Follow up on my system for saving

Posted By Paul

One thing that I've been doing that has worked well for me is based on a REALLY old post of mine that talks about how I save money. Here is the article:

Simple System For Saving Money

I still use this system but now I tailor it a bit in that I keep a list of places that I like to put money when I have a little extra. For example here is my current list:

Roth
Mortgage
Car Loan
Child College Fund
Fun Fund
Rainy Day Fund

I just keep this list in a text document and whenever I have more than my 'target amount' in my checking account I transfer $100 to the item that is at the top of the list and then that item moves to the bottom.

I like this system because I can change the list easily if I ever want to divert money to saving for a new goal. I can even put the same item in the list multiple times if I ever want to save towards a specific goal faster.

You may notice too that I have 'Fun Fund' in the list. This has been a great addition in that every dollar that goes into that account (which is just an account in my ISA that I labeled 'Fun Fund') is intended to be spent on something fun. It's a great way to give yourself a reward for saving. It's also a really nice way to save up money in preparation for a vacation or some other fun event. We don't even know what exactly we're saving for (though it'll probably be some sort of vacation when our child is old enough to travel), but it's great to have the money set aside and to see it growing.