Let’s Talk Finances & Savings Goals

This post is brought to you by The Huntington National Bank and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.

Unexpected changes within your home are never fun and this summer we found ourselves experiencing one of those changes.  Our furnace died.  Luckily, we knew this was a possibility, and it happened in July, so we’ve had plenty of time to save and prepare so we didn’t have to pull from our regular savings. 

A few years ago, our air conditioner and refrigerator stopped working in the same month and it was beyond frustrating. It was in the middle of the summer and everything was hot and gross.  We weren’t expecting either of those things to happen and it wasn’t fun on our bank accounts or schedules. 

Luckily during all of that, our H/VAC guy told us to start planning because our furnace had one more winter in it before it died.  As a nice surprise, it stayed with us for 2 more winters and then called it quits in the middle of July.  This was all very helpful because it gave us the opportunity to plan for this particular home improvement.  

I’ve mentioned before that we bank at Huntington and recently we’ve been using the Savings Goal GetterSM tool in The Hub.  This tool allows us to create 10 different goals within our account (works with both savings and MMA accounts). We have categories like a new furnace, braces, home renovations, Disney vacation, car payoff, and a few more.  It allows us to see how we are doing with each goal and when we will reach that goal, without having to create separate accounts. 

We pay ourselves first and then pay our bills so we set it up so that each time a direct deposit comes into our account we set up an automatic transfer that sends a certain amount of money to each goal. 

I like this tool because I’m a visual person and being able to see the progress we are making with each goal is so helpful for me.  It also pushes me to work harder and save harder.  I’m not going to lie - I’m addicted to online shopping and shoes ;) but now with these visuals, it’s so much easier for me to want to save and that’s something my husband is very happy about! :)

A few quick FAQs about Huntington’s Savings Goal Getter tool

Q: How is money transferred to the goals?

A: If you created an Emergency Fund (and I highly suggest you do for any unexpected expenses...like a broken furnace!), money will be assigned to your Emergency Fund first. Then it is divided between your other goals based on the goal amount you’re saving and the due date you give yourself for individual goals.  The Savings Goal with the nearest due date will be assigned money first. This tool truly takes the guesswork out of saving!!

Q: How much money should I have in my emergency fund?

A:  This is different for everyone but a good rule of thumb is to have at least 3 months’ worth of expenses saved in case of an unexpected expense.

Q: Can I only have 10 goals?

A: You can set up to ten goals for each Huntington savings or money market account plus one Emergency Fund, but you can add or change a Savings Goal as often as you like.

I’m so happy that with the help of our bank we were able to better save for this expense. And a huge shout-out to our amazing H/VAC guy who let us know when this was going to happen, allowing us to plan for the expense!  That’s what community is for - helping each other, supporting each other, and showing kindness.  Now, this winter we will enjoy staying cozy under the covers without skipping a beat.