Saving for a car, and paying cash.

How much to put aside?

Change the amount and the date: the pace follows.

What the car costs

The sticker price is not enough. Add:

• registration;
• the first year of insurance, or at least its first instalment;
• for a used car, an inspection and a first service;
• a margin of about 10% for the unexpected.

The total becomes your goal’s amount.

Choosing the date

Start from when you need it: the end of a contract, a new job, a move. That is the goal’s date.

If the old car will be sold, count its value as progress on the day of the sale, not before: an estimate is not money put aside.

Keeping the pace

1. Put money aside on payday, always the same amount: regularity matters more than the sum.
2. Found a good deal earlier than planned? Look at the pass: it tells you straight away whether a little or a lot is missing.
3. A month without progress erases nothing: the pace is worked out again on what is left.

An example

€6,000 in 12 months is €500 a month. Halfway there, €3,000 should be put aside: that is when you know whether you are on time.

How much should you save each month?