How do you keep track of your finances and make sure you have money saved up for the future (if any).
If you don’t really have any ideas or your way of saving money is throwing change into a big jar I’ve got a good and easy solution for you which I have started using since the beginning of the this year.
I’ve never really saved money in the past but always had a good minimum I allowed myself to have and not dip down below, for a rainy day. All my checks and automatic payments and deposits always link to my checking account at the bank and my savings balance never really changes.
After talking to a bank teller and getting some ideas, I implement an extremely easy way to start saving up. Set up and automatic fund transfer from my checking account to my savings. I never touch my savings one way or another so the money that gets transferred will be there for good.
I’ve set it up to transfer 100$, every Monday for the next 50 weeks. For those of you that struggled with 2nd grade math, that adds up to $5000 at the end of the year. As far as I’m concerned every transfer is as good as a “bill” for me and I take it as one. Fortunately it’s a bill from me, to me so I don’t lose out.
The transfer can be canceled at any point in time as well.
Just food for thought.
I also extensively use Excel spread sheets with some complicated codes I made to keep track of all expenses for the entire year, cash, credit, car purchases, bills, school payments etc. I can narrow it down to categories such as eating out, clothing, entertainment and like as well.
Most of my money goes towards bills. The rest I tend to blow.
Ive got some money in the bank but Im probably going to spend that soon. I dont have or really need a checking account.
I’m also doing the money into savings thing. Only I’m taking $50 a week outta my paycheck and throwing it into my savings. Which I also never look at since all my bills and such come out of my checking.
i’ve been trying to throw a decent amount in savings every time i get paid (like 4-500). i also have a custom excel spreadsheet i made that not only totals my bills at the end of the year but averages and projects a budget for next year. now if only i could stick to such devices i’d be good! lol
edit: i also have my state retirement and both of my previous 401ks.
I haz literally $14.xx in my savings, cleared out my checkings to make a down payment on the SER and I have $40 in my wallet right now. But I have ~$12,000 in equity in mah car that’s FS soon so it’s all good. And I’m 17 so I live at home, etc.
I have my direct deposit split between my checking and savings, but it doesn’t work that well cause I’ll just go online and transfer money to checking? lol
I also have a good percentage of my income going into my 401k.
When I was young and not smart (18) with credit cards…I acquired some debt. I am currently feverishly paying everything off asap.
I make in the mid-low 40k range. 10% of that goes to my 401k (pre-tax) and the rest is direct deposited into my checkin account.
I then move $200 over to my savings account right away (which is used at last resort). I online pay EVERYTHING and besides my phone, car insurance, and cable bill…I pay twice a month at $200+ amounts (some things I even send $400 twice a month…remember, I’m trying to eliminate debt asap). I’m paying like $1,400 just in bills per month (the bills only total like $400).
I budget $100 a week for food and some money for mods/car toys.
I hope to be debt free by summer. I will then start saving away for a down payment on a new construction home and since I’m only 21 going on 22, I will probably end up using what little I have in my 401k (damn stock market) as part of the down payment.
You’re better off using that $200 savings account deposit to pay down your credit cards. The interest your paying on that card > the interest your earning on the savings account.
Savings account are just beating inflation, not really an “investment.” If you’re saving money for the long term, put it in something that pays higher in exchange for limited access to your funds.
works for me 
