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New year, old ways

December 29th, 2013 at 07:11 pm

The new year is quickly approaching. I don't make resolutions because I'm a realist. If I decide to make a change, I don't do it because of a date on a calendar.

I was thinking of things to do this new year. I have some projects we've been saving for. When we bought our house over 15 years ago, one thing that really bugged me was the previous owners put carpeting in the utility/laundry room. This room is where we come into the house from the garage. Why in the world would they put berber carpeting, and light carpeting at that in there? Well, I think the reason is it made it look brighter and it probably was cheap. Anyway, I know that carpeting is not clean and I'm sick of it. I want plain old vinyl in there.

Another project is I'd like the door replaced on the side of the garage. I've painted it many times, but to be honest, it is an icky looking door and I don't think it is something that would keep anyone out if they wanted to get in. Of course with all the junk in front of it, a would be burglar would have a challenge getting in.

So, now the savings has begun. I noticed in the SA columns Jeffrey had talked about the 52 week challenge and having a separate account for it. I'm not doing the challenge, but I'm on board with having separate accounts. Our credit union is great about letting us have separate accounts. We have a Christmas Club, vacation, regular savings, Golden E, and money market. The first two are pretty self evident. The Golden E, because DH is over 55, gets a little better rate of return, not that any bank or credit union is paying much, so we decided that is our house fund. We've been putting in money to save up for stuff around the house. In a few years we will need a new roof. So, we add money each month to this account for around the house expenses.

Some friends of ours complained the other day that they needed some work done on their house and weren't sure where the money would come from unless they tapped their home equity loan again. Yes, I wrote again. They think we are weird because we pay cash for stuff. Of course they think I'm cheap because we eat at home so much. We could afford to eat out a whole lot more, but to be perfectly honest, I'd rather eat at home, know where the food came from, and have leftovers. And, I know we save a ton of money!

Do you have separate accounts for things?

2 Responses to “New year, old ways”

  1. snafu Says:
    1388350056

    I think it's brilliant to have a separate house maintenance/update/upgrade account. It's added benefit is an easy accounting and history of all the small fix-its that go in to home ownership which can affect re-sale value and even tax consequences sometime in the future should you sell. My suggestion would be to ask for a 'ballpark' figure to replace the roof, remove and replace laundry rm floor and garage door, divide that figure by 24 or 36 months and start transferring approximately that sum to your new account. It will add up really fast if you have a plan.

    If you have a lot of no longer used, no longer needed or loved items in the garage, you might consider selling on Craigslist or your community's electronic Buy 'n Sell sites with the sums directed to the new account. This is one week when many of us to go room by room and identify stuff that has morphed into clutter, no longer needed, used, enjoyed or loved. Items in good condition could be sold, re-gifted or donated for tax credit. Anything outdated or wrecked gets trashed so there's not so much stuff to look after.

  2. Kiki Says:
    1388354096

    I have separate savings accounts for things: contacts and glasses yearly ($50 a month), vacation (left overs, travel reimbursements from work), my own personal health savings account that I put $20 into each month to cover copays of medicines as needed, renters and car insurance ($150), gifts for Christmas, weddings, birthdays, etc. ($75), car repairs/new car/left over gas budget each month ($100+ each month), college as I enjoy taking a class or two to keep my mind sharp($50), and a miscellaneous savings account for whatever I decide I want to spend it on. I put my unspent allowance in that account each month.

    I have done this for years and it keeps me on track with spending each month and throughout the year. I always have the insurance money to pay in full each year, or for contacts I purchase once a year or new glasses. Or if I had to repair my car or maintenance, it is there and I have no worries about where the money will come from.

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