bigdogger wrote:
Glad it works for you. However most of us use a different method. It's called "planning, budgeting and saving". But if you need to trick your mind into saving for vacations and entertainment, go for it.
Oh, don't get me wrong here, we have a family budget. Been doing a family budget for 29 years and it works. We have a camping allotment, the house mortgage, even expected normal weekly fuel consumption to and from work, medical deductibles, food, utilities, license plates for all the vehicles, anything that is consistent. That "laundry fund" comes out of the "left over" disposable money (cash available for anything left over-after-all bills amount). It's the "extra" that gets tucked aside.
Although we have a couple credit cards, we very seldom use them, just enough to keep them active. We have a second checking account that draws interest. We started using this account years and years ago to act as our own credit card in the event we need to purchase a big-ticket item or something unexpected (which happens sometimes). When we pull money from that account, we pay it back just like a credit card and pay ourselves "interest" too. Keeping that for rainy days as prevented us from racking any amount on any real credit card for over 20 years now.
I guess I'm suggesting, find something you do on a regular basis. It might be every time you take a shower, every time you flush the loo, every time you get a phone call.... and put a quarter in a can. Have fun, don't be a slave to it, but do it for a designated purpose, and you'll be amazed how much you end up with that probably would have been squandered away.
FYI, it REALLY is nice starting out the camping season with the funds already available. It makes planning and execution so much more enjoyable!
