The Blog of Heather Blaise by *Heather *

Try Filling Buckets!

Whether you are trying to save money or lose weight, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. However, as with dieting, sometimes the financial strategies that work the best are a little bit offbeat, even fun. Consider, for example, the success of Bank of America’s “Keep the Change” program where your debit card purchases are rounded up to the closest dollar and the difference is transferred from your checking to savings account. Another savings strategy found to be effective is the “bucket concept.” Rather than adhere to the traditional budgeting chore of writing down your expenses and tracking them each month, the bucket concept requires you to divide your spending into six categories and assign a specific percentage to each bucket.

The bucket approach was first encountered in Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth by T. Harv Eker. He suggests dividing your income this way:

            50% for necessities such as your mortgage payment or rent, car payments, groceries, utilities, gas, internet, cell phone, etc.

            10% for long-term savings to fund vacations, car repairs, house maintenance, clothes, etc.

            10% for retirement accounts such as your 401(k) plan or IRAs.