Plan B

Finalizing Plan B Before the First Deposit

Travis W.

— 2 min read

Finalized: October 26, 2025
Day One: October 29, 2025

Why This Matters

Most people build a budget after the money arrives. We (AI and I) built Plan B before the deposit — with optimism that support from AI might change everything.

Using three months of historical data, we identified opportunities to save or redirect money, anticipated stress points, and designed a system that could flex with real-life scenarios. We ran simulations using actual past variables — but we’ll rely on real data going forward, not predictions.

What We Did During the Gap (Oct 26–29)

• Stress-Tested Timing Logic

Verified that every bill aligned with the correct deposit. Manual vs. auto flags were double-checked. Color-coded logic ensured clarity.

• Refined the Savings Structure

Defined roles for each account:

  • Tuition Buffer (Primary Savings): for private high school costs (my daughter is a freshman, and my son will be a freshman next year — this was the catalyst for me to try AI) and future tuition spikes
  • Rainy Day: limited withdrawals, true emergencies only
  • Kid Accounts: long-term deposits, future flexibility, emergency fund for whatever (no plan to use, just save)
  • Ghost Savings (Secondary Savings): only to save money to pay Uncle Sam every year, used only as a last resort if checking funds are depleted

• Mapped Real-World Transactions

Audited three months of bills, loans, tuition-linked charges, surcharges, credit card usage, and deposits. Tagged and categorized to show how tuition financing (charged on my credit card) quietly becomes high-interest debt if not tracked. Identified a plan to reduce credit card debt, which is currently covering tuition.

• Documented System Logic

Logged every refinement in the Blog Log Book: discretionary categories, food runs, random “kid asks,” and work-related costs that often go unnoticed (so many found).

Day One Is October 29, 2025

While the system was technically finalized on October 26th, Day One is October 29th — the day we got paid and made the final decision to trust the system. (I’m not 100% sold on AI, but I’m testing it.) That’s when allocations were made, deposits were logged, and Plan B officially went live.

AI Collaboration Disclaimer

This Plan B is a living experiment to see if AI can help our family find financial freedom.
I’ll use AI to draft most of the system logic and execution posts — but you’ll always hear my voice. I review everything, revise with my two cents, and make sure it reflects our real life.

Any post about life events — family decisions, unexpected spending, emotional stress tests — is written by me, not AI.
AI just checks the grammar (after all, I’m human — lol).

Posting Frequency

I’ll post at least once every two weeks, aligned with our biweekly paydays — but you’ll likely see me here more often, blogging about random life events that impact the plan and adapting accordingly.

Each post will document:

  • ✅ Real transactions
  • 🔧 System refinements
  • 🔍 Stress tests

No hypotheticals. Just real life.

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