Goal - Save 6 Months of Income

I have decided to embark on the journey to save 6 months of income in cash. My monthly take home pay is $3,692.45. So that's a total of $22,152.70 saved by the end of the goal.

To make this process a little easier, I worked in a reward system into the process. I divided the goal into 12 phases. Each phase will involve saving $1,846.23. After completing each phase, we are going to celebrate in some manner, be it a night out in the city or pizza and movie at home. Nothing too fancy.

I haven't quite decided how we are going to celebrate once we finish the final phase. I want to do something special...I will make up my mind along the way.

There are a couple of questions still left unanswered. When do I intend to finish phase 12? How can I stay on track? Obviously if I were to lose my job, or if there is a medical emergency, I will end up using this money, but at this point, I can only hope for the best.

I understand that setting goals without a target date is not good practice, but I don't know what the future has in store for me. I do have other systems in place that will ensure that I am not over spending. I will be able to set target dates by September 1, 2016, because I had already allocated the August paycheck on other goals.