My wife Sharon grew up a saver.
I grew up a spender.
Inside a spender’s mind a little recording plays over and again:
I can afford this, no problem. What’s a dollar or two — or twenty or fifty — in the grand scheme of things?
I work hard. I deserve this little “payoff.”
Sharon’s counter-voice to this rationale is:
“Every dollar spent — or saved — adds up. It’s a lifestyle. A mindset. Don’t fritter away your resources.”
After a few years of marriage, I decided she was right.
I converted. I’ve become a bona fide saver.
When I made the switch I had to admit that “spender” was not part of my essential self, and that I had no God-given entitlement to that way of life.
* * *
I grew up a giver, Sharon a saver.
She converted.
So the basic approach is to save and give but not spend.
