Do you pay yourself first??

[Ima saver]

I think it is important to pay yourself first, out of every paycheck. Do you??

[veronak]

I actually I recently started doing this, better late than never. However, I stick about $215.00 a side in various accounts each pay period. And you know what I am glad I do because a few months ago Murphy came knocking and I am glad I had a few dollars set a side

[Ima saver]

I started out saving 10% of what I made. When I worked as a waitress, I would put 10% of my tips aside in a little cedar box and send them to a mutual fund once a month.

[debtfreeme]

20 % of course, except for the month of july when it is usually about 5 %. It is my birthday month but also the month i find out about my contract so i end up lowering the amount put away in 401 to make suer that i hace enough in my emergency fund to make it through a no pay check coupld of months. I also save about 20% a month into various accounts for christmas/git account, insurance payments, vacation saving, misc saving (surprises) emergency fund, ira fund, short term saving and long term savings.

[jacquelynrose]

I was doing it at my old Job and now I need to do it again.

[Bookie]

I do pay myself first. Three separate accounts for Contingency Savings (insurance & taxes, slush fund), Emergency Savings, and Long-Term or "Deep" Savings.

I also pay myself last. I operate on a standardized budget monthy. Sometimes I underspend in some categories, and anything left over at the end of the month is diverted to the Contingency Account. That creates the "slush fund" from which I can draw as needed to equalize when categories run over.

Hmmm, an example of that last would be my electric bill. Runs under some months and over on others.

[jodi]

Nope, I have enough in my emergency fund right now, so I throw all extra at debt (car and student loans). We took a year off from our paying our IRAs after DH lost his job and went back to school full-time - we're going to try to fund them for 2006 next spring when he's working again. Once he gets a FT job, they will be a priority again, but right now we're just working to eradicate the car loan while on one PT income.
I've never paid myself first, but I've always spent way under my means. Which meant that I always had money leftover for savings or debt after everything else was paid - at least while we were both working

I put approximately 13% into IRA and 403B each month. Slightly over 7% goes into a defined benefit pension plan, but can't say that was really "my doing." Anything left over at the end of the month stays in the checking account, because I also have months where I have to overspend my pay check.

[Gruntina]

No... I know rather drastic but I am throwing all extra money at my debt!! I know risky considering not much of an EF! My family is supporting my reason to hit my debt which started out as around 65,000 and now which I still can not believe is 10,300! I am hoping to pay this off by December.

In the meantime, my family offered that they will be my emergency fund if something to happen so that I can continue to keep going what I am doing. Currently over 70% of my income is going towards that debt. I am keeping my fingers crossed that nothing bad happens.

[JoyJoy]

Good topic Ima! I do have 10% automatically deducted each month for savings and 10% I tithe.

[DivaJen]

Yes. Money goes to the 401k with each of DH's paychecks. I have money set aside in various accounts automatically each month, and once I start getting a paycheck from school I'll have money taken out of it each month as well.

[Broken Arrow]

Well, the moment I get paid, I would set aside the usual, predetermined amount that I plan to live off of until I get paid again, and then throw everything else into bills and then debts. My main focus for all of my available money is my student loans (which I'm sure you are all aware of by now).

If that's what it means to pay myself, then yes. If not, then no.

[aurielle]

10% automatically gets deducted out of my pay per month for my pension. Beyond that, all extra money after bills and living expenses goes for paying off my credit cards.

[lrjohnson]

I'm an oddball here. In my view, budgeting for savings leads to the possibiloity of not putting in extra. My goal is to reduce my expenses to the loest level of comfort in each area, and save everything else.

I just determined that I am saving 40.3% of my gross income. If I also count my pension deduction as a form of savings, my savings rate is 48% of my gross. If I look at net after taxes, my pre-retirement savings rate is 51.5%. My savings including retirement is 61.3% of my net income.

If I was not as successful at living way below my means I might go to a more structured savings plan. And I do have automatic deductions transferred to my high interest ING and ED regularly, but that's just to save me a little work. I still make manual transfers of "extra" money.

[jaksilee]

I just recently started doing this...I figured out my set bills and what I make and I now have a set amount each I set asside for EF & short term savings at my bank and longterm savings in a ING account. The amounts I set aside are not much...but will be enough in a yr or so. I also give myself a set amount for spending money.
I work about the same hours every week, give or take 30 mins, with a odd saturday and a odd commission check. So I live on the base hourly, budget is figured off of that. Then when I get the extra time or commission I either put it on a credit card as a extra payment or put it in my EF.

[scrava]

we do! I want to retire before 67, LOL

[tgavin71]

Originally Posted by Gruntina

No... I know rather drastic but I am throwing all extra money at my debt!! I know risky considering not much of an EF! My family is supporting my reason to hit my debt which started out as around 65,000 and now which I still can not believe is 10,300! I am hoping to pay this off by December.

I just wanted to say congratulations. What a huge effort you have made. You should be very proud of yourself. It is good that you have family to support you if something unforseen occurs. I personally don't have an emergency fund per se. I do set money aside for regular bills and expenses. My credit card is my emergency fund. But through good money management and perhaps a bit of luck I haven't needed to touch it.

[wai98007]

Yes! We (my wife and I) found it important to put aside some $ designated as fun $ in addition to our Em. Savings and Retirement each month. It has been great for us. We like to go out to eat every once in a while. That has been a good way for us to justify having fun some times.

[pearlieq]

Well, I suppose the pension money and 401k money comes out before we get our grubby little hands on it, so I guess in some respects we "pay ourselves first".

The rest of the savings gets taken out with all the other bills, so we're probably more like "pay yourself with everyone else".

[tgavin71]

Originally Posted by pearlieq

"pay yourself with everyone else".

LOL. Well said.