Sticking with a savings plan is much easier when your savings deposits are scheduled and made along with the rest of your bills. You can set up an automatic savings plan in myOwnPayday by creating a Biller to whom you make monthly payments as a normal part of paying your bills.
Automating your savings deposits is done using the program’s linked Biller feature. After setting up a Special Account to hold your savings, you then set up a new Biller to whom you “pay” your monthly savings deposits. After linking this new Biller to your savings Special Account, all payments made to the Biller will be automatically deposited into the linked Special Account.
It sounds complicated, but, it isn’t. Here’s the two step process for setting up your automatic savings plan in myOwnPayday.
First, you set up a new Special Account to hold your savings.
Open the Add Special Account window by clicking on the Setup menu and then the Special Account menu item.
In the Add Special Account window, enter an appropriate Account Name. Optionally, in the Purpose / Goal textbox, enter the reason why the account is being created.
Either set up a savings target or leave the account open ended.
If you are saving for a specific purpose, enter a Target Amount, select the Target Date option for Duration, and then enter the Target Date by which you want to accumulate the Target Amount.
If, on the other hand, there is no specific purpose for the account other than accumulating savings, select a Duration of Open Ended.
Click the Add button.
Next, set up a new, linked Biller to whom you will “pay” your savings deposits.
Open the Add Biller window by clicking on the Setup menu and then the Biller menu item.
In the Add Biller window, select an appropriate Category. The Savings category is a good candidate.
If you want to delay the start of your savings plan, enter the Start Date for your first savings deposit. (A Start Date should only be entered if the savings deposits will be Auto Scheduled. See step 6 below.)
Enter an Internal Name for the Biller. This name can be the same as the one used for the new savings Special Account set up above.
Select when you will be making your savings deposit each month.
If the payments will be Auto Scheduled, in the Day Normally Due dropdown box, select either the 1st or the 15th (whichever day best fits your cash flow).
If your savings deposits will not be Auto Scheduled, leave the Day Normally Due as the 1st.
Set the up the Biller payment schedule.
If you will be making the same savings deposit amount each month, enter that amount in the Usual Amount box and check Auto Schedule.
If you will be depositing the money you have left over each time you pay bills, leave the Usual Amount blank and do not check Auto Schedule. Each time you are preparing to pay your bills, you can enter a “bill” to pay the linked Biller any part, or all of money you will have left over after paying all other bills. By entering this “bill” you are transferring your excess money into your savings.
Link the Biller to the savings Special Account. In the Special Account dropdown box, select the new savings Special Account that you set up above.
Click the Add button.
Verify that the linked biller is set up correctly by clicking on the Lists menu and then the Special Accounts menu item. The row displaying your new savings Special Account will show the new Biller name in the Biller Links column.
The linked Biller becomes a payment obligation that you handle each month the same way you handle all of your other bills. The only difference is that all of the money you “pay” to the linked Biller is automatically deposited into your savings Special Account. If you set up your linked Biller with an Auto Scheduled amount, myOwnPayday will schedule your savings deposits for you along with the rest of your bills. With your automatic savings deposits incorporated by myOwnPayday into your financial Projection, you will be less likely to spend those savings “payments” before you have a chance to tuck them away.
If your myOwnPayday checking account is not interest bearing, you will probably want to periodically move the money from your savings Special Account to a more suitable investment account so your savings will accumulate interest. When appropriate, transfer your savings by doing an Internal Transfer in myOwnPayday to move money from your savings Special Account to your Checkbook. With the money recorded in your check register, you can then write a check to deposit the transferred amount into whatever investment account you select.