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I always enjoy reading other people's posts about how much they were able to pay off in debt or save each month, often finding them very interesting and inspiring. Hereare a handful of ones that have motivated me to share my savings each month.
Kristin is working on paying off her student loans and posts her budget each month.
Chonce is paying off her car and student loans. Along with her monthly expenses, she posts the highs and lows of each month.
Angi writes about how much she is able to save off of her expenses each month.
J.Money tracks his net worth and his journey to pay off his mortgage.
MJ is paying off student loans and makes a huge lump sum payment each month.
Ineffort to keep myself accountable with my savings goals I have for the year, I am going to write a monthly update on how much I have saved. I will just include real cash in the bank and not how much I saved on a grocery receipt.
Since I am not sharing my entire budget at this time, feel free to ask about specific categories or expenses and I will be happy to answer your questions.
January- I did not save any money as it was a lean month and my budget was recovering from paying another tuition payment and a medical deductible.
February- Some of these numbers are a rough estimate since I am in the middle of switching banks and my records reflect all the juggling. March will be more accurate.
Extra money this month
- Craigslist sales $30
- Money lying around the house $28
- Money saved after switching internet carriers $18
- Additional savings after all my normal expenses and bills were paid $610
- Skimmed money from regular budget line items $12.26
- Total saved: $698.26
Where the extra money is going
Emergency Fund $148.26
School $300
Car replacement fund $250
I have approached savings for tuition and other expenses several ways in the past. Split up the amount into a monthly budget item. Save huge chunks of money at a time when I have a busy month and lots of income.
However, in order to make myself feel better about how much money I am able to save, I have decided to count every dollar saved this year regardless of having a regular line item in the budget or not.
Starting in March, I will include the new balance totals each month. I know tracking all of my savings for you to read will motivate me to be more diligent with my budget and intentional about saving.
My financial goals for 2015 are to save up for 3 semesters of school tuition (summer, fall, and spring), build up my emergency fund to 3 months of expenses, and make pretty good headway on a car replacement fund.
Do you have a savings goal or a debt payoff goal for 2015? Tell me about it!
This post was shared at Jet Fuel.
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Hi! I’m Charissa. I’m on a mission to help hardworking women overcome money struggles and gain financial peace with a Biblical perspective so they can have the freedom to impact their families and communities. Ready to make some changes that will impact your finances in 2020? Click here to get a free worksheet to help you make it happen!
Way to go!!! I’m looking forward to reading your updates! 🙂
Thanks Andrea! I will detail my savings as a monthly feature. I am on a mission to see how much I can save and think that I will be surprised at the end of the year.
These are some exciting savings goals! I’m with you on the car replacement fund, since I want to pay for my next car in cash, I’m going to have to start saving up as soon as my current car is paid off. Thanks so much for the mention as well! I’m looking forward to following your savings journey 🙂
Thank you Chonce! Awesome, we can save for our new cars together. My youngest cousin was able to save for and buy his first car in cash (so proud and jealous), I can’t let him get away with beating me! Never again will I finance a car. Let me know when you get your car paid off and I will celebrate with you!
Cool – way to go!! Love seeing this stuff 🙂
J. Money, thanks for stopping by! I am really good at saving money, especially for my husband’s tuition payments, but I have no idea how much I am actually able to save and I think tracking the numbers will be a huge motivator for me.
These are great goals! I am so excited for you! How do you save money for different funds? Do you use different accounts? I am trying to figure out the best way to do this and can’t decide what is best.
Thanks Kristin! I love Quicken and have multiple sub-savings accounts set up in Quicken (all in one savings account at the bank), so I can easily see how much I have in each account at a glance. However, I just switched banks to a credit union and I am able to set up actual sub-accounts at the bank, so that might be easier. Whatever way you decide, just make sure you keep good records of how much is in each sub-account so they don’t all merge into one big amount. My long term savings (car, tuition, etc) have been been in a completely separate account than my short term savings.
Yes- I am worried about everything being in 1 account and need to spread it out. I will have to look at Quicken. Thanks!!
If I just had everything in one account without any way to separate my savings, it would be so easy to lose track of what I have and would not be intentional about saving for individual things. My sub-accounts drive my hubby nuts, but I love them and find them so helpful!