I’ve been making steady progress towards my goal of saving $48,000 in 2007. In the middle of June, I ‘borrowed’ a little money from my ING Direct account so that I could go ahead and fully-fund my Roth IRA for 2007. Now I’m working on rebuilding my ING Direct account. (Remember, no matter what my current goal is, I always leave enough money in my Emergency Fund account to cover 6+ months worth of expenses.) So far, I’ve managed to save $22,333.33 in various retirement and education savings accounts. That means I’m $1666.67 BEHIND where I’d like to be. (Halfway through the year, I’d hoped to have $24,000 saved… but, I’m not discourage, at all! Why? I’ve got 6 more months to work towards my goal, I’m saving more than 50% of my gross income, and I’ve yet to get on a really, really tight budget. All in all, I’d give myself a solid B, but I’ll need A+ work over the next 6 months if I plan to meet my goal.) Here’s a chart of my current progress:

As you can see, I’ve fully-funded my Roth and my daughter’s ESA. Pre-tax retirement accounts are automatically funded, so all I really have to worry about is 1/2 of my wife’s Roth, my son’s ESA, and then our Brokerage Account.

In March I opened two Roth IRAs, one for myself and one for my wife. In April I ‘borrowed’ $5000 from my savings account so that I could fully-fund both Roth IRAs for fiscal year 2006. The total contribution for both accounts equaled $8000. Since April, I’ve been working to replace the $5000 that I ‘borrowed’ from my savings account. Yesterday, I deposited the final ‘re-payment’ to my savings account.

As some of you know, I’m trying to save $48,000 this year, in various retirement, education, and investment accounts. As part of my goal, I want to fully-fund two Roth IRAs for 2006 and 2007. I’ve already fully-funded both Roth IRAs for 2006. So, I had a choice to make. I had to decide if I wanted to wait a few months to send a contribution to one of the Roth IRAs, or if I wanted to ‘borrow’ the contribution from my savings and then spend the next few months rebuilding my savings. Quite frankly, I enjoy the added motivation of building and rebuilding my savings. Once I have made a contribution to a retirement account, the money is “out of site, out of mind”. So, this will be my ’system’. I’ll build up my savings, to a certain point, make a contribution to another account, and then rebuild my savings. Rinse, repeat. Rinse, repeat.

By the way, if you are wondering why I don’t send in smaller contributions, instead of the full $4000 each time, it’s just a matter of personal preference. I make a one-time contribution to each account and then make a single, annual ETF purchase. I chose to fund “my” Roth IRA. Why? It was listed first on my spreadsheet. Next up? My wife’s Roth IRA and then my son’s ESA. Saving money rocks!

Resources mentioned in this post: The Orange Savings Account. Earn 4.50%. Great rates, no fees, no minimums

This year I am trying to save $48,000 (60% of our gross household income). To read more about my goal, and to see how I’m doing, you can click on the $48000 category.

After 5 months I have managed to save, in various types of accounts, a total of $19,500. Here’s a chart detailing my progress.

I spent the month of June ‘paying myself back’. Why? In March I ‘borrowed’ money from my ING Direct Savings account so that I could fully fund 2 Roth IRAs for the 2006 fiscal year.

Saving $48,000 in one year requires a $4000 per month deposit. So, after 5 months, my goal was to have $20,000 saved. I have saved $19,5000. So, I’m ‘behind’ $500. I’ll work hard in June to save an additional $500, over an above my original goal amount.