First Paycheck and Emergency Fund Plans

Tip: Transfer some of your money before you spend it all.

Anticipating Expenses

I’ve been asking people I know in person and online about expenses we should save for when owning a house. Basically they all suggest beefing up our emergency fund, so that’s what we’re planning on doing with the paychecks. The goal is dump as much as we can into savings to build up our emergency fund.

I posed our question on twitter and got some good responses. My twitter pals offer their practical advice:

@MoneyEnergy: major things are make sure plumbing is perfect, no flood potential in basement, and no leaks with roof. Roof quality big time.

@Fiscalgeek: one more tip, be sure you walk around with the home inspector, you’ll learn all sorts of things.

@jessc098: also, have in savings enough for your homeowner’s ins. deductible and flood ins. deductible.

@MoneyEnergy: not sure if you need a furnace where you are, but furnaces/repair can be a good chunk. Check how old it is, etc.

@Fiscalgeek: To date my largest onetime expense has been septic related and it ran $1600, I set aside $75 a month for misc repairs.

@jessc098: Have an emergency fund. Even though we got a nice house, we had a LOT of emergency repairs the 1st year

What about the rest of the paycheck money? About 10% of the paychecks will go towards gasoline and eating out (which I hope won’t be much) and the rest of the money will go towards my savings account. I’m saving up for an anniversary gift.It’s a surprise, but after we celebrate in December, I’ll let you know.

First Paycheck Review

I checked my checking account online this morning and my first paycheck from my temporary job came in. My weekly paycheck was $669.21 after taxes were taken out. Out of the paycheck 82% or $550 will be go towards savings. I didn’t even wait; I just created an automatic transfer to ensure it gets done.

We’re trying to build a bigger buffer for our emergency fund into our joint savings account. So 80% or so will be redirected through ING Direct’s automatic transfer every week until the temporary job ends. It feels good to take my own advice and got a side job.

If you’re willing to spend time, you may surprise yourself with the flexible job and decent pay. I looked for some part-time jobs with flexible hours to help those who are looking for more income.

I’d just like to add that I’ve been more exhausted at the end of the day, but knowing that this is temporary helps me out. Fun fact: Jay Leno lived off one paycheck since he was a kid.

Photo Credit: alexik

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