Perfectly Practical #191 - Siphoning, Saving, & Spontaneity

Engineer occasionally lobs me an idea for a perfectly practical post, for which I am always appreciative.  Thank you my dahlin'!

He read this article on Nerd Fitness (yes, even our fitness is nerdy) and sent it to me.
It is a great article and well worth a read but the thing that made him think of me was that the guy mentioned siphoning off money into an account each month just so you can say yes to things without using the excuse of not having the money to do so.

His idea was to be able "schedule spontaneity" through having a financial cushion set aside for the sole purpose of being able to say "yes" - love it!

But how does one put that into practice?

As the author of the Nerd Fitness post mentions, have an automatic bank draft set up to transfer money from the checking to a specific savings account.  I think this is the easiest way to save, by siphoning off as soon as one gets paid.  That way, the "extra" money never gets missed.  I like this method best because it is harder to "borrow" from with the intent to pay back later.

When your child is desperate to see a movie on opening weekend or your spouse is itching for a date night, you want to be able to make that happen.  Make saving a family affair by deciding together where the money will go.  That way, everyone is invested in the outcome as well as the income.  Few motivators are better than a child ceaselessly pestering you to see the latest Disney movie.

This is for all of those wayward pennies that you find on the ground.  Have a jar put aside money that you have allotted each month...or found in the Whataburger parking lot.  This is great for encouragement because you can actually see the fund growing; but, it is not so great if you use it as a slush fund for last minute expenses.

How about you?  Do you save to schedule spontaneity?

This is part of WFMW.

Comments

  1. A little at a time really adds up, I like this idea.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Our family is doing a 52 week savings challenge and as of this past Sunday, we have $10.00. Not much right now, but just 3 weeks ago we had zero. Every little bit helps.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It absolutely does Ms. Stephanie! Good luck in your savings challenge. :)

      Delete
  3. Ohh, that really is a great idea

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ms. Aleshea! Often good ideas are simple ones. :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Your turn! Let me know what perfectly practical comments you have.