What does it mean to live within or below your means? A question posed to a Money.com writer asks what the difference is. The responder really didn’t have a clear answer for the person because a person who lives within or below their means could be a person who includes savings in their spending budget and then spends the rest. Or a person who lives below their means could spend less than they take in but not account for any savings or emergency fund.

Instead the columnist avoids the semantics of the within versus below debate and asserts that there is another position –  ”leading a financially responsible life” – which includes spending responsibly but also taking into consideration the importance of striking a healthy balance of present spending and saving for the future.

Saving is always important and I don’t know many people who would spend less than they make and not do anything constructive with the money, even if they didn’t spend it, over time, interest free, the money would accumulate.