Things I Don't Need
Currently tempted by this tiny ring
Do you have a personal policy about spending money on things you don't need? I make a fair amount of money, more than double what I really need. And yet I can't seem to be able to put any money away. It all just gets spent, and at the end of the month I'm not even sure what I spent it on.
Then it dawned on me. When I was paying off my student loans, the first thing I did when I received a paycheck was make a payment on the loan. This way, I didn't have to be disciplined about not spending too much. I simply didn't give myself the option.
I've decided that I'm going to pay myself (my savings account) first when I get a paycheck. Now I don't feel bad about spending the money that I do spend on myself, and I'm saving! Win-win. How do you save?
(Isn't the ring lovely, though?)
I have two classes of savings accounts, which I keep intentionally separate...
ReplyDelete"toys" - for those "omg! must buy gadgets!" moments.
"big stuff" - mostly for work that needs doing on my house, but it also serves as a cushion incase I find myself without a job.
Both are paid in to automatically, just after pay day (so I don't have to remember to do it) and I live off the rest for the month and don't feel bad if that includes treating myself.
By paying in to the savings at the beginning of the month, I find I don't "notice" the missing money so don't spend it!
If I want to buy a new toy (like the minibus I bought earlier this year to convert into a camper van) then that comes out of the "toys" savings.
It seems to work out reasonably well, and training myself towards only buying toys when there is enough money in the toys account to do so is much healthier than my previous "stick it on a credit card and worry about it later" approach!
Ah! Just saw the pictures of your van and your kitty Penny! Sounds like an awesome project. Reminded me of this blog entry I read a while ago: http://bigbangstudio.blogspot.com/2012/08/iceland-diary.html
DeleteWhere are you planning on going in this adventure van?
The van is initially going to be used mostly for going to juggling festivals around the UK.
DeleteThe furthest I've driven it in one trip so far is only about 60 miles, in May it'll go on a 600 mile trip. Once I've done that one, I'll have an idea of how likely it is to fall apart on longer trips and an adventure can be planned!
Good plan. I always forget that people camp at juggling festivals in Europe. So fun! Good luck!
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