I recall that when I started making some money as a student, I gave about half back to my parents and spent the rest. There wasn’t nearly enough to be worth considering “saving for later”. The paying back part made me feel better about myself, probably out of proportion, given that it was really a token amount. Which is probably one of the best uses of money: making oneself feel better.
I call this the EverQuest Savings Algorithm when I do it. The basis is that in EverQuest and most games in general, the amount of money you can make at a given level is insignificant to the income you will be making in a few more levels, so it never really seems to make sense to save unless you’ve maxed out your level. The same thing happens in real life, as all your pre-first-job savings are rendered insignificant by your first-job savings, and subsequently your pre-first-post-college-job savings are obsoleted by your first post-college job.
I recall that when I started making some money as a student, I gave about half back to my parents and spent the rest. There wasn’t nearly enough to be worth considering “saving for later”. The paying back part made me feel better about myself, probably out of proportion, given that it was really a token amount. Which is probably one of the best uses of money: making oneself feel better.
I call this the EverQuest Savings Algorithm when I do it. The basis is that in EverQuest and most games in general, the amount of money you can make at a given level is insignificant to the income you will be making in a few more levels, so it never really seems to make sense to save unless you’ve maxed out your level. The same thing happens in real life, as all your pre-first-job savings are rendered insignificant by your first-job savings, and subsequently your pre-first-post-college-job savings are obsoleted by your first post-college job.