Last week I discussed the steps I was taking to recoup some of the money I’ve spent while at home mindlessly shopping online. The refunds from the packages that I’ve returned have started to roll in, and I still have a lot of work left to do with figuring out what else can be returned and what can be sold. I cleaned up my Poshmark closet to be ready for when I’m ready to start listing new items. Make sure you’re following my closet on Poshmark (if you’re new to Poshmark, use me as a referral – @keshjontae – to earn $10 in Posh Credit).
The next step is figuring out what to do with the money I’m no longer spending on clothes.
The money that I’ve been spending all willy nilly is the money that I’d usually pay on my student loans (which is the only debt that I actually have at this point) and I’m still working during “everything going on outside”, so I don’t necessarily need to move this money back into other areas of my budget like groceries, gas, or utilities because all that stuff is already taken care of. (I know in a previous post I said I was making myself broke but I can be a little dramatic, ok?)
I could technically still pay on my student loans while they’re in deferment until October, but what’s the fun in that?
Instead of using that money for its budgeted purpose I decided that I will…
Save It.
Yep, that’s my master plan! I plan to put more money into my short and long term savings accounts to go toward my short and long term savings goals.
Short-Term Savings
I’ve followed Dave Ramsey lightly over the years, and if you’re a Dave Ramsey follower you’ll recognize my short term savings goals are basically “sinking funds”. If you’re not a Dave Ramsey follower – my sinking funds are amounts that I put aside to pay one-time expenses that come up through the year. This can be for bills, gifts, or annual sales (hey – there’s nothing wrong with shopping as long as it’s budgeted). This way I can save a little money per paycheck and have the money available when I need it instead of trying to come up with the money at one time.
Because of the limitation on withdrawals from savings accounts, my short term savings are stashed in a secondary checking account that’s set aside for, well, short term savings. With my bank I can set up savings goals and allocate the money in my checking account to each goal, but this can also be tracked manually with Excel or a notebook. Some of my sinking funds include:
– Birthday, Christmas, Mother’s Day Gifts
– Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sales
– Car Maintenance & Tags
– Professional expenses such as CPE costs, conference costs, license renewal
– Vacation & Holiday Travel
Long-Term Savings
My long term savings account is for “rainy day” savings and money that I won’t need right now. Because I won’t need this money anytime soon, these funds are stashed in an actual savings account. Just like my short term account, I can set up different savings goals in my savings account and allocate the money there to each goal.
– Deductible Fund
– Emergency Fund
– Home Fund
Invest In My Business.
Another super exciting option, I know!
Some of you may not know that, although I do work in Corporate America as a corporate income tax accountant, I have my own business – The Millennial Taxpert. In that business, I prepare tax returns for a handful of clients but I’m also focusing on helping small business owners with six figure profits and high tax liabilities to develop proactive tax strategies that can save them thousands (and thousands!) of dollars a year in tax.
In order to do that, I have to invest in my business so that I have the tools, resources, and expertise to save my clients as much money as possible. Not only that, I need to invest in tools and resources to actually get clients! So I’ll be setting aside some of the money I’m saving from my deferred student loan payments to purchase additional sales/marketing coaching and continuing education for some of the more advanced tax strategies that I may not be as familiar with.
Outfit Deets
I can be down for a good print mix here or there, but for the most part I realize most of my clothes are pretty basic – other than the bright colors. I have a lot of solids, and I love it because I feel like solids make for great color blocking outfits (and bonus points if every single thing I’m wearing is a different color). This outfit brought me so much joy when I put it on because I really felt like it represents me perfectly. Introverted with an extroverted style!
RIP to this necklace that I’ve had forever and don’t know where I got it – somehow a couple beads on some of the strands fell off and that was all she wrote. *pours a little out for the ones we lost along the way*
