Many people will soon receive their annual bonus and/or tax return. What do you plan to do with your wad of cash? Save it, pay down debt, spend it?
After considering that I’ll only have about 60% of my bonus deposited into my bank account due to taxes and 401(k) contributions, I’ll choose to save the majority to my savings account.
In 2017, I was able to save 27% of my income (my goal was 30%) and a large contributor to this was saving the majority of my bonus. I’m playing the long game of creating financial freedom rather than the short game of temporary pleasure.
I prefer to spend my money on experiences rather than “stuff” that I’d probably get bored with and only use for a couple of weeks. I don’t really feel the need to spend my money on material goods and status symbols as I often don’t see the value in them. I feel like I had a great 2017 despite not purchasing the newest tech gadgets, a bunch of new clothes, buying a new car, or buying a new house.
I don’t feel remorse for not having bought something in 2017, but I would have felt remorse if I had not made the progress that I did towards my savings goal.
Have you thought about doing something with your bonus or tax return rather than spend it?
