...

I've mad bad choices but that's life.
Turned down a job at school as I wanted to do a levels my mate took the job and is now doing very well.
Had the chance to relocate with two companies both times declined which would have lead to more money and one a nicer place to live.
Just got a job offer after 2 years of scratching around with an occasional part time job and some self employed work.
The job is minimum wage, but in an area that interests me, years ago the light bulb came on an I realised money is not a motivator for me, I'm still going to be able to do the school runs be with the kids a fair bit during the holidays and fit in my voluntary work, which means a lot to me.

Well done OP this is one of the most refreshing posts I have read. I was having an interesting conversation with a very successful theater/opera set designer in my holidays last year. He had a theory, and it was to do with class. Because he was from a very established middle class family and he had a friend from a working class background who just never really made any money despite being quite talented. He thought it was simply down to self worth, in monetary terms. He was brought up to expect to succeed and that the things he did were worth something. Where as his friend wasn't. He has a view of the world, from his background, where things work and people achieve, i.e. he has always seen relative success. His friend had always seen relative failure. He took more risks than his friend, knowing it would be ok. I am not saying it is entirely true and entirely due to class, but I thought it was interesting.

Because he was from a very established middle class family and he had a friend from a working class background who just never really made any money despite being quite talented. He thought it was simply down to self worth, in monetary terms. He was brought up to expect to succeed and that the things he did were worth something. Where as his friend wasn't.

Good cartoon on that subject:

[img]//digitalsynopsis.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/privileged-kids-on-a-plate-pencilsword-toby-morris-1.gif[/img]
[img]//digitalsynopsis.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/privileged-kids-on-a-plate-pencilsword-toby-morris-2.gif[/img]
[img]//digitalsynopsis.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/privileged-kids-on-a-plate-pencilsword-toby-morris-3.gif[/img]
[img]//digitalsynopsis.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/privileged-kids-on-a-plate-pencilsword-toby-morris-4.gif[/img]
http://digitalsynopsis.com/inspiration/privileged-kids-on-a-plate-pencilsword-toby-morris/

I fall into this group. Paid too much for a house we liked even during the very peak of market, sold in biggest slump. Was on a fixed rate mortgage when rates plummeted so didn't benefit from low interest rates. Lost far too much money on several second hand cars too.

I also don't get paid as much as colleagues due to not selling myself and making a big noise about the stuff I do.

But then, I am as tight as a ducks %£$". You'd think if I did the first stuff better, I wouldn't need to be so tight 😳

I think the cartoon is over simplified (as these cartoons always are) but I think the general idea of how you value your self is true. Some people are confident to charge there self employed rate at £500 per days other feel bad at £100.

I'm definatly in the second camp.

Also everyone needs a lucky break of a good introdcution of out of two simalr jobs one will teach you a really usful skill that will allow you to do well freelance in the future, another will only make you good at yourjob for the company you work for and allow less trasferable skills. Fallen into that trap to. Hindsite is a wonderful thing.

Pretty good at making decent amounts of money.

Terrible at saving it, despite having reasonably humble material possessions - [b]more of a lifestyle failing[/b]

Coke and hookers? 😀

Coke and hookers?

Are they in the standard STW 'Basket of Goods' yet?

Working in oil and gas for four years made me realise how little I earn and spend in the grand scheme of things, sitting working for twenty-something grand on the same project as people earning two, three or four times as much or more, who knows, still working damn hard doing a technical job with big responsibility and huge financial value, with big implications if I get something wrong, just not got engineer in my job title.

Got made redundant in spring and decided to take the summer off, which became 8 months as jobs became scarcer. Signed on for 2 weeks before getting current job earning what I was ten years ago. BUT I had a great summer off, biking all the time, living like a student, relaxing and just 'being', it was great.

Think I've only bought two t-shirts and some brake pads in the last year, not got a mortgage yet, total income in the last year probably 3k so far. Not as happy right now as I was in the summer but once I get the needle back in the groove things'll be rosier.

The cartoon is spot on I was definitely in the Paula house and my kids are in the other house my 25 year old eldest son earns over £80k a year + car + all the benefits in New Zealand and his route was exactly the same as Richards - still not sure if I am happy about selling my soul to the upper middle class

Never had much cash as it always went into my asset Base - children/house/business/pension
People have asked me how I got the property and businesses and the answer is the same - I worked too hard and took too many risks

Think I spent far too long working for one company through out my 20s and most of my 30s, 2 years ago, got signed off with stress and lost that job. Managed to find another job, took a massive pay cut, spent the last year for some reason feeling unmanly and not able to open up to my girlfriend of 10 years, that broke our relationship, lost the following job in August last year. Got a new one back in September, but after that i realised that I had that relationship with my girlfriend from the start of the movie Up and my life was actually everything I wanted I'm now single and lodging.

But career wise I've no idea what the future holds.

Very interesting thread. It seems most folks can identify what is standing in the way of having more cash / assets but can't or won't address the issue - just like me!

I am doing ok but could be earning a lot more. My weakness is that I won't "play the game". Can't stand cloying brown nosing and the cliques I need to get involved with to get ahead. I am also uncomfortable with shameless self promotion and undermining the competition. Naive of me I know.

Hence, I resign myself to staying where I am or generating income from a secondary source if I want more cash.

Things got better once I realised your salary wasn't a marker of how good you are at a job, but how good you are at negotiating your pay.

They got even better when I realised time and not money is the most important resource I have. Time to ride my bike. spend with my friends, family.

I used to be pretty bad with my money. Once I realised what was valuable to me it became easier to stop spending it, and put it towards what was important. In my case, that was a house for some stability, and savings for some peace of mind. Occasionally it gets spent on things for my family and I. This makes us happy.

Occasionally I do daydream of earning the big bucks and whatnot, but right now, I'd not trade it for what I have. Things may change later though.

I've never had mega bucks, but have neither have I been on the poverty line. Been a self-employed chippy since I was 20, so 12 years now.
of my work was cash in hand... Kitchen fitting, hanging doors, extensions privately, with some site work thrown in when necessary.

Now in Germany in the the exhibition abs events branch. Nothing gets done without an invoice as it's all tax deductible.
I've earnt well the past few years, but the tax is now crippling. Now making a conscious decision to turn down jobs and earn about 60% less then I have done the past years.

And to those saying money isn't everything.... It's not, but it's much easier to say that when you have enough that you are not worrying about just existing.

How ****ing depressingly spot on is that cartoon? Jeez... 🙁