Top 10 Excuses For Not Saving

With the current writer’s strike, there must be a few others out there hungry for a new Top 10 list. So, from the home office in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, here are the:

Top 10 Excuses For Not Saving

(followed by the reasons these excuses are lame)

1. I’ll save more later (when I make much more money).
2. But I really do need this.
3. Life is too short.
4. What’s another $X?
5. But I don’t want to be cheap!
6. My friends don’t save.
7. Mom and Dad help with all that.
8. I wouldn’t have any idea what to do with any money I saved.
9. I have so much debt!
10. My husband/wife/partner/accountant/financial planner/mailman/crazy roommate/barista/dog is in charge of my household finances.

And now the matching top 10 reason those excuses are lame:

1. Did you remember saying that two promotions ago?
2. When was the last time you used it? Okay, how about where you put it? Do you even own it anymore? Do you remember what it was?
3. Then your retirement may be too long.
4. Depends on how long it takes to pay it back. Could be many times $X.
5. Me neither. Instead, be fiscally responsible.
6. Do you really need me to respond to this? Didn’t you have a parent say to you 1,000 times growing up “If all your friends jumped off the bridge, would you?”
7. Good for you. Count your blessings. When you’re done, hit ‘em up for something else, like a financial education.
8. That’s what we call a good problem. When it comes to investing, remember: how you invest matters far less than how much you save.
9. Then you already know that you need to pay it off. The only way to do so? Spending less than you make. Doesn’t that kind of sound like saving?
10. You can outsource love/tax prep/technical expertise/postal delivery/loud music/a mean espresso/love. But you can never delegate financial responsibility.

Did I cover them? What other excuses do you hear (good or bad) as reasons why people fail to live Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck? What others have you used?

“personal finance” “financial education”