Comments on: What’s Harder: Saving Money or Paying off Debt?

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 20:34:05 +0000

In reply to taylor. Indeed :) My opinion is that as long as your net worth is going UP it doesn't really matter which option you choose. Although the ones that *excite* you the most will always be more motivating.

By: taylor

taylor — Mon, 22 Aug 2016 19:08:34 +0000

I love saving! Maybe that comes from being fortunate enough to never have had debt (until recently — new mortgage!). Now I’m struggling with having the option to emphasize one or the other. I feel like I equally want to invest more and pay down my mortgage quickly, so I think I’ll throw money at them equally for now. I need to stop stressing about it — both will make me better off. Once I come to terms with that I can have well-planned peace :)

By: ZJ Thorne

ZJ Thorne — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 13:00:21 +0000

This is a fascinating scientific study, J. I think paying off debt is harder than saving, but I think that is because my debts are so large. Maybe I’ll feel differently once I’ve settled the debt once and for all.

By: Jon @ Be Net Worthy

Jon @ Be Net Worthy — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 11:03:24 +0000

I think that unless you have the savings earmarked for a particular purpose, that saving money is much harder. It’s too intangible to save “just because” or for some distant FI goal. Much easier to spend it on an awesome concert or something tangible, right?

Paying down debt has a clear, direct, and measurable benefit that you can see. You see your credit balance going down and you see the interest payments getting lower, a direct and satisfying correlation.

That being said, I haven’t had anything but mortgage debt in a while, so I’m working from memory!

By: J. Money

J. Money — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 11:23:56 +0000

In reply to Beth.

No shame in that! Having extra cash def. gives you options and keeps you away from getting into MORE debt – so that’s good! Maybe once you hit a certain threshold you’ll be more comfortable putting future amounts into debt? Like, once you hit X months of living expenses?

By: Beth

Beth — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 21:09:15 +0000

This is a hard one! I am actually struggling with this right now and sort of wrote about it on my blog. I have some savings built up and that feels awesome but I also have a car loan and student loans that I would love to pay off. For some reason the idea of putting more towards debt over saving bothers me. I can’t put my finger on it. Logically I know paying off the debt sooner would save me money in interest and the sooner I pay it off the sooner I can save more. I think having money in the bank just makes me feel more secure.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 16:35:51 +0000

In reply to Colin @ rebelwithaplan. Gamifying it is always good! All about figuring out how you work the *best*, and then maximizing it.

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 14:45:42 +0000

Documenting either saving or paying down debt is definitely a great trick. Very rewarding to see the progress.

I say paying down debt is harder. It’s more fun to hoard cash!

By: Colin @ rebelwithaplan

Colin @ rebelwithaplan — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 05:07:36 +0000

Perspectives and situations can shift this mindset for sure. Right now, paying off debt seems harder. Even though there is a clear end result (being debt-free! woohoo!) as opposed to saving, paying off debt feels harder because it seems I’m always making payments, putting more toward it, and yet being debt-free still feels so far away.

Even when I was debt-free and unsure of strategically going about saving, I still thought paying off debt was harder. For some reason I really like making a game (and reaching each “level”!) out of saving money.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 19:38:40 +0000

In reply to Sherrie. Thanks for sharing, Sherrie :) Hope your health is now getting better along w/ your wallet!