Earlier this year, I wrote about the concept of replacement spending versus excess savings — the decision we all face when a major expense drops off the books. In my case, I had two “spending cliffs” that were freeing up cash during the second half of 2025:
My youngest child finished preschool and is now in Kindergarten at a public school, freeing up $600 per month in childcare expenses.
We finished paying off the HVAC system from our 2023 home purchase, which had been costing $834 per month.
Between those two, I suddenly had $1,434 per month that wasn’t being spent anymore. So the question became: What should I do with this extra money? Let’s break down how I’ve been “playing the money game.”
Getting back ahead
My first priority as some extra money freed up has been rebuilding our “property tax” savings account. I don’t escrow my property taxes each month (for reasons I explain here) which means I have to make two larger lump sum payments twice a year—in June and September.
To prepare, I’ve been setting aside about $700 per month into a high-yield savings account earmarked for those payments. In the question of replacement spending versus excess savings, that means about half of my new cash flow is going toward excess savings.
Strategic replacement spending
Now for the part that’s a little more fun — and where the “money game” mindset kicks in. With the remaining balance, we decided to start a small home improvement project with a total cost of about $8,100.
To make it as budget-friendly as possible, we opened a new credit card offering:
0% APR on purchases for 12 months,
2% cash back on all purchases, and
a $200 bonus for spending $500 in the first three months.
We put the card in my wife’s name since she hasn’t opened a new credit card in quite a while (I opened one last year). That spacing helps maintain healthy credit scores by avoiding multiple new credit checks or loans within a 12-month window.
By using the new card for this project and earning cash back plus the signup bonus, our effective cost drops to $7,738 — a savings of $362, or roughly 4.4%.
When you spread that over the 12-month 0% promotional period, the project effectively becomes $644 per month in new “replacement spending.”
When you add it all up — about $700 per month going to savings and $644 per month toward the renovation — I’m effectively using the same $1,434 in monthly cash flow that was freed up when those old expenses ended. Same cash flow, smarter structure.
Why This Works
The “money game” isn’t about chasing every bonus or reward — it’s about optimizing. I try to organize major spending or saving decisions through two filters:
Does this move increase flexibility or efficiency?
Does it align with my overall financial plan?
In this case, I’m earning interest on the property tax savings while simultaneously using a 0% line of credit to fund a value-adding home project — both cash-flow positive outcomes when managed properly.
Everyday Optimization
Beyond this one project, I’ve also been more deliberate about how I use credit cards across different spending categories. For instance:
One card I rarely use offered 5% cash back on gas for the third quarter — so I set weekly reminders to use that card at the pump.
Another lesser-used card is offering 5% cash back on Amazon purchases, so I’ve scheduled reminders to use it for holiday shopping.
These may seem like small wins, but collectively they add up. The goal is to match the right card to the right expense at the right time — without overcomplicating the system or chasing every possible deal.
The Takeaway
Financial progress doesn’t always require new money; sometimes, it’s just about redirecting existing money more intelligently.
When an expense drops off your books, you have an opportunity to either:
Build excess savings, or
Reinvest in something purposeful.
The trick — the “money game,” as I like to call it — is to do both intentionally: structure your cash flow for flexibility, use credit strategically, and make every dollar earn a little more than it did last year.
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