Thursday, March 13, 2008

Savings, Yeah!

I just transfered a hefty $500 into my HSBC Direct savings account. Yeah. I knew I would be using part of my bonus check to put a large chunk into savings, and I hadn't planned on a number, and just now, on a whim, I decided I should do it. So I did. I picked $500 because it sounds like a lot, but it's a number I feel totally comfortable taking out of checking (which, by the way, is ridiculous to me -- I've never even HAD $500 in my checking account that wasn't already designated for specific bills/rent!), and it feels somewhat substantial.

I'm planning on adding more soon -- I'm trying to figure out my plan for savings. Now that I've paid my parents back, I get to really kick the savings plan into gear. But I'm not sure yet if I want to do one account or two. I definitely want to make my existing account into my Official Emergency Fund, but I might want to have a separate fund that's a "for fun" account. Savings for vacations, shopping, etc. I'm pretty sure that's what I'll do (provided I can do it at HSBC, which I'm not sure of...may need to call customer service), but I haven't 100% decided yet, nor have I decided how much $$ per paycheck I'll allocate to each account if I do split them.

Thoughts? Do any of you out there have multiple savings accounts? If so, how do you allocate money across the accounts?

4 comments:

  1. i recommend sending a certain amount of every paycheck directly to your savings account (direct deposit). you can split your direct deposit into savings and then your checking account. then i'd say for the fun savings account, you don't need to do the paycheck deposit thing, just move it over from your checking, but assign yourself an amount each month, like $50, or something, and make yourself stick to it. i actually don't have a "fun" savings account but have been meaning to get one. right now i'm just sitting on my bonus money and trying to decide what to do with it.

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  2. So funny - I've just been dealing w/ the same issues. I have a high-interest savings account for my car/fun fund, and the savings that's tied to my checking for emergencies...I do $50 a month to car fund but need to increase it. Also, I feel like my emergency fund should be in a high-interest account too. Is that what you get with your savings account?

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  3. Yeah, Jessie, my savings is high-interest. I basically use my Wells Fargo Savings account only as a buffer for my checking account (I keep about $400 in there - the minimum to not get charged for having the account is $300 - in case I go over, so I don't get charged overdraft fees). The interest is so damn low, it wasn't worth it to keep savings in there.

    Still trying to figure out how to have multiple accounts at HSBC without opening another account...I'm sure it's an easy question to answer someday when I call customer service.

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  4. I just put all my money in one savings account, but keep a log (Excel works well) of which sub-accounts I intend the money to go toward & my balance when I take $ out. So, it's all in one place, but I track how much I'm saving for emergency, how much for school, and how much for my vacation fund.

    Thank you for your recent blogging spree!

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