WEEKLY SAVINGS PLAN

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This weekly savings plan will show you how to always have enough money. This is the key to staying out of debt!!

Don’t you hate it when you get a bill and have to figure out where you’re going to get the money to pay it? Me too! If you’re using a budget, this most often happens to us when the bill isn’t a regular monthly expense. It happens for less frequent bills (like car registration) and annual bills, (like memberships). We can also get into trouble with things like giving gifts when we haven’t budgeted for it. Follow my weekly savings plan and you’ll learn how to always have enough money!

BASIC BUDGET + WEEKLY SAVINGS

If you’ve been following my budget series, you probably already have your budget set up. You also now know how to manage an irregular income. If you missed these topics, it is SUPER IMPORTANT that you have your basic budget set up to gain control over your finances. So at the very least, skim through those other topics and make sure you have a good handle on things. Here are the links:

HOW TO MAKE A BUDGET
HOW TO BUDGET ON AN IRREGULAR INCOME

SAVING MONEY WEEKLY TO SAVE YOU MONEY

After your budget is all set up, the next step is to prepare for expenses that people often forget about. Examples would be gift giving, vacations, annual bills like property taxes, vehicle registration, etc.

Once you get the hang of it, you can leverage this method to SAVE YOU MONEY by opting to pay things in full instead of using a payment plan which you will be charged interest and/or fees for. I do this with our car insurance. I pay the whole thing off each year to avoid the extra charges.

You can also save money this way by avoiding being forced to put unexpected expenses on a credit card and then paying processing fees and/or interest on it!

WEEKLY SAVINGS PLAN

Here are the steps to creating a weekly savings plan you can work right into your budget.

1. Identify the expenses that pop up that you wouldn’t otherwise be prepared for. You can do this by combing through the last year or two of your finances, by trying to remember the expenses the best you can, by adding each expenses as it surprises you this year, or a combination of all three.
2. Break those expenses down into a weekly amount. For an annual expense simply divide the total by the 52 weeks in the year, and you’ll have the amount you need to save each week. However, if you’re beginning to save midway through the year, you should divide the total by the remaining number of weeks until that bill will be arriving, and then adjust it to 52 weeks after you pay it.
3. Track what money is for what. Once you’re setting the money aside, it is vital that you are tracking how much money you have and where you are keeping it. Otherwise you may accidentally use it to pay other bills. Keep reading for details on how to do this.
4. Adjust as you pay. Once the bill comes, reevaluate if you saved up the right amount of money, and adjust the amount you set aside weekly accordingly.

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE SAVING FOR WEEKLY

Each person/household will have different items. Here are some things that are common expenses that most people need to set money aside for weekly.

• Vehicle Registration
• Property Taxes (if not included in your mortgage payment)
• Auto Insurance
• Savings Accounts/Investing Money – work any savings goals right in
• IRA or other retirement account
• Gift Giving for Christmas, birthdays, and misc. times
• Vacations – Remember to include both the cost of the trip AND replacement funds for the money you won’t be making while you’re gone (unless you’ll receive a paycheck of holiday pay to take care of the lost income)
• Large Purchase Goals

WEEKLY SAVINGS PLAN EXAMPLES

Here are a couple examples of weekly savings plans.

If you’re saving for your car registration and the bill is $500/year:

• If you’re beginning to set aside the money right after paying the bill, simply divide $500/52 weeks. You’ll need to set aside $9.62 each week to pay this bill next year.
• If you begin saving for this bill 4 months after paying it, you’ll need to roughly calculate how many weeks are left to save money until it will be due again. So, let’s say it’s due in 8 months. Multiply 8 (months) x 4 (weeks per month) to get 32 weeks. Now divide the total of $500/32 weeks, and you’ll need to set aside $15.63 each week to pay this bill when it comes. Once you pay it, you’ll need to adjust your weekly savings amount to $9.62 since you’ll have 52 weeks to save for it before it is due again.

If you’re saving up money for gift giving

This one can be a little more tricky since you’re probably going to have to estimate how much you will need. You’ll need to think through who you buy gifts for, and how much you aim to spend on them. Once you see how much money is going out, you may need to adjust.

I have to say, it feels AMAZING to avoid any debt or scrounging for money come Christmas. It’s also great not to dread birthdays, because you already have the money you need set aside. Here’s how I do it.

Christmas Budget – $1810
4 close adult family members @ $150/each = $600
2 children @ $250/each = $500
12 adult friends/family @$30/each = $360
5 children @ $30/each = $150
7 acquaintances @ $15/each = $105
Supplies for cookies as gifts – $55
Gift wrap supplies $40

Birthday Budget – $1740
4 close adult family members @ $150/each = $600
2 children @ $250/each = $500
2 Cakes + Party supplies @ $150/each = $300
3 adult friends/family @$30/each = $90
5 children @ $30/each = $150
4 kids’ birthday party gifts @ $20/each = $100

Christmas Budget of $1810
+ Birthday Budget of $1740
Total needed $3550

$3550/52 (weeks) = $68.27 to save per week
If you cannot afford the amount you come up with, you need to change how much you spend on gifts. Homemade gifts or gifting acts of service can save you a lot of money, and they show just as much thought and love if not more!

TRACKING YOUR WEEKLY SAVINGS

Now that you know what you need to set aside each week, you’ll need to figure out where to put it and keep track of it. I’m breaking this up into 2 parts because otherwise I think it will be overwhelming! So for now, grab a pen and paper and figure out what you need to save for, and how much you need to save for each category.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post coming next week! Don’t forget to subscribe to the email list so you won’t miss a thing!

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WEEKLY SAVINGS PLAN VIDEO

Thanks for stopping by!!

XO,
Morgan
The Cheeky Homemaker

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