I am really confused on how you guys go about your savings! I currently have my EF, wedding fund and savings account. Ideally, i want a long term savings account and a short term savings account. I would also love a travel fund, a renovation fund... the list goes on and on! I know i can't do it all at once, but over time, this is what i would like.
My short term savings account would be used for Birthdays, Christmas, new furniture etc...
Long term would be used to go towards purchasing a new home in the next couple of years.
Travel Fund would obviously used for traveling. I would love to go on one vacation per year. Alternating, one small trip one year, and a bigger trip the next.
Renovation fund will be for my condo. I am looking at selling this in the next 3-5 years and upgrading to a house. I don't plan on saving for this until my debt is clear.
I am just really confused on where to put my money and the amounts for each. Currently i am putting money away each month for my EF, wedding and short term savings (i plan on saving for a few months and then spending on Birthdays and furnishing my home) and want to also start a travel fund for next summer. Once my debt is clear (8month goal) i will then start saving for a new house and renovations. I am wondering if this is the best decision. My savings method right now is cash in jars! I am wondering about opening an online savings account with ING or HSBC direct for my wedding fund. My emergency fund will be saved in my savings account with my local bank and my short term savings will be done in cash form, stored at home.
What do you do with your savings? How do you make it all work, and figure out what amounts go where? Should i be waiting until my debt is cleared before i worry about traveling, renovations and a new home?
A change of vacation plans
49 minutes ago
7 comments:
there is no one-size-fits-all for this! you will probably get different opinions on this, but my personal preference is to favor the emergency fund and the debt repayment. Get those in order with your budget first, because they are the most important.
After that, it really comes down to what you are comfortable with. But for any sort of long term savings (ie, you don't need to access for 6 months), you absolutely need a savings account earning interest.
ING lets you do subaccounts with accounts, so that is nice. You could set up a general savings account with them, and have subaccounts for wedding, travel, home, etc. And then you can also look into CD ladders...
Hi there-I'm still repaying debt, so I don't know if I'm really qualified to answer this. I would suggest that the emergency fund takes priority and as suggested open an account that allows 'pots' that you can name and then divert your different savings to. Personally, I have a current account for bills, a savings account for short term-birthdays, xmas, car maintenance and then I have premium bonds for long term emergency-these will not be touched, except for job loss.
paradigmshifted - I agree with you, about focusing on my debt and EF first. I am a little skeptical about ING, but have been doing a lot of research today and i will be setting up a savings account tonight! :)
Sharon - Qualified or not, i love that you replied. I love getting different people's point of view. Regardless if you're still paying off debt, you found something that works for you, and i was just looking for ideas! So, thank you :0)
I set up some internet savers in the same bank that my current a/c was with which is quite good for real short term savings as you can transfer instantly.
As for longer savings I'm not sure as I have none at the moment but will be looking into it soon.
re: ING - I don't have an account with them, so I don't know how good they are... but everyone else seems to love them! I have my savings accounts set up at the same place as my checking (and my IRAs). It is convenient to have it all in one place...
I think the important things with savings is ease of access, high interest rates, and low/no fees!
I, too, have an ING account. I get a fixed amount automatically deposited into it each paycheque, so that I don't have to think about it.
As for my savings accounts, well, I have a few:
vet
house
car
travel
EF (ING)
christmas
"other"
As for how much goes into each one, I try to make it fairly equal, say, $50 each per paycheque. However, if I need a tune up for the car, I'll put a little extra into that. It depends a lot on urgency, too.
But as paradignshifted has said, it's basically whatever works best for you. As long as it's consistent (and interest bearing!)and works for YOU.
ING seems great so far! It was easy to set up, no fee's, no minimums! I like it so far. I am sending off my cheque to myself tomorrow!
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