For the longer term goals, like retirement, college savings, and paying off my husband's student loans, we're constantly working on them a little at a time. But there always seems to be one big goal that we work on aggressively. Right now that's saving for a down payment on our first home. We're almost there!
I focus on just one savings goal at a time because, honestly, I don't have enough "extra" money right now to save for multiple goals while also paying down credit card debt. Plus I think I would have a difficult time staying motivated and organized if I was all over the place with it.
We like to do more than one at a time, but that can be difficult. Right now our retirement is ongoing as well as our emergency fund. We have money removed from our check before we see it so it is easier. When we saved for our daughters college education is was last on our list because we knew that she could get FA, loans and work to get her education, but no one was going to help us with our retirement.
My plan is pretty systematic. 3 accounts: 1) Living Expenses Savings - For 3-6 months of expenses in case of job loss or injury; 2) Fun Savings - For travel or specific things that we want to save for; 3) Retirement Savings - For obvious reasons.
All three of these accounts are contributed to each month, though in different percentages depending on our needs and wants at the time.
Decisionmakers are like wolves - if you put out fear, they assume you are weak and attack. If you are completely confident, even the greatest incompetence seems to roll right off of you. (I wish I could say this isn't true, but I've seen it at work enough times)
I recently re-vamped my budget for the new year, and one way I did so was by making specific savings goals. Luckily, my job takes out my 401b pre-taxes, but I'm also adding an extra amount a month to my Roth IRA. In addition, I have to savings brackets of "Travel" and "Vacation", the difference being that my vacations are annual, where as my travel savings will be used for a big trip (probably to either Paris, or Thailand), within the next few years. Those two categories, which are equal amounts, are automated weekly to go into my connected savings account. Hopefully this will make the transition painless and make my dreams a reality! :)
I am rebuilding my financial world following a divorce and a number of financial set-backs. It's a multi-stage process. First I set up my automatic retirement savings (10%; it used to be 17% when I was married), and then from there I am prioritizing one goal at a time:
1) Get out of debt. I had an emergency fund, but it was minimal and my energy went toward paying off a credit card, student loans, and several costly car repairs. As of 2 weeks ago, I am out of ALL debt (woohoo!!!!).
2) Build up my immediate savings (6 months of living expenses). I set up auto-deposit into a new separate savings account and will be socking aside what I had previously used to pay off debt.
3). Save 20% for retirement. I recently realized how much my 401K is gouging me in fees and expense ratios, so I will continue to put only the 8% my company matches into my 401K, and the rest into my IRA.
4) I don't really have a next goal after that... I suspect my life will be in a different place then, so I'll know by then if I want to buy a house, or travel, or move to somewhere new. I'll leave goal #4 to the future...
I always focus on one item at a time when saving. There are so many things that we are putting off that we need right now, b/c we are so poor, that I always have a running list of things to do or get when we have the extra money for them.
I'm not really a morning person per se, but I prefer being up early and working to staying up late and trying to get stuff done. The thing I like the most about being up early is that no one else is, so I feel like I can really get more done. Traffic is lighter, the phone isn't ringing, and everyone else in the house is asleep. It's golden, even though it takes me a few cups of coffee to feel human at 5AM.
My goal is to take my children, their spouses and the grandchildren on a vacation every year. This is the 3rd year we have gone on a 7 day cruise. We start saving for the next trip as soon as we get home from the last one. I use cc points, money made from doing online surveys, coupon savings, any extra money to supplement the amount I save every month from my pension. I am retired and my husband pays our bills so "my" money is fun money.
I want to retire at 57 (maybe 55) and live comfortably, so I contribute to my retirement accounts regularly. I'm still young and far from retirement but know how quickly time flies. When that time comes when it hurts to wear high heels, my back is starting to ache, and my brain tired, I want to be able to say, "I'd rather be fishing," and have the means to do so. My emergency fund is ongoing because I feel that one can never save too much for emergencies. Once I reach a comfortable amount, I will, first, buy a nice bottle of champagne to celebrate, then start another savings goal.
Yikes! I can definitely see that happening at my house, esp. after the family gets involved in folding and putting up stuff while watching television. Sorry they were gone for a while but glad the sweat pants resurfaced.
We are saving for multiple goals at once, incorporating these costs into our monthly budget. We have them directly transferred every month so it's automatic and there isn't a constant temptation to spend that money. Our main goals are stocking up on the emergency savings, future car fund, and retirement accounts. We also have set up separate savings accounts for our different funds, to keep the accounting clear and simple.
My husband and I are very goal oriented. For this reason, we set one short-term goal at a time and work like crazy to complete it. Then we move onto another goal. It helps us feel like we are accomplishing something, instead of having multiple goals and slowly contributing towards each, but never actually finishing them.
If you are like me, you probably noticed that something was different but never dreamed that it was a stray sock.
For the longer term goals, like retirement, college savings, and paying off my husband's student loans, we're constantly working on them a little at a time. But there always seems to be one big goal that we work on aggressively. Right now that's saving for a down payment on our first home. We're almost there!
Pay yourself first and focus on your goal. Put away small amounts and gradually work your way to larger amounts.
Thanks for the round up I always find your round up's really interesting! I love the pic by the way, made me laugh - especially as I love coffee!
Ugh, not sure how I managed to type a comment without using actual English grammar. Please forgive.
I recently found a sock inside of my jeans. How I managed to walk around all day with sock on the inside of my pant leg is beyond me.
I focus on just one savings goal at a time because, honestly, I don't have enough "extra" money right now to save for multiple goals while also paying down credit card debt. Plus I think I would have a difficult time staying motivated and organized if I was all over the place with it.
We like to do more than one at a time, but that can be difficult. Right now our retirement is ongoing as well as our emergency fund. We have money removed from our check before we see it so it is easier. When we saved for our daughters college education is was last on our list because we knew that she could get FA, loans and work to get her education, but no one was going to help us with our retirement.
I try to save as much as possible. My current priority is saving a cruising kitty so we an sell our home and take off on a sailboat in two years.
My plan is pretty systematic. 3 accounts: 1) Living Expenses Savings - For 3-6 months of expenses in case of job loss or injury; 2) Fun Savings - For travel or specific things that we want to save for; 3) Retirement Savings - For obvious reasons.
All three of these accounts are contributed to each month, though in different percentages depending on our needs and wants at the time.
Decisionmakers are like wolves - if you put out fear, they assume you are weak and attack. If you are completely confident, even the greatest incompetence seems to roll right off of you. (I wish I could say this isn't true, but I've seen it at work enough times)
I recently re-vamped my budget for the new year, and one way I did so was by making specific savings goals. Luckily, my job takes out my 401b pre-taxes, but I'm also adding an extra amount a month to my Roth IRA. In addition, I have to savings brackets of "Travel" and "Vacation", the difference being that my vacations are annual, where as my travel savings will be used for a big trip (probably to either Paris, or Thailand), within the next few years. Those two categories, which are equal amounts, are automated weekly to go into my connected savings account. Hopefully this will make the transition painless and make my dreams a reality! :)
I am rebuilding my financial world following a divorce and a number of financial set-backs. It's a multi-stage process. First I set up my automatic retirement savings (10%; it used to be 17% when I was married), and then from there I am prioritizing one goal at a time:
1) Get out of debt. I had an emergency fund, but it was minimal and my energy went toward paying off a credit card, student loans, and several costly car repairs. As of 2 weeks ago, I am out of ALL debt (woohoo!!!!).
2) Build up my immediate savings (6 months of living expenses). I set up auto-deposit into a new separate savings account and will be socking aside what I had previously used to pay off debt.
3). Save 20% for retirement. I recently realized how much my 401K is gouging me in fees and expense ratios, so I will continue to put only the 8% my company matches into my 401K, and the rest into my IRA.
4) I don't really have a next goal after that... I suspect my life will be in a different place then, so I'll know by then if I want to buy a house, or travel, or move to somewhere new. I'll leave goal #4 to the future...
I always focus on one item at a time when saving. There are so many things that we are putting off that we need right now, b/c we are so poor, that I always have a running list of things to do or get when we have the extra money for them.
I'm not really a morning person per se, but I prefer being up early and working to staying up late and trying to get stuff done. The thing I like the most about being up early is that no one else is, so I feel like I can really get more done. Traffic is lighter, the phone isn't ringing, and everyone else in the house is asleep. It's golden, even though it takes me a few cups of coffee to feel human at 5AM.
My goal is to take my children, their spouses and the grandchildren on a vacation every year. This is the 3rd year we have gone on a 7 day cruise. We start saving for the next trip as soon as we get home from the last one. I use cc points, money made from doing online surveys, coupon savings, any extra money to supplement the amount I save every month from my pension. I am retired and my husband pays our bills so "my" money is fun money.
I want to retire at 57 (maybe 55) and live comfortably, so I contribute to my retirement accounts regularly. I'm still young and far from retirement but know how quickly time flies. When that time comes when it hurts to wear high heels, my back is starting to ache, and my brain tired, I want to be able to say, "I'd rather be fishing," and have the means to do so. My emergency fund is ongoing because I feel that one can never save too much for emergencies. Once I reach a comfortable amount, I will, first, buy a nice bottle of champagne to celebrate, then start another savings goal.
Whatever I'm saving for, it has to be taken out automatically without me realizing it. If not, I will not be able to save!
I still don't understand how socks can slip out of baskets so easily but it sounds like that happens to everyone. Thanks for sharing!
Yikes! I can definitely see that happening at my house, esp. after the family gets involved in folding and putting up stuff while watching television. Sorry they were gone for a while but glad the sweat pants resurfaced.
I wish I had figured that out (that socks get put up with the toys) earlier!
I have it automatically deducted from paychecks and I prioritize one goal at a time. Similar to the snowball effect for paying down debts.
We are saving for multiple goals at once, incorporating these costs into our monthly budget. We have them directly transferred every month so it's automatic and there isn't a constant temptation to spend that money. Our main goals are stocking up on the emergency savings, future car fund, and retirement accounts. We also have set up separate savings accounts for our different funds, to keep the accounting clear and simple.
I am so sorry to hear about your experience. Thanks for your perspective and advice.
My husband and I are very goal oriented. For this reason, we set one short-term goal at a time and work like crazy to complete it. Then we move onto another goal. It helps us feel like we are accomplishing something, instead of having multiple goals and slowly contributing towards each, but never actually finishing them.