Author Topic: When putting $$ aside for upcoming expense do you record how much is for what ?  (Read 2535 times)

Hudson

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I had been lookign at expenses that occur over a 1 year period and was workign them out asd a monthly expense.

Clothes are a good example. Lets say someone spends $250 on clothes over the course of a year. This $250 may typically be the result of a $100 purchase  and 3 x $50 purchases. so as a saver I know my clothes cost is a little over  $20 p/moth. So on pay day our hypothetical saver puts away somethign to save towards this $20 p/month.

Our hypotheical saver also saves money for their car running costs , their bi annual paint ball tournament they travel to, their annual piano tune-up etc etc.

do you stick all of this money into one account and keep a record what portion of it is for what expense ? Or do you just put it in one account and spend it as you need it so long as it is on the things you saved it for . I guess the qyestion boils down to dod you keep a spereate record for each fund type  or just mash it all together ?

Workinghard

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For the type of expenses you mentioned, I just plan on it in our monthly budget. I know property taxes are due this month, so it's part of our budget and comes out of our monthly income. If we need car maintenance, we plan and budget for it.

Big items--like a Europe vacation next summer or getting a newer car in 2016 are kept in a separate bucket (but mixed together). This is where extra or OT goes AFTER maxing out 401k's, Roth IRAs, and doing after tax contributions.

MKinVA

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I put everything but the essential monthly bills into a savings account using automatic transfer. I know in my head I have $587 per month for expenses that come up other than monthly. This covers my real estate taxes, personal property taxes, irregular expenses for the animals, gifts, etc. so these expenses eventually come out of my savings when those bills come, but it also makes me try to find the money in my monthly budget if I can. Like if I take the dog to the vet, can I squeeze it out of the food budget? Works for me.

Lkxe

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Mine are mashed together. An automatic transfer from checking dumps the monthly budget amounts into my savings account. I have a written budget that includes a "pullout" category - auto repair, gifts, clothes, insure, medical/dental and auto insurance, quarterly trash bill and my travel fund.

APowers

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We keep a separate record (budget line-item in Mint.com) for each different irregular expense (for example clothing = $30/mo, even though we may not spend it for two months). But all the actual money for all the lines is conglomerated in our checking account.

Basically what Lkxe and Workinghard said.

Hudson

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great !! thanks for the input. I think I'll opt for the mashed together and pull-out as needed.

 

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