I’m a Money Hoarder!

I have a confession my friends.  It’s not something I’m really happy about, but the truth hurts sometimes. I have a problem and I’m working hard to fix it. I’m a hoarder, everyone. Yes, that’s right, I hoard, but not things, just money!  I’m a money hoarder and I’m working to change it.  While it might not look so bad on the outside, I realized my addiction for stashing money is hurting me financially. That’s just not cool with me. I even wrote on another blog to tell people to stop saving money. Seriously. If you’re a money hoarder like me, then you need to start doing stuff with your money. Get it out from under the mattress!

I’m a Money Hoarder

So, what does it mean to be a money hoarder?  I’m sure you have seen the shows about people hoarding all types of junk in their house to a point where they can’t even walk around. I’m glad I don’t have that problem. My issue is specifically around money and my desire to keep all of the money I can. Why is this a problem you may ask?  Well, it is and I will explain.

When I was in debt, I didn’t save too much. I really didn’t save anything. When I finally decided to change my mindset and get out of debt, I also wanted to start saving money. I created a method to deal with both and it worked for me.

Ever since I starting saving money, I couldn’t get enough. I have a desire to fill my savings account to the brim. I want it full and lush like an evergreen forest. I want my little money soldiers hunkered down awaiting for my next order. Yes, you can call me a money general!  I switched my spending mindset to one of saving, but I think I might have gone to the extreme. I’m a little too obsessed with saving money.

Hoarding Money Isn’t Good

You might be a little confused by this article. Why would keeping most of your money be a bad thing?  Who wouldn’t want to save a ton of money?  I know, I get where you’re coming from. The biggest issue with my money hoarding problem is I’m just doing myself a disservice. I’m hoarding my money in my savings accounts.

Between my Capital One 360 account and my credit union, I have way too much saved in there. It’s an overly dramatic emergency fund. It doesn’t need to be that big, but I can’t help it. I want to see it grow each and every month.  It is, but with the extremely low interest rates I’m getting, I’m not really growing my wealth, I’m just maintaining it.

Keeping a ton of money in a savings account isn’t good. While it can be accessed in an emergency, it doesn’t earn anything. You are actually losing money each year due to inflation. That’s not OK. I’m on a mission to grow my wealth. I thought I was doing well by saving more and more of my income. Low and behold, I’m just holding myself back from actually building wealth. I have to stop hoarding my money and start using it to make more money.

My New Money Plans

How do I plan on ridding myself of this money hoarding addiction?  Well, simple answer. Investing! You might think I’m crazy, but what better way to grow your wealth than investing?  I can stick my money in an account, purchase some quality ETFs and then watch my money grow. There might be times when it goes down, but overall, index funds tracking the S&P 500 are growing around 8% per year over the last 30 years. That’s what I need. That’s what I want. I’m going to use compound interest to my advantage!

My new money plans are to start pulling money out of my savings account and putting them toward my investments. I already have accounts with Scottrade, Motif Investing, and Betterment. Some of them are retirement accounts and others were play investing accounts. The problem is I never really funded these accounts well. I was too focused on keeping my wealth in cash. Not good, I know.

I’m currently in the stages of opening a new account with Vanguard. I’m adding my new SEP IRA there for my business. I will be funding this almost to the maximum this tax season as I need to reduce my taxes owed. This is my first step in my long process of diversifying my cash holdings.

I don’t plan on taking all of my cash out and investing it. I think that would be a little over zealous. That’s not me. My wife knows I’m a money hoarder, but she still loves me!  I want to keep some cash for emergencies, like about six months worth of expenses.

I think that’s good enough. Right now, I’m at about 18 months worth of expenses. Just too much and it’s not doing anything for me. It protects me, but doesn’t get me toward my goal of wealth building. It’s time to change what I’m doing.

I know this money stashing addiction was created from my debt afflictions. I was in debt, worked my way out, and then tasted the sweet taste of savings. It was addicting, like sugary drinks to a toddler. You get one taste and then start craving it and throwing tantrums when you can’t get it. OK, I didn’t throw tantrums when I couldn’t save, but it did make me a little irritated. I had been parting from my money ever since I got my first credit card. It wasn’t good for me.

Once I figured out how to save my money, I just couldn’t stop. Luckily for me, I’m part of an amazing group of personal finance bloggers who talk about all things money. It’s easy to realize your wrong doing once you start talking with many of them. It’s the power of the network people!

I might be a money hoarder, but I’m changing that as of right now. I do invest and save for retirement, but I want to do more. I want to max out all of my accounts and watch my net worth continue to rise. That’s what my next goal is going to be. I want to set myself up for retirement and not have to worry about where my next dollar is going to come from. Financial independence is what I like to call it. The word “retirement” seems a little outdated anyway. Let’s all focus on financial independence and do what we want to with our money!