Over the past 10 years I have been moving (slowly!) out of technical roles into managerial roles with more and more financial accountability to the top line of the company. Along the way, I’ve had to learn how a Fortune 500 company manages its revenues, expenses and working capital. When I was purely technical, we lived a ‘Dave Ramsey’ lifestyle - conservative investments, high savings rate, with no debt and more than enough cash in checking accounts. We felt good about it - it felt safe - but you can only save so much and living expenses with kids just grew year after year.
Eventually, I sat down and looked at what inflation during a (hopefully) long retirement was going to do to that conservative savings-based nest egg and it was shocking. Putting it bluntly, it pissed me off. Doing all the right things and living a modest lifestyle in America wasn’t going to get it done. So I broke out of my comfort zone and started to manage my money much more like I was required to at work, and I’ve finally pulled ahead of inflation, even accounting for some painful ‘educational experiences’ along the way. By the way, real inflation is >> 2-3%.
The point being, getting my checking account down to the bare minimum for monthly expenses was key — it takes more work, but that money can and should be put to better uses elsewhere. Cash really is trash, 99% of the time.
Well said. It really only takes a weekly or biweekly process of estimating/anticipating expenses. At some point you pretty much know exactly what's coming and don't have to make moves. Ideally you can take some money out of checking.
I've taken your advice to good effect. I have a savings account and what we in Canada call a TFSA (Tax Free Savings Account). It is where I put money that I use for investing, and if I later withdraw money from it I pay no tax on that money. My checkiing account still has the majority of my income, but I also divert a portion to a PayPal account that I use for paying subscriptions and other costs that repeat monthly. Like you, no pain in the checking account when unexpected events happen. I recommend your dispersion pattern to everyone who wants to manage their money to their benefit, not to that of financial institutions.
Over the past 10 years I have been moving (slowly!) out of technical roles into managerial roles with more and more financial accountability to the top line of the company. Along the way, I’ve had to learn how a Fortune 500 company manages its revenues, expenses and working capital. When I was purely technical, we lived a ‘Dave Ramsey’ lifestyle - conservative investments, high savings rate, with no debt and more than enough cash in checking accounts. We felt good about it - it felt safe - but you can only save so much and living expenses with kids just grew year after year.
Eventually, I sat down and looked at what inflation during a (hopefully) long retirement was going to do to that conservative savings-based nest egg and it was shocking. Putting it bluntly, it pissed me off. Doing all the right things and living a modest lifestyle in America wasn’t going to get it done. So I broke out of my comfort zone and started to manage my money much more like I was required to at work, and I’ve finally pulled ahead of inflation, even accounting for some painful ‘educational experiences’ along the way. By the way, real inflation is >> 2-3%.
The point being, getting my checking account down to the bare minimum for monthly expenses was key — it takes more work, but that money can and should be put to better uses elsewhere. Cash really is trash, 99% of the time.
Well said. It really only takes a weekly or biweekly process of estimating/anticipating expenses. At some point you pretty much know exactly what's coming and don't have to make moves. Ideally you can take some money out of checking.
I've taken your advice to good effect. I have a savings account and what we in Canada call a TFSA (Tax Free Savings Account). It is where I put money that I use for investing, and if I later withdraw money from it I pay no tax on that money. My checkiing account still has the majority of my income, but I also divert a portion to a PayPal account that I use for paying subscriptions and other costs that repeat monthly. Like you, no pain in the checking account when unexpected events happen. I recommend your dispersion pattern to everyone who wants to manage their money to their benefit, not to that of financial institutions.
Great strategy, Carol. I also appreciate the specifics around it and happy I played a role in getting you thinking about it.
Absolutely brilliant approach!!!