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Sometimes, it’s okay to tap your savings for fun purposes. But it’s important to keep your fun savings separate from your emergency savings. Read on to learn more.
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Like many parents of school-aged kids, I find summer to be the easiest time of the year to travel. And I actually got to take two vacations this past summer — one kid-free trip with my husband and a family trip at the end of August.
I’m definitely not a fan of charging expenses on a credit card and paying off a balance over time. So rather than do that, I dipped into my savings to cover the cost of my trips. But I didn’t feel guilty or stressed about that for one big reason.
When you’ve saved specifically to take a vacation
Normally, it bugs me to take withdrawals from my savings to do things like cover medical bills or home repairs. And I sometimes worry when I have to raid my emergency fund for these purposes. But the reason I didn’t feel bad or worried about dipping into my savings for vacation purposes was simple — it’s because that’s what the money I accessed was there for.
I make a point to maintain a few different savings accounts. One account is my general emergency fund. I have enough cash in there to cover about a year’s worth of bills.
Some might argue that’s excessive, but as a freelance writer, I get no severance or unemployment pay. So I feel I need that extra protection.
I also have a home repair emergency fund that, in recent years, has morphed to also become the account I access to cover car repairs and medical bills. I try to maintain around a $10,000 balance there, because certain repairs can be quite expensive.
Homeowners spent nearly $6,000 on home repairs and maintenance on average in 2022, says Hippo. So since my account is also meant to cover car issues and medical bills, I feel that my balance makes sense for me.
And then I have a third savings account specifically for vacations and home improvements. This is actually the account I tend to dip into the most, but for good reason — I’m specifically saving for things I intend to do, whereas my general emergency fund and home repair fund are for unplanned events and expenses.
It pays to keep separate accounts
Maintaining separate savings accounts allows me to manage my money with less stress. It also helps ensure that I’m not taking withdrawals for the wrong reasons.
For example, since I keep my vacation-related savings separate from my emergency savings, I know that when I remove a few thousand dollars to take a trip like I did this summer, I’m not touching money I need for more important purposes.
If you have different goals or things you’re saving for, you may want to open separate accounts so you can be sure you’re taking money out for its intended purpose. That could make it so you’re not short on emergency cash when a major repair issue arises or you find yourself out of work.
That said, one thing I do is keep all of my different savings accounts at the same bank. That way, I can log in once and check up on how I’m doing with ease. And, if need be, I can transfer money quickly between my accounts.
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