Monthly Archives: October 2019

Best Ways to Create a Money Goal for 2020

money-goals

With just a little work, you can map out your financial goals for the upcoming year. With money, it can seem overwhelming or tricky to know where to begin. Luckily, Timberwood Bank is here to help! We’ve come up with some of our favorite ways you can create your money goal for 2020.

Figure Out Your Finances

The first step you should take is to calculate how much income you take in each month after expenses. You may feel that you have a good estimate, but once you start racking up all the costs, you’ll be surprised how much you are left with. Once you’ve subtracted all expenses (gas, groceries, eating out, rent, utilities, mortgage, etc.) from your income, decide where you can drop off some of those expenses.

Track Your Expenses

Use an app or a pen and paper to keep track of your spending to be sure you account for all expenses. If you want to reduce your spending in order to put even more money toward savings, identify your needs and wants and try to indulge in the wants less. This will help you create a specific way to spend less in order to meet your money goal.

Evolve Your Emergency Fund

Another great goal for 2020 would be to create a bigger and better emergency fund. Start the year off right knowing you’re covered if the unexpected happens. This will help you live with confidence, instead of worrying paycheck to paycheck if something could pop up that you aren’t ready for. This will make you feel more secure when reaching towards whatever goal you set.

Create Accountability

If you stop saving towards your goal and start spending a little extra here and there, who’s going to care? That is the mindset you need to get past in order to stay on track toward your money goal. You need to create accountability in order to feel like you are responsible for making this goal actually happen. Find someone like a parent, friend or spouse you can talk to, so they can encourage you to keep on the right path.

Follow An Actual Plan

Having a real plan put into place on how you’ll accomplish your money goal is vital to your success. Knowing what you bring in, what you spend, what you’ll cut, how you’ll cut those expenses and so on will allow you to keep on keeping on. If you don’t know where to start, follow Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps:

  • Baby Step 1: Save $1,000 for Your Starter Emergency Fund
  • Baby Step 2: Pay Off All Debt (Except the House) Using the Debt Snowball
  • Baby Step 3: Save 3–6 Months of Expenses in a Fully Funded Emergency Fund
  • Baby Step 4: Invest 15% of Your Household Income in Retirement
  • Baby Step 5: Save for Your Children’s College Fund
  • Baby Step 6: Pay Off Your Home Early
  • Baby Step 7: Build Wealth and Give

With these helpful hacks, you’ll be able to start your money goal of 2020 off right. We offer plenty of places to put your savings or build for retirement if one of those are your goals. Check out our site to see how we can help you!

How to Eat Healthy on a Budget

vegetables

It’s extremely important to take care of yourself, just like taking care of your finances. We’re here to talk about both today! Eating healthy without spending lots of money on fresh fruits and protein can be a challenge, which is why we’ve compiled this list of clever ways you can do so.

Meal Plan Master

Make a list of what you’ll eat for the week – breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. This will leave no room for any extra purchases. Scan your cupboards, fridge and freezer to be sure you find all the items you can to help with your healthy meals before buying more. With healthy food, a lot of it can be fresh which is why meal planning will make sure you know you’re going to use it. This avoids having fresh food go bad and having to be thrown out.

Leftover Legacy

Making a slightly bigger portion of whatever you’re cooking can easily turn into an entire meal for lunch the next day! Cooking larger meals can save you both time and money. You can also use leftovers to turn into stews, salads, stir-fries or a healthy wrap with veggies.

Cheaper Cut Champion

Meat can get expensive, so be sure not to buy the first cut you see. Do some shopping around to see if there’s a different piece you can get for a dollar or two less. There are also other stores out there that can offer different discounts, so do your research. You could buy a larger, inexpensive cut of meat and use it in different ways throughout the week.

Protein Professional

If the last tip doesn’t help you out very much, there are plenty of less costly ways to get your protein in for the day. Try having one or two days per week where you use other protein sources, such as legumes, hemp seeds, eggs or canned fish. This gives you an inexpensive, yet nutritious, way to stay healthy and keep your wallet full.

Icy Instructor

Buying frozen fruits and veggies guarantee your fresh items won’t go bad. They are great to use when cooking and are perfect for smoothies. A lot of the time, you can also buy frozen food in larger quantities, so you have everything you need when cooking. You can also make sure you’re freezing any leftovers you aren’t going to eat, so it doesn’t go bad. This will allow you to have an extra meal sometime, instead of having to go out to eat when you don’t have any food left for lunch.

We hope you are able to save a little here and there with these helpful healthy tips! You can’t really put a price on good health, but you can save lots of money while maintaining your health. Once you become an overall winner at saving while being healthy, store those savings in an account with us.

Budget-Friendly Fun For Kids

kids

Finding activities for you to do with your kids, or have them do on their own, can be a challenge. It’s great to get them active and not just sitting on the couch, but at this point, you’re out of ideas. We have crafted the perfect list of kid-friendly things to do while also making sure it won’t break the bank!

Movie Marathon

If it’s chilly outside and the kids are looking to wind down, a movie marathon isn’t a bad idea! Make a theme of it, so you can make themed snacks to go with the movies you decide to watch.

Hands-On at Home Depot

Home Depot offers kids workshops which are perfect if you’re looking to entertain them. Home Depot says, “Kids workshops provide a lively environment mixing skill-building, creativity, and safety for future DIYers.” Find one near you.

Rockin’ Roller Skating

Roller skating is a cheap activity you can do indoors or out! Find a rink close to you to take your kids and their friends to.

DIY Arts & Crafts

There are thousands of articles online that offer fun DIY craft ideas for kids of any age. For example, here are some great Fall crafts you can make for cheap!

Scavenger Hunt

Throw a scavenger hunt and have the kids searching around the house all day long for your hidden goodies. Buying dollar prizes to hide here and there will keep them engaged and ready to search for more!

Money Lessons

When at home with your kiddos, you have the perfect chance to teach them about money. Talk about saving to start and get them their own piggy bank to begin the process.

Make Your Own Fun

Playdough, goop, shaving cream counter art and so on are all fun, messy items that kids can create and play with for hours. Keep them in the kitchen while you’re doing dishes or cooking by plopping them down to create their own playdough with this recipe.

Board Games

Teaching your child how to play chess or checkers is a great way to spend time with them without spending money. There are plenty of other board games you can play too, but chess is a great game that teaches thinking ahead and skill – so try it out!

Showtime

Puppet show, magic show, fashion show – you name it! Let your children entertain you or just themselves while hosting their own show.

Obstacle Course

Set up an obstacle course around the house for your kids to burn off energy. The floor is lava, so they have to climb all the chairs and items you put in place to make it across the room!

We hope your kiddos enjoy a few of these activities – we know your bank account appreciates it! Feel free to open a savings account with us to place some of that extra cash, or open one for your child so they can start saving too.

How to Rebuild Your Emergency Fund

piggy-bank

It finally happened – you had to spend your emergency fund. The good news is you had a fund, but the bad news is you spent it. Where do you go from here and how do you rebuild what you had? We wanted to offer some insight on ways you can begin to rebuild your emergency fund for the next rainy day.

Say ‘Bye’ To The Unnecessary 

That gym membership and extra show subscription will have to be canceled for now. You can get by without, as saving for the next emergency is more important than having Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and HBO all at once. Find the right balance though, as it’s still okay to treat yourself every once in a while with a small expense.

Put Other Goals On Hold

If you were hoping to renovate your home or go on a big vacation, you still can, but maybe just wait a little. All that savings you were adding to that fund could partially be transferred into your new emergency account. It’s important to stay prepared, as you never know when the next disaster might strike.

Get A Side Gig

Acquiring another job can be very beneficial for making money quick. Use your marketing skills to do some work for clients on your own or wait tables for a few months. This will help you get back on track before you know it. Tutor, give music lessons, babysit, pet sit, dog walk or design wedding invitations – whatever your skills or availability, you can find a side gig that works for you.

Start Saying ‘No’

You don’t have to turn down every opportunity, but try to say ‘no’ here and there while rebuilding your funds. Should you be spending money on eating out if you already did it once this week? No. Should you spend money on a new outfit or tickets if you already treated yourself this month? No. Be a little more stingy while saving again, as it’ll come in handy the faster you replenish your fund if something happens suddenly.

Sell Something

You have plenty of clothes and decor that are no longer of use to you. There are probably old electronics lying around as well that you don’t use anymore. See what you can sell online or bring to a thrift store for a couple of bucks. You’re decluttering and adding money to your account – we couldn’t be more proud of you! 

Don’t let this minor setback discourage your financial independence. You were well-prepared by having your first emergency fund in place, so now it’s time to make the next one bigger and better than ever. If you’re looking for a great place to store that rainy day fund, our savings accounts are always available for you!