Putting money where you can't easily get it?

Maromi

Maromi

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I am pretty much planning to do this because I am bad at saving money. I was planning on just making a transfer to chime every paycheck off my credit union where I already have my chime debit card and PayPal cards cut up. I even cut up my credit card but got this idea because I can keep putting money in my credit account.

Anyone have any ideas like this instead of getting CDs where you can't get the money easily. I think it would take 3 days or so to transfer out of chime and I can distance myself from my own money. Should I even trust chime like that? Or should I go with a large bank and just use it strictly for money cold storage. Ty
 
Set up your paycheck to direct despot the amount you want hidden into a stock brokerage account and have it auto-invested into an index fund.
 
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I decided to try and get a countdown/time lock safe but man I'm kind of pissed cause my dumbass neighbors crackheads came knocking at 6:30am this morning asking for cigarettes and quarters
 
Lightshow said:
I am pretty much planning to do this because I am bad at saving money.
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Some things that might help:
1) A clear goal, something that motivates you, something you really *want* to do, not just something you feel like you *ought* to do. For example, your goal could be becoming rich, or reaching financial independence, via improving your savings rate. Saving money can be exciting when you think of how much better off that saving will make you in future. Saving money really is the #1 first step to becoming rich. It won't get you there by itself, but it is the first step.
2) A method of reducing temptation, such as putting the money into a separate savings account at a different bank that is clearly marked for the purpose.
3) Either reduce your expenses (start with the biggest ones), or increase your income. There are many ideas for how to do this online. If you do either, you'll find it much easier to save. For you, it might be a better shot to increase your income... having crackheads for neighbors does not sound like fun.

Lightshow said:
I was planning on just making a transfer to chime every paycheck off my credit union where I already have my chime debit card and PayPal cards cut up. I even cut up my credit card but got this idea because I can keep putting money in my credit account.
Click to expand...
Pay off your credit cards first. The amount they charge you in interest is higher than any return you'll get from a savings account, or from most anything else.
If you're looking for a high-yield savings account, nerdwallet's list of high yield savings accounts is pretty good.
Definitely put it in a savings account. NOT a safe.
Cash in a safe or piggy bank pays you nothing, and it can make you a target for thieves (like potentially your crackhead neighbors).
Cash in a savings account pays you interest, and its much easier to keep track of how much you have (which can feel rewarding, if its growing).

Lightshow said:
Anyone have any ideas like this instead of getting CDs where you can't get the money easily. I think it would take 3 days or so to transfer out of chime and I can distance myself from my own money. Should I even trust chime like that? Or should I go with a large bank and just use it strictly for money cold storage. Ty
Click to expand...
The problem isn't that the money is easy to get. A determined spender will find a way to spend even if they have no money available at all - by using a credit card.
The problem is really that you want to spend more than you want to save for your future.
You need to change your mindset. Take time, on a regular basis, to just imagine all the things that having proper savings will give you.
Flexibility to walk away from a job if you need to. Freedom to do things you couldn't otherwise. Peace of mind in case of unexpected bills / problems. Etc.
Once you build a mindset where you're saving *for* something you truly, truly want, you'll find it much easier to save.
Because you'll realize that *not* saving is really saying no to that thing you really, truly, deeply want.
 
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Don't keep your money in a safe, etc. Like the previous post said, money in a safe does not gain any interest-and generally, you get a better interest rate at a credit union. Large banks are sometimes not the best because they charge extra fees every month.

Have two bank accounts: one for savings and one for checking-in other words, money for the things that you have to pay for, and money for the future.

Make an expense report and a budget. Look at your bank statement from the previous month and see where your money is going. (And if you don't have a bank, record every single transaction that you make and put it in an Excel sheet).

Categorize each expense (food, gas, groceries, etc) and total up each category. Then, look at how much you're getting paid each month, after tax, obviously. Am I spending more than I am making (bad) or am I making more than I am spending (good)?

It will show you what you're spending on what and when, which will allow you plan better and moderate your spending, and show you how much money that you have for "fun" things, rather than things that you have to pay for. And, maybe more importantly, it will allow you to keep money on hand for unexpected expenses.
 
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Are you saving money for an emergency fund? Or is this for a long-term goal?

If you're in the U.S., and you're saving money for a long-term goal, and you definitely won't need the money for at least a year, consider Series I savings bonds from the United States Treasury. They are designed to keep up with inflation. Since inflation is a lot higher than bank interest rates right now, they're an attractive savings vehicle. The downside is that you cannot redeem them until you've held them for a year, and you forfeit 3 months of interest if you redeem before you've held them for 5 years. They will keep earning inflation-adjusted interest for up to 30 years.
Minimum purchase is $25. Maximum per year is $10,000.


If you're saving for an emergency fund that you might need sooner than a year from now, a savings account at your credit union is probably your best bet.
 
Thank you for the good ideas, my main goal is to move at this point or buy a house or something eventually. Its crazy that I've had my job for a year and I have spent all the money. On this or that or this or that. New bed new computer new whatever, car parts was the largest investment. I do have some things I should probably sell though, like my generator.
I was planning on moving money into a separate bank account but I called them up and they wrote off $200 in debt anyway that was just sitting there when I was gonna pay it.
I'm really decked out with computers right now though, I do think of selling one occasionally and moving my desktop to a third screen but the ROI for computers is terrible unless I sell to a ebay bot which isnt gonna work.

I really need to save to move though, I think the fire marshall is scoping out my neighborhood.
 
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Moo said:
Some things that might help:
1) A clear goal, something that motivates you, something you really *want* to do, not just something you feel like you *ought* to do. For example, your goal could be becoming rich, or reaching financial independence, via improving your savings rate. Saving money can be exciting when you think of how much better off that saving will make you in future. Saving money really is the #1 first step to becoming rich. It won't get you there by itself, but it is the first step.
2) A method of reducing temptation, such as putting the money into a separate savings account at a different bank that is clearly marked for the purpose.
3) Either reduce your expenses (start with the biggest ones), or increase your income. There are many ideas for how to do this online. If you do either, you'll find it much easier to save. For you, it might be a better shot to increase your income... having crackheads for neighbors does not sound like fun.


Pay off your credit cards first. The amount they charge you in interest is higher than any return you'll get from a savings account, or from most anything else.
If you're looking for a high-yield savings account, nerdwallet's list of high yield savings accounts is pretty good.
Definitely put it in a savings account. NOT a safe.
Cash in a safe or piggy bank pays you nothing, and it can make you a target for thieves (like potentially your crackhead neighbors).
Cash in a savings account pays you interest, and its much easier to keep track of how much you have (which can feel rewarding, if its growing).


The problem isn't that the money is easy to get. A determined spender will find a way to spend even if they have no money available at all - by using a credit card.
The problem is really that you want to spend more than you want to save for your future.
You need to change your mindset. Take time, on a regular basis, to just imagine all the things that having proper savings will give you.
Flexibility to walk away from a job if you need to. Freedom to do things you couldn't otherwise. Peace of mind in case of unexpected bills / problems. Etc.
Once you build a mindset where you're saving *for* something you truly, truly want, you'll find it much easier to save.
Because you'll realize that *not* saving is really saying no to that thing you really, truly, deeply want.
Click to expand...
Great Post Moo! Thanks 😊 .
 
I have most of my savings in an equity account through my bank. It's worked well so far.
 
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I was thinking of buying google stock last night once I get enough saved up, but I am unsure of how stable google stock will be in the long-term.
I was also looking at facebook stock but man they need to do something it got so bad, I think because facebook is practically all ads now.
 
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Buying one individual stock is very, very risky. It's much better to buy shares of a broad-market index fund or another mutual fund that has a broad range of stocks in it and that has low management fees.
 
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Yes, I'm in a mutual fund. Because of my age, my investment guy has most of my investment in bonds but if you're young, you would be mostly in stocks. The time to invest would have been two weeks ago when the market was way down. It's starting to go up. You know the saying, buy low and sell high so when the market dips again, that would be a good time to put a chunk in a good equity fund. The market has been a roller coaster so there will be a lot of dips. If you have the extra cash, wait till it dips and put some in. Even investing small amounts like that over a long period of time will see growth. Just don't pull it out when the market is down.
 
Lightshow said:
I am pretty much planning to do this because I am bad at saving money. I was planning on just making a transfer to chime every paycheck off my credit union where I already have my chime debit card and PayPal cards cut up. I even cut up my credit card but got this idea because I can keep putting money in my credit account.

Anyone have any ideas like this instead of getting CDs where you can't get the money easily. I think it would take 3 days or so to transfer out of chime and I can distance myself from my own money. Should I even trust chime like that? Or should I go with a large bank and just use it strictly for money cold storage. Ty
Click to expand...
I started just putting cash on a green dot. tossed the card in a drawer so I don't carry it. Green dot is a checking account with no checks. If you don't have the card it's tuff to use it. Ironically that works with credit cards to. They are there in an emergency but you haft to go get it. Keeps from spending on frivolous things.
 
I ended up putting all the cash I had back into the bank because my neighbors doing crazy shit, plus I think I had some pills go missing so I changed all my locks lol but finding an ATM to deposit it all wasn't fun.

I think my issue is impulse buying, I'll see something and just want it, like I bought an iphone- was really dissatisfied with the screen size. Sold that... Then yesterday I was like oh I need vape stuff I'll start vaping, didnt need that either. Amazon in particular makes it really easy to do this.

But I withdrew all my cash because I didnt wanna impulse buy a s22 ultra which is like $1000

I think what would help me is putting a set amount in savings every check, and a set amount into my rent bucket and budgeting, but there's always those shiny things I want.
 
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Lightshow said:
I ended up putting all the cash I had back into the bank because my neighbors doing crazy shit, plus I think I had some pills go missing so I changed all my locks lol but finding an ATM to deposit it all wasn't fun.

I think my issue is impulse buying, I'll see something and just want it, like I bought an iphone- was really dissatisfied with the screen size. Sold that... Then yesterday I was like oh I need vape stuff I'll start vaping, didnt need that either. Amazon in particular makes it really easy to do this.

But I withdrew all my cash because I didnt wanna impulse buy a s22 ultra which is like $1000

I think what would help me is putting a set amount in savings every check, and a set amount into my rent bucket and budgeting, but there's always those shiny things I want.
Click to expand...
Mmm... be careful of shiny things! I personally put basic limits on my accounts, so if account A . Goes past 6000.. I completely stop spending until I am back at my 7000 limit... (that sort of thinking) it works really well for me! I have separate accounts , I don't even know the p.i.n for ! They are pure savings, one for retirement. One for extreme emergency... money sets me free... (that's my take on the evil stuff....)
 
My wife handled all of our finances brilliantly but after she died, that fell back on me. Fortunately we had a financial advisor so I usually listen to him.
 
dogboy said:
My wife handled all of our finances brilliantly but after she died, that fell back on me. Fortunately we had a financial advisor so I usually listen to him.
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I heard advisors are really expensive...
 
almost every big bank has a long term savings type of account that lets you pay in but only withdraw by booking an appointment with them and discussing why you need to withdraw from it.

also, if youre struggling to clear card debts you shouldnt really be risking what you are able to save on trading investment. most of the time its literally throwing money away.
 
It turns out my credit union is gonna hook me up with a financial advisor which is nice, I assume its free but I know how expensive they can be.
 
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Yep, financial advisors are usually for people with lots of money... From what I've read, the best place to put your money, if you're trying to save, is into a high-interest savings account that you cannot access online - I have an account from Chase where you can request the online access be shut off. My best advice is to Google what you are looking for - which is how I started to understand how to budget and save as a single parent (link attached but there are also lots of other good articles online aimed at single parents).
 
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