First off I'll show you my checkbook... you might say that this is where the magic happens. Wrapped up in this little package is the usual checks and checkbook register, plus some random notes, some bills I need to pay in the next few weeks, my three pens (blue, red and green) and most importantly my budget paper. Ever year I start in January with a sheet of yellow paper and I mark down all of the Fridays (paydays) in each month over the course of the year. Then each week when I get my check I write in the amount the check was for, how many hours I worked and where I deposited the check.
In addition to all that nonsense, I also have eight (yes EIGHT) bank accounts. The reason I have so many accounts is because I like to keep all the money separate since its all saved for different things. Here is a run down of what I have for accounts.
1. A checking account that was shortly after I adopted a cat from an animal shelter. My cat, Beetus is 13 years old and weighs about 20 pounds so it was pointed out that he may end up needing to go to the vet at some point. After that I started putting aside a small amount of money each month in case Beet gets sick. No one wants to deal with a sick animal, but anyone with a pet knows how expensive vet bills can be. I figure having some cash set aside will ease the pain a little.
2. When I was able to pay off the car I currently have I decided that since I was used to making the monthly payment I might as well keep doing it as long as I could. I started a checking account to keep that money separate. I do occasionally dip into it when my car needs a repair, but for the most part that money will be used as a down payment next time I need a new car. I'm glad it will be there for a future purchase, but I really like that it has eased the sticker shock of needing new tires a couple of times over the last few years!
3. Even though I'm crazy, I do have a regular standard old fashioned checking account just like everyone else. This is the one linked to my debit card and the one I use to pay my credit card bill each month. I deposit money into this a few times a month and use it to pay for gas, food, comic books, records and other random things that I buy over the course of a month.
4. When I talk about my 'savings account', that money is actually in a money market account because it gets better interest than most savings accounts. The people at my bank are trying to convince me to put that money into more of an investment account, but I'm not really sure if I want to do that or not. For the most part money goes into this account and it does not come out. I will say that when I bought my house, the down payment came out of this money, but I figure that's what this money is for. Massive emergencies, major planned purchases or just to be saved for the future.
5. When I bought my house the people at the bank talked me into getting a second checking account just to pay the mortgage. Originally I didn't want the additional account, but in hindsight I'm glad that they talked me into it. Each month I deposit at least enough to pay the months mortgage into the account and then I pay the bill online so it comes right out of the account. I try to keep some extra in the account in case something happens or for a possible repair, but for the most part it is used just to pay the mortgage.
6. I used to do a lot of shopping online through eBay and when I did I would use Paypal to pay for things. I always tried to keep myself on a short leash as far as spending money online so I kept a separate savings account that all my Paypal transactions went though. At one point this account had so many transactions per month that the bank told me I was violating some rules and they had to change it to a non-interest bearing account. For the last year or two there has been less than $50 in the account so its not like I'm losing out on any real interest. When I have money that needs to go in the bank temporarily I have been known to use this account as a holding area, but the OCD in me really hates to do it!
7. I have a loan that I pay on four times per year. Its an interest free loan and I pay about $200 every three months towards it. I could easily keep the money in my regular checking, but I'm crazy so why would I do that? I started a savings account that I put money into each month and then once per quarter I take out the $200 and pay the bill. Eventually it will be paid off and this account will just go away... probably!
8. Last, but not least is the vacation account. This is the one that I put $20 per week into by making a transfer from my standard checking account. I have been doing this for quite a while now and recently used it to pay for some of our Disney vacation. I feel like this account is the one that is most comparable to what I hope that some of you guys do. Just put aside a certain amount of money every week so its there for a vacation, for your kids, for a home repair, car tax etc! Just commit to saving the same dollar amount each week and don't dip into it unless its for what you started saving it for in the first place!
In addition to the 8 bank accounts I also have what I call, 'the piggy bank'. I call it that, because that's exactly what it is. When I bought my house I got this bank as a gift from the people at the bank I go to. I use this bank just to keep all the money I get from returning deposit cans and bottles. This is practical free money since all the soda is bought in Rhode Island where there is no bottle deposit and then returned in Massachusetts for .05 cents per can!
Ok... so now that I've recapped my mess and reassured everyone how crazy I am, lets get down to this weeks income.... This week I got a paycheck for $613.84 ($39.12 went to my 401k) and since its the third check of the month most of the money will go toward paying the mortgage this month. Just like last week I will be spreading the money around a little to try and reach my saving goals for the year. $50.00 will be going into the quarterly loan payment account, $100.00 is going into my regular checking account and the remaining $463.84 is going into the mortgage account. I did my standard $20.00 vacation transfer and I was also able to return my deposit cans and bottles this week so I added $13.00 to the piggy bank. Here is the wrap up...
Here is the week 46 wrap up:
$39.12 to my 401K
$50.00 to the quarterly loan payment account
$20.00 to my vacation fund
$13.00 to the piggy bank
Which makes the 2013 totals:
$1612.57 in my 401K
$920.00 in the vacation fund
$109.90 in the piggy bank
$650.00 in the quarterly loan payment account
$288.87 in my vet bill savings
$2227.41 in my money market
$1677.40 in my car account
For this weeks added bonus I'm just going to give you another reason to laugh at me. This week when I returned all my deposit cans and bottles I had $12.95 worth. I brought up the tickets to the service desk to get my money and the cashier handed me $13.00. She didn't ask me if I had a nickel (I didn't), she was just being nice to me or being lazy and didn't want to count out the change. Now what you can laugh at is the fact that because of my OCD when it comes out saving, it was actually a struggle to put all $13.00 into the piggy bank since I only had $12.95 worth of cans, but it also would have bothered me to take .05 cents out of the bank. I ended up just putting the whole $13.00 in, but I promise you that I won't forget that there is an extra .05 cents in there!
If you read the blog last week you saw that I had bought some innersoles for my shoes and even though I really liked them I took advantage of the 'money back gaurantee' and I sent the proof of purchase and receipt to get my money back. Well... I got the check in the mail yesterday so I will be cashing it and then heading to the store to buy a second pair of the innersoles for my other sneakers. Then the struggle is deciding if I try to get my money back a second time!
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