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What are you saving up to buy?

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R

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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
I was looking at my TSFA account balance recently and momentarily I couldn't remember why I had socked away all the money inside. Sometimes I find I have a hard time connecting the cash or investments in an account with something tangible that I might consume at some point. It made me realise that aside from obvious rationales, i.e., retirement and emergency fund, I really should have a purpose for saving, otherwise I'm just needlessly depriving myself in the short term. Now I remember that I'm trying to save up so that I might be able to put down a downpayment on condo and buy a car some day.

So, what are you saving up for? Now that I think about it some more, I think might need to save up and replace or upgrade my aging desktop computer.
 
C

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#3 ·
We are saving up to pay down our mortgage.

We also may get a car, our 1993 Camry is still running fine but it's a 16 years old car. I am going to drive it to Algonquin Park this summer, we"ll see how that goes.
 
Jon_Snow

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#5 ·
The two "holy grails" of our savings strategy are paying off the mortage and building a cottage on some recreational property.

Basically, we have a $90000 GIC maturing in 2.5 years, about the same time our mortgage is up for renewal, so the GIC will take care of the mortgage. Then, 2 or 3 more years of saving without a mortgage to worry about should give us a nice cottage building fund.
 
S

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#8 ·
Like a few others, I'm building up the savings in the TFSAs so that when my mortgage comes due, I can renew for a year, and then I should have enough in the TFSAs to just pay it off.

Theoretically, I could do that and save a bit of interest now by making extra mortgage payments, but this also provides us with an emergency fund, and we aren't sure how long our oldest car will last... it might last five more years, it might last one... by having the cash in the TFSA if the car goes before the mortgage, we can do that instead.
 
M

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#9 ·
Beyond the regular retirement and home maintenance and vacations and such I'm saving enough so I can take a 6-ish month break from work next year. I want to have enough to pay for some college classes, tennis lessons and travel I intend to do then as well as have the equivalent of my salary for that period socked away in case murphys law strikes and the husband can't cover the bills or my employer doesn't want me back.
 
E

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#11 ·
Since I just bought a new house, I no longer have any particular savings goal. At the moment, any income that doesn't go to regular expenses is being spent on landscaping and various costs for our upcoming wedding. Plus it doesn't help that my renter skipped out on two month's rent and it'll take some time before I can drag him through the courts to get what he owes me. But hopefully there will be some savings starting this fall (we now have a new renter).
Like others, I will probably use 80% of my extra income to pay down the mortgage. In a way it's saving for retirement, because I'll have more equity when I sell the house. The rest will be used for vacations, or eventually a new car. We might have kids in a few years, so the vacation money will probably be reallocated, and some of the extra mortgage payment will be used for an RESP.
We use our TFSA as an emergency fund, so it doesn't really count as "savings" in my mind. I suppose as the limit increases we might use the TFSA for other purposes too.
 
T

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#13 ·
My goal is save up money for a used house. I think I should be able to pay 50% of it when I buy it in 5 years. When it has been paid off, I would like to work only part-time for the rest of my life. I think it's important to live close to friends and family members who are good at fixing things in and around the house. :D
 
H

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#14 ·
Hi:

We are paying down debt with investment income. Employment and rental surpluses are buying "stuff."

I am putting the finishing touches on the workshop building. Just got the oak flooring a couple weeks back from the local mill. Need stairs and some melamine for bookcases, and a bit of trim wood, and paint.

Then my thoughts will turn to tools. As I recently pimped my saw (table saw that is), a new table saw is no longer highest on my list. That would now be a band saw. Next would probably be a 16 to 20 inch planer.

We have plans to add insulation to the ceiling of the house, and cover over with a vapour barrier and drywall.

I want to develop my approximately 3 acre field, so I want to fence it in and improve the soil. Other than the direct fencing materials, I am looking for a post hole digger and a plow.

Then there is the assorted projects like chicken coop, back woods shacks, decks and gazebos ...

hboy43
 
B

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#20 ·
We don't ever save up to buy anything. We just pour every dollar into our mortgage, and then borrow back what we need, when we need it. It's the exact same effect as saving up for something, just more efficient, leaving more money in my pocket. Instead of earning piddling interest (and maybe getting taxed on it) in a savings account, we are saving mortgage interest, which is 'tax free' and a higher return.

We're 'saving' to buy or start a business, though, which also gives us the added benefit of having a tax-deductible loan.

Smaller 'savings' items are a new camera lens, and a tent trailer.

Smarter savings strategy
 
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Saniokca
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