As much as I LOVE saving money at the grocery and drug stores (as well as anywhere else!), we cannot seem to keep a savings account as full as we would like. Part of our problem is that we live paycheck to paycheck. I am a stay at home mom and my husband and I are both full-time students and we have 3 kids!
This time of year, as tax time draws closer, I keep hearing financial advisers saying "Don't give the government a tax free loan!" Why not? I ask. We use it as a savings account. It's money automatically taken out of my husband's paycheck each time that we never see. Sure, we could have that same amount taken out and put into a savings account- but do you know what? We'd spend it frivolously.
It's MUCH better for us to have the government hold onto it until the beginning of the next year. Then we get a nice big check (usually several thousand) in February. We use half of that on major projects around the house (last year it was the chimney and this year it will be finishing our basement- frugally of course!) and paying down some debt. The rest goes into a savings account for "emergencies" (which run from an emergency dinner out to an emergency tire replacement).
The point of my post? Find ways to save up money for those big ticket things without adding to your debt. And just because someone says it on the Today Show doesn't mean it is the right choice for you. Would you rather have an extra few dollars in your paycheck or a lump sum of $3000 at the end of the year? Me- I'd like that lump sum please. It's harder to waste it all at once, but an extra bit each week? Grab a latte and it's gone!
We like the lump sum as well and its almost equal to my income for the entire year! I dont make very much because I only work part time in the mornings and I homeschool my girls in the afternoons:)
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