Reply to 2 steps forward. 3 steps back

Forum Index » Money and Finances

Reply to "2 steps forward. 3 steps back"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I once did a fiscal fast and in two weeks saved $250.  And got a $250 ticket on the 15th day.  Talk about discouraging.

One of the things we're not good at is budgeting the unexpected.  These intakes and dumb things add up and it gets frustrating.

One thing we do is keep a "life happens" account, and put a set amount in it every two weeks.  So it's separate from savings, and pays for these annoying things that pop up - fridge breaks, car hits a pothole, etc etc.

But, another PP nailed it - at least you saved that money and it covers the ticket.  In this case, think of iras two steps forward and two steps back, not 3 steps!  [/quote]

So if you have $500 in your "life happens" account, but $1000 of life happened. What do you do? How does you silly budget help you in that case? [/quote]

Not the PP, but we budget the same way with a short term savings account and long term savings account.  The short term savings account is for things like car repairs, unexpected home maintenance, etc.  We are constantly spending from and replenishing this account, which usually has at least a few grand in it.  I think it's a nice way to separate out a little extra money for these "life happens" costs from our regular bills.  If we were $500 short, then we'd probably charge it and pay it off the next month when we get paid again.

Our long term savings is for longer term goals (saving money for our move-up house someday), getting a large sum of money to start investing, etc.  If we had to touch this for a "life happens" emergency we could.

I think lots of different systems can work, but that you should plan for the unexpected.  That way when the hot water heater breaks or the dog needs to go to the emergency vet, you are prepared.  I agree though with OP that sometimes it feels like a never ending cycle of getting ahead and then having unplanned costs arise.  Such is life ... [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics