"mini" E Funds DO work

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2003
"mini" E Funds DO work
3
Tue, 08-12-2008 - 11:44am

Thank goodness for my mini "Efunds"! Since I started working full time I have been taking about $30 off each pay and funneling it into a home maintenance account, a car maintenance account, a pet care account and a gift fund. I know it isn't much, but its added up. I have been able to pay for car tuneups and the random things I need around the house with the money. All of it is done through ING so it automatically takes the money and puts in each account (I have 4 ING accounts tied to my bank account)


Well I forgot about my car sticker. I needed to renew it before tomorrow (Bday). Luckily there was enough in my car account to cover it so I could pay cash! I have enough now for the wedding in October, so I think I will start putting extra money toward the vet fund since I will have a big bill in October/ November (shots/teeth etc) and the car fund since I depleted it and will be needing a tune up and oil spray before winter ( I could also use some winter tires, but I'm not sure if I want to spend the money for the amount I drive!)


I can do this!


Bex -


"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift -thats why its called the present."



Bex -

Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
Tue, 08-12-2008 - 12:23pm

Thanks for sharing, Bex! That is a victory!

And thanks for alerting me that I could open multiple ING accounts tied to my one bank account. I have one account, but would like to set up another savings account for me & DH for a different purpose, and one for each of my kids. For some reason it hadn't occurred to me that I could do more than one ING account. Duh!

Kelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2003
Tue, 08-12-2008 - 1:37pm
Glad I could help! I am a visual person (a list person) so having one catch-all account for little things doesn't work well for me.

Bex -

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-14-2008
Tue, 08-12-2008 - 9:50pm

I do this, too. I have my main ING acct linked to my chequing acct (another bank co.) I have $205 taken out every week. Then, I divide it up.
$90 to "savings" (at this time I am saving up to pay off my CCs that are at 0% interest)
$70 to car (used for maintenance, and I hope that this time next year I will have enough to pay off my car loan)
$25 for clothing (I plan to use this mostly for myself, but I have used it for my kids, too)
$20 for Christmas.

Every couple of months I challenge myself to up my amount taken out every week $5.00. I don't miss the extra, and it forces me to trim my budget by that much (eg less disposable income for things like eating out). It's amazing how fast things can build up when you have the money taken out of your acct regularly.

I have found this very helpful. As well, I saved up an emergency fund that I hope to never use, but I feel better having it. It's only a month of expenses, and once my debt is paid off, I hope to sock away 6 months of expenses.

3 things I like about ING
1. You can see at a glance how much money you have in all of your accts
2. You can move your money around, and there is no limits to how many transactions you have (it's all free!)
3. You can invest in GICs with very little money (I think minimum is $10). My other bank is minimum $1000 if it is not registered for retirement. So, every once in a while, if I have some extra money I will put it in a GIC. The interest is a little higher and I feel like I would be less likely to spend it unplanned.