Comments on: Monthly Debt Reduction & Savings Statement – December 2009

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:55:12 +0000

Our vacation fund will likely be spread across several vacations. My wife and I are ultimately frugal so we even enjoy taking frugal vacations. That’s not to say that we do not like to treat ourselves every once in awhile, but to us there is more value in getting say 4 frugal vacations vs. 1 lavish vacation.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:53:40 +0000

Better to go high than to go low! We have to give ourselves something to shoot for!

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:53:05 +0000

Your still owe on your house right?

Our magic number EF number will be one months worth of expenses, which at this point rests at a generous estimate of $3,000. Once we get there we will stop funding EF but will still continue to fund other accounts – always keeping a huge majority going toward debt reduction.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:51:16 +0000

Exactly… as long as we are always open to new suggestions we have to do whatever works for each of our unique situations.

By: Ryan @ Planting Dollars

Ryan @ Planting Dollars — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:50:18 +0000

Hey Matt,

Best of luck with your 2010 goals – what would you like to eventually use your travel fund towards?

By: Mrs. Money

Mrs. Money — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:27:25 +0000

I think those are great goals! I just sat down and figured out our 2010 financial goals the other day. I think I was a bit lofty on the 2009 ones.

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:30:14 +0000

At our house we are now debt free, but during our debt reduction we went with a $2000 emergency fund (a bit more than Dave Ramsey suggests), and it turned out to be almost exactly what we needed. During that time we ended up having a medical emergency that ended up costing us $1800 – almost what was in our EF. We quickly paid off the debt and rebuilt our emergency fund.

Personally I don’t think there are that many emergencies that will end up being more than $1000-2000, unless you have inadequate insurance coverage in some areas.. Then you could be in trouble.

Keep up the good work!

By: RainyDaySaver

RainyDaySaver — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:28:24 +0000

Personally, we don’t use more than one savings account, but do sort savings out into CDs for better interest rates/returns. You have to do what’s best for you.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:25:52 +0000

Nice work Ann… doesn’t it feel great to have extra money saved then sweep the leftovers wherever you wish?

For us it was important to have more than $1,000 in EF. We built ours up to 1k only to have a transmission go out ($1,600), then shortly after that we had another large expense upwards of $4 – 5k. So now we just continue to save… as we repay debt. It just makes me feel good that I’m always paying myself first – and it makes my wife feel more secure.

Meanwhile we’re also crushing out debt!

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:22:20 +0000

Definitely Kate! Right now I have 8 separate savings funds set up... all for unique purposes. For more info, check out our ING Direct savings plan.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:17:45 +0000

Ha ha – I guess I should’ve made “New Auto Fund” more clear. It means “new to me.” Truth is I will spend as little as possible, as long as I still get a reliable automobile that will last me at least a year but hopefully 3+.

By: Ann

Ann — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:15:22 +0000

We are still saving also. We put $25.00 per week into a vacation fund (planning for 1.5 years from now) and $25.00 per week in a Christmas Club. I used to do these clubs all the time, but have not for the past two years & boy was it tough staying on budget during the holidays. Usually don’t spend as much as we save (about $1200.00) and whatever is left is swept into general savings (or I suppose now whatever is left at the end of next year will go towards whichever debt we are working on at that time). The vacation will (hopefully!) coincide with paying off CC debt & we will be able to enjoy a family vacation with CASH only!

Also, we have $1000.00 in ER, but would like more and so starting in January we will add $10.00 a week to that fund.

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:21:11 +0000

Excellent my man! Maybe it’s just semantics then, cuz there’s no such thing as a new automobile for less than $10,000!

We can go drag racing in your $6,000 automobile vs. my $1,500 automobile (dealer’s trade-in value those thiefs!)!

By: Kate

Kate — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:15:58 +0000

I think it is a great idea to have more than one savings account. Also, making sure you have more than $1000 is key. Car repairs and other emergencies can get costly very quickly. I have one savings account at a credit union I contribute $150 to each pay period. I have a second acct linked to my bank account I try to put $100 in each pay period. That money doesn’t always stay there, but I can use it as a padding if I have overspent or had a surprise expense.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:03:06 +0000

Ha! $24,000… It’ll be a stretch to spend $10,000. A more accurate number for my next automobile will be around $6,000.

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:29:27 +0000

Hey Matt, progress is all that matters.

One tiny request, which I feel strongly about…. please change the name of your “New Auto Fund” to “Second Hand Jalopy, Spend No More Than 1/10th Your Gross Income On a Car Fund”!!

Unless you are making $240,000+, there’s no business spending $24,000 on the average price of a new automobile. It’s an absolute waste of money, and a personal finance killer.

Stand strong my man! Go the 1/10th route, and you’ll be so happy you did!

Best, Sam