I started putting 10% of every check into a separate account and it changed my money game

The problem was I never had cash for big things like car repairs or a vacation. I opened a Capital One 360 Performance Savings account and set up an auto-transfer for 10% of my direct deposit. After six months, I had over $2,000 saved without even feeling it. Has anyone else found a set percentage that works for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

noraj792mo ago

Tried that once but my dog's vet bill ate the whole fund in a month.

morgan.cameron2mo agoTop Commenter

Wait, is your emergency fund just one big pot? That's risky. You gotta split it up, @noraj79. Like, have a main emergency fund for your own job loss or big house repairs. Then a separate, smaller vet fund for the dog. That way one vet visit doesn't wipe out everything. My cousin had her car fund drained by a pet surgery because it was all mixed together. Keep them in different bank accounts even, so you're not tempted.

the_harper5d ago

Mixing funds works fine if you actually track what's what. The problem isn't the pot being combined, it's that people forget how much is supposed to be for what. A vet visit hitting your main emergency fund just means you didn't set aside enough for the dog to begin with. Separate accounts don't save you if you still underfund the pet part. A $3,000 vet bill drains a $3,000 vet fund just as fast as it drains a $10,000 general fund. Focus on the dollar amounts, not the labels on the accounts.