At the end of 2008 I posted about a few predictions/goals that I had for 2009. Well I just wanted to give a quick update that I have reached my goal of saving $1000 in an emergency fund before June of this year.

As mentioned in the title of this post, I’m seeing this as a mini goal because a $1000 emergency fund in this economy/job market is still pretty pathetic. So I’m going to continue my savings pace and by June I should reach the $1600 mark.

Nice to have a tiny bit of breathing room though…even if it’s just a tiny bit.

So, I signed up as a “Haircut Model” for this salon nearby where I work – and they gave me a call and would like me to come in tomorrow.

It’s going to cost me $15, but I’m hoping I come out with a $50 haircut. I have to honestly say I’m a little nervous though – I hope they don’t say something like, “KC, thanks for being a Haircut Guinea Pig…today we’re practicing the buzzcut“.

I’ll let you know how it turns out tomorrow. But in the meantime, it’s nice to know that I just saved about $30 or so on what I usually pay for a haircut (yes, a lot I know, but seriously worth it considering the kind of cut I used to get prior – world of difference).

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UPDATE: Haircut came out great!

I have two bank accounts that I use. One is a credit union to which my main income goes via direct deposit. The other is a Bank of America account that I use when I need to make a quick deposit and as a vacation fund savings account.

But now that I have a second job to supplement my main income I’m thinking of what the best way to handle the money transfer/pooling would be.

In my second job I get paid ‘under the table’ so direct deposit obviously isn’t an option. I’m paid in cash too so I’d rather not mail it to my credit union – they’re digital mainly – so I deposit it in my BoA account.

My original plan was to take the money from my BoA account, which would have been about $480 at the end of each month and send a check to my credit union.

But now I’m thinking of just putting my credit union account on complete automatic through the use of direct deposit and bill pay. Then I would use my second job and BoA account as my monthly spending account.

I like this idea – I just have to make sure that my credit union money can cover my bills and then it will be all set.

Unfortunately I know that if I know there’s money in the account – I will spend it. This plan will hopefully take the ‘loaded gun’ out of my hands and force me to live within the means of my second job, while the credit union account pays bills and grows.

I know, I know…I’m pathetic and have no will power. But hey – at least I admit it and know that about myself, right?

After seeing a few blog posts about Mvelopes, I’ve decided to give their program a shot.

The reason for this is that I see how it would be useful to have specific buckets (a.k.a. Envelopes) in which to plan for certain things that may occur either throughout the year or throughout the month. What I’m skeptical about is how easy I will find it to be.

While the program does link to (most) all your online accounts, it doesn’t physically transfer any money for you. So it’s really just a fancy way of telling yourself that you only have X amount to spend on Y this month.

Like I said, I’ve decided to give it a shot and take advantage of the free 30-days to see if I like it and if it makes any difference come my next pay period.

Like always – I’ll keep you posted.