How to [SAVE] Money for {SPENDING}

 

Yes, you read that correctly.  Today's post is going to be how you can save money that you can spend.   How does that even make sense, you ask? Well, keep reading.

Most of us get our paycheck, allocate certain amounts for bills and groceries, and IF there's anything left over we feel obligated to put it into our general savings fund.   That's all well and good until something unexpected comes up, like you need to find a new bra and FAST because your old one is in shreds and you have a business meeting tomorrow. 

Or maybe a family member is in town and you have plans to go to lunch.  

Or maybe you've been hoping to get a new fitness tracker since yours is 5 years old and very worn out. 

Whatever the reason, we all have things we need to spend money on.  Most of us feel guilty spending that money instead of saving it.   And if we don't have money to spend on it, we tap into our general savings anyways.  Or (even worse), we put it on a credit card.

STOP!!!! Don't do either of those anymore.  From now on you need to start saving money for specific spending. 

Budget Categories

If you have a budget (you should!), make sure you create categories for the regular things you spend money on in a year.  Maybe it's a gift fund, a clothing fund, a restaurant fund, or a book fund. 

Determine Amounts

After your money gets allocated to bills and groceries, take a look at what amount you have left over.  If you don't have any left over that's okay too, I'll discuss that in a later step.  Say you have $60 leftover, maybe put $20 into your general savings fund, and then $20 to your clothing fund and restaurant fund.  

Extra Money

Anytime you have extra income whether it's from overtime or maybe money you got as a gift for your birthday this month, put a little in your general savings and the rest in your expense categories.  

No Guilt

Doing this eliminates the guilt you have when you need to tap into savings or use a charge card for a purchase.  I even have a category for hair and nails since I get pedicures throughout the year and get my hair done every 4 months.  

Motivation

This is also a good way to stay motivated to make money money to add to each fund.   Sometimes I find myself selling things on ebay just to get more money in my clothing fun!

What categories do you have that you need to set money aside for?

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