Damn Aja I freakin love you and your honesty!! I don't think I've ever seen a TH-camr admit that their designer items are counterfeit let alone you did it so nonchalantly. You're showing others that you're not putting up a fake image. This is who you are, take it or leave it. Girl, own it!! I am supporting you and your journey to ripping apart this student loan debt. You go girl 💪
Hi Aja, I really understand how stressed you are. I came to Australia from Japan when I was 18, started university life here as I chose to do. my family suddenly stopped paying for my uni tuition fee when I just finished a diploma degree. They just stopped sending any money to me. I was so stressed but I needed to work out to pay for uni which takes more 2 years to complete. As I am an international student, student fee is $24000 australian dollar a year, Which bloody expensive! I also need to pay rent, food, clothes everything by my self. I worked so much while studying, and now, I finally paid off my uni fee without any support or scholarships. I got trained to be a dental nurse here and I have been working at 2 dental places and office cleaning job at night. I have classes 3 days a week. I didn’t have any holiday or even 2 days of off day per month. I’m finally now having a last semester at uni and I’m so happy that there is no more tuition fee! I was always jealous at people who get support from their family but I’m so proud of my self.. So I went through the same situation or at least similar situation, and I’m really hoping that you can achieve your goal as you planing
I can't help but notice how you've shifted from anxious and serious to more relaxed and comfortable that you didn't hit your goals. I love your transparency and honesty. For my sinking fund, I have a separate bank account for it and put a small amount towards it every time i get paid. Something not too painful that I can treat as a bill and that my budget won't suffer from. So I just pool my cash in there until I want to treat myself or if an event comes up where I have to spend unexpectedly (someone's birthday, an event I get invited to).
I put on your financial journey playlist every time I’m feeling overwhelmed or unmotivated about paying off my student loan debt! Super inspirational. Watching your paycheck disappear never gets easier.
Loving your finance videos, and seriously so inspiring. You're doing so well! The way I do my sinking funds - I just have one account that I keep the pool of money in, and I usually allocate some money at the beginning of each budget cycle, and basically decide what I feel like putting it toward. The at the end of that budget cycle, if I have extra money put it in there as well. When I do the transfers I do each one separately and put a note with each amount so I can see in the account itself that it was $50 for Christmas, $30 for holiday etc. Then I just keep a running table at the back of my planner with how much each fund has in it. So even though the account has say $3000, I know there's $1200 that's for a holiday, $600 for whatever, $800 for whatever else, if that makes sense?
@Hannah Gee, thats a good idea. I was thinking about creating a seperate account for my sinking fund. But, I like your idea about adding a note and keeping a running table. I currently use a spreadsheet using your suggestion would be easy to include in my spread.
This is exactly what I do as well. I think it is so important to 1. Allocate an amount at the start (i.e. pay yourself first) and 2. keep it in a separate account, not mixed with your day to day spending. I also use the notes function on transfers and keep all in one account but I know some banks allow multiple accounts and you can save for each goal separately which some people find easier/more motivating
Hi Aja, This is usually how I budget and save money: Each pay check that I receive, I calculate how much I need to deduct for bills, keep a bit aside for spending/expenses (not related to bills), and then throw the remaining into savings. Everyone’s tactic is different, but this is what works for me. I tried to make a list of my spendings but that does not work for me. Sinking funds doesn’t work for me either. I just have everything in 1 savings and never touch it unless it’s an emergency or I feel the need to treat myself. I’m a new subscriber and I think you’re really inspirational and different! Good luck! Xoxo
Yes. I have been setting my bills on autopay every payday so it gets deducted automatically and then fill up gas and throw in some savings or Xmas gifts and the rest is food&spending
I'm really enjoying your financial and budgeting videos! In my opinion for sinking funds, with the example you gave, I would set aside an amount in your budget (say $200) and whatever is leftover from your other budgets would go to those funds. For example, you could budget $300 for eating out and only spend $150. In theory, you would have $350 (200+150) to put towards your sinking funds. Since you need rewards to keep on track with paying off debt, do the smallest amount first to prove to yourself that you can do it. From there you can save up money and then decide "I want laser hair removal right now over a designer purse" and use your money that way. Another option is to put a dedicated amount into each fund (with $200 total: $50 into each), but it may take longer and thus tempting to spend more on things to feel better. Try it out and see what works best for your reward system!
First of all, love your channel! Your transparency about your financial journey is so appreciated and helpful! I'm graduating with my BA next May and not at all looking forward to attacking my student loan debts. Your videos are helping to prep me for what's to come and make me feel like there's no shame in being debt. Secondly, I use multiple sinking funds but am still learning how to properly use them. My budget has sinking funds for rent, gifts, vacation, and miscellaneous emergencies -- I mostly allocate to the rent fund. I get paid biweekly and try to have at least 20% of each paycheck left over each pay period (the percentage is now down to 15% because I got a little of out of control with my makeup spending last quarter). I plan my budget by quarter: my paychecks are the same and map out all of my bill payments first. Once I plug my bills in, I look at where I have extra money and move funds around from there, making sure I have 15-20% net inflow/outflow. All of my sinking funds live in my savings and I transfer to my checking when I need to use them.
Congratulations on all your progress! I really like how you are putting money towards things you like while doing this journey. It is defiantly going to make it more enjoyable. As for the savings, I like to add a little bit to each sinking fund every month, even if its only $10, at least its some progress. Then at the end of the month whatever is left over goes into the sinking fund I want the most. This way every month I’m making progress and I’m incentivized during the month to stay below budget on my other categories so I have more to put at the end of the month.
We do sinking funds--- we work backward from our goal date (or due date if it's something like car insurance). So we take our cost for our 6 mo. car insurance coverage and divide it by six months and allocate that every month (plus a little extra for general car maintenance). We have separate accounts (similar to envelope system) for utilities, emergency fund, travel, weddings/Christmas gifts, auto, rent and then a main checking for monthly spending (Gas/groceries/eating out). Love your videos, Aja!!
I love you so much Aja! I live for your budget videos and you’re so real. I’ve also literally changed the way I do my make up now because of you. I love your natural, glowy take on make up. Keep it up!
I just started watching you recently, I started on the video you paid off your student loans, and I was looking for how you feel and how you budgeted on the way to financial freedom, I’m extremely thankful for videos like this one 🙏🏼
I love this series! It’s so great watching someone else’s student debt repayment! I’ve just started my own series of how I’m paying my student loans on my channel! Thanks for letting us into your personal budget! Love it
SOMEONE GET THIS GEM A SICK BRAND DEAL. I personally vow that i will buy from any brand that pays aja the big bucks, in fact, i'm starting a sink fund for that very cause.
You are awesome! Propped on the unmade bed, doggies behind you, being super honest and real. I wish you all the best, you will make an amazing mom, your health is probably fine, find ways to deal with stress, stress is literally the worst. Enjoy your life, your man, your dogs, your opportunities. Your first and foremost responsibility on this earth is to be happy ❤️❤️❤️ much love all the way from Bulgaria
I happy that you feel better!!! Im happy that you keep on posting the videos. Not only for yourself and to keep you accountable and sharing your journey with us but it also helps me keep myself accountable for my budget. You are a huge motivation and it really iscrefreshing to see how honest you are
In terms of setting up sinking funds, what I did was work out how much each 'fund' would cost in a year. So say your $500 dinner and your $200 health test are things you want to save for, that's $700 you need by the end of the year, which would break down to $60 a month to be put aside. My personal sinking funds are things like christmas and birthday presents, car insurance and registration, any home maintenance, and general medical expenses. Basically things I know I need to spend money on, but not necessarily every month expenses. It was a bit of a process to calculate it all initially, but once I totalled the amount, I just set up a direct transfer and now I know that there's money set aside for my sinking funds without actually needing to think about it. Have really been inspired by all of your budgeting videos, and it's great to see you with positive, (fun Aja) goals for the next chapter of it all. Thank you for always being honest, vulnerable and genuine in your videos - it sets you apart here on youtube! x
You are so determined! I have a big grocery bills usually, too. I don’t know how to keep them lower with getting good food. Writing goals and lists are so helpfully visualizing it. I need to do that. Thanks for the reminder! Thank u!!! I focused on my work so hard and missed timing to get pregnant. I am too old to have one now. Have everything u want! Surround urself with only what u love! U can do it!
I have sinking funds even for small things like car maintenance and cat supplies, sort of like mini emergency funds and I basically allocate $20-$30 towards each because that’s whats in my budget. I feel like the way you’re doing it though, you could use the snowball effect, get one down to keep yourself motivated. All that said, I’m really appreciative of how honest you’ve been with this process. I’ve just started it on my own. I can see that it’s isolating, but so far it’s also satisfying and generally calming my financial anxiety. So, thank you!
I LOOOOVE how real you are! So honest LOVE IT! Keep it going. I want to make sinking fund goals! I feel like this is a good way to keep yourself motivated during the debt snowball for sure!!
Dear Aja, I’m so so happy to see you progressing with your budget and doing such a great job. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I find your videos to be very doable and helpful for me. Thank you again.
I really admire you being so open with this topic Aja! I get so inspired to improve my own budget after this, and I'll definitely set up a few own short term goals!
As far as sinking funds go, I created a list of categories in order of priority. The amount I allocated to each category was determined by its priority and the amount I would need to save. In my case, my list was (1) vacations (2) dining out (3) gifts (4) misc. I put 70% [of my sinking funds budget] into vacations since that required the most money, 20% into dining out, and the remaining 10% split amongst gifts and misc. Obviously, this will vary depending on what you personally like to splurge on. As long as you’re modest with your splurge budget (I’ve kept mine at 10% of my income), I don’t see the harm in treating yourself during your financial journey. I was on the same boat for a long time (it took me 4 years to finally pay off my loans), but splurging every once a while helped me stay motivated.
Yes to the designer bag! There are two designer bags. I hope to get one when I reach a certain financial goal. As a motivation my friend and I want to hit some of these designer stores to just look at our dream bags. It may sound silly but for me it is a motivation to go after what I want. Thank you so much for being so transparent!!! Keep going!!!
Personally I love T. Harv Ecker's principle of having a "Play Account", in which every month you dedicate 10% of your income to treat yourself. Caveat: you HAVE to SPEND it. lol. It's from his book "The Millionaire Mind". Very cool book.
Love your videos!!! The best TH-camr out there!! I love sinking funds! I do an envelope method for it. I list long term and short term sinking funds on a piece of paper with a designated amount and make a separate envelope for each one then every time I put money in (actual 💵) I write it on the back with the date to track my progress. I always take money out and put it towards my sinking funds after I get a pay check like a pay you first kind of thing during my budget process. Then when the envelopes get too full I deposit them into a separate bank account that I have less physical access too (online bank or a lesser known bank).
Aja Dang just like anywhere from 10 to40$ to start. I use smaller amounts first then whenever I feel like it I increase or decrease it depending on my income for that month. I noticed that that if I keep the small amounts at first it seems more doable and I remind myself that I can save like the $10 I would have spent on coffee or something let’s say for idk like money to get a facial or add to an emergency fund. The only thing with the envelope system for sinking funds is to make sure you remember to not access it until you need it or else you get in trouble bc you can dip into different envelopes and make excuses which you don’t want to do....It’s really nice when after a few months the envelopes get thicker though:)
I use Mint for my budget which as helped me determine average costs annually for things like my car budget, then I split it out over the months. I have a separate account for each goal. I’m also a Trojan and shelled out a pretty penny for my undergrad which I was able to pay off recently. I know you will get there soon too! You are doing amazing and most importantly sharing your journey with others🙏
I have a friend who does a sort of “dollar a day” method where she calculates how much a week she needs to not spend in order to reach the cumulative goal. We were supposed to take a trip, which got cancelled, & we had to figure out how to pay for our AirBnb. So she devoted to save $50/week that would include the AirBnb, spending cash, & etc; I thought this was pretty nifty & money-conscious smart.
I love your budget videos! I use sinking funds to save for wishlist/fun purchases as well. I prioritize which one I want first and knock it out before moving into the next one.
Love Your honesty and vulnerability ❤️. I don’t do budget. It has always been difficult for me. The key for me is to focus on improving myself mentally and everything else will work out. You’re not just here to pay debt. Get in touch with your Source self through daily meditation and your Source self will guide you.
For things like travel and Christmas gifts, I put away 1/12 the yearly cost every month. For my treat yourself fund, I put in what's left of my personal spending budget for the month (if I'm under budget)
Such an inspiring video! I love the treats you've set for yourself and I'm sure they'll happen quickly, I'm also thinking to create a separate saving fund for emegency and then for lifestyle treats and what they advice is to do an automatic transfer of an amount you feel comfortable with, so it's always the same amount each month and you know you can do it stress-free and when you reach the first goal then treat yourself to that, this is what I would do but it's just an idea :-)
Aja, you deserve all you want to achieve! You work hard for your goals and that is something beyond great. It is real that that's hella stress and pressure for one single mind, but i get that you do not want to think about those loans ever again. Wish you the best of lucks and don't be embarassed or afraid of wanting luxury in your life, 'cause in the end you only live once so you gotta live it to the fullest . I really aprecciate your work and willpower as well as your determination. Love u XOXO
For our sinking funds, we have a savings account for each "fund" since our credit union doesn't charge to maintain the account(s). I get a pre-determined amount (like if I'm trying to save $1,200 by Christmas, I'll deposit $100) direct deposited into the account once a month. Per my example, if I find anything I want to gift someone for Christmas, I'll use my debit at the store and then transfer said $$$ from my Christmas Fund to my checking account. :) You're not a mess. Everyone hates budgeting. But YOU tell your budget what to do so you don't have to wonder where your money goes! One and a half years later, it's still annoying for hubby and I. :) You got this, girl!
Try getting a bike or an e-bike, no parking fees and your transport costs will go way down and you will be healthier and happier and LA has the weather for it! :)
I just found your channel a few days ago and I didn’t know you’re dating Brian! I love how you’re so real in your videos! Unlike other youtubers who tries to hide things and make it look like their lives is wonderful everytime.
A little towards each fund every month. Any extra money goes towards paying down debt. Like $25 towards the dinner, $20 towards the hair removal and $25 towards the bag.
Why don’t you go to a doctor to get those tests? Cos once you get the results you still need a doctor/ specialists to interpret those results and advise on the course of management
I think in the states it is more expensive if a doctor send for it than to get them done yourself and then to see a doctor to tell you results. I could very well be wrong though.
Yea I’m confused as to why she wouldn’t go to her gyno to get the fertility test, unless her health insurance wouldn’t cover that? Seems weird to pay out of pocket if she’s already also paying for health insurance
bc I can't find a doctor in LA that is near me and taking on new clients. I could see if Planned Parenthood does those type of tests, but I don't think they do
Aja Dang planned parenthood usually doesn’t do those kinds of specialized tests, you’re right. but a referral to a fertility specialist + fertility tests + a follow-up lab review appt could end up costing you wayyyy less than what everylywell charges. (and thyroid labs should be free/covered by your insurance btw)
Your doctor should be checking your thyroid during your annual visit.. and a lot of fertility tests are covered by insurance, I would def check with your doc.
Usually sinking funds are a regular budget line that you put a certain amount or percentage in each month. As for putting money in all of them at once or one at a time, I would personally put money towards the tests first as they are time sensitive, then do it smallest to largest. I really hope this helps!
I do my sinking funds a little differently for the different types of goals. There are some, like my biannual car insurance and Christmas presents, where I know exactly what I want to have available and when I need it, so it's easy to just divide that amount by the number of months I have to get there and chuck the same amount in every month. I have some sinking funds, like my car repairs and maintenance fund, that I don't know exactly when I'm going to need it -- but I do know that I will need tuneups and oil changes and tire replacements and things. I figured a rough estimate of what I spend on that a year and divide it by 12, and chuck that much in each month, then it's ready when I need it. For fun stuff, like getting a tattoo or buying a new gadget, I tend to put in my leftover cash at the end of the month after all my obligations have been met. I also use a concept that I learned about from the budgeting app You Need A Budget, which is a wish farm. You make a list of all the things you want to save for and categorize them by whether they're small, medium or large goals. (For me, that's $100 or less, $100-$500, and $500+, but you can make the cutoffs whatever works for you.) Those go into a wish list category. Then you have a separate wish farm category where you keep the one small, one medium and one large goal that you're working on at the moment so you can sort of focus fire on those goals. They can be fun stuff like vacations and gadgets, or they can be less fun but important stuff like saving for a new washer/dryer set or replacing your roof. It forces you to pick priorities and allows you to see actual progress on things because you're not just sprinkling pennies into a thousand different buckets.
I'm not going to tell you how to setup your sinking fund, but I will give you one piece of advice. For the designer thing you want to buy, since it's going to be about 2 years before you buy it, I would suggest putting that money into a CD. That way you can earn more interest then just a regular savings account. The Federal Reserve is raising the rates, so you might want to put it into a 1 year CD, then put into another 1 year CD to get the maximum savings interest.
Sinking funds have been an absolute game changer for us! We have a separate checking account for them. Look up “Jen plans” on TH-cam and Instagram. She is the sinking fund queen! We have quite a list, but it includes quarterly contact lens ordering, oil changes, license renewal, car and house maintenance, etc etc. When these things come up, it’s no big deal because we have been saving for them!
I allocate my sinking funds on my spreadsheet but keep the entire thing in one account.( side note: this can be a little confusing) I usually save for them simultaneously IF I know that I have the time to do so. Basically calculate how much time till you'll need to use it for whatever and if paying to the other sinking funds would affect that goal then only focus on the ones coming up quickly/more important
I am like you so frustrated saving and paying my school loans! It almost the light at the end of the tunnel for me I should pay everything off in December.
just a heads up about everlywell: most, of not all, of the tests they sell can be ordered by your primary care physician (or a specialist they might refer you to), which is usually covered by your health insurance. it’s wild to me to pay hundreds of dollars for tests from a big company when a health provider can order them for you discuss the results face-to-face with you.
I liked this video! Nice hearing things you are looking forward to I hate that mentality of not being able to treat yourself if you have debt. You're young and who knows what might happen in the future it's good to do the things while you're still able. Like after you pay off your loans you said you want a kid so that's just going to be more long term debt lol enjoy yourself now
Set a goal on when you want to have the money to buy each gift then divide it into the amount of months away it is and put that money away each month. So your first three gifts are $400, $600 and $1,000 and say you want to do one every 4 months, so gift one sinking fund is $100/month, gift two sinking fund is $75/month and gift three is $85 per month. So in total you would be setting a goal of putting $260 into sinking funds per month. Whether its one account or three separate, that is up to you.
Hi Aja, good to hear you are prioritising getting tests done... any woman in their 30s should be getting a few tests (especially fertility, thyroid etc) because the more you know about what's happening inside your body, the better. However, I am sad to hear that it's not free in the U.S. In Australia under our system, you only need a referral from your doctor to get tested and that's it! Re Sinking funds: I started separate accounts (which I think probably works really well if you get paid on a regular schedule) earlier this year. So after mortgage payments, utility bills, health insurance payments, the remainder of my money is allocated into separate accounts: General savings (my rainy day account), joint savings (with hubs), car insurance, health (fitness classes , massages etc), beauty (hair, makeup), gifts etc... you get the gist. Then whatever is left will be my 'spending' account which is my guilt free spending money. Basically every dollar I have is accounted for. It's still a work in progress but great to see my spending habits change and more rewarding to see my money grow (and I'm finally in control of it!). Good luck and keep up your great content! :)
Love that you are putting a sinking fund together and being pro-active in your stress management. Have you considered meditation to allow yourself to just be. All you need is yourself and a good meditation. It is not for me to say but you seem to need a lot of outside things to be happy, I could be wrong, but contemplate it...🙏🏼
Could u do a restaurant recommendations video? Also, where do u go to get ur brows done or could u do a brow grooming/routine video (ur brows look amazing)? 😊🤓 Also - totally love ur finance videos & ur’re such an inspiration!! Love how genuine & real u are about it all 👍😊
Aja I love your videos just because it's a pleasure to spend time with you. You're an open book about your own life, & I love that so much of your life is in it's own way relatable for me. We all struggle, we all have pleasures etc. I remember you saying in a previous vid that your ultimate goal work-wise was to do a travel show/videos--is that still true? If so, I think you should start doing it. You are such a good tour guide to your own life, that I think you should expand & become a tour guide to LA. Start shooting vids about your favourite hangouts, favourite people, favourite locations etc. Introduce us to LA, introduce us to other people who know LA & love it too. Some locations could be 'famous LA', but some could be insiders/locals favourite stuff. Introduce us to LA & show us what makes it the place you love. It would be amazing, because as I said, it's a pleasure to spend time with you, & all of us around the world have a fascination with LA. You could ask your audience what we want to know about LA, about your LA, about historical LA or nightlife LA etc. I think this would be so good, & you would be so good at it, that you could expand to all of California, to Las Vegas etc & you would get a job offer/opportunity to do this fulltime, to travel the world & bring us stories. Just sayin.
that was definitely my goal a couple years ago but now it has changed. Now that I have a family, traveling for work isn't what I want to do. I have been pitching dog friendly travel shows though. But nothing has come of out of them yet.
For the designer bag you should get a M/L caviar black chanel classic flap in gold hw. (: super classic! If you open a credit card at neiman marcus or saks you can get 10-15% off on the purchase. You could also try to find the vintage chanel classic flap at the Real Real because in the past the gold hw used to be gold plated!
I honestly use a savings app to “unconsciously” save for my sinking funds. I suck at saving money. I use Qapital and haven’t have any problems. I think the only down fall is that it won’t calculate money from multiple bank accounts. You put in your goals, you set automated rules or make manual transfers. And if there’s emergencies and I have tap into those extra funds, transferring back isn’t an issue either. I also give the tip to turn off notifications so you just let the funds grow.
Stop calling yourself a mess. You're not a mess, you're a work in progress.
love this comment!
liam Duvall 🙌🏼
Damn Aja I freakin love you and your honesty!! I don't think I've ever seen a TH-camr admit that their designer items are counterfeit let alone you did it so nonchalantly. You're showing others that you're not putting up a fake image. This is who you are, take it or leave it. Girl, own it!! I am supporting you and your journey to ripping apart this student loan debt. You go girl 💪
oh really? I'll tell anyone who asks. They are very good fakes.
You shouldn’t have to hide the fact that your stressed out. Your human and it’s normal
Hi Aja, I really understand how stressed you are. I came to Australia from Japan when I was 18, started university life here as I chose to do. my family suddenly stopped paying for my uni tuition fee when I just finished a diploma degree. They just stopped sending any money to me. I was so stressed but I needed to work out to pay for uni which takes more 2 years to complete. As I am an international student, student fee is $24000 australian dollar a year, Which bloody expensive! I also need to pay rent, food, clothes everything by my self. I worked so much while studying, and now, I finally paid off my uni fee without any support or scholarships. I got trained to be a dental nurse here and I have been working at 2 dental places and office cleaning job at night. I have classes 3 days a week. I didn’t have any holiday or even 2 days of off day per month. I’m finally now having a last semester at uni and I’m so happy that there is no more tuition fee! I was always jealous at people who get support from their family but I’m so proud of my self.. So I went through the same situation or at least similar situation, and I’m really hoping that you can achieve your goal as you planing
I love these financial videos.
She does such a good job on them!
I can't help but notice how you've shifted from anxious and serious to more relaxed and comfortable that you didn't hit your goals. I love your transparency and honesty.
For my sinking fund, I have a separate bank account for it and put a small amount towards it every time i get paid. Something not too painful that I can treat as a bill and that my budget won't suffer from. So I just pool my cash in there until I want to treat myself or if an event comes up where I have to spend unexpectedly (someone's birthday, an event I get invited to).
I put on your financial journey playlist every time I’m feeling overwhelmed or unmotivated about paying off my student loan debt! Super inspirational. Watching your paycheck disappear never gets easier.
Can Laser Away sponsor this woman already
I meannnnnnn.
Loving your finance videos, and seriously so inspiring. You're doing so well!
The way I do my sinking funds - I just have one account that I keep the pool of money in, and I usually allocate some money at the beginning of each budget cycle, and basically decide what I feel like putting it toward. The at the end of that budget cycle, if I have extra money put it in there as well. When I do the transfers I do each one separately and put a note with each amount so I can see in the account itself that it was $50 for Christmas, $30 for holiday etc. Then I just keep a running table at the back of my planner with how much each fund has in it. So even though the account has say $3000, I know there's $1200 that's for a holiday, $600 for whatever, $800 for whatever else, if that makes sense?
so you have a separate account for your sinking funds?
Yep - I have an everyday checking account, a long term/emergency fund savings account, and then the sinking fund account :)
@Hannah Gee, thats a good idea. I was thinking about creating a seperate account for my sinking fund. But, I like your idea about adding a note and keeping a running table. I currently use a spreadsheet using your suggestion would be easy to include in my spread.
I never thought of adding notes to the transfers! That's clever.
This is exactly what I do as well. I think it is so important to 1. Allocate an amount at the start (i.e. pay yourself first) and 2. keep it in a separate account, not mixed with your day to day spending. I also use the notes function on transfers and keep all in one account but I know some banks allow multiple accounts and you can save for each goal separately which some people find easier/more motivating
Hi Aja,
This is usually how I budget and save money: Each pay check that I receive, I calculate how much I need to deduct for bills, keep a bit aside for spending/expenses (not related to bills), and then throw the remaining into savings.
Everyone’s tactic is different, but this is what works for me.
I tried to make a list of my spendings but that does not work for me. Sinking funds doesn’t work for me either. I just have everything in 1 savings and never touch it unless it’s an emergency or I feel the need to treat myself.
I’m a new subscriber and I think you’re really inspirational and different!
Good luck! Xoxo
Yes. I have been setting my bills on autopay every payday so it gets deducted automatically and then fill up gas and throw in some savings or Xmas gifts and the rest is food&spending
Goals are super important.. they are really the thing that keep me motivated when I fall off the wagon. I look forward to your next one!
I always look forward to these videos at the start of the new month! Keeps me motivated struggling along side you on my own debt journey. Awesome job!
This was the longest j&j baby shampoo commercial... no tears
Chonsu lmfao why does this not have more appreciation?!?
I'm really enjoying your financial and budgeting videos! In my opinion for sinking funds, with the example you gave, I would set aside an amount in your budget (say $200) and whatever is leftover from your other budgets would go to those funds. For example, you could budget $300 for eating out and only spend $150. In theory, you would have $350 (200+150) to put towards your sinking funds. Since you need rewards to keep on track with paying off debt, do the smallest amount first to prove to yourself that you can do it. From there you can save up money and then decide "I want laser hair removal right now over a designer purse" and use your money that way. Another option is to put a dedicated amount into each fund (with $200 total: $50 into each), but it may take longer and thus tempting to spend more on things to feel better. Try it out and see what works best for your reward system!
You’re such a beautiful soul Aja.
First of all, love your channel! Your transparency about your financial journey is so appreciated and helpful! I'm graduating with my BA next May and not at all looking forward to attacking my student loan debts. Your videos are helping to prep me for what's to come and make me feel like there's no shame in being debt.
Secondly, I use multiple sinking funds but am still learning how to properly use them. My budget has sinking funds for rent, gifts, vacation, and miscellaneous emergencies -- I mostly allocate to the rent fund. I get paid biweekly and try to have at least 20% of each paycheck left over each pay period (the percentage is now down to 15% because I got a little of out of control with my makeup spending last quarter). I plan my budget by quarter: my paychecks are the same and map out all of my bill payments first. Once I plug my bills in, I look at where I have extra money and move funds around from there, making sure I have 15-20% net inflow/outflow. All of my sinking funds live in my savings and I transfer to my checking when I need to use them.
Thank you for being generous while paying off debt and wanting to give Brian a treat for being supportive:)
Congratulations on all your progress! I really like how you are putting money towards things you like while doing this journey. It is defiantly going to make it more enjoyable. As for the savings, I like to add a little bit to each sinking fund every month, even if its only $10, at least its some progress. Then at the end of the month whatever is left over goes into the sinking fund I want the most. This way every month I’m making progress and I’m incentivized during the month to stay below budget on my other categories so I have more to put at the end of the month.
I'm stressed out and I'm bingeing this playlist, thanks, youre a babe xx
We do sinking funds--- we work backward from our goal date (or due date if it's something like car insurance). So we take our cost for our 6 mo. car insurance coverage and divide it by six months and allocate that every month (plus a little extra for general car maintenance). We have separate accounts (similar to envelope system) for utilities, emergency fund, travel, weddings/Christmas gifts, auto, rent and then a main checking for monthly spending (Gas/groceries/eating out). Love your videos, Aja!!
I love you so much Aja! I live for your budget videos and you’re so real. I’ve also literally changed the way I do my make up now because of you. I love your natural, glowy take on make up. Keep it up!
I just started watching you recently, I started on the video you paid off your student loans, and I was looking for how you feel and how you budgeted on the way to financial freedom, I’m extremely thankful for videos like this one 🙏🏼
Just starting out on my debt journey, and I love this idea so so so much...thank you for sharing!!
I love this series! It’s so great watching someone else’s student debt repayment! I’ve just started my own series of how I’m paying my student loans on my channel! Thanks for letting us into your personal budget! Love it
SOMEONE GET THIS GEM A SICK BRAND DEAL. I personally vow that i will buy from any brand that pays aja the big bucks, in fact, i'm starting a sink fund for that very cause.
Your budget videos have been really helping me to stay motivated and to stay on track. Thank you!
I love using sinking funds to accomplish short term goals! You’re doing a fabulous job with your budget!
You are awesome! Propped on the unmade bed, doggies behind you, being super honest and real. I wish you all the best, you will make an amazing mom, your health is probably fine, find ways to deal with stress, stress is literally the worst. Enjoy your life, your man, your dogs, your opportunities. Your first and foremost responsibility on this earth is to be happy ❤️❤️❤️ much love all the way from Bulgaria
Good luck with your goals, Aja! Love you. Love your videos! 😚
I happy that you feel better!!! Im happy that you keep on posting the videos. Not only for yourself and to keep you accountable and sharing your journey with us but it also helps me keep myself accountable for my budget. You are a huge motivation and it really iscrefreshing to see how honest you are
I love how you’re treating yourself along with working towards paying off your debt!
In terms of setting up sinking funds, what I did was work out how much each 'fund' would cost in a year. So say your $500 dinner and your $200 health test are things you want to save for, that's $700 you need by the end of the year, which would break down to $60 a month to be put aside. My personal sinking funds are things like christmas and birthday presents, car insurance and registration, any home maintenance, and general medical expenses. Basically things I know I need to spend money on, but not necessarily every month expenses. It was a bit of a process to calculate it all initially, but once I totalled the amount, I just set up a direct transfer and now I know that there's money set aside for my sinking funds without actually needing to think about it.
Have really been inspired by all of your budgeting videos, and it's great to see you with positive, (fun Aja) goals for the next chapter of it all. Thank you for always being honest, vulnerable and genuine in your videos - it sets you apart here on youtube! x
You are so determined! I have a big grocery bills usually, too. I don’t know how to keep them lower with getting good food. Writing goals and lists are so helpfully visualizing it. I need to do that. Thanks for the reminder! Thank u!!!
I focused on my work so hard and missed timing to get pregnant. I am too old to have one now. Have everything u want! Surround urself with only what u love! U can do it!
I have sinking funds even for small things like car maintenance and cat supplies, sort of like mini emergency funds and I basically allocate $20-$30 towards each because that’s whats in my budget. I feel like the way you’re doing it though, you could use the snowball effect, get one down to keep yourself motivated.
All that said, I’m really appreciative of how honest you’ve been with this process. I’ve just started it on my own. I can see that it’s isolating, but so far it’s also satisfying and generally calming my financial anxiety. So, thank you!
Keep up with talking about your financial situation! I am happy that you are able to talk about it because it is not easy.
I love your videos and honesty. You inspire me to keep going.
I LOOOOVE how real you are! So honest LOVE IT! Keep it going. I want to make sinking fund goals! I feel like this is a good way to keep yourself motivated during the debt snowball for sure!!
Dear Aja, I’m so so happy to see you progressing with your budget and doing such a great job. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I find your videos to be very doable and helpful for me. Thank you again.
You’re not a mess, you’re a role model
I really admire you being so open with this topic Aja! I get so inspired to improve my own budget after this, and I'll definitely set up a few own short term goals!
Girl, I’m so proud of you. You are doing life and taking care of yourself. It’s awesome 👏🏽
Great video Aja, you are doing great and you should be really proud of yourself!
Yay Aja! So nice to see you budgeting for "treat yo self" things to help motivate you :)
As far as sinking funds go, I created a list of categories in order of priority. The amount I allocated to each category was determined by its priority and the amount I would need to save. In my case, my list was (1) vacations (2) dining out (3) gifts (4) misc. I put 70% [of my sinking funds budget] into vacations since that required the most money, 20% into dining out, and the remaining 10% split amongst gifts and misc. Obviously, this will vary depending on what you personally like to splurge on. As long as you’re modest with your splurge budget (I’ve kept mine at 10% of my income), I don’t see the harm in treating yourself during your financial journey. I was on the same boat for a long time (it took me 4 years to finally pay off my loans), but splurging every once a while helped me stay motivated.
10% of your income is a good place for me to gauge how much to put into mine. Thanks!
I love you as a person, Aja
Yes to the designer bag! There are two designer bags. I hope to get one when I reach a certain financial goal. As a motivation my friend and I want to hit some of these designer stores to just look at our dream bags. It may sound silly but for me it is a motivation to go after what I want. Thank you so much for being so transparent!!! Keep going!!!
Personally I love T. Harv Ecker's principle of having a "Play Account", in which every month you dedicate 10% of your income to treat yourself. Caveat: you HAVE to SPEND it. lol. It's from his book "The Millionaire Mind". Very cool book.
Sarah 10% of after-tax, take home pay?
Yes, take home pay :)
This video is so genuine! Don't stress Aja :) Take things one step at a time, you will get to your goals!
Love your videos!!! The best TH-camr out there!! I love sinking funds! I do an envelope method for it. I list long term and short term sinking funds on a piece of paper with a designated amount and make a separate envelope for each one then every time I put money in (actual 💵) I write it on the back with the date to track my progress. I always take money out and put it towards my sinking funds after I get a pay check like a pay you first kind of thing during my budget process. Then when the envelopes get too full I deposit them into a separate bank account that I have less physical access too (online bank or a lesser known bank).
how much do you add to each sinking fund?
Aja Dang just like anywhere from 10 to40$ to start. I use smaller amounts first then whenever I feel like it I increase or decrease it depending on my income for that month. I noticed that that if I keep the small amounts at first it seems more doable and I remind myself that I can save like the $10 I would have spent on coffee or something let’s say for idk like money to get a facial or add to an emergency fund. The only thing with the envelope system for sinking funds is to make sure you remember to not access it until you need it or else you get in trouble bc you can dip into different envelopes and make excuses which you don’t want to do....It’s really nice when after a few months the envelopes get thicker though:)
I’m obsessed with these videos Aja! I love that you talk about this so openly and I look forward to seeing this every month ❤️❤️
I really appreciate these budget videos! Hope all is well, Aja.
I was waiting for this update.. you not a mess. You are doing so well..
I use Mint for my budget which as helped me determine average costs annually for things like my car budget, then I split it out over the months. I have a separate account for each goal.
I’m also a Trojan and shelled out a pretty penny for my undergrad which I was able to pay off recently. I know you will get there soon too! You are doing amazing and most importantly sharing your journey with others🙏
I have a friend who does a sort of “dollar a day” method where she calculates how much a week she needs to not spend in order to reach the cumulative goal.
We were supposed to take a trip, which got cancelled, & we had to figure out how to pay for our AirBnb. So she devoted to save $50/week that would include the AirBnb, spending cash, & etc; I thought this was pretty nifty & money-conscious smart.
I love your budget videos! I use sinking funds to save for wishlist/fun purchases as well. I prioritize which one I want first and knock it out before moving into the next one.
I'm so happy for you and I'm appreciating your journey. Continue getting yourself out of debt until you become DEBT FREE! All the best x
Love Your honesty and vulnerability ❤️. I don’t do budget. It has always been difficult for me. The key for me is to focus on improving myself mentally and everything else will work out. You’re not just here to pay debt. Get in touch with your Source self through daily meditation and your Source self will guide you.
Aja, thank you for sharing your struggles with us. I look forward to seeing your progress. Can you share more more about brand deals and the process.
For things like travel and Christmas gifts, I put away 1/12 the yearly cost every month. For my treat yourself fund, I put in what's left of my personal spending budget for the month (if I'm under budget)
I've watched every single video in your financial journey.
Such a great resource to have.
Thank you for sharing 🏋️💛.
Love these updates.You are doing great
Such an inspiring video! I love the treats you've set for yourself and I'm sure they'll happen quickly, I'm also thinking to create a separate saving fund for emegency and then for lifestyle treats and what they advice is to do an automatic transfer of an amount you feel comfortable with, so it's always the same amount each month and you know you can do it stress-free and when you reach the first goal then treat yourself to that, this is what I would do but it's just an idea :-)
Aja, you deserve all you want to achieve! You work hard for your goals and that is something beyond great. It is real that that's hella stress and pressure for one single mind, but i get that you do not want to think about those loans ever again. Wish you the best of lucks and don't be embarassed or afraid of wanting luxury in your life, 'cause in the end you only live once so you gotta live it to the fullest . I really aprecciate your work and willpower as well as your determination. Love u XOXO
For our sinking funds, we have a savings account for each "fund" since our credit union doesn't charge to maintain the account(s). I get a pre-determined amount (like if I'm trying to save $1,200 by Christmas, I'll deposit $100) direct deposited into the account once a month. Per my example, if I find anything I want to gift someone for Christmas, I'll use my debit at the store and then transfer said $$$ from my Christmas Fund to my checking account. :)
You're not a mess. Everyone hates budgeting. But YOU tell your budget what to do so you don't have to wonder where your money goes! One and a half years later, it's still annoying for hubby and I. :) You got this, girl!
Aja I love these videos! Thank you so much for the updates!!
Try getting a bike or an e-bike, no parking fees and your transport costs will go way down and you will be healthier and happier and LA has the weather for it! :)
I just found your channel a few days ago and I didn’t know you’re dating Brian! I love how you’re so real in your videos! Unlike other youtubers who tries to hide things and make it look like their lives is wonderful everytime.
A little towards each fund every month. Any extra money goes towards paying down debt. Like $25 towards the dinner, $20 towards the hair removal and $25 towards the bag.
Yes I’m with you on this
Yeah! I want to treat myself to a Gucci bag too as soon as I paid off my student loan next year! Love, that we are on the same journey here 🎉
Love these videos! So helpful and inspring ♥️
Your doing so well. Watching this makes me keep wanting to save.
GET. IT. GIRL.
I LOVEEE these videos. Thank you so much for these.
And I love these videos and your personality!
Why don’t you go to a doctor to get those tests? Cos once you get the results you still need a doctor/ specialists to interpret those results and advise on the course of management
I think in the states it is more expensive if a doctor send for it than to get them done yourself and then to see a doctor to tell you results. I could very well be wrong though.
Yea I’m confused as to why she wouldn’t go to her gyno to get the fertility test, unless her health insurance wouldn’t cover that? Seems weird to pay out of pocket if she’s already also paying for health insurance
bc I can't find a doctor in LA that is near me and taking on new clients. I could see if Planned Parenthood does those type of tests, but I don't think they do
Aja Dang planned parenthood usually doesn’t do those kinds of specialized tests, you’re right. but a referral to a fertility specialist + fertility tests + a follow-up lab review appt could end up costing you wayyyy less than what everylywell charges. (and thyroid labs should be free/covered by your insurance btw)
Your doctor should be checking your thyroid during your annual visit.. and a lot of fertility tests are covered by insurance, I would def check with your doc.
Usually sinking funds are a regular budget line that you put a certain amount or percentage in each month. As for putting money in all of them at once or one at a time, I would personally put money towards the tests first as they are time sensitive, then do it smallest to largest. I really hope this helps!
Thank you so much for making these videos ❤❤❤
I do my sinking funds a little differently for the different types of goals. There are some, like my biannual car insurance and Christmas presents, where I know exactly what I want to have available and when I need it, so it's easy to just divide that amount by the number of months I have to get there and chuck the same amount in every month. I have some sinking funds, like my car repairs and maintenance fund, that I don't know exactly when I'm going to need it -- but I do know that I will need tuneups and oil changes and tire replacements and things. I figured a rough estimate of what I spend on that a year and divide it by 12, and chuck that much in each month, then it's ready when I need it. For fun stuff, like getting a tattoo or buying a new gadget, I tend to put in my leftover cash at the end of the month after all my obligations have been met. I also use a concept that I learned about from the budgeting app You Need A Budget, which is a wish farm. You make a list of all the things you want to save for and categorize them by whether they're small, medium or large goals. (For me, that's $100 or less, $100-$500, and $500+, but you can make the cutoffs whatever works for you.) Those go into a wish list category. Then you have a separate wish farm category where you keep the one small, one medium and one large goal that you're working on at the moment so you can sort of focus fire on those goals. They can be fun stuff like vacations and gadgets, or they can be less fun but important stuff like saving for a new washer/dryer set or replacing your roof. It forces you to pick priorities and allows you to see actual progress on things because you're not just sprinkling pennies into a thousand different buckets.
I'm not going to tell you how to setup your sinking fund, but I will give you one piece of advice. For the designer thing you want to buy, since it's going to be about 2 years before you buy it, I would suggest putting that money into a CD. That way you can earn more interest then just a regular savings account. The Federal Reserve is raising the rates, so you might want to put it into a 1 year CD, then put into another 1 year CD to get the maximum savings interest.
Sinking funds have been an absolute game changer for us! We have a separate checking account for them. Look up “Jen plans” on TH-cam and Instagram. She is the sinking fund queen! We have quite a list, but it includes quarterly contact lens ordering, oil changes, license renewal, car and house maintenance, etc etc. When these things come up, it’s no big deal because we have been saving for them!
these videos are so real and helpful! also when will you restock your shirts/sweatshirts??
I allocate my sinking funds on my spreadsheet but keep the entire thing in one account.( side note: this can be a little confusing) I usually save for them simultaneously IF I know that I have the time to do so. Basically calculate how much time till you'll need to use it for whatever and if paying to the other sinking funds would affect that goal then only focus on the ones coming up quickly/more important
I am like you so frustrated saving and paying my school loans! It almost the light at the end of the tunnel for me I should pay everything off in December.
just a heads up about everlywell: most, of not all, of the tests they sell can be ordered by your primary care physician (or a specialist they might refer you to), which is usually covered by your health insurance. it’s wild to me to pay hundreds of dollars for tests from a big company when a health provider can order them for you discuss the results face-to-face with you.
I liked this video! Nice hearing things you are looking forward to I hate that mentality of not being able to treat yourself if you have debt. You're young and who knows what might happen in the future it's good to do the things while you're still able. Like after you pay off your loans you said you want a kid so that's just going to be more long term debt lol enjoy yourself now
Set a goal on when you want to have the money to buy each gift then divide it into the amount of months away it is and put that money away each month. So your first three gifts are $400, $600 and $1,000 and say you want to do one every 4 months, so gift one sinking fund is $100/month, gift two sinking fund is $75/month and gift three is $85 per month. So in total you would be setting a goal of putting $260 into sinking funds per month. Whether its one account or three separate, that is up to you.
im so excited for you when you pay off all the debt!!!
awesome idea to keep yourself motivated, good luck!!
Hi Aja, good to hear you are prioritising getting tests done... any woman in their 30s should be getting a few tests (especially fertility, thyroid etc) because the more you know about what's happening inside your body, the better. However, I am sad to hear that it's not free in the U.S. In Australia under our system, you only need a referral from your doctor to get tested and that's it!
Re Sinking funds: I started separate accounts (which I think probably works really well if you get paid on a regular schedule) earlier this year. So after mortgage payments, utility bills, health insurance payments, the remainder of my money is allocated into separate accounts: General savings (my rainy day account), joint savings (with hubs), car insurance, health (fitness classes , massages etc), beauty (hair, makeup), gifts etc... you get the gist. Then whatever is left will be my 'spending' account which is my guilt free spending money. Basically every dollar I have is accounted for. It's still a work in progress but great to see my spending habits change and more rewarding to see my money grow (and I'm finally in control of it!). Good luck and keep up your great content! :)
This is so awesome, my dream bag is a Chanel classic flap - once I payoff my future home I'll treat myself to it! :D
Love that you are putting a sinking fund together and being pro-active in your stress management. Have you considered meditation to allow yourself to just be. All you need is yourself and a good meditation. It is not for me to say but you seem to need a lot of outside things to be happy, I could be wrong, but contemplate it...🙏🏼
Could u do a restaurant recommendations video? Also, where do u go to get ur brows done or could u do a brow grooming/routine video (ur brows look amazing)? 😊🤓
Also - totally love ur finance videos & ur’re such an inspiration!! Love how genuine & real u are about it all 👍😊
Love your videos because it’s raw and authentic. Also, I’d recommend Joel Robuchon in Vegas. It’s a 3 star michelin restaurant.
Aja I love your videos just because it's a pleasure to spend time with you. You're an open book about your own life, & I love that so much of your life is in it's own way relatable for me. We all struggle, we all have pleasures etc.
I remember you saying in a previous vid that your ultimate goal work-wise was to do a travel show/videos--is that still true? If so, I think you should start doing it. You are such a good tour guide to your own life, that I think you should expand & become a tour guide to LA. Start shooting vids about your favourite hangouts, favourite people, favourite locations etc. Introduce us to LA, introduce us to other people who know LA & love it too. Some locations could be 'famous LA', but some could be insiders/locals favourite stuff. Introduce us to LA & show us what makes it the place you love. It would be amazing, because as I said, it's a pleasure to spend time with you, & all of us around the world have a fascination with LA. You could ask your audience what we want to know about LA, about your LA, about historical LA or nightlife LA etc.
I think this would be so good, & you would be so good at it, that you could expand to all of California, to Las Vegas etc & you would get a job offer/opportunity to do this fulltime, to travel the world & bring us stories.
Just sayin.
that was definitely my goal a couple years ago but now it has changed. Now that I have a family, traveling for work isn't what I want to do. I have been pitching dog friendly travel shows though. But nothing has come of out of them yet.
For the designer bag you should get a M/L caviar black chanel classic flap in gold hw. (: super classic! If you open a credit card at neiman marcus or saks you can get 10-15% off on the purchase. You could also try to find the vintage chanel classic flap at the Real Real because in the past the gold hw used to be gold plated!
we don't do credit cards on this channel but thank you for the purse tip
I honestly use a savings app to “unconsciously” save for my sinking funds. I suck at saving money. I use Qapital and haven’t have any problems. I think the only down fall is that it won’t calculate money from multiple bank accounts. You put in your goals, you set automated rules or make manual transfers. And if there’s emergencies and I have tap into those extra funds, transferring back isn’t an issue either. I also give the tip to turn off notifications so you just let the funds grow.
I love these type of videos ♥️
You should introduce who you are and what you do videos about at the beginning of your vids. Keep up the inspiring work!
I just started the cash envelope system this month and so far so good. Hopefully I can keep up with it by the end of the month. 😊