Can you bear with me for one more labored metaphor? As I’ve mentioned a few times already, I’m in the midst of a successful fitness program. I’ve lost 20 pounds since the beginning of the year, and, more importantly, I’m exercising every day.
This morning, for example, I pedaled 8-1/2 miles to my Crossfit gym; spent an hour practicing skills, doing body rows (pull-ups for people who can’t do pull-ups), and lifting weights (front squats); and then I biked 10-1/2 miles home. According to my handy body bug, I burned 1500 calories by 9 a.m., which means that I can spend the rest of the day blogging, working in the yard, and learning French, secure in the knowledge that I’ve already done 2-1/2 hours of exercise.
This, my friends, is essentially the routine I’ve established lately. I get my exercise in first thing so that I don’t have it looming over me for the rest of the day. I don’t want to find myself eating dinner while wondering when I’m going to find time for a one-hour run. When that happens, I feel guilty and often don’t follow through. (And yes, I realize I’m lucky to have a flexible schedule that lets me fit in an hour or two of exercise every morning.)
Pay yourself first
One of the reasons my financial life has been humming along so nicely lately — except when I forget to pay my bills — is that I’ve been applying similar principles to my budget over the past few years.
It used to be that when I got paid, I’d pay my bills, then use any leftover money to buy stuff I wanted today instead of setting anything aside for the future. In fact, I never saved anything. Despite earning around the median income for men in the U.S., I never seemed to have money left over at the end of the month. (I didn’t even have a savings account until after I started this blog!)
But as I began to dig myself out of debt, I read a lot about the importance of paying yourself first. For a while, I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand what people meant when they said this; after I started making debt reduction a priority, it started to make sense. If, when you get paid, you set money aside for your financial goals before paying bills and buying toys, it’s far easier to achieve your dreams.
So, for example, when I was working my debt snowball, I made sure that the first thing I did when I got paid every month was to pay down my debt. Next, I paid my bills. And if I had money left over (and I usually had a little), I used that to buy comic books or to eat at a restaurant.
Once I’d repaid my debt, I continued to pay myself first. But instead of using the money to pay off my past, I used it to pay off my future. I began to save for retirement. I started by setting up a Roth IRA through Sharebuilder, which automatically pulled $333 from my checking account. When I realized I could also set up a solo 401(k) through my business, I did so, and I started funding that as much as I could and as soon as I could.
Now I’ve reached a point where I not only try to fund my financial goals early each month, but I also try to fund them early each year. Once I decide how much I want to save for retirement each year, I try to invest that money as soon as possible. (By May or June is ideal.) And in a move that’s sure to drive certain readers crazy, I actually try to pay my taxes as soon as I can, too. As a small-business owner, I’m required to make quarterly payments on my estimated taxes. What I do instead is save like a madman during the first few months of the year so that I can pay all of my estimated taxes by the end of April.
King of the world
Why do I do this? Why am I so obsessed with paying myself first? Because I’ve found that it feels fantastic to know I’ve met my financial goals before I’ve even had a chance to spend the money on other things. Just as I can sit here at my desk, basking in the warm glow that comes from knowing I’ve already finished my exercise for the day, so too paying my taxes early (and funding my retirement as soon as I can) lets me spend the rest of the year without a black cloud hanging over my head. This year, for example, I can save for our trip to France and Italy without wondering if I still need to set money aside for taxes.
Simply put: When I pay myself first, I feel like I’m king of the world.
Okay, that’s enough with the money metaphors. I’ve used them a lot lately, so I’ll give them a bit of a rest. Inspired by the comments on this morning’s post, Wednesday discussion will be an “ask the readers” about the processes and systems you use to keep your financial life flowing smoothly. (Tomorrow’s article is from April.)
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I am always amazed at how people tell me it gives them such a sense of freedom to have that savings set aside.
I know for us once we had it established there was a huge burden lifted knowing that if some major repair needed to be made or appliance died that we could cover it and not have to spend months paying it off!
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This is precisely why I don’t budget, nor do I track my spending — I pay myself first, and so whatever’s leftover I don’t worry too much about, since my goals are already met.
I have $22,500.00 in my ING savings account, $37,455.23 in assets in my Schwab account (I have to pay taxes on much of this when I sell), $30,171.37 in my 401k (I’m 29), and $12,528.45 in my regular bank accounts (which includes my checking and my vacation fund, as well as anticipated taxes I’ll need to pay next year). So, I feel like I’m doing OK, since I keep contributing to these accounts rather than withdrawing from them (except the regular bank accounts which see frequent withdrawals).
This is also why I tend to roll my eyes at a lot of “frugality” posts. If you’re paying yourself first and therefore increasing your wealth, as long as your checking account balance stays above $0, then go ahead and splurge a little bit, you’re doing fine and meeting your goals, even if you could be saving even a bit more.
I realize a lot of people disagree with this approach entirely and would rather focus on striving towards optimum savings levels rather than settling for just “adequate” savings levels like I do, but it works well for me and I think it lets me be more flexible with my day-to-day spending.
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Okay, JD, you’re killing me: How did it take you 8.5 miles to get there but took you 10.5 miles to get home? I can think of a dozen possibilities but where did those 2 miles go?
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To Shara in above post – JD obviously took the “scenic route” home – LOL!
I’m worried about you exercising 2.5 hours and then going out in the yard to work. Maybe it’s not as hot and humid where you are, but if I’ve got yard work to do this time of year I don’t exercise that day – maybe a 30 min walk after 8pm, but that’s it. Be careful and eat something (a good lunch) before beginning the yard work if you’ve already worked out that morning. And drink plenty of water and take some breaks in the shade while you are outside.
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Way to go on the weight loss JD!! That is amazing progress. And 1-2lbs a week is the way to keep that weight off forever.
I 100% agree with Tyler. I pay myself first through my payroll deductions (the max allowed with full matching) and a $1000 per month contribution to ING from what’s left of my net pay. Then I buy what I need and want on my 2% cashback credit card and pay the bill in full every month. If there is money leftover, it gets rolled into the next month. I just don’t let my balance go below $3000 in my checking (the amount I have to keep to get free checking).
Screw you budgets! But I do track every dime I spend into categories, more out of habit and interest than to keep myself constrained.
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This post came right on time! This is what I am trying to work myself up to do! Actively paying myself first and sticking to it. Fiscally and health wise.
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You mention your ‘handy body bug’. I’m about to start a fitness program myself, would you recommend one? I’d love to hear some comments about it from anyone here who uses one.
I had also looked into this doohickey for sleep issues. Does anyone use one of these to track their sleep patterns and whatnot?
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I always wonder when PF blogs recommend paying down debt, does that mean credit card bills exclusively? I have student loan debt and an auto loan but no credit card debt. I have saved about $3,500 in a savings account while trying to pay down my loans as much as possible (a difficult process). Trying to figure out if I should be saving more or really throwing as much money (as is realistic) towards my loans.
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@JD – if you sign up for EFTPS (eftps.gov), I believe you can schedule Federal estimated tax payments up to 365 days before the due date for individual taxes, 120 for businesses. Might be worth looking at.
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J.D. Have you checked out or used Fidelity’s “Full View” feature? If so, any thoughts on it?
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@Shara (#3)
Ha! Yeah, I thought that might throw some people for a loop. Because it was a loop. I rode north to one bridge, crossed the river, and rode south to my class. Then, instead of returning the way I came, I rode south to a different bridge, crossed that, and rode north to get home. I was trying to check distances and times. The northern route is faster, despite having a nasty hill.
@Bill (#7)
I should write about the body bug at Get Fit Slowly. Until I do, here’s a brief review. I like it. It straps to my left arm, where I don’t really notice it after a few minutes. It measures my movement (it can detect when I take a step, though it thinks that rough water on a boat in Alaska is me being out for a jog), can detect my skin temperature and perspiration, and some other stuff too, I think. (Pulse?) From this, it estimates my activity level and the number of calories I’m burning. The body bug even knows when I’m asleep! It can transmit this info to a watch-like device (which I carry in my pocket), plus you can download it to your computer. You have to track your calorie consumption manually, but when you do, you’re able to see whether you have a positive or negative “calorie flow” (like cash flow). I don’t remember how much the thing cost initially, but it costs about $12/month for a subscription to the service, which I think is borderline highway robbery. It’s a clever revenue model, but I hate subscriptions of all sorts, and there are times I’m tempted to give this up. HOWEVER, I’m very motivated by data, and this produces a lot of data. If I didn’t have this right now, I’m certain that I wouldn’t have lost anywhere near 20 pounds. So, my recommendation? If you, too, are motivated by data, then do some research to see if this might work for you. If you’re not motivated by data, don’t bother.
@Lisa (#8)
I don’t know what other blogs recommend, by I always recommend the following: Do what works for your. By this I mean that you should prioritize debt repayment in a way that helps you achieve your goals and makes you feel like you’re accomplishing things. I do think it’s important to have emergency savings, but if your debt is bugging you, then you may want to stop saving for a while and instead apply your money toward your debt.
I can’t believe how chatty I am today. I’m participating in comments. I’m responding to e-mail. And I’ve written three articles! Craziness.
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@Jacque and Kevin M
!!!!! You have both pointed to services I didn’t know existed, but which may become mainstays in my financial life. Thank you.
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I’m like Tyler K.
BUT
Tyler K and I both make enough money that we have enough flux that we can ignore the details.
As an example I recently heard said… when the waiter comes by and asks if we want the fancy dessert on the menu, we may think about whether or not the dessert is worth that price, but we DON’T think about what we have to give up in order to get that dessert. The marginal cost of that dessert is just a little extra weight or over-full stomach. Not groceries for our kids, gas for our car, tuition for education etc. We don’t really have to give up anything.
Paying yourself first works very well when you’re not close to the bone in terms of money and needs. Details are important when you are. Sometimes people do have to make choices between retirement money (or emergency savings or debt repayment… or whatever it is we middle class folks consider to be paying ourselves first) and food for the week. They can’t use the same heuristic.
Different things not only work for different personalities, but they also work for different points in our financial development.
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Lisa,
It sounds like you have a good emergency fund built up. Some may recommend that your “savings account” be a less accessible and possibly interest earning account such as the online savings found at ING and SmartyPig.
Next up, you want to think about overall cash flow. Each month, the money you earn minus that which you spend is your cash flow, and you want it positive. Assuming it is, you can then maximize it. Each high interest debt you reduce saves you that money lost to interest each month. And each debt payment you squash is much more visible increase in money leftover which you can first use on other debts, and later use for savings goals.
If your debts a very low interest, and you’re comfortable letting them ride, you could build up towards other savings funds, such as a larger emergency fund or saving for expected but variable expenses. That kind of thing is up to you.
So while it is a personal decision whether to pay off those debts, remember that doing so saves money on interest and improves your cash flow. Once they are paid off, that money that was going towards debt payments can be put into interest earning accounts and saved for your goals!
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@ Tyler,
Our household is similar. We pay ourselves first for retirement, medical, emergency, short-term, and fun. Only debt is house with 15 yr mortgage. So many goals are being met that we don’t “sweat the small stuff.” I realize we are lucky to have the income to do this.
This is a point of contention with my parents. They are frugal, became rich slowly, etc, but cannot change/ enjoy it. JD has covered this attitude in other blog posts- my parents have money, yet stress on vacation because a margarita is $5. I originally learned that behaviour and stressed about small things, but now I try to look at the big picture.
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J.D. Throw me some of that productivity too!
Though I did write a conclusion section to a paper and sent out several emails this morning…
And I did start with the thing I’ve been putting off and followed it by the one that has the closest due date. Slow and steady wins the race…
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Yes!
I feel the same way, J.D. I am also working on my fitness (not to sound too much like Fergie), and I have SO much more success when I get up early and just get it done in the morning. That way, all of the inevitable things that come up all day can’t derail that high priority.
We actually take a similar approach with our *marriage*, too! Each evening, as soon as the kids are in bed, we spend 15 minutes together without any other distractions to talk and just “be a couple” for a little while. After we have our “couple time” in, we can do all of the other things we like to do with the great feeling of knowing that our quality time with each other didn’t suffer. I hear the same thing back from a lot of the couples that try Marriage Mojo at my site…the simple things can make such a big difference in our quality of life.
Oh yeah, and paying yourself first works for money, too!
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I’m definitely in the bleachers with Tyler K. and Nicole. Paying myself first is possible now, it sure wasn’t in the years when I was scrambling to make minimum payments! It’s great to be past that stage of “do I have enough.”
401(k) and HSA contributions come out of my paycheck before I have a chance to get my hands on it. An automatic transfer to savings is set up for each pay period. Then I make my planned debt-reduction payments. Then I pay my other bills. And everything that’s left over is discretionary.
Oftentimes I’ll save more, or send more to one of the old credit balances, but generally “my” money is the household entertainment, travel, competition, and social money, so if it all gets spent I don’t beat myself up about it.
Oh and J.D., I love it when you’re chatty.
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@Nicole,
Funny, your post showed up after I wrote a response to Tyler, in which I acknowledged that we are lucky to be in this position.
It is interesting to me, though, different peoples’ perceptions. My husband and I work a lot, so we hire out yard and housework- a waste to some. Others make less, but do more themselves. I have seen many people with less income come out ahead, and many high income people default. It comes down to spend less than you make, at any income level.
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I have a few questions about this “pay yourself first” method because I have been hearing about it and I am still baffled how anyone with a reasonable income and expenses can even do this type of thing.
Do you count savings towards an emergency savings account as paying yourself? It’s not contributing to your retirement fund because of the liquidity requirement.
What amount is good for this type of savings / retirement? I’m not looking for exact advice of course, but just general guidelines.
How much money left for your toys when you both pay yourself and the bills? I have very little left for myself after I pay my bills and budget accordingly (usually <$100/wk). I feel like giving up this remaining “fun money” would have a significant impact on my mood.
I appreciate the care-free attitude of some people here where they pay themselves and then just use the remaining money willy-nilly, but I just don’t understand how they can *not* budget for life necessities like groceries, household items (toilet paper, cleaning stuff), and medical expenses (OTC drugs, toothpaste).
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@ Tyler K, Nicole, chacha1
I understand your point, and it’s valid, but “pay yourself first” is intended, I think, for people between budgeted to the bone and rolling in dough. It is for those people who always manage to spend what they have, but they have enough that they could skim off the top and still make their commitments. My dad is like that. He never made a lot of money, but no matter how much he had for a month (through raises, OT, etc) it was always gone by the end of the month because it was there. He could have paid himself first and had a lot more money when he retired and been just as content in his daily life. He never knew where his money went, it just did.
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I wish I could complete all of my *exercise* for the year before June.
Actually, I totally get this. My yoga studio offers a 6:30 a.m. class twice a week and I LOVE getting in and practicing first thing in the morning. Completely changes my mindset before my day even begins.
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We set huge-to-us savings goals and live a budgeted life on the rest. If I didn’t hit those goals every month, I’d feel insecure. Having padded accounts for all kinds of emergencies and a healthy emergency fund is just sooo important to me. Thanks to two incomes (hubby and I make about $80k a year together), we can live on the rest and have an enjoyable time of it too.
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@Michael
Many people around here work hard to keep their committed expenses well below their income. Then skimming off the top and still having extra is trivial.
JD made a point, which is he started really saving AFTER he had paid off his debt. This is typically where people find the room in their budgets. They pay off ‘X’ and then the payment keeps getting paid, but into a savings account instead.
Regarding your example, $100 is actually quite a bit of spending money (depending on how you define it). So split the difference. When my mom opened her 403(b) she did so at $20/mo or some other ridiculously low amount. She knew it wasn’t going to make her rich, but it started the process and from there it was a small step to increase it as her other expenses melted away. When she retired 8 or so years later she was contributing ~$800/mo.
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Congrats on the weight loss! Financial disciple and weight loss discipline totally come from the same place.
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Haha. I jinxed myself by talking about how productive I’ve been. Now I’m burned out. I’m going to go home and prune some hedges instead of writing about money.
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I am self employed. Every time I get an invoice I put about 54% of the money into accounts for taxes, SEP (retirement) and savings. I slightly over estimate my taxes and SEP so that in a few years, there will be enough to pay taxes for a few quarters if needed and fund my SEP before the deadline of October 15. I don’t even consider the money mine, so it isn’t there to spend.
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@Michael #20 – these days we have enough money to just not sweat stuff like groceries.
But let me tell you how I did it when I was making $10/hour and supporting two people – this was in 2000-2001.
First, I made sure our rent/car insurance did not exceed one of my after-deductions paychecks. Rule #1 is keep the fixed expenses low.
Second, I kept a pantry stocked with beans, rice, and spices, got bus fare deducted from my paycheck, and kept $20 in the car for emergency gas. That meant that my spending money budget was “all the cash I have hand” because if I messed up and spent all my money, we were OK til the next payday. It could go to clothes, going out, long distance phone calls, street people, car tabs, whatever – because my retirement savings, health insurance, and bus fare were payroll deductions, and my first paycheck every month went to basic cost of living.
Later I got to a little more leeway and put all but an allowance ($50/biweekly paycheck) into a savings account for longer-term stuff. But we were so close to the bone for a while, a sack of rice, a sack of beans, and a $20 were my emergency fund. And I still was always putting money into my 401k.
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@20 Michael
One method is just to use heuristics. Common ones are:
15% to retirement accounts
3-6 in emergency savings
pay down the house as if it were a 15 year mortgage
put $X per month in a 529
If we end up with less than one month’s average expenses in regular savings after income and bills (including paying self first bills) have cleared, we eat down our pantry and don’t buy any Stuff. If we end up with more, I put it away for a rainy day. It evens out without much thought.
If folks are saving to take time off, they may save one person’s entire salary. If they’re saving for a car, they may save a car payment’s worth every month. If they’re saving for a house, they might try the difference between rent and mortgage (or more).
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Second the use of EFTPS – I schedule all four of our payments once a year after completing our estimated taxes worksheet, so that they draw from our account the day before they’re due. Then we just set aside enough in a designated savings account so that the money’s there on the due dates.
I like your metaphor of ‘paying yourself first’ with exercise, but I know for me that would never work! I am generally NOT a morning person and most of the times I’ve tried to do exercise that early I just wind up dizzy/nauseated. I’m a much better exerciser if I go on my way home from the office.
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Just a note about saving all your tax payments until the end of the year. I used to do exactly that and keep the money in a high-yield savings account so that I could earn the interest instead of having the government get it. I always paid by the tax deadline, but a couple of years ago I got slapped with a fine for not paying throughout the year. Evidently this practice isn’t allowed any more (or maybe never was and I just didn’t get caught) and you do have to make at least quarterly payments if you’re not having regular deductions from your paycheck. Just a warning!
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Totally off topic comment.
You ROCK for keeping with Crossfit training! Talk about persistence and determination…you need it to work out Crossfit style! Keep with the ring pulls- you’ll get your kip in no time!!
-A Fellow Crossfitter
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GRS had a review of Warrens’ book “All your worth” where they present their balanced money formula:
1) 50% Needs.
2) 30% Wants.
3) 20% Savings.
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/12/03/book-review-all-your-worth/
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@Courtney
+1 on the exercise. I’m the same way, but my friends who exercise in the morning seem to think I’m just lazy. In fact when I was in HS and I had PE first period I would often go to the nurse with a migraine (once every 1-2 weeks when class was every other day) because low sleep + exercise triggered them.
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I have to echo the sentiments of Nicole #13:
While I comepletely understand the concept of “paying yourself first” and its’ usefulness, it’s truly only possible if you are absolutely-certain to have a positive cashflow each and very month.
Before you begin to “pay yourself first” I suggest (this pertains mostly to beginners and those striving hard to make ends meet) that you create a realistic budget/ financial plan and cut back what you can (keeping in mind that your *essential* bills like hydro, gas, rent etc. get paid FIRST) then begin to “pay yourself first” once you have your expenses lower than your income.
If your expenses are NOT lower than your income, you must cutback and/ or make more money, or else the “pay yourself first” system simply will not work.
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great post! but i’m wondering, why would you pay your federal taxes ahead of time, when that money could be earning interest during the year in your high-yield savings (or wherever)? that doesn’t make economic sense to me.
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I like the idea of using getting your workout in first for getting your saving in first, particularly because there is an important caution that goes along with both. It’s easy to treat a good, hard workout as a license to eat and end up losing much of the benefit from the workout.
Similarly, if you treat automating your savings as a license to spend, you can end up running up credit card debt at the same time your building up your emergency fund or your retirement fund.
Either way, it’s hard to escape the need for willpower.
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It comes down to taking care of the most important things first. This applies to time management, health, and personal finance. Paying yourself first, in a way, is an extension of that broader approach to things.
Also – great job on the fitness goals!
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This blog post seems to be a recurring theme on this site. You want credit for fixing problems that never should have been problems in the first place. You want a pat on the back for being less overweight or for being less broke, when you shouldn’t be excessively proportioned in either category to begin with.
Don’t you think it’s somewhat ludicrous to congratulate yourself on doing something that you are supposed to be doing anyway?
I challenge you to leave this on your comments for discussion.
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I’m new at this being $30,000 in debt. I set a goal of paying it off in three years which means I basically have to pay $1000.00 a month ($500 a paycheck).
But I have been reading about the “pay yourself first” idea here (and on some of your other posts) and somewhere I recall reading that one should put some money in savings to build up an emergency fund (at a minimum) so that if unexpected expenses come up one can cover them without having to use the credit card.
So I have just started to put $140 a paycheck ($280 a month) in a SallieMae on-line savings account which leaves $720.00 a month for the credit card debt and means it will take a little more than four years to pay it off instead of three.
But then in this post I read that you focused on paying off your debt (and counted that as paying yourself first) before you started saving.
So I’m a little confused as what to do. Should I try to be saving or just focus on the debt? Or perhaps save until I have, say, 5k in the emergency fund and then go back to throwing $1000 a month at the credit cards?
By the way, I concur with the idea of doing one’s workout first thing in the morning (if possible). I was in terrible shape for a long time. I was always busy at work and then with the kids after work, so there was never time to work out in the evening and I convinced myself that I wasn’t a morning person which meant I didn’t work out at all.
Then I got some bad results back from blood tests and the doc said I would be diabetic in three years if I didn’t do something about it. I took that as a wake up call, changed my diet and started working out in the morning. I no longer eat any kind of junk or processed food and I run four miles each morning. The result was I lost forty pounds and the doc says I’m no longer at high risk of becoming diabetic. And, yes, working out in the morning helps me to feel great for the rest of the day.
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If you don’t think about paying yourself first, then you are in business for the wrong reasons
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Call me crazy – ok, I am crazy – but I even prepay stuff like utilities just so that when the bill comes in I can see those big bold letters – CREDIT – DO NOT PAY – on the bill. The added bonus is that if I do forget or am out of town one month, everything is taken care of.
Totally agree too that the best way to get into exercise is to do it first thing. I used to get up at 4 a.m. every morning to work out because I started work at 7 a.m. I found that working out early also meant that I would be less tempted to eat badly during the day because I didn’t want to do all that sweating in vain.
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after bills are paid, I take $100 as “mad money” from each paycheck to do whatever I want (eat out, go to movies, etc) then I dump the rest of the money into my bank savings account
so if I have an emergency or get laid off I can use the money from there, I don’t bother tracking every penny that I spend or make a budget… I have a mental budget of what needs to be paid – I tried to draw up a budget a few times, and it just never worked for me
in fact this January when I got laid off from my seasonal job, I lived off savings until I got my new job in March where I still now work and my method works for me, I know what I’m responsible for without being all puritan about it
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@Roman (#39)
You misinterpret my motives. I don’t give a whit whether you (or anyone else) gives me a pat on the back or not. This blog isn’t some exercise in ego-stroking. I’m not looking for credit of any kind. I’m sharing stories.
I share my successes and my failures so that others can learn from them — or not, as the case may be. I’ve made no claims to be perfect; I’m struggling to figure this stuff out just like everyone else.
If you’ve already got it all figured out then I urge you to do something productive like share your knowledge with us. This blog is always open to guest posts.
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For me, managing my life is pretty easy. I use websites like mint.com and the Wikinvest portfolio to keep track of all the money I’m spending and to keep a careful watch over all my finances. The great thing is that they are free and super easy to use. I highly recommend both. Sign up for Mint at http://www.mint.com and the Wikinvest Portfolio at https://www.wikinvest.com/?_acn=portfolio&_acm=competition&_acs=aibrahim
Thanks and good luck!
–Alan
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It’s late and I have not read all the comments, but when I get up the morning, I cannot wait to hear from the “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU GIVE THE GOVERNMENT AN INTEREST FREE LOAN!” people.
You could make $5.00 by keeping it at ING Direct or Ally, for heaven sakes!
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Working out in the morning is not for me. I’ve tried it but doing a heavy leg workout with squats and deadlifts first thing in the morning on an empty stomach makes me nauseous. I’d have to go lie down for an hour and then never get anything else done
I’m an evening person so going to the gym in the afternoon works a lot better for me.
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‘This blog post seems to be a recurring theme on this site’
I completely agree with this point, although I feel the manner in which you expand on it is entirely childish. The old adage about not saying anything if you have nothing helpful to say springs to mind!
Also, I’ll think you’ll find that paying yourself first is a recurring theme on *many* PF blogs, not just this one.
The sad fact of the matter is that people don’t like sensible, boring things, like paying into retirement accounts, being patient and delaying gratification.
So, it’s entirely appropriate to repeat this key message. Compare it to rote learning at school – it wasn’t necessarily the most scintillating aspect of your learning, but it was useful!
If the occasionally repetitive dogma of common sense, planning and frugality isn’t for you, you’re in the wrong place. After all, it’s kind of the whole point of the blog
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@Roman
Shoulda, coulda, woulda…it’s must be nice knowing you’ve never made a mistake and never have to do a U-turn on anything.
You don’t have to agree with every one of JD’s ideas; in fact, I learn the most from readers’ comments that show different viewpoints from his. But you do have to be nice.
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I find it makes me feel very satisfied knowing that I’ve both payed myself before worrying about the bills and that I’ve worked out first thing in the morning. I don’t have to worry about saving the rest of the month adn don’t have to worry about working out the rest of the day! Great post.
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