What a sinking fund actually is
Money set aside monthly for a cost you know is coming. Not an emergency fund — that is for the genuinely unexpected. A sinking fund is for the entirely predictable things that still manage to surprise us every year.
Which costs deserve one
Anything annual, irregular or large enough to hurt:
- Car service, insurance and tyres
- Christmas and birthdays
- Annual subscriptions and renewals
- Replacements you can date in advance — a phone, a laptop, a mattress
Divide, do not guess
Take the annual cost and divide by twelve. That is the monthly figure. It is almost always smaller than it feels, and it is dramatically smaller than the version that arrives all at once.
Track it on one spread
Give each fund a row with a target, a monthly amount and a running total. Watching three funds fill up beside each other is far more motivating than a single savings balance, and it stops one goal quietly eating another.
Where this lives in a planner
Every technique above has a home on the Finance Budget — Mint Fresh — undated, A4, and ready for GoodNotes, Notability or a home printer. Not ready to buy? Download the free starter kit and try the method first.
