Welcome to the second week of the challenge! So far in this course, you’ve figured out how much cushion you’d like to build and created a plan to boost savings to make that cushion possible. Today, you’ll learn how to track those extra savings in Goodbudget.
Let’s get started.
Use Goodbudget to track your cushion
Goodbudget is a budget tracker that allows you to create a budget using digital Envelopes. We recommend using it to make and manage your budget so that you can also track and build your cushion effectively.
The first step is creating a budget that’s equal to your regular income. We’ll talk about tracking your savings later on.
Step 1: Create your budget
If you haven’t already, sign up with Goodbudget. Next, review our How to Make a Budget guide to create a budget that is equal to your regular, pre-course income (i.e. your base income, not including your new savings).
You’ll want to follow along with Option 1 where we’ll walk you through building a budget based on your previous spending.
Once you’re done making your budget, you should continue using it to track your ongoing expenses, by either adding them manually or confirming your automatically imported ones, to make sure you’re spending in line with your income. If you spend more than your income, you’re already at risk of squashing your cushion so much that it won’t spring back before you need it, or at all.
One extra note: If you’re planning to cut back on spending as part of your savings strategy, then be sure your budget equals less than your income.
Step 2: Create a Goal Envelope to grow your cushion
Now that you’ve made your regular budget, it’s time to make a place where your cushion can grow.
To do that, create a Goal Envelope in Goodbudget and call it ‘Cushion.’ You’ll set its budgeted amount equal to the amount you want your cushion to be. And even though the plan is to grow your cushion in 30 days, don’t worry about adding a due date.
Going forward, when you make money from your new gig or have money leftover in your Envelopes from cutting back on spending, immediately stash them into your Cushion Goal Envelope using a Fill from New Income or an Envelope Transfer. That way, they’re safely set aside in the Envelope, and Goodbudget will help you track your progress throughout the next 30 days.
Step 3: Transfer your cushion to Available when it’s built
Bookmark this assignment so you can refer back to it in the future!
After you’ve gotten your cushion to the level you want, you’ll no longer have to keep it in a separate Goal Envelope.
Instead, you’ll transfer your cushion to your Available money via an Envelope Transfer where it will act as your cash buffer to help smooth bumps when paychecks don’t come on time, or when bills are a little higher than you expected.
That means that on the first day of the new month, you’ll be able to use your cushion to fill your Envelopes to full, rather than having to partially fill them or fill only some of them.
And that’s the beauty about having a cushion! You’ll be able to use that cushion to buy groceries and pay some bills even before your next paycheck arrives.
Once you do receive that new income, you’ll add that to Available to replenish your cushion.
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And that’s it! You’re on your way to breaking the paycheck to paycheck cycle by growing a cushion!
Homework
Leave a comment and let us know:
- How are things going with your savings plan? Are you on track to hit your 30-day cushion goal?
- What kinds of changes are you considering making so that you can reach your targets on time?
7 thoughts on “Watch Your Cushion Grow in Goodbudget”
Instead of only selling things and cutting spending, I could also try taking up a gig. I’ve been curious about doing language translation work, and the hours are flexible.
I’ve cut down on spending and taken advantage of good deals as as free groups and Kijiji. I’ve also been really looking and found needed items on sale about 40 percent off.
That’s awesome! Yay for looking for deals to help you cut back where you can 😀
This is my first month using the budget tracker and I haven’t been able to save money because I’ve overspent in some areas (groceries, gas, etc). Last month, before I started this program, I was $1500 in the red at the end of the month. This month, I may only be $250 so that’s something. I’m hoping to start my cushion envelope either next month or the month after. I have to remember that this is going to take time. I will work hard to spend less. I will not be able to go out as much and I have to work at finding better deals on groceries. With 2 growing boys to feed, it’s going to be necessary.
I am finding out what I spend my wants money and how quickly it gets spent. I can analyze areas that I spend too much money on, gifts seem to be a big one.
I am not going to truly start this challenge until August comes around, so I have a whole month to track how I am doing. So, I do not know how I am doing with my savings yet. But when I start the challenge, I plan to build cushions one step at a time, increasing it as I reach each cushion. I also plan to cut back my spending to only include needs for now, and then once I reach my first cushion, I will begin increasing my spending incremtly as I reach each cushion.
My cushion will be to try get a side gig this year that covers one particular debt and leaves a little for cushion.