I've been thinking so much about money lately with the economy the way it is. Right now, we're doing a lot of home improvements, but when we're done, I can see myself hammering down the mortgage or just stockpiling any extra money into the bank. We've got three months living expenses in our EF, but I want to have a heck of a lot more.

What's your comfort zone regarding stashed cash? Obviously, don't answer with specifics if you find it too personal. We contribute to over 4 different accounts every month, but I won't feel comfortable until I have about $25G all together in misc accounts (not including retirement, of course). That just seems to be my comfort number for some reason.

Is it just a number? I mean, if you have an EF, pay your bills with no problem, save for retirement, etc. and have some play money in an account, do you need more? When should the focus come off that die-hard saving? Or does it never end? Should it end so I can jet off to an island anytime I want when the cash is there?

What's your thoughts?

I just realized this post may be a little redundant with another post..."Are you happy with..."

Oh, well, just answer if inclined.

Its always nice to have an EF just in case. Its always nice to have cash to pay for everything. I hate paying anything with plastic but for us we want to keep using them and paying them off each month so that it looks good on our credit report. Its just me but I would write things down in the "I want list" and allot money each month to each catagory. All I'm saying is as long as we don't have any debts and everything is paid and have "enough" money in savings to last us about maybe a year I can get a good night sleep.

So far, I've never had to deal with that issue But we're getting close to paying off debts, then I want to beef-up the emergency fund and save for a couple of things.

The experts say you should set a limit, and I've done some of the online calculators, but it's hard to wrap my mind around the idea that the day will come when I won't need to be so careful with my money. I can't imagine ever being too loose with my money. I'd probably do more for my kids.

You want to feel safe and that is different for different people. But you also want to enjoy the life you can afford.

For me, safe is 6 months living expenses. Not extravagant living expenses, the bare necessities. But in order to enjoy what we have, I always have those budget buckets for the next item or two on my wish list. Maybe it is $30 a paycheck saved for deck furniture that isn't plastic. That way I am still making our savings grow, but have a special enjoyment on the horizon.

Cathleen

My magic number is 75K. I'd be happy having 75K in our savings.

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A woman is like a teabag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.-Eleanor Roosevelt