In the Catholic tradition, greed is a sin. When does saving and accumulating money become a problem? How is avarice explained? The answers in this article. 

Penny-pinching, stingy, tight-fisted… There are many terms in our vocabulary to designate people who do not want to spend their money, deprive themselves when they have the means to live better. For Freud, avarice was an obsessive character trait. Psychologists and psychiatrists describe greed as a person who lives only for money and refuses to spend, for oneself or for others. The miser is pathologically incapable of spending money which distinguishes him from the thrifty person who takes care in the management of his money but agrees to spend it wisely.  

Thus avarice arises from obsession and addiction. Money is a drug whose immediate gratification is such that obtaining it becomes a priority goal, to the detriment of other goals of existence (1)

Where does avarism come from?

Psychoanalysts link avarice to the anal phase: during toilet training, the child discovers that he has power by holding back his stool. He then withholds the money to keep the power. Psychologists link avarice to what the parents transmitted (were they stingy which gave this example or on the contrary were they very spendthrift pushing their child to do the opposite?), Or to the fear of missing out, or even an unconscious fear of death. Controlling everything made it possible to manage these fears. 

(1) Léa SE et al, Money as tool, money as drug: the biological psychology of a strong incentive.  Behav Brain Sci. 2

A stingy person avoids spending when he could afford to do so, always tries to spend as little as possible (even if it means buying expired products to save money, not to heat his home …), does not do gift, systematically forgets his bank card before going out. 

A stingy person is also stingy with his emotions and feelings. The miser are in permanent control. 

You may suspect that one of your relatives is stingy if he is always the last to take out his wallet to pay the restaurant bill or if he always demands a fair sharing of expenses, even if it means having you reimbursed the share that you owe him. 

Psychotherapy or cognitive behavioral therapy can help stingy people overcome their stinginess. Psychotherapy helps to understand why the person has come to this. Cognitive-behavioral therapies, for their part, will aim to change behavior and gradually incur expenses (inviting a friend to a restaurant, offering a bouquet of flowers, etc.). 

But since they do not feel sick and feel that they are right to save money at this point, they do not take steps to take care of themselves. Their entourage can always offer it to them. 

It is very difficult to live with a stingy person. One of the ways to help a tight-fisted spouse is to tease them to make them understand that their relationship with money is special. To encourage him to spend, it is good to congratulate him (her) at the slightest gesture of generosity! You can also reassure the stingy person by explaining that they are not going to be short of such or such expense. You also had the opportunity to express your weariness with his lifestyle.