talking about saving

In my recent post, I discussed how our emergency fund saved us last month. Without it, we would have been in a world of hurtin'! When we first started Dave Ramseys debt reduction plan, I think that saving was the hardest. You never think to pay yourself first.

We actually have 3 ways that we save. At our local bank, we have 2 savings accounts and one CD. We consider the CD to be "hands off"! We have about 3 1/2 months' worth of monthly expenses in there. That money is to be used in an absolute emergency. When we first opened it, about 8 years ago, we were making about $240 in interest per month. Now, we are making about $17-$20 every 4 months. OUCH! We are still thankful for that little bit. It all helps.

Our first savings account is for Christmas. We have an automatic debit once per month and in late November I withdraw almost all of it and go shopping. {you have to have a minimum balance of $100 to avoid charges} We have been doing this for about 8 years as well and it really helps. Makes that wonderful time of the year less stressful.

Our second savings account also is on an auto debit. We signed up to have money automatically transferred once per month to enable us to have free checking. I think it's a fabulous idea. The second account is for any and all emergency expenses. This is where we took the money from, last month, and it really was a lifesaver! We not only have auto transfers, we also deposit extra into it each month. Now that we have had to use over $2,000 we will need to build that back up.
Hubby will have an extra check this month, due to the way the paydays fall, so I plan to put his check right into savings.

We are so blessed, and I cannot wait to say that we are debt free. It will make all of the sacrificing worth it and it will be a grand day!