2021 Savings plans, ideas, tips and goals

[tvguy]

we can tell you live in California by them high prices.

I checked Akron, Ohio, the tire Capital of the U.S for fun. Instead of $263 a tire, they only want $257!

 

[starry_solo]

@dreamin_disney : sorry to veer this thread off about tires, but have you figured out what you're going to do?

One easy way to save is if your employer can do a direct deposit into more than one account. Set up an online savings account (no fees) and have some money ($25, $50, $75, $100 [whatever you can afford]) diverted directly there as a savings account. The rest of your paycheck goes into your primary account that you pay the bills from.

Also, the "we" you speak about, is it just you and DD? Or you, DD, and SO/DH/DW? Cuz, that might create additional suggestions.

 

[dreamin_disney]

I’m loving the tips and advice Thank you all. Please keep sharing.

I'm not a fan of store specific gift cards. What if another store has a better price? I'd just put everything in the bank to give you the flexibility to get the best deal.

The two $25 gift cards from Walmart were bday gifts. I like Walmart because I shop there for food, hygiene products, toiletries, cleaning supplies and I can also use it at Sam’s club. When I do surveys I prefer Walmart cards over fast food or restaurant or target.
two coworkers gave me a target gift cards for Christmas. I’m not a big target shopper but figure I can use it on household items like food, hygiene products, toiletries, cleaning supplies. Saves me from using cash.

DD being away at college put me on a budget which was good. We were about to survive on one income so now my income is open to plan for future savings. The pandemic also made me realize it’s just best to be better prepared. Luckily dh and I have been able to keep our jobs with now pay interruption even though my job was closed for 2-1/2 month and hubby for 2 months only worked every other week .

I’m going to work on a spread and play with the numbers. I’m also going to start keeping track of how long our supplies last us. I buy big bulk package toilet paper , paper towels, tide, fabric softener, dish soap, body soap, shampoo/ conditioner some food items from Sam’s/Costco

my job might let us work from home , if they do $250 in gas savings a month

 

[dreamin_disney]

@dreamin_disney : sorry to veer this thread off about tires, but have you figured out what you're going to do?

One easy way to save is if your employer can do a direct deposit into more than one account. Set up an online savings account (no fees) and have some money ($25, $50, $75, $100 [whatever you can afford]) diverted directly there as a savings account. The rest of your paycheck goes into your primary account that you pay the bills from.

Also, the "we" you speak about, is it just you and DD? Or you, DD, and SO/DH/DW? Cuz, that might create additional suggestions.

No problem about tires. We have three cars so good info.

We are a family of three. My daughter and hubby.

I have my employer deducting $100 a month for two summer months I don’t work. Once I go through my budget I hope to have them deduct another $50-100 for summer savings. I also have them deduct $140 a month for FSA medical reimbursement. I pay everything with my credit card to earn cash rewards and pay my credit card off every month. Then my fsa claims are reimbursed into my savings account. I just cashed out $75 cash rewards and have another $85.

 

[dclpluto]

LOL. I would be very surprised if location made more than a few dollars difference. Any particular state of city I should check for a lower price.

Lol
2000 dollars for a water heater?

 

[tvguy]

I’m loving the tips and advice Thank you all. Please keep sharing.

my job might let us work from home , if they do $250 in gas savings a month

Holy smoke, that is a lot of money for gas. I'm saving about $60 a month on gas working from home. Two tanks, 26 miles per day round trip in a car that gets about 20 mpg.
I realize how VERY lucky we have been.
I was furloughed but thanks to the extra $600 in Federal money, I made more in unemployment benefits the week I was off than I would have made working. With the latest stimulus we made an extra $3,600. My wife got a $500 bonus for "having to continue to come to work in the office" for the entire pandemic. After forcing us to take a week off without pay in the second quarter, we got a $1,000 Christmas bonus. But it was an election year and ad revenue was way up. With the gas savings we will have had about $6,000 in additional income in 2020 than we expected.

 

[MissBritt]

I replaced my water heater and van tires last year for under $600 each, but yes, definitely work on having a cushion if possible.

 

[starry_solo]

I replaced my water heater and van tires last year for under $600 each, but yes, definitely work on having a cushion if possible.

Wow, pretty sure my parents paid $1000+ for theirs a few years ago.

@dreamin_disney : does your salary go to help pay for the bills? Some of it? All of it? If only some of it and the rest is "fun money" then maybe you can save the "excess" to go towards building an emergency budget.

Like one of the other posters said, I don't think I would get gift cards for a specific store unless you're about to go spend it there (like get the gift card at the grocery store for gas rewards and credit card rewards and then turn around and spend the gift card the same day or within a week for items you were planning to purchase anyhow).

 

[MissBritt]

Wow, pretty sure my parents paid $1000+ for theirs a few years ago.

It depends on capacity, brand, type (tankless or not) and what store you buy from but we had atleast 3 options in the 5-600$ range that were the high capacity we originally had.

 

[imktdqt810]

OP- What surveys do you do? How do they pay out etc? (if you don't mind sharing)

I starting doing Survey Junkie last Feb (when I researched and verified they were for real) and I MADE myself do only $1.00 worth of surveys per day with the goal of doing at least $30-$31 a month. But they also offered incentives (like complete 3 surveys worth 10 point each for 7 days straight and get an extra 500 points). Point are equal to cents, so a 30 point survey for 5 mins is 30 cents made. I do them instead of scrolling FB or something else. Anyways, this past year I cashed out on the last day of each month and for 11 months I made $394.26. (yes, I had to look it up). I cashed it out to PayPal but you can also go e-gift cards or directly into you bank account. But again, in the beginning when I was trying to find survey companies I found alot that didn't pay out like they said they would so I was NOT about to put my banking info out there! LOL
I have a PayPal credit card and this extra $ is going towards vacay!

 

[dreamin_disney]

Holy smoke, that is a lot of money for gas. I'm saving about $60 a month on gas working from home. Two tanks, 26 miles per day round trip in a car that gets about 20 mpg.
I realize how VERY lucky we have been.
I was furloughed but thanks to the extra $600 in Federal money, I made more in unemployment benefits the week I was off than I would have made working. With the latest stimulus we made an extra $3,600. My wife got a $500 bonus for "having to continue to come to work in the office" for the entire pandemic. After forcing us to take a week off without pay in the second quarter, we got a $1,000 Christmas bonus. But it was an election year and ad revenue was way up. With the gas savings we will have had about $6,000 in additional income in 2020 than we expected.

just my car is $225 not $250 a month for gas, my husband spends around $200 a month and my daughter??? She’s virtual and doesn’t go anywhere high covid numbers.
you and your wife got some pretty good bonus

Wow, pretty sure my parents paid $1000+ for theirs a few years ago.

@dreamin_disney : does your salary go to help pay for the bills? Some of it? All of it? If only some of it and the rest is "fun money" then maybe you can save the "excess" to go towards building an emergency budget.

Like one of the other posters said, I don't think I would get gift cards for a specific store unless you're about to go spend it there (like get the gift card at the grocery store for gas rewards and credit card rewards and then turn around and spend the gift card the same day or within a week for items you were planning to purchase anyhow).

My money goes to DD’s college housing(but pretty much done unless she has to do in person student teaching but numbers are high but ya never know), toiletries, medical copays, exams, eye glasses, contacts, food,gas, household items.medical and eye insurance. My plan was once dd graduates the housing money would go toward my retirement , $100-200 towards mortgage, emergency fund and take on some 2-3 utility bills but hubby says worry about my retirement first.
every year we use our tax refund to cover property taxes and car insurance and any small item like tires or basic car maintenance or just keep any extra funds in the account. We also saved the stimulus money for property tax and car insurance

OP- What surveys do you do? How do they pay out etc? (if you don't mind sharing)

I starting doing Survey Junkie last Feb (when I researched and verified they were for real) and I MADE myself do only $1.00 worth of surveys per day with the goal of doing at least $30-$31 a month. But they also offered incentives (like complete 3 surveys worth 10 point each for 7 days straight and get an extra 500 points). Point are equal to cents, so a 30 point survey for 5 mins is 30 cents made. I do them instead of scrolling FB or something else. Anyways, this past year I cashed out on the last day of each month and for 11 months I made $394.26. (yes, I had to look it up). I cashed it out to PayPal but you can also go e-gift cards or directly into you bank account. But again, in the beginning when I was trying to find survey companies I found alot that didn't pay out like they said they would so I was NOT about to put my banking info out there! LOL
I have a PayPal credit card and this extra $ is going towards vacay!

these take awhile but I only do it when I have time
-survey in the go PayPal cash
-receipt hog PayPal cash
-receipt pal gift cards

 

[tvguy]

Lol
2000 dollars for a water heater?

Yup. I could have gotten one with a 6 year warranty for $1,800. But got the next step up with a 10 year warranty. $290 of that was for the building permit. Code has changed since I put the previous water heater in. You have to have an expansion tank on them, that added $75 to the cost, the required earthquake straps added $25, and wiring in the shutoff box at the water heater was $100 of that. Only having an electrical shutoff at the break box is no longer to code, at least here.
A co-worker paid $3,800 for a hybrid water heater, but is supposed to get a $2,000 credit from the electric company.

EDITED: They did markup the actual water heater to $700. The cheapest I can find it on line is $639, but a 10% markup on parts isn't bad. Most places mark up parts 40%. But yes, $2,000 is more than the $350 I paid installed in 1999

 

[MomToOne]

I personally try to keep a 9-12 month emergency fund. I've been burned before, so I'm more cautious than others. I keep enough to cover all expenses for each month: mortgage, water/electric/phone/internet, food, gas, etc. One thing to consider if you need the fund due to layoff is medical insurance: make sure to have a plan to cover that as needed.

To get more into savings, start with a solid 0-based budget, that identifies where every dollar you have coming in in a month should go, including savings. (I'm a fan of picking the budget line items that work for you - there isn't a one size fits all solution here) Then track your spending against that budget. It keeps you accountable. Don't give up - it takes 3-4 months if not more to really figure out your categories, start to have a good feel for how much to budget to things and all that jazz. Then once you have a handle on things, pick one area to try and cut your expenses in, just a bit and just one at a time - it could be your electric bill, food, car insurance, anything really. Work that one item until you are happy and comfortable and it's second nature, then pick a new one. Real change is easier in small bites. Think tortoise, not hare This is where things like buying in bulk and really paying attention to what you need and don't need comes in. But you really need to have that budget in place first before this sort of trimming really makes any sense, if you ask me.

Once an emergency fund is in place, if your goal is retirement saving, contribute or increase your contributions to whatever tax-advantaged accounts you have (401K, IRA, etc) if you have one, otherwise setup a different savings or investment account. Start with an amount that stretches you just a bit, but won't stress you out too much. Get used to it, then slowly increase things year over year. If you get a raise or have any other sort of windfall, throw almost all of it to retirement but not all. Reward yourself just a bit. You'll lose the desire to keep with the plan if you don't do that.

 

[barkley]

$70 target gift cards will buy Tide, dish soap etc

wait for when target has a special on it where you get more gift cards for buying these products. you might have to throw another $20 at it but you will get that $20 back via them giving you free gift cards, so you break financially even but end up with more product at a better price.

 

[dreamin_disney]

I find out tomorrow if I will be able to work from home. With covid cases skyrocketing here and me being high risk I’m praying. Saving gas $$ will go into savings

 

[barkley]

I find out tomorrow if I will be able to work from home. With covid cases skyrocketing here and me being high risk I’m praying. Saving gas $$ will go into savings

if you had a significant commute such that your mileage use will greatly decrease you might want to contact your auto insurer to see if you qualify for a discount (we get this discount).

 

[bearzabout]

We save a ton of money buying consumables like cleaning products an lawn care items from moving and estate sales. It makes us feel good to get products we use all the time cheap and keeps the them out of the trash. We keep a stockpile of extra products we use all the time so we’d we don’t have to go to the store very often.

We buy tools and hardware at sales so we can do most home repairs ourselves. It helps out a lot since we have lots of land to take care of.

 

[dreamin_disney]

My work is letting me work from home. Hopefully my iPad is enough or I’ll need an inexpensive laptop, chrome book or desktop. I’ll have to start looking just Incase but fingers crossed I won’t need to. Not sure how long we will get to work from home but I’m grateful for any amount of time.

 

[dreamin_disney]

We save a ton of money buying consumables like cleaning products an lawn care items from moving and estate sales. It makes us feel good to get products we use all the time cheap and keeps the them out of the trash. We keep a stockpile of extra products we use all the time so we’d we don’t have to go to the store very often.

We buy tools and hardware at sales so we can do most home repairs ourselves. It helps out a lot since we have lots of land to take care of.

Thanks for the reminder Back in March we were able to lower all three vehicles.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

we can tell you live in California by them high prices.

They are typical prices for NJ also. Not just Cali.