# 6 months to $40,000



## LaineFox (Jun 22, 2021)

I'm creating this post as a monthly tracking system, in order keep on top of my goals.

6 month goal - create a savings of $40,000

Current situation...
Single income earner.. we make less than our current spending habits for the past year or more. Our family habits are overdue for change. 

I want to challenge myself with a goal that feels impossible, and see where it takes me.



How to get there.

Save money from paycheck
Sell items at home
Stock investing
Add 1 or more side Hustle

Minimum expectations after 6 months. 

Reversed our poor spending habits
Learned a new skill or 2nd income stream
Provided value to other people during this process


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## TomB16 (Jun 8, 2014)

This goal is probably not nearly as hard as it seems to a non-saver. Once you plug the holes in your boat, you will be astonished at how quickly you can save money. Throw some side hustle on top of that and you will hit your goal.

IMO, it makes sense to binge-save and to do it early. It's way more efficient to spend a few years living in austerity, jacking up a bunch of saving, and then return to a normal life while the 3 year retirement seed grows with the market.

Continual saving is what works best for people, and that is great so that's what people should do, but binge saving done early is more efficient than continual saving.

Congratulations on your resolve to right your ship and correct your course. You are going to be fine and one day you will look back on this as a watershed moment that made it possible to retire comfortably. 

PS - Please accept my apology for posting in your money diary. I will not post again but I wanted to offer my respect and encouragement in your journey to financial success.


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## bigmoneytalks (Oct 3, 2014)

LaineFox said:


> I'm creating this post as a monthly tracking system, in order keep on top of my goals.
> 
> 6 month goal - create a savings of $40,000
> 
> ...


Once you get there, what will you do with the money?


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Quite an ambitious goal. I hope you achieve it.
Please let us know how you did it.

Saving $1700/week is a lot. That's more than most people make, period. Let alone saving.

Wish you all the best.
Make sure to post your ongoing progress.


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## LaineFox (Jun 22, 2021)

TomB16 said:


> This goal is probably not nearly as hard as it seems to a non-saver. Once you plug the holes in your boat, you will be astonished at how quickly you can save money. Throw some side hustle on top of that and you will hit your goal.
> 
> IMO, it makes sense to binge-save and to do it early. It's way more efficient to spend a few years living in austerity, jacking up a bunch of saving, and then return to a normal life while the 3 year retirement seed grows with the market.
> 
> ...



Thank you for the kind words and advice. 

You can absolutely post here anytime you like and I'm all for anyone sharing their thoughts! 

This is the kind of encouragement that will help me stay on track!


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## LaineFox (Jun 22, 2021)

bigmoneytalks said:


> Once you get there, what will you do with the money?


I'm at car guy at heart. 

My goal is have a serious conversation with myself about pulling the trigger on my all-time favorite car. 

1967-69 Chevy Camaro. 

If it makes sense financially, and it can used as a nice family Sunday driver as well as a long term appreciating asset. That will be my 6 month prize. 

Something in good shape seems to sell for 50k range so I may have to add funds on top, but thats the goal anyway.


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## LaineFox (Jun 22, 2021)

KaeJS said:


> Quite an ambitious goal. I hope you achieve it.
> Please let us know how you did it.
> 
> Saving $1700/week is a lot. That's more than most people make, period. Let alone saving.
> ...


Completely agree. Its going to take massive effort and planning and still may not work. 

I will absolutely post progress. Thank you.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

LaineFox said:


> Completely agree. Its going to take massive effort and planning and still may not work.


Also don't under estimate the power of small day to day savings, becoming frugal and looking for deals, and delaying purchases.

There are a lot of ways a person can save money day to day. Yes each of these is a small amount but it forms good habits. One develops skills such as knowing how to look for deals and knowing how to _avoid spending_ money.

Our society encourages people to spend as much money as humanly possible. So it takes effort to go against the grain, but I think it pays off.


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## TomB16 (Jun 8, 2014)

LaineFox said:


> My goal is have a serious conversation with myself about pulling the trigger on my all-time favorite car.


That's great and I applaud you for reaching for your dream but forget what I said about future financial success. You aren't looking for a way to save money. You are looking for a way to spend more.

Enjoy the car.


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## Mortgage u/w (Feb 6, 2014)

I think the biggest prize you will give yourself the change in your lifestyle. You mentioned that you spend more than you make so I could assume this causes a great strain on your family. Its great that you want to spoil yourself with your dream collection car, but know that those cars are endless money pits - if you don't maintain a balanced budget, your dream will turn into a nightmare.

I am happy to see that you have identified the issue and are committed to making a change. Unfortunately, too many people are in your situation and fail to identify their poor financial decisions. 

Managing your spending habits is easier than you think. You just need to establish a balanced budget. 

Figure out your take-home income and list all expenses. Cut all useless and material expenses - ask yourself if you really need it. Then, take a look at necessities (food, housing, transport) and see how you can minimize those expenses. You may be able to negotiate some, become fugal or simply find cheaper alternatives. 

Any left over money should be split between an emergency savings account and a long term savings investment. Once the emergency account covers at least 3-6 months of earned income, you can switch those funds to the long-term savings. Once you have a clear budget, you always start by paying yourself first, then necessities, then material spending. The material spending is last so that you can easily sacrifice something should one of the other expenses increase. Savings is priority. 

Stick to the budget and you will achieve your goal. Further maintain the budget and you will achieve more than you ever thought, including a healthy, happy and stress-free life. 

Cheers!


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## LaineFox (Jun 22, 2021)

Mortgage u/w said:


> I think the biggest prize you will give yourself the change in your lifestyle. You mentioned that you spend more than you make so I could assume this causes a great strain on your family. Its great that you want to spoil yourself with your dream collection car, but know that those cars are endless money pits - if you don't maintain a balanced budget, your dream will turn into a nightmare.
> 
> I am happy to see that you have identified the issue and are committed to making a change. Unfortunately, too many people are in your situation and fail to identify their poor financial decisions.
> 
> ...


I really appreciate the detailed advice.

You are right about the money pit.. and even when the car doesn't need a thing.. we start looking for new wheels and exhaust. Its a black hole no doubt.

I'm going to follow your advice on how to go abouts balancing the budget. That is great! Thanks!


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

I will provide a contrarian opinion on your desire to purchase the car. Although not a gear head myself, I understand the importance of motivation to keep at what may seem to be the difficult task of saving. My intuition tells me you think a short-term sacrifice of 6 months is worth the effort. However, this is a marathon not a sprint. I suggest that you revise your goal to $80 000 in one year. Essentially requiring you to save for the car twice. Put one half of your savings towards debt repayment and retirement saving and the other towards your reward. From a purely, numbers perspective saving before paying of debt makes less sense, but habits are not often ingrained through logic. Instead, habits require motivation and repetition. If one year is not a realistic time frame, consider extending the timeline but not the amount. You may think that it will be harder to stick with it for longer but if this is a temporary venture you will miss out on the best reward of all. Financial freedom. 
When I embarked on my financial redemption, I started investing while still having some bad debt. I was able to advance my learning while the portfolio was small and some return on investment was the incentive to pay off my debt so that I could add more capital to invest. In my case it wasn't a 50-50 split as I knew the debt was a negative return and a heavy burden I no longer wanted to carry. The miracle of compounding works in both directions. 

Nowadays, our household uses a lot of sub accounts for savings. Examples include home renos and maintenance, vehicle repair and replacement, emergency savings, as well as accounts for gifts, toys, and vacations. Best of luck on your journey.


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## LaineFox (Jun 22, 2021)

Thank you for your thoughts. 

I'm going to stick with the 6 month goal in the hope that's its the silver line between giving me enough time to make good money.. but not too long where I lose out interest and give up, like I've done in the past. The shorter time frame basically means I need foot on the pedal at all times to make it work.. 

I like your idea of chasing financial freedom instead. It is absolutely the right thing to do. I'm going to try my best on focusing on making the money first and then have that decision in front of me at the end of 6 months. Even 40k would make a great difference towards financial freedom, let alone 80! 

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Not to be the cynical one, but I'm really interested in how you plan to save 1700 a week.

Personally? I can't.

I wish I could. But how?

What is your plan?


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## LaineFox (Jun 22, 2021)

KaeJS said:


> Quite an ambitious goal. I hope you achieve it.
> Please let us know how you did it.
> 
> Saving $1700/week is a lot. That's more than most people make, period. Let alone saving.
> ...





KaeJS said:


> Not to be the cynical one, but I'm really interested in how you plan to save 1700 a week.
> 
> Personally? I can't.
> 
> ...


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## LaineFox (Jun 22, 2021)

To be honest. I'm not 100% sure yet. $1700 a week is going to be extremely hard. And I don't know how.

But that's part of the game. Make it hard and see where process takes me. Maybe the first month or 2 will be off track.. but I got 6 months to make it right. 

Time to get the creative juices flowing. 

Part of my process of sharing this journey will be to help anyone else as I go. I hope I can add some value to you in your own journey from any new income and saving ideas I can come up with.

Side note.. If I'm just going off savings alone.. in a perfect world with no surprise expenses.. I could maybe save $1,200 to $1,400 in a month. So new income absolutely has to be part of this process.


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## Mortgage u/w (Feb 6, 2014)

LaineFox said:


> To be honest. I'm not 100% sure yet. $1700 a week is going to be extremely hard. And I don't know how.
> 
> But that's part of the game. Make it hard and see where process takes me. Maybe the first month or 2 will be off track.. but I got 6 months to make it right.
> 
> ...


You need to make your goal clear and attainable. If you are setting an unrealistic goal, you will definitely fail. Attaining a goal does not happen by chance. Its attained by being focused and committed to a realistic plan.

If you don't know how you can save $1700/week, then you have already failed before having started. You will not be "off-track" for the first 2 months - you will be off-track, period.

Sorry for being direct, but not having a plan is exactly the reason people derail and continue to have financial difficulties. Its a rude awakening once you acknowledge the changes and sacrifices needed.


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## LaineFox (Jun 22, 2021)

Mortgage u/w said:


> You need to make your goal clear and attainable. If you are setting an unrealistic goal, you will definitely fail. Attaining a goal does not happen by chance. Its attained by being focused and committed to a realistic plan.
> 
> If you don't know how you can save $1700/week, then you have already failed before having started. You will not be "off-track" for the first 2 months - you will be off-track, period.
> 
> Sorry for being direct, but not having a plan is exactly the reason people derail and continue to have financial difficulties. Its a rude awakening once you acknowledge the changes and sacrifices needed.



I have been working on a plan and as of October 1st I've started my challenge. 

So their will be a plan absolutely. 

I do agree the 40k goal is unrealistic.

However, I'd still like to see where it goes.

If I happen to only make $20,000 and at the same time I've stopped leaking the boat of overspending plus I've put in new financial habits, I would still consider that a good experience.


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## Mortgage u/w (Feb 6, 2014)

LaineFox said:


> ..... If I happen to only make $20,000 and at the same time I've stopped leaking the boat of overspending plus I've put in new financial habits, I would still consider that a good experience.


Yes, the best outcome is indeed to have your finances under control.


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

LaineFox said:


> I have been working on a plan and as of October 1st I've started my challenge.


You are one month into your challenge and hopefully making progress. Any increase in savings over previous months is success in my view.


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## LaineFox (Jun 22, 2021)

Month 1 update. 

New Savings ($1800)
Previous Savings ($4000)
Surprise reimbursement for education related expense ($2200)

Total savings $8,000


Positives:

cut off morning breakfast drive thru
cut off eating out lunches
cut off gym memberships
cut off expensive restaurants
cooking dinner at home nearly every night
leftovers for lunch the next day
moved credit card and high interest LOC to low interest HELOC.
wife has been amazing. fully on board with our mission and doing her part
cut off unnecessary purchases
surprise reimbursement money i wasn't expecting


Negatives:

cost cutting can only generate a limited amount of savings.. and I've yet to add new income.
applied for 2 jobs for weekend side hustle income. No bites.
didn't sell any of my items at home
didnt setup addition income source
month 2 will include small vacation
did not start my investing plan


Overall, I would say I got lucky in month 1. Without my previous savings and surprise reimbursement I would be way under my goal. But ill take it.

** Important note. I previously mentioned one of my main goals were to also add value to others.. since I've started this challenge, 2 other family members have joined in and started similar goals of their own.

I'm making this point for future reference, as I think it has the potential to be the biggest highlight of the journey.

Month 2 Goals:


add 2nd income source
fix and sell old vehicle not in use
start selling home items
get back to investing with stocks
continue bill reduction and reduce excess expenses


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## Gothenburg83 (Dec 30, 2021)

LaineFox said:


> Month 1 update.
> 
> New Savings ($1800)
> Previous Savings ($4000)
> ...


What are you doing for exercise? 
I have always been reasonably active but I know myself well enough that if I stopped my gym membership I'd get lazy quickly/ Walking doesn't cut it for me as I am a of a worrier when it comes to staying active and at my age I am mostly concerned about the long term problems after 70 due to loss of balance due to muscle atrophy and sarcopenia.


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## LaineFox (Jun 22, 2021)

Gothenburg83 said:


> What are you doing for exercise?
> I have always been reasonably active but I know myself well enough that if I stopped my gym membership I'd get lazy quickly/ Walking doesn't cut it for me as I am a of a worrier when it comes to staying active and at my age I am mostly concerned about the long term problems after 70 due to loss of balance due to muscle atrophy and sarcopenia.



Yes I can totally agree with that. 

I have a fully stocked gym within my strata complex. My plan is to make use of it. Wasnt making any use out of the gym memberships as well.


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## jlunfirst (1 mo ago)

LaineFox said:


> Month 1 update.
> 
> New Savings ($1800)
> Previous Savings ($4000)
> ...


Good to sell that under-used 2nd(?) vehicle. Really, if you don't have children....figure out your lifestyle differently.
Don't know what your skill set is for side hustle. There maybe jobs for national survey firms, IPSOS or doing simple book-keeping online.


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## LaineFox (Jun 22, 2021)

jlunfirst said:


> Good to sell that under-used 2nd(?) vehicle. Really, if you don't have children....figure out your lifestyle differently.
> Don't know what your skill set is for side hustle. There maybe jobs for national survey firms, IPSOS or doing simple book-keeping online.



Yup. Ended up selling the van and reduced monthly expenses at the same time with insurance and repair costs. Feels good to downsize and we haven't missed the extra vehicle.


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## LaineFox (Jun 22, 2021)

November update. 

New total $14,000 (sold van) 

The vacation offset any chance of significant savings from pay cheque. 

But the big win was selling the van and getting $6000 new money towards savings. 

I've also switched my cable and internet provider for additional monthly savings. Every dollar counts. 

New side hustle income $120. - I've taken on the challenge of trying to make additional side money from the stock market. Most of November and December have been spent learning and working on a trade plan. I've been trading on and off since 2014.. but haven't been successful to date. I'm using this time to also understand what I've done wrong and where I can improve. Main focus has been options trading, call/puts and credit spreads. 

Only $120 as I'm going in very light.. and focusing on the strategy/psychology and not the $$$.


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## Covariance (Oct 20, 2020)

Congrats on your focus and progress. There is alpha from application of behavioural finance, at least in my experience. Happy learning.


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