Tried a 'pay yourself first' budget for six months versus just winging it

I set up a rule to move 30% of every invoice into a separate tax and savings account before I even saw the money. The difference in my stress level, especially in April, was like night and day. How do you force yourself to save when income is so up and down?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan_hart3824d ago

Ever think about how much easier it is to save when you make it someone else's problem? My wife handles our main savings transfer now, because I'd always find an excuse to skip it. Seeing @rivera.shane mention a separate account made me remember the year I tried to just keep a mental tally. That December, I needed new tires and my "savings" was just a feeling in my head. It was a bad feeling. Now the money leaves my checking account automatically on the 1st, like a bill I have to pay.

kevin_williams24d ago

Man, that feeling when you need tires and your savings is just a thought is the worst. I totally get what @rivera.shane means about stopping the panic. When my income changes a lot, I had to make the rule that any extra work, like a side gig, gets split in half right away. Half for fun, half straight to savings before I even think about it. It feels rough sometimes but it beats that sick feeling of being caught short. How do you handle months where the income dip makes that 30% rule feel impossible?

rivera.shane24d ago

Isn't it crazy how much that simple rule helps? I do the same thing with a separate account and it finally stopped the panic every quarter.