Jean Keener is another financial planner I had the pleasure of meeting in person after the financial advisor websites list I put together a while back. As we chatted about financial planning and blogging I was reminded of the search my wife and I went on to find a financial planner right after we were married.
Finding [...]
A while back, I covered the world of social lending, when I was relatively new to the whole peer to peer lending premise. Now that I’ve become much more familiar with it, and have had some time to see how things operate in this field, I’ve decided to review how the industry’s been doing [...]
Earlier this weekend, my wife was saying that she’s not so much fun any more. I think she was alluding to the fact that she’s in her early 30s now and can’t party like she could a decade ago. I said, “It could be worse, you could be a curmudgeony, old man of [...]
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I am more motivated to save when I know exactly what I am saving for. I’ve found that two things help me stay on track with my savings: prioritizing my goals and planning in advance how each paycheck will be split between the goals.
As I mentioned in my post on my financial tracking system, I save a fixed amount each paycheck and split the money into multiple categories to correspond to my savings goals.
I choose to keep all my savings in one account rather than having multiple accounts. But since I am saving for different things, I need a way to see how much money I have saved towards achieving each of my goals. As with my budget tracking system, I use a spreadsheet to list my savings categories, goals (either total saved amount or a fixed regular contribution), and timelines.
How to Save for Multiple Goals
As you can see, in this example I’m saving for 6 goals.
When starting a savings plan, the most important thing is to name and prioritize your categories. You can’t reach all savings goals overnight, and it’s easy to get frustrated. So take a deep breath, grab a piece of paper, and dig in. Write down the 5-10 things you want to save for, how much you want to save, and timeframe for completing the goal.
Then figure out how much you are going to save each month or pay period – it can be a set dollar amount or a percentage of your paycheck. Whatever it is, make sure it is realistic or your savings plan won’t work!
I choose to put a fixed amount of money for travel and gifts into a savings account and draw from those accounts as needed. I am also saving for a certification exam, new furniture after a move, a car (far down the line!), and of course building up the ever-important emergency fund.
In order to reach all your goals, you must prioritize – what is the most important thing to you? For me it is my emergency fund. But you also have to consider what needs to be done first – for example, I have to pay for my exam in early October so I have to save all the money for it by the end of September – even if that means decreasing contributions to my emergency fund. Place a priority by each of your savings goals and know that you should save for them roughly in that order.
Now it’s time to actually create your savings plan. Take the total amount of savings you have per paycheck and determine how much of that amount will go to each category. Make sure you fund the categories with a stricter timeline (for me, the exam) before the goals with a looser timeline (for me, a car). Also make sure you focus on the categories that you gave a higher priority, regardless of what the timeline is.
I’ve created a simple spreadsheet to do the subtraction for me, but you can do it by hand just as easily. My spreadsheet also shows the estimated balance by date.
It’s easy to put money in savings and then take it out because you don’t know what you are saving for. It is also easy to just spend money rather than saving it. When you dedicate a specific amount to savings, and plan in advance where every dollar will go, it’s harder to spend the money.
It’s much more fun to watch your savings balance grow and get ever closer to reaching your goals! I challenge each of you to create your own savings plan today. Let me know how it goes!
Written by Jill
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Welcome to the Million Dollar Journey August 2009 Net Worth Update.
There’s not a lot to report this time as not a lot has happened in the month of August. The markets continue to edge upward but we are closing in on the volatile September and October months. Do you expect a significant market correction coming [...]
The August 2009 edition of Money Magazine featured their annual list of 100 best places to live. The copy arrived in my mailbox around the same time my wife and I were discussing the possibility of relocating in the future. In the short-term, we are satisfied with where we live, but often dream of moving [...]
Life is the sum of all your choices.
-Albert Camus (French author)
So you’re one of the lucky ones who’ve escaped a job layoff. Should you dare even think about or hope for a job promotion? It seems about as rare as spotting elusive wildlife, but a job promotion may still be achievable at a [...]
Whenever I’m driving, I hand my wife navigating duty. I’m directionally challenged and I know it. Well, she’ll make a comment that there’s a “big sign” coming up for me to follow and I look for the physically large sign. It took me a long time to catch on that I need [...]
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I’m a goofy dude. I’ve always enjoyed the latest self-help book, the latest how-to-invest strategy, the latest productivity blog. But you know what? I know I’m jinxing myself, but I finally think I have it figured out – or at least I’ve started to figure it out. For the past few weeks, I’ve started to [...]
It’s that time again… Play Fantasy Football at Yahoo! Sports – Now with FREE StatTracker®
I’m a goofy dude. I’ve always enjoyed the latest self-help book, the latest how-to-invest strategy, the latest productivity blog. But you know what? I know I’m jinxing myself, but I finally think I have it figured out – or at least I’ve started to figure it out. For the past few weeks, I’ve started to [...]
It’s that time again… Play Fantasy Football at Yahoo! Sports – Now with FREE StatTracker®
Overstock or returned goods can save you a ton of money! I’ve written in the past how I used to buy merchandise like this, then turn around and re-sell it on eBay for a big fat profit.
However, even if you have no interest in making extra money on eBay, overstock goods and returned items can [...]
Just a quick announcement to let you know that Zecco Trading currently has a promotion going on for a limited time.
They’re offering 20 free stock trades worth $90 to all new customers who decide to sign up for an account at this time.
Here are a few rules about this promo:
Rules For Free Online [...]
Is cash for clunkers taxable? Yes, no, maybe. Even though the Cash for Clunkers program ended, the cash for clunkers tax is generating debate.
The cash for clunkers tax is confusing because people are mixing up three kinds of taxes: federal income tax, state income tax, and state sales tax. On top of that, it would be way too easy if all the states had the same rules. Let’s sort through the tax on cash for clunkers.
Is the cash for clunkers voucher subject to federal income tax? No. The official government cash for clunkers site states:
The CARS Act expressly provides that the credit is not income for the consumer.
Is cash for clunkers subject to state sales taxes? Maybe. It depends on where you live.
For my fellow Wisconsinites, we don’t have to pay sales tax. The Sales Tax Connection is keeping an updated list of states at Cash For Clunkers – Taxable or Not?
Is the cash for clunkers program subject to state income taxes? Hmmm. Here’s where it gets a little fuzzy.
Of course it will depend on where you live, as each state has their own income tax laws. Many states base taxable income on the federal income, which we already stated will not include the cash for clunkers. The cash for clunkers program also states that the voucher will be excluded as income for all state benefit or assistance programs.
While we could assume that those rules lead us to the conclusion that the program is not subject to state income tax, I’m never one to assume anything when it comes to taxes!
To help us draw the correct conclusion, some states are explicitly stating that cash for clunkers will not be taxable income in their states, including Arizona and Nebraska.
Unfortunately, I haven’t found anywhere that is consolidating the answers to the state income tax question. If you find a source, let me know!
More Cash for Clunkers tax information:
Written by Madison
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… and I couldn’t be happier about it. For those who don’t know, MonaVie is a juice, that retails for $1.70 an ounce (yes ounce). Being the consumer advocate that I am, I wrote that I think MonaVie is a scam since it’s around $1500-$2000 a year per person and has no proven [...]
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I made the mistake yesterday of sharing a link with Twitter followers indicating the Cash for Clunker rebate would be treated as taxable income. Astute followers quickly pointed out that the link I shared was from a site spreading a false rumor about the Cash for Clunkers tax implications for buyers.
Instead, I should have checked out the [...]
We needed some DVDs for vacation, so I’m giving Netflix a trial run. It’s free, so we’ll feature it as our Free Money Friday offer this week.
Cancellation. If you decide you don’t want to continue the mebership, you can cancel at anytime during the 2 weeks and you won’t be charged. Just click on “Your Account” and follow the cancellation instructions.
Membership. For complete membership details beyond the free trial, see the terms of use at Netflix.
Written by Madison
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As the health care debate rages across the country, one of the things that’s often overlooked is how much money we could save with better preventative medicine. It’s often much cheaper to invest time and money up front to help prevent, delay, or minimize expensive medical conditions, yet our insurance system is setup with the [...]
Canadian Money Forum has a sticky post on excel based financial calculators (written by Cannon_Fodder)
Canadian Capitalist discusses Rogers recent fee hike.
Generation X Finance has some Moving tips.
Intelligent Speculator explains why Why Apple (AAPL) will be almost impossible to stop
Money Smart Life has tips on preventing college student identity theft.
Four Pillars talks about scams during tough [...]
The following guest post was submitted by Austin of Foreigner’s Finances.
Many parents question how to bring up the subject of finances with their children. Some don’t want to sound, “uncool” but being worried about how financially ready your child is for the real world is normal. There are many financial lessons a parent can [...]
Tim Parker of Elementary Finance is today’s guest contributor.
When Investing, Everyone Thinks They’re Right!
If you watch any of the financial news channels or talk to any of those people who are considered the best in the financial world, one of the first things you will find is that everybody has an opinion and everybody feels [...]
Tim Parker of Elementary Finance is today’s guest contributor.
When Investing, Everyone Thinks They’re Right!
If you watch any of the financial news channels or talk to any of those people who are considered the best in the financial world, one of the first things you will find is that everybody has an opinion and everybody feels [...]
Well, this really comes as a surprise because I have already gotten used to Ally Bank’s endless adjustments of the rates of their banking products. I was so pissed by the bank’s weekly rate reduction (yes, a rate change here or there every week) that I left Ally Bank only a couple of weeks after [...]
Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
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One of the most popular ways to budget is using a piece of software that is probably already on your computer: a spreadsheet. While it’s not a budget, that’s what I use to keep track of net worth and my online income. It may seem like a low-tech solution compared to many of [...]
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A close friend of mine just told me that she got a position teaching personal finance at one of the local universities this semester. Not only was I excited for her, but I was really excited for the students.
I just wish that all the students would be required to take the class instead of it being an elective. If we taught kids how to manage money, it would be more reasonable for us to expect them to do a good job managing it!
We’re still vacationing, so I’ll keep this short and sweet and get right to the personal finance articles of the week:
Written by Madison
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The Bank Secrecy Act requires United States citizens holding a financial interest in, or signature or other authority over, a bank, securities or other financial account in a foreign country to report these accounts to the government.
Of course just because there’s a law requiring you to report the money doesn’t mean that people have abided [...]
