> The psychological bias works both ways though, if you operate on a fixed monthly budget you might be tempted to spend more on stuff you wouldn't otherwise spend on if you notice you're under budget for the month.
Which is significantly better than the other way around, because you’ve met your saving target(s). Really, that money constitutes legitimate excess cash. You can shove it into risky investments, or spend it freely; it doesn’t matter — you’ve met your needs.
> Also a mental bias against spending is not necessarily a good thing. Spending is like eating, unless you have a problem where you're doing it too much of it, doing less of it is not inherently desirable
If you’re spending over your saving targets, you are spending too much. If you’re spending under your targets, you’re free to spend more, guilt-free (you’ve covered your necessities, you’re playing with excess).
The only problem is if you set your savings budget so high that you can’t spend to your actual comfort (given your lifestyle). Then it becomes a question of accepting you simply don’t have so much money, and either reduce your lifestyle or extend your saving targets accordingly.
TLDR; meet your targets. Beyond that, do as you wish.
Which is significantly better than the other way around, because you’ve met your saving target(s). Really, that money constitutes legitimate excess cash. You can shove it into risky investments, or spend it freely; it doesn’t matter — you’ve met your needs.
> Also a mental bias against spending is not necessarily a good thing. Spending is like eating, unless you have a problem where you're doing it too much of it, doing less of it is not inherently desirable
If you’re spending over your saving targets, you are spending too much. If you’re spending under your targets, you’re free to spend more, guilt-free (you’ve covered your necessities, you’re playing with excess).
The only problem is if you set your savings budget so high that you can’t spend to your actual comfort (given your lifestyle). Then it becomes a question of accepting you simply don’t have so much money, and either reduce your lifestyle or extend your saving targets accordingly.
TLDR; meet your targets. Beyond that, do as you wish.