Once or twice a year we normally receive big amounts of money, being this tax returns or just holidays bonus. How do you deal with this money? Do you put it on a savings account or do you need it to face your day-to-day expenses?
I usually save up for the big expenses that come up, for example, my car insurance is paid in January and June - exactly the month after I get my Summer and Christmas bonuses so that money already has a destination when it gets into my account
I wish I had that experience, lol. I rarely get a tax refund and even if I do, it's usually a very small amount of money. In general, though, I tend to throw any type of extra money toward my current student loans. I don't have any debts otherwise, but I have a lot of student debt left.
I never get overly excited with big amounts of money. But I admit that it puts a smile on my face if I receive an unexpected bonus. I am very down to earth and know that, even if I won the lottery, I would still continue as usual, only faster. I have a goal that I am working towards, and it's a long term project. It's always nice to be able to support it with sudden, unexpected funds.
Me too! Being single with no kids is not good for taxes. One a sad note, I did receive an insurance payout. I put the money away for my retirement.
Just like Jessi, I never really experience that sort of thing because I'm not even paying tax yet. Lol! K Kidding aside, when I do get money, I usually separate them into my different funds. I'll most likely put 70% of those on my business fund, and the remaining 30% on my savings fund. I'm not really fond of buying new things and I'm more than happy with what I have in life that's why I rarely spend. I also have a separate surplus fund where I put money once each month and that's what I use to buy whatever I want during the holidays which is very helpful in preventing me to take money away from my savings fund and business fund.
So this is impressive, most of you never get to receive big amounts of money, sadly one less concern lol. I do like strykstar sometimes, I gather yearly expenses like insurances for example and I pay them at that time. If something is left I save it for a rainy day or holidays.
Going over the top can be a little inappropriate but yes having the right outcome from something no matter how it is that helps us quite goodly especially for having a smooth benefit and what should be the way of improving certainly that helps for it.
When I come across a lot of money, I keep it in the bank until I need it. Generally I will save as much as possible and avoid buying anything I want and don't need. If I put it into savings, I consider it gone like I spent it already so I'm not tempted to mess with it. Haven't come across a lot of money lately, but that's my plan if I happen to!
Just two days for my holidays, so this is exactly the time of year when I am really happy I was able to save some money because this means I am able to leave my place, sleep some nights in a different location, clear my head and rest, relax, after all, that what money is for!
That's the right outlook in my view as well. Sure we all like saving up money as much as we can but we need to put that money towards something that we love, otherwise what's the point? Saving feels great but it also feels good to spend those savings on something we couldn't afford otherwise.
When my stepfather passed away, he left me a few thousand dollars. Since I was in my early 20's and a new mother, I started nesting and bought a new bed and a new, expensive baby stroller and furniture. Within a year, I spent it all. If I had known that I would end up a single mom with student loan debt, I would have used that few thousand dollars to pay off the student loan or save for the future. I wasn't very prudent when I was young. I thought my marriage would last forever and I thought I would always live in the same house, so I wanted nice furniture and nursery items. What a dummy I was.
With our tax return, we usually use it to pay off some debts such as medical bills. Then, we will use the rest of it for our son's birthday and other little items that we have been wanting. If we come into an unexpected amount of money, we try to put in savings and then use it for something specific or just save it for a rainy day. Its so funny that I found this question today. We actually came into a bit of cash yesterday. It is going straight to savings and being put toward an anniversary trip in September! Woohoo! Sometimes you just gotta spoil yourself a little bit, right?
Yeah, that is exactly it, all the work we make, all the money we save only makes sense if we can improve our life quality, if we can spend it in something that is worth it, accumulation makes no sense for me what-so-ever.
I let my money sit. I do not touch it for a while until I am decided on where it is going. I feel great seeing big numbers, but it is only the thought that I can live comfortably if something were to occur this very moment. I guess I am saying that I use this extra money towards an emergency fund. I am not quick on spending and will spend a few days thinking over a big decision. If I am pressured to do something, I walk away and come back to it at a later time. It has helped me make good choices. Sometimes I dig into this fund to cover pleasantries, like a gym membership or something - it is not a BIG fund. I still enjoy myself. I am just a little more cautious than most.
I'm trying to work on this more as we speak, actually. We're working on making a budget and building up our savings again. I'd like to separate it into a general savings account, an emergency fund and then a 529 for our son's college expenses (Far down the line on one hand but it certainly isn't cheap). But in general I try to save 2/3 of what I get with large amounts and allow the rest to be for day to day spending.
First off, I wish I had lots of money, I could really use that right about now. However, when I do come in some money, I usually have something major to pay off so I plan ahead. If I was caught up on bills then I would find something lucrative to invest in.
I never get to enjoy substantial amounts of money because they are always allotted for my impending or current expenses, but since I noticed that I can be an impulse buyer at times, I allot a certain amount for buying what I might want in the future and the rest goes into my savings account.
I usually just put them all in a separate savings account. Since they're really not part of the original equation and I don't really take them into consideration when I'm computing for all the money that I have I tend to treat them as "surplus" and I just put them in the bank for future stuff.
I never really anticipated large amounts of money from tax returns and all that stuff so it's always a surprise for me when they come. But I do save a portion of them for future use but for the most part I consider it as a reward for my days work so I spend it all in one go.
