Howdy, Money Buddies!
Hope this finds everybody doing well. It’s Friday morning, as I peck away at the keyboard, and this time I’m doing so, after the sun has come up.
Oh, I have been up, off and on since 1:30 am, but once again, I’ve gotten stuff done.
Speaking of getting stuff done, yesterday morning, around 2:30, I finished the kitchen sink faucet install, just part of a plumbing project that included rebuilding 8 under sink cutoff valves, installing the kitchen sink faucet, and will include two bath sink faucet installs, later today, or maybe tomorrow.
Now for the “Meat of the Matter.” (Where the heck did that term come from?)
Pay Yourself
Pay yourself is usually included in the financial phrase, “Pay yourself first,” in regards to putting savings away from one’s income sources. I totally agree with that thought, and have practiced it for decades.
Here’s a few articles on the concept of Pay Yourself First:
- What Is Pay Yourself First? – “Pay yourself first” is an investor mentality and phrase popular in personal finance and retirement-planning literature that means automatically routing a specified savings contribution from each paycheck at the time it is received. (Investopedia)
- Pay Yourself First: Reverse Budgeting Explained – The pay-yourself-first budget prioritizes using your income toward savings goals like retirement before living expenses. (Nerdwallet)
- Saving money can be easy, and successful savers have known the secret—to PAY YOURSELF FIRST—for decades. If you don’t follow any other financial advice, do THIS! (Money Under 30)
- Pay Yourself First Budgeting Method – Try This Fun Alternative if You Don’t Want a Line-Item Budget (The Balance)
- The Magic Math of Paying Yourself First – (The Simple Dollar)
For this post, I’m going to say “Pay Yourself/Myself,” as my examples are based on recent events in my household. You’ll get the idea.
My Sweet Heart, Christine, and I moved into our home (one she bought with equity from the sale of her and her ex-husband’s sale of their jointly owned house) almost a year ago, and from the get go, we immersed ourselves in projects around the place.
Christine wanted a number of things done, painting and such, which she hired a company to do, but we tackled a number of things that we could handle.
Recently, we needed 3 palm trees trimmed, for which we received a $300.00 quote. We did the work ourselves, saving the $300.00. Now, I hadn’t thought of the saving we had in doing prior work, but this set dollar figure gave me an idea.
Adventure Fund
Christine and I really enjoy adventures. Heck our getting back together, June 2018 after 37 years apart, began with us living together the first 2 weeks in a travel trailer I had recently purchased. (Long story for another time.)
Since getting back together, we’ve made trips to North Carolina and Florida, plus some camping trips in a new trailer, plus some Kayaking, antique shopping, and others.
Of course, adventures can cost money, so . . . I came up with an Adventure Fund, and account into which we will put money to fund our adventures.
So, back to the tree trimming story. Since we didn’t have to pay somebody $300.00 to do the work, I told Christine that I’m going to open and Adventure Fund account, and use the $300.00 savings as Seed Money.
Feeding the Fund
Along with the tree trimming savings, I had to have the fan clutch in my 2006 Ford F-250 replaced, I did it myself, taking about 2.5 hours, which would have cost me $60.00 or so an hour at a shop.
I figure that I saved about $150.00, that money saved is also going into the Adventure Fund account.
So far, here’s the work that we did, that we didn’t pay somebody else for:
- Tree trimming: $300.00 flat fee.
- Truck fan clutch replacement: $150.00
- Trouble shoot the sprinkler system: 3 hours at $90.00 an hour = $270.00
- Plumbing project: 8 hours at $65.00 = $195.00 (I’ll add in the hours for replacing the two bath faucets, later)
Adding It Up
Just the projects listed above would have cost us around $915.00 out of pocket. By doing the work ourselves, we kept that money to ourselves. Since we worked so hard in getting the projects done, I feel that we deserve to spend the funds saved on things other than bills and operating expenses, thus the Adventure Fund.
Later today I’m going to open another account, in which to put our Adventure Fund. I want a separate account, so that Christine and I can see the growth, without having to look at spreadsheets. I like the idea of the gratification in seeing the account grow, as well as simplifying the book keeping.
Thoughts on Paying Yourself and The Adventure Fund?
Well, there you have it, my thoughts on paying myself and the adventure fund. Of course, the fund doesn’t have to be for adventures, it can be for anything else. Main thing, I believe, is setting up an actual account, instead of just accounting for the money saved, will help provide validity that the funds do exist for an intended purpose; an Escrow Account, if you will.
I wrote a piece, some time back, about setting up Personal Escrow accounts to handle property taxes on two properties that my ex-wife and I own. If you’re interested, you can read more at I Didn’t Know That I Had Set Up a Personal Escrow Account, but I’m Glad I Did.
So, let me know what your thoughts are and how/if you set up a Pay Yourself Fund.
Until next time, Peace!
