Money

My mom's feelings about money are directly tied into how much is in her account. So it's no surprise that I'm finding out that I'm the same way. While chatting with my mom about the weekend excursion to ATL, she was balancing her checkbook and said, "have you thought about saving your money and not going?" Without hesitation I said "no."

Her timeframe/mentality is tied into the old school: "save, save, save" and my mentality is more so: "Has the check cleared? It has? Lets go to happy hour." The both of us are horrible grouches when we are broke and can't afford to go out. The difference is I try to live it up as much as possible until I get to that point and she's so careful with her funds that she focuses on the bills and rarely squeezes in a good time.

Last week, I tried to take her out to brunch and she completely shot me down. Why? Because she's in wedding planning mode and is saving her money for my sis' wedding. Ummm.....what does that have to do with me treating her to brunch? In her mind everything. When she is watching her money, watching others spend theirs drives her crazy. My initial reaction is "glad I don't have that problem", but that isn't always true.

Have you ever been on a group trip to the mall and your account is dusty(undergrad yrs!)? It's one of the most painful things to do and the quickest way to put you in a funk. So I understand her feelings.....to a point.

There are huge issues with my way of doing things and I'm sure when I get ready to buy a house, I will wish that I had had some more of my mother's frugality and discipline. Conversely, I think she also wishes that she could allow herself to spoil herself a bit more.

I'll have to work on her.