Fear of Spending

I have noticed an interesting phenomenon that occurs in the past couple of years.  After learning about simpler, frugal living and practicing it, I find that I have a fear of spending. This fear manifests itself in several ways: near paralysis when contemplating a new (necessary) large expenditure, angst when I take money out of the ATM machine; and unreasonably gleeful feelings when I put money into savings or investment. Rather than reaching a reasonable equilibrium between spending and saving, it seems that I have a fear of spending that is problematic.  I have asked several of my frugal friends about this, and they also mention similar experiences. These are some steps that we discussed that might help to restore a better balance (and lower neuroses):

–Revamp the budget to include reasonable spending categories — by having explicit amounts in the budget per category compared to a large amount in discretionary spending will help you to see that spending up to a certain amount is reasonable.

--Have a fun money account — to stick to a spending and saving plan long-term, it is helpful for me to have a fun money account that can be spent without real guilt or angst.

–Prioritize preventative spending — remind yourself that prevention in the form of regular medical checkups (including dental), car maintenance, home maintenance, etc… is better than letting problems explode due to lack of preventive care.  Insurance (health, life, and business, should also be in this category).

–Plan for large (necessary) expenditures around holidays – although it may not seem like fun, justifying roofing repairs or a new car around a birthday or major milestone will usually help in accepting the spending.

I’m interested in knowing if others have experienced “fear of spending” and how you try to achieve balance.

shared at this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance