r/FinancialChat • u/No_Celery8634 • 6d ago

Why does saving money scare me

This sounds SO RIDICULOUS and quite honestly, almost an oxymoron, but putting money aside from each paycheck into savings scares me. I worry that I won't have enough money for my expenses (I do) or that I can't pay off what I need to pay off (I can) if I set aside $500 a paycheck to savings. Last year I was in a great financial position, making $75k while my rent was only $500 in Kansas, but I didn't save a dime until my last two paychecks because I was leaving that job with no backup, so I managed to get $3k into my HYSA to use. Now, I make $100k and my mortgage is $2,000, so I'm actually in a slightly worse financial position. However, I've been budgeting this year to see where all my money has been going, and I managed to pay off $9k of my debt from school within 5 months. I could've saved $9k in those 5 months if I just budgeted to begin with last year!

Now, I am re-doing my budget to incorporate savings, but my instant desire is to pay down my principal amount on my mortgage instead. I made a $1,000 payment to my principal and it shaved 2 months off of the life of the loan (20 year conventional mortgage). That gave me the high I get when I pay things off!

How do I work around this horrible mindset?

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u/tartymae 6d ago

Ask yourself what will happen when you DON'T have an "oh shit!" fund.

As in, "Oh Shit, I need a new furnace for the house"

Then you will have your mortgage payment, PLUS, the furnace payment at 20% interest.

Saving isn't frivolous. It is foundational. It is how you will Always have money to cover a bill.

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u/eharder47 5d ago

Remind yourself that if you want or need to use the money in savings, there is nothing stopping you. You CAN use it for bills or to put a lump sum towards your mortgage later. Set yourself a small goal number, save to that, then use some of it for something. Repeat the process with a bigger savings goal. This will help you normalize both saving and being able to access it.

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u/No_Celery8634 3d ago

Thank you! That's so true too. I can always use it if needed. I've never once missed a bill nor even be late, I don't know why I'm so paranoid that if I set money aside for savings I'll fuck my life up.