Saturday, March 20, 2010

Debating the allocation of unexpected money

Part of what motivates me is my plans for the future. However, my finances require a balancing act. For example, I received a little extra money this month. Do I:
1. Add to my car savings account?
2. Add to my future farm account?
3. Contribute to my charity account?
4. Donate to my regular (emergency) savings account?

This necessitates some negotiation with myself. What is my priority? Well, the car and future farm are my main priorities. What to do with the extra money? Well, I can add it to either account or split it between them. What if it is only $2? Then I will put the money in my future farm account and next time there is extra money, add more to the car savings account.

Striking a balance is hard. I debate which account is more deserving so many times, the extra money gets shuttled to a different account each time, to make it more "even" or "fair" in my mind. It is easier to keep focused on a single goal, a single account. I feel I sacrifice saving for other things if I only put money in one account. And life, like everything else, is a balancing act. Funding that life is no different.

In total, I have ten different savings accounts, all for different purposes and funding different goals. More than half my money is in ING Direct accounts and the rest split between a brick and mortar credit union and a second online bank. Many more accounts and I may get overwhelmed, but I see the progress in each account albeit slowly when I do my monthly net worth calculation.

Next post, I will break down my savings accounts and what purposes they fulfill.

No comments:

Post a Comment