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First of all, I want to apologize in advance if this question doesn't make any sense, but I will try and word it the best that I can.
For the past couple of months, I ran into some issues that made it difficult for me financially. In order to pay off some bills, I had to dip into my "stash", which was money that I had collected over a period of time. It was mostly gift money from friends and family.
Just recently, I was able to become financially stable once again and was looking to pay myself back and replenish my "stash", but this is where my question comes in. Does this scenario make sense in terms of recouping my loses or does the concept of repaying myself not apply to this situation?
...and was looking to pay myself back and replenish my "stash",
This never ends. Or shouldn't.
The questions come up with how large that 'stash' should be...
how much you can raid it for at any given time...
and what you do with it when you aren't raiding it for something.
First of all, I want to apologize in advance if this question doesn't make any sense, but I will try and word it the best that I can.
For the past couple of months, I ran into some issues that made it difficult for me financially. In order to pay off some bills, I had to dip into my "stash", which was money that I had collected over a period of time. It was mostly gift money from friends and family.
Just recently, I was able to become financially stable once again and was looking to pay myself back and replenish my "stash", but this is where my question comes in. Does this scenario make sense in terms of recouping my loses or does the concept of repaying myself not apply to this situation?
I have a pretty large emergency fund. 2 1/2 years ago, I "borrowed from myself" to pay cash for a new car on short notice. I "paid myself back" over 5 months. More recently, I was unemployed for 9 or 10 months. I dipped into my emergency fund to pay living expenses. I'm now "paying myself back" to put it back where it was and then keep growing it.
This is independent of my retirement-oriented saving/investing.
My mother called it 'mad money'. I put aside a few bucks into my stash, so I always have access to it.
You never know when your vehicle might blow a transmission.
There is a town near us where nobody in that town has CC machines, we stopped there one time at their gas station, only to learn that CCs are useless in that town. To pay for our fuel I had to dip into my mad money.
Your "stash" served you as an emergency fund. It was there when you needed it. That is what a "stash" is for.
By all means, replenish your "stash" to the level that makes you feel comfortable. Then consider directing some of your "saving" money into investments that have a higher return over the long term.
A session with a fee-only financial adviser might help you set some new saving/investing goals. If you belong to a credit union, some of them offer a free session with a financial adviser as a benefit to members.
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