Have you heard of sinking funds before? It’s a new term for me, but we’ve been doing sinking funds the last while without realizing it. Today on the blog, I’m sharing 2 simple tips to start sinking funds for beginners.

Money on the table.

What’s a sinking fund?

“A sinking fund is a sum of money that you set aside (usually by saving a bit each month) that’s completely separate from your savings account.” – From thebalance.com

What are some benefits of sinking funds if you’re a beginner to any kind of budgeting?

  • They prevent you from dipping into your savings / debt reduction funds.
  • They can help you to become more intentional with your spending..

See more benefits of sinking funds here.

Right now, we have a sinking fund for our basement reno. We’re not going into debt to complete our reno as we set a specific goal and have been setting aside money monthly (and in turn being better stewards of our finances to actually save for it faster).

2 simple tips to start sinking funds for beginners

  1. Start with one category for setting aside money in a sinking fund. It could get really overwhelming really quickly if you create many at one time.
  2. Start small. If you have debt, for instance, you may need to make your sinking funds a lot smaller in the meantime. But, you can create sinking funds for predictable things like Christmas sinking funds or birthday sinking funds.

And you can read other simple tips to start sinking funds for beginners here on this blog.

Want to start applying this simple sinking funds method to start saving money for specific things? I created a freebie printable for you to do just that: a sinking fund goals tracker. You can download that here.

I’d also suggest reading my friend Shelly’s blog here with some more great tips: “5 No Spend Month Tips and Tricks”

Other blogs of mine you may like:

Here’s to more mindful spending!

Calculator next to a notepad.

Hi, I’m Kelly! I’m a mother of four children - three boys, one toddler girl - and our family lives on the beautiful east coast of Canada. I’m a past elementary teacher, turned stay at home, work at home mom eight years ago after I had my second child. I’ve found that the busier I’ve become and as my children age, that it’s become even more important to figure out what is most important to me and us as a family. Living a simpler lifestyle has helped us in so many ways in our home life - from better routines to faster tidying up times. It has been through my children that I have been inspired to learn how to effectively manage my time and to simplify in all areas of my home and life. I enjoy helping busy moms simplify home life by teaching flexible planning methods and skills. Enjoyed this blog and think it would be helpful to others? I'd love if you shared it. Thank you!