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Bored with saving

July 25th, 2007 at 09:01 pm

Does anyone else ever feel this way? For most of the past year a significant portion of my time has been spent tracking spending, setting up a budget, determining the best plan to save money and pay off our debts, and learning the best ways to do this. The past couple of months we’ve set up a plan which is really simple to stick to and allows us to allot money towards our goals, specifically paying off our cars, retirement and a down payment. With that plan I feel like the only thing I’m doing is waiting until the end of the month so I can transfer the money to the appropriate spot. I feel like I’ve learned a lot of the basic stuff so now I’m just waiting for enough paydays to pass that we’ve got everything paid off and our savings accounts are grown.

Part of me feels like I must be missing something since it’s all just automatic and I don’t have to actively do anything. I am still tracking our spending, but it isn’t taking as much time, nor providing us with as much information as it once was. We are saving for a down payment and retirement, and are planning to pay off our cars early. Am I missing something? Is there something I should be doing? Or are we just to the point where our finances are taking care of themselves? Sort of an odd thought that everything is figured out we just have to wait it out.

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments »

11 Responses to “Bored with saving”

  1. Ima saver Says:
    July 25th, 2007 at 10:21 pm 1185398508
    1185398508

    Well, I have never been bored with saving. I especially enjoy the $20 challenge we have here and find ways to add money to the challenge everyday.

  2. ceejay74 Says:
    July 25th, 2007 at 10:26 pm 1185398793
    1185398793

    Sounds like you're not missing anything! Just make sure you keep up with everything, audit regularly (every few months) to make sure you're putting every dollar where it goes to the best use, and relax! I wish I were at that point--maybe I'd finally take up the banjo or learn a foreign language!

  3. Mea Culpa Says:
    July 25th, 2007 at 10:49 pm 1185400157
    1185400157

    Maybe you are just wanting something more to challenge you since you seem to have your repayment plan down pat and in order. How about trying to find ways to bring in extra income to your home that might help to pay down your debts that much quicker? I was becoming bored with my budget and repayment plan because I wanted to hurry up and pay off my debts and it always seemed like such a looooong stretch between paydays. Recently, I was in dire need of some funds and decided to start selling my CDs on Half.com and it has remotivated me because I'm using THAT income to pay towards my credit card debt. Every time I make a sale it motivates me to list more and more so that I can get closer and closer to being debt-free. Now I'm not as bored as I once was. Smile

  4. Aleta Says:
    July 25th, 2007 at 11:21 pm 1185402076
    1185402076

    Sometimes I think that we all get so used to the constant checking on our finances, that we find it hard to just sit back and relax. Part of getting everything in order is that you can now relax a bit knowing that your finances are on track. You will have to monitor your expenses monthly though. Maybe using some charts would make it more interesting for you. I think seeing a visual would keep you more interested and just putting it on a wall or on the back of a door so that you can see it when you need to.

    I also think that this time of year makes us feel lazy as well. I've read it in a few posts already. You'll be fine.

  5. disneysteve Says:
    July 25th, 2007 at 11:26 pm 1185402400
    1185402400

    Once you get everything up and running and mostly automated, it can become a little boring as the system just needs the occasional tweak here or there to stay on track. That is different than having to watch every penny and open new accounts and pick new investments. But that is exactly the point. Make it automatic so that it happens whether you think about it every day or not. So I'd say congratulations for reaching that point where you are making progress toward your goals and finding it easy going.

  6. Amber Says:
    July 25th, 2007 at 11:27 pm 1185402446
    1185402446

    Now that I have turned my life around, I am never bored with saving. I get upset if I can't put a little something away

  7. shiela Says:
    July 26th, 2007 at 02:04 am 1185411891
    1185411891

    yeah it can get a bit boring. I always include some fun stuff to save for, like holiday and things that I want to get. I love watching the balance increase in those funds.

  8. Aleta Says:
    July 26th, 2007 at 12:43 pm 1185450210
    1185450210

    I agree with Amber that and a few others here. If you're not doing the $20 challenge, it might be the right thing for you right now. It's on a smaller scale but it helps you realize how smaller savings really add up and it's a plus to whatever you're doing. I know that I had a bunch of change all over the house for one and now it's in a bank account. I also take my coupon money, survey money, pennies that I roll and deposit it into that account.

  9. ktmarvels Says:
    July 26th, 2007 at 01:45 pm 1185453927
    1185453927

    Thanks for all the comments. I'm glad to see that I'm not really missing anything that I should be saving for or accounting for. I think that Mea Culpa hit it on the head: it's not a challenge for me anymore. I have been doing the $20 challenge, but maybe I need to pursue that with more vigor. Maybe keep track how much I save/make monthly and strive to earn/save more than the previous month.

    I'll get over this, besides in a couple of months our financial situation will change and our cars will be paid off and I'll have student loans to contend with!

  10. Aleta Says:
    July 26th, 2007 at 02:40 pm 1185457230
    1185457230

    I do keep track of the $20 challenge. I keep the money in an envelope and list where it came from and deposit it once a month. It's sort of outside of what the paycheck in the family pays for. It's like my own little job to see how much I can do on my own. It is fun for me and yes, I keep track of it so, I'll see what I'm doing.

  11. LoriB Says:
    July 26th, 2007 at 06:48 pm 1185472094
    1185472094

    Finally! I am so glad to read that someone else has reached the point where there is nothing to do with their budget but maintenance. What I've learned in the last few weeks is that I am incredibly impatient- I've spent the last month so completely engrossed in learning more about finances that I feel we should be further ahead. I have to remind myself that my husband and I have just started to turn our finances around. Reading one more thrifty website, checking my account balances again, or running another Quicken report isn't going to speed things along. Good luck with your budget.

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