Trim the Fat Tuesday: The Raise

This is a little bit of a cheat because I'm not technically making a cut in spending. After much haggling in our latest round of contract negotiations, though, we did end up getting a raise this year. I will therefore

Move all the extra income from my raise immediately into savings.
Photo courtesy of 401kcalculator.org

It's actually easier for me to consider this extra money since it wasn't in my check from the beginning of the school year. We usually use that amount for our annual budget, but now my suddenly higher checks will feel more like a bonus since our budget is already accounted for. The trick here is to earmark that cash for savings right away, before we get used to having it lying around, and before it just sort of disappears into the checking account where it could be frittered away on goodies from the local bakery or a pellet gun or something.

My raise comes to $902.29 for the year, which is $676.72 after taxes. Prorated out to 12 months, that's $56.39 extra a month to add to our savings. Not a bad bump, and one that I can easily trim right out of my paycheck and set aside each month.

Savings per month: $56

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