My savings were in the order of need. Recently it was my daughter's college, now focused on retirement. I'm hoping to see the numbers climb in that account!
I actually don't have any specific savings goals. I know to save a lot of money because my general "future" is important, but there's no x amount or competing goals.
I try to look at the big picture, but I do tend to focus more on one goal. For example, right now, I'm saving for a cross country move. I'm also trying to have my car paid off by the three year mark, rather than 5.5 years. It's all part of the same goal but obviously in this case, my biggest goal is to have less debt. So I have been making enormous car payments each month and it should be paid off next month. I was still putting some toward savings each month, and I only started to really throw money at my car after I already had a decent-sized emergency savings. I don't think it matters how you prioritize as long as you DO in a way that works for you mentally, and keeps you motivated.
We keep one of our laundry baskets in a closet inside the bathroom. On the floor are a couple of other items (the scale and a couple of cleaning things) and every so often, a sock will get hidden by one of the other items.
We have two on-going accounts that we are trying to build up--our emergency fund and our medical money. The emergency fund is important for obvious reasons. The medical money is important because we have a number of big health issues in our family. We have lots of medical bills, and can expect more in the future.
Pay myself first -- first thing to get paid is MY SAVINGS! That's the only way it works -- if you take your savings out of what's left after everything else, you will not have anything left!
Right now I'm back in school, using my savings to avoid student loans. I'm working part-time, but it's not enough to contribute to savings right now. In the past, I used automatic deductions, and deposited any windfalls (birthdays, gas reimbursements, side income etc) right into savings.
I'm a divide and conquer type of girl. I like to set multiple goals and divide money equaling among them. The truth is that I hate making decisions, so this way I don't really have to prioritize them ;-)
First, a visual reminder of the goal is always helpful. A photo of that car, house, vacation spot, new appliance or whatnot hung in a prominent place or placed inside your wallet in a visible location can help to keep your priority a priority and curb impulse spending. Second, challenge yourself to "donate" the cost of one truly unnecessary "spend" item each day to your savings goal -- whether a cup of coffee, a fast food treat, a candy bar, a movie rental, a new sweater or even your monthly cable. You'll be surprised how quickly your savings can increase... and how empowered you feel!
We have all our known bills in our monthly budget, but the extras are prioritized by our timeline: when do we need the item in question, is there anything else more pressing, or does the emergency fund trump everything?. :) Most often, the emergency fund or our vacation fund wins.
I take the decision out of my hands and have set up an automatic payroll transfer directly in my savings account. Then I 'hide' my savings account from my online banking so I don't see it and won't be tempted to transfer a 'few' dollars here and there. Out of sight, out of mind, but with a pleasant surprise when I think to check the balance. Small victories!
I don't really have a sock problem, but on Saturday I finally found a pair of sweat pants that were missing for six months in a stack of towels in the closet.
Our savings goals are prioritized in terms of urgency, so it goes emergency fund (funded), retirement (ongoing), and college savings (ongoing). Emergency fund has highest priority because you never know when something will come along and knock your world sideways. It's followed by retirement because financial independence is key to being able to enjoy a stress-free life. College savings is lowest on the list because there is the possibility of scholarships or grants, and always the option of loans (public or private).
I prioritize one goal at a time. Right now it is an emergncy fund - so I can stop using credit cards when an emergency arises. Then I'm paying off the credit cards, and then I can start saving for retirement.
My savings were in the order of need. Recently it was my daughter's college, now focused on retirement. I'm hoping to see the numbers climb in that account!
I actually don't have any specific savings goals. I know to save a lot of money because my general "future" is important, but there's no x amount or competing goals.
I try to look at the big picture, but I do tend to focus more on one goal. For example, right now, I'm saving for a cross country move. I'm also trying to have my car paid off by the three year mark, rather than 5.5 years. It's all part of the same goal but obviously in this case, my biggest goal is to have less debt. So I have been making enormous car payments each month and it should be paid off next month. I was still putting some toward savings each month, and I only started to really throw money at my car after I already had a decent-sized emergency savings. I don't think it matters how you prioritize as long as you DO in a way that works for you mentally, and keeps you motivated.
We keep one of our laundry baskets in a closet inside the bathroom. On the floor are a couple of other items (the scale and a couple of cleaning things) and every so often, a sock will get hidden by one of the other items.
As A Family We Make A Budget With A Savings Plan And Support And Guide Each Other In Sticking To The Plan And Budget
I focus on a maximum of 2 major financial goals at a time. I find if I'm focusing on more than that I am less able to achieve my goals.
I save to a general fund, then take out for vacations, etc, and try to replenish.
We have two on-going accounts that we are trying to build up--our emergency fund and our medical money. The emergency fund is important for obvious reasons. The medical money is important because we have a number of big health issues in our family. We have lots of medical bills, and can expect more in the future.
I focus on one goal at a time. Once I achieve it, I can think of another goal to work on
I've definitely found missing socks in the kids toy boxes!!!
Pay myself first -- first thing to get paid is MY SAVINGS! That's the only way it works -- if you take your savings out of what's left after everything else, you will not have anything left!
Right now I'm back in school, using my savings to avoid student loans. I'm working part-time, but it's not enough to contribute to savings right now. In the past, I used automatic deductions, and deposited any windfalls (birthdays, gas reimbursements, side income etc) right into savings.
I have to divide it between college and retirement.
We always try to focus on one thing at a time and break the bigger goal of "budgeting" up into smaller goals so that we don't get too overwhelmed.
Gonna try this. Really hope it works!
I'm a divide and conquer type of girl. I like to set multiple goals and divide money equaling among them. The truth is that I hate making decisions, so this way I don't really have to prioritize them ;-)
First, a visual reminder of the goal is always helpful. A photo of that car, house, vacation spot, new appliance or whatnot hung in a prominent place or placed inside your wallet in a visible location can help to keep your priority a priority and curb impulse spending. Second, challenge yourself to "donate" the cost of one truly unnecessary "spend" item each day to your savings goal -- whether a cup of coffee, a fast food treat, a candy bar, a movie rental, a new sweater or even your monthly cable. You'll be surprised how quickly your savings can increase... and how empowered you feel!
We have all our known bills in our monthly budget, but the extras are prioritized by our timeline: when do we need the item in question, is there anything else more pressing, or does the emergency fund trump everything?. :) Most often, the emergency fund or our vacation fund wins.
I take the decision out of my hands and have set up an automatic payroll transfer directly in my savings account. Then I 'hide' my savings account from my online banking so I don't see it and won't be tempted to transfer a 'few' dollars here and there. Out of sight, out of mind, but with a pleasant surprise when I think to check the balance. Small victories!
I don't really have a sock problem, but on Saturday I finally found a pair of sweat pants that were missing for six months in a stack of towels in the closet.
Our savings goals are prioritized in terms of urgency, so it goes emergency fund (funded), retirement (ongoing), and college savings (ongoing). Emergency fund has highest priority because you never know when something will come along and knock your world sideways. It's followed by retirement because financial independence is key to being able to enjoy a stress-free life. College savings is lowest on the list because there is the possibility of scholarships or grants, and always the option of loans (public or private).
I prioritize one goal at a time. Right now it is an emergncy fund - so I can stop using credit cards when an emergency arises. Then I'm paying off the credit cards, and then I can start saving for retirement.
I focus on one savings goal at a time.
take it out of paycheck so I don't see or miss.
Good list, most of what you talk about worked for me.
I moved to in bed at 8, lights out by 9, 10 at the latest, up at 5. Still getting 8 hours of sleep a night that way.
I now get more done before 9am than I do through the rest of the day... and not hitting the snooze button all morning...