I just stumbled upon this very useful site - Cost To Drive.  What does it do?  Simply enter where you are going and what you are driving, and it will tell you (approximately) how much the trip will cost (in terms of gasoline).  Sometimes, I love the Internet.

Before posting this article, I did a bit of searching.  It looks like there are a few sites that offer tools that help you calculate how much gasoline you will use on a trip.

Gas Addict - Uses a map-based tool.  It takes a minute or two to figure out, but it works pretty well.  You can enter multiple points along your trip.

Triple A - Has a very basic calculator.  There’s not much to it, to be honest.

MSNBC - This is very simple.  Just enter how far you are going, the cost of gas, and your gas mileage.

All of these calculators will get the job done, but I really like the one from Cost to Drive.  Check them out and let me know what you think.

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I’m a big fan of setting goals and creating plans - both short-term and long-term.  It’s important to me to clearly define my financial goals, because I’m trying to live my life without borrowing money.  Obviously, this means that I need cash - and quite a bit of it - in my savings account.

I only have one savings account, but the money in that account is allocated to very specific goals, according to my various short-term and long-term plans.

Here’s the current breakdown -

Emergency Fund -

I have enough money in my savings account to cover 12 months worth of household expenses.  I do not plan to use this money except for a major life emergency - think job loss, sickness of a child, or other unexpected life-event.  This money just sits in the account, as a preventative against life’s curve balls.  It is our (my wife’s and my) security-blanket.

Annual Expenses -

Certain bills are due once a year.  There is no need to keep the money that is budgeted for these expenses in my checking account, not earning any interest.  Instead, I divide the annual expense by 12 and transfer that amount, each month, from my checking account to my savings account.  Then, when the annual bill is due, I transfer the entire amount due from my savings account to my checking account and I make payment.  It is vitally important, when you are making your monthly budget, to include any annual or non-monthly bills.

• Automobile Insurance Premium
• Automobile Taxes
• Renter’s Insurance Premium
• Club Fees

Short-Term Savings Goals - (less than three years)

Lets assume that in the next three years I want to purchase a new washing machine, a new dryer, and a new sofa.  I can -

A.  Save for one goal (purchase) at a time.  For instance, if I want a new washing machine, I can allocate all of my short-term savings to the purchase of a washing machine.  In my budget, I’ll create a line-item labeled washing machine.  Suppose I have a total of $300 for short-term savings and the washing machine costs $900.  For three straight months, I will transfer $300 from my checking account to my savings account.  At the end of three months, I’ll transfer the entire $900 from my savings to my checking, and I’ll buy the washing machine.  Then I will begin to save for the dryer.  Once I buy the dryer, I’ll save for the sofa.

B.  Save for multiple goals (purchases) at a time.  Let’s assume that the washing machine will cost $900, the dryer $900, and the sofa $900.  I will create three line-items, one labeled washing machine, one dryer, and one sofa.  I’ll then transfer $300 from my checking to my savings, but in my budget, $100 will be allocated to the washing machine, $100 to the dryer, and $100 to the sofa.  In nine months, I’ll have enough to buy all three items.

It really doesn’t matter which way I do it.  It all really depends on how many budget categories I want to keep up with and how detailed I want my plan to be.  Obviously, plan B can change to plan A at any time, and vice-versa.  If I’m following plan A, and I’ve saved up enough to buy the washing machine, I might change my mind, and wait another three months, so I can buy the washing machine and dryer as a pair.  Or, I might find a deal on the sofa, and buy it first.  The idea here isn’t to bog myself down in the minutiae of a thousand different budget categories.  The real goal is to think beyond today.  If I know that I’m going to need, at some point in the not-so-distant-future, a new washing machine, I need to start saving today.  If I don’t, I won’t be ready to pay cash when my old washing machine dies.

• New Furniture
• New Appliances
• Newer Automobile
• Dream Vacation

Long-Term Savings - (three to seven years)

I am trying to save enough money to pay cash for a house.  This is a big goal, and I want to accomplish it in a relatively short amount of time.  If I were to focus my savings, exclusively, on this particular goal, I wouldn’t have enough money to cover some of my smaller, short-term goals.  So, I save for my long-term goal just like I did for my short-term goal, but with a twist.  Every extra dollar of income, above and beyond what it takes to meet my other savings goals, is allocated to long-term savings.  This includes income from my business, income from eBay sales, gifts from family members, etc.

In my budget, there is a line-item labeled new house, and a portion of my regular paycheck is transferred from my checking account to my savings account, each month, and is allocated for my future home purchase.  In addition to those regular transfers, any additional income that I might receive is immediately transferred into my savings account and is allocated for a future home purchase.

Various -

From time to time, I’ll also use my savings account to store Roth IRA or ESA contributions, before I transfer those contributions to my Roth, my wife’s Roth, or my kids’ ESAs.  I’ll probably stop doing this, once I move away from annual contributions and towards monthly contributions.

I’ve been very happy with ING Direct and their Orange Savings Account.  If you want, you can actually open sub-accounts, link them to your primary account, and keep your money separate that way.  I don’t do this, but I know many who do.

Keep in mind, many savings account limit the number of withdrawals you can make each month (or quarter).

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For those looking to open an online savings account or online interest bearing checking account, I have some new referrals for my favorite online bank, ING Direct.

Click one of the referrals below to open a new Electric Orange Checking Account With ING Direct.

Features of the account -

Electric Orange delivers the access and convenience of checking with the earning power of savings:

• Earn interest (1.75% APY on balances up to $50,000)
• Free ATM access at more than 32,000 location
• A MasterCard® Debit Card for purchases
• Free Bill Pay and automatic overdraft protection
• To receive your $25 bonus, your initial contribution must be at least $250.
• If you apply through one of the referral links below, I’ll receive $10.

Electric Orange Checking Referral

Electric Orange Checking Referral

Electric Orange Checking Referral

Electric Orange Checking Referral

Electric Orange Checking Referral

Electric Orange Checking Referral

Electric Orange Checking Referral

Electric Orange Checking Referral

Electric Orange Checking Referral

Electric Orange Checking Referral

Electric Orange Checking Referral

Electric Orange Checking Referral

Click one of the referrals below to open a new ING Direct Orange Savings Account.

Features of the account -

The Orange Savings Account

• No minimum balance required. Everyone earns the same high yield.  (As of July 31, 2008, the yield is 3.00% APY)
• 24-hour access to your account - you’re always ready for opportunities.
• FDIC-insured - your money is safe and secure.
• To receive your $25 bonus, your initial contribution must be at least $250.
• If you apply through one of the referral links below, I’ll receive $10.

Orange Savings Account Referral

Orange Savings Account Referral

Orange Savings Account Referral

Orange Savings Account Referral

Orange Savings Account Referral

Orange Savings Account Referral

Orange Savings Account Referral

Orange Savings Account Referral

Orange Savings Account Referral

Orange Savings Account Referral

Orange Savings Account Referral

Orange Savings Account Referral

Orange Savings Account Referral

Orange Savings Account Referral

Orange Savings Account Referral

Once these referrals have been used, I’ll post more.  If you click on a link and the referral does not work, then it has been used by someone else.  No problem.  Simply contact me and I’ll send you your very own referral link, straight to your email.

If you would like to open an account, but you don’t have $250 for the initial deposit, you can click here to open an Electric Orange Checking Accountor here to open an Orange Savings Account.  You will not receive a bonus, but you’ll still get the same great rates!

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From my other sites -

Over at No. Calories Needed I’m using a minimalist approach and simply tracking my calories.

Over at the NCN Network I went old school and posted 40 chart updates - all at once!

From The Money Blog Network -

All Financial Matters - The Genius Of Warren Buffet (And A Book Giveaway)

Consumerism Commentary - Considering Tax-Exempt Money Market Funds

Wise Bread - Make Your Own Deal Tracker

Get Rich Slowly - Drama In Real Life - Foreclosed

Mighty Bargain Hunter - Time To Get Back To The Basics

Free Money Finance - Do You Track Your Net Worth?

About the Midnight Meanderings -

The Midnight Meanderings are published two or three times a week and highlight articles from across the web as well as the most recent articles from my other sites.

This edition of the Midnight Meanderings will actually post at Midday.  Why?  Well, I put the wrong time-stamp on the post!

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Well, well.  Just a few days ago, it was announced that Citigroup was going to buy my bank, Wachovia.  Now, however, it looks like Wells Fargo will be buying Wachovia, not Citigroup.

As a customer, the following quote from Yahoo Finance makes me feel a little better about the new deal -

While Wells Fargo has logged three straight quarters of profit declines, the bank has been weathering one of the nation’s worst credit crises much better than most of its competitors, in part because it had less exposure to the subprime mortgages whose failure undermined the financial sector. (This quote has been removed from the original Yahoo Finance article.  See note at the bottom of this post.)

As a tax payer, it’s great to see that this deal will go through without government funding or FDIC funding.  Again, from Yahoo Finance -

The Citigroup deal would have been done with the help of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., but the Wells Fargo deal for Wachovia will be done without it. (This quote has been removed from the original Yahoo Finance article.  See note at the bottom of this post.)

This might not be the end of the Wachovia saga, but I feel much better than I did a few days ago.

Edit - Not one minute after I wrote this post, the information from Yahoo Finance changed.  It looks like Citigroup is upset about this deal and is claiming that it has an exclusive agreement with Wachovia.  Stay tuned.

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