zippy478
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Post by zippy478 on May 25, 2011 15:01:04 GMT -5
"Plus, as it turns out I am very good with 'creative financing' or juggling. If I don't pay x, y, or z we can afford w. Next month I'll have to pay x2 and z. y will have to wait a little while. The month after that I won't have to pay x because I'm caught up and they won't really come after me for a couple of months." You too, huh?
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Plain Old Petunia
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Post by Plain Old Petunia on May 25, 2011 15:03:46 GMT -5
<< So needless to say, I am stuck with the car payment at least another year (maybe 2 but I'm working on paying that as fast as possible) >>
Do you mean that $470 is the payment plus a little, or that when you get a windfall you send it to the car loan?
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Plain Old Petunia
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Post by Plain Old Petunia on May 25, 2011 15:06:21 GMT -5
I went through a time in my life where money was very tight. I found it helpful to take cash on payday for gas, groceries, and any incidentals (hair cuts, a birthday gift, etc.). Then everything in checking was for bills. The cash had to last till the next payday, no matter what.
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zippy478
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Post by zippy478 on May 25, 2011 15:12:28 GMT -5
<< So needless to say, I am stuck with the car payment at least another year (maybe 2 but I'm working on paying that as fast as possible) >> Do you mean that $470 is the payment plus a little, or that when you get a windfall you send it to the car loan? $470 is the rounded up from the normal monthly payment. I think the normal monthly payment is something like $462. It's not much but I'm trying. I want to focus on the smaller debts first - I have a bunch that are $300 or so that I am trying to get paid off and that's where the $50 snowball is coming into play as those interest rates are higher than the car.
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zippy478
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Post by zippy478 on May 25, 2011 15:13:31 GMT -5
I went through a time in my life where money was very tight. I found it helpful to take cash on payday for gas, groceries, and any incidentals (hair cuts, a birthday gift, etc.). Then everything in checking was for bills. The cash had to last till the next payday, no matter what. I'm going to try this...I think that's what we both need actually. But the bills will come first and then everything left over can come out for gas, groceries and other stuff.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2011 15:34:24 GMT -5
Some of the things that have worked for me:
1. Insure against the really bad stuff but once you have a decent emergency fund, get high deductibles where you can.
2. Beware of easy monthly payments. They add up. That can apply to credit cards, Netflix, cell phones, on-line subscriptions, etc.
3. Pay yourself first, as others have said, and do NOT touch the savings except for a major catastrophe . You should have an emergency fund for the minor catastrophes such as paying the deductible on auto damage or unexpected medical co-pays.
4. Allocate a portion of each paycheck to fun money, but when it's gone, stop the "fun" spending till the next paycheck. If there's any fun money left, pay off debts.
5. Unless you're rolling in money and it's a high priority, never buy new vehicles.
6. Choose your splurges carefully and keep them in line with your budget. Maybe it can be an overpriced concoction from Starbucks when you pay off a credit card- not something that's going to throw you back into debt.
7. Go cheap where it doesn't matter to you. Garage sales and second-hand shops are perfectly good places to get kitchen things and kids' clothes.
8. Some couples find it useful to have an agreement that they'll discuss any potential purchase over $X beforehand, so neither is surprised when the other buys something substantial.
Good luck- it sounds like you're off to a good start!
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phil5185
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Post by phil5185 on May 25, 2011 22:11:28 GMT -5
Sometimes it highlites things to do an annual budget, and then do a descending sort on the dollar amount. It separates the significant few from the insignificant many.
Income: 5000 5000 60000 Expenses: Housing: 1350 1350 16200 Daycare: 960 960 11520 Car: 470 470 5640 CC pmts: 409 409 4908 Groceries: 400 400 4800 Gas: 300 300 3600 Cell phone: 150 150 1800 Cable: 125 125 1500 Insurance: 116 116 1392 Misc: 100 100 1200 Dining out: 100 100 1200 Gifts: 100 100 1200 Electric: 80 80 960 House Ins: 78 78 936 Life Ins: 53 53 636 Personal Exp:50 50 600 Car Maint: 50 50 600 Savings: 50 50 600 Medical: 40 40 480
Note that the $5640 car payment is near the top. Add the $3600 gas, the $1392 insurance, the $600 maintenance and you have $11,232 for cars. (It's probably more when you add tires, batteries, and car washes). So, about 20% of the $60k goes to cars.
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Knee Deep in Water Chloe
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Post by Knee Deep in Water Chloe on May 25, 2011 22:14:42 GMT -5
When Mr. Sroo and I started to really live by our budget we chose a zero based weekly budget. Basically it means that I mapped out every penny from every paycheck for the year. We had to banish the words "I get paid on Friday" and "We can pay for X out of my paycheck" when it came to extras. I had to tell Mr Sroo that our 'Next Paychecks' don't exist. (Can you tell we were living paycheck to paycheck??) Instead, we now 'See where X fits in our current plan'. Meaning, we can allocate some of our household misc money to that... or we have $100 coming up in two weeks that was designated entertainment, but we can buy X instead. It's like I typed that.
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Knee Deep in Water Chloe
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Post by Knee Deep in Water Chloe on May 25, 2011 22:20:58 GMT -5
Is your electric on balanced payments so that it's always $80 per month or does it go up in the winter? Just a thought to make sure you're not out-of-whack budget wise in the winter.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on May 25, 2011 22:27:07 GMT -5
Some folks can benefit from rules to live by. I'm not one of them. Doing the math is what works for me.
Maybe it's a matter of personality. I like seeing the "why" behind the rules and doing the math helps me see that.
There's also the issue of having broken too many rules in the past. It's (emotionally) difficult to get on board with "the rules" after you have broken many of them and aren't in a position to start following many others, no matter how good for you they are.
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zippy478
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Post by zippy478 on May 26, 2011 7:23:13 GMT -5
Sometimes it highlites things to do an annual budget, and then do a descending sort on the dollar amount. It separates the significant few from the insignificant many. ... Note that the $5640 car payment is near the top. Add the $3600 gas, the $1392 insurance, the $600 maintenance and you have $11,232 for cars. (It's probably more when you add tires, batteries, and car washes). So, about 20% of the $60k goes to cars. That does help...thank you. Unfortunately right now I'm not in any position to do much about the car expenses except maybe drive less which is tough since we are a one car family. My insurance is going down by $10 a month so that will help. Every little bit counts!
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zippy478
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Post by zippy478 on May 26, 2011 7:24:29 GMT -5
Is your electric on balanced payments so that it's always $80 per month or does it go up in the winter? Just a thought to make sure you're not out-of-whack budget wise in the winter. That's the average. The monthly bill is usually less than that actually because rates recently went down. I am going to talk to them about a budget plan though because it will go up in the summer with the AC. Thanks for the reminder!
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zippy478
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Post by zippy478 on May 26, 2011 7:25:58 GMT -5
Some folks can benefit from rules to live by. I'm not one of them. Doing the math is what works for me. Maybe it's a matter of personality. I like seeing the "why" behind the rules and doing the math helps me see that. There's also the issue of having broken too many rules in the past. It's (emotionally) difficult to get on board with "the rules" after you have broken many of them and aren't in a position to start following many others, no matter how good for you they are. This gives me something to think about and explore...maybe that's why I'm having trouble sometimes - I don't like rules! Thanks!
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on May 26, 2011 7:29:54 GMT -5
1. Don't go shopping for recreation. If you are bored, play a card game. 2. Unsubscribe to any catalog that comes into your house and if they still keep coming, throw them away without looking at them. 3. Don't get caught up in the 'KUWTJ'. The Jones are in debt too. 4. Steer clear of any friend that wants you to do something that will cost money after you have told them 'no.' Them: do you want to go to the movies? You: No. Them: do you want to go out to eat? You: No. Them: Do you want to go to the concert? You: No. This won't last forever and there will be other concerts, movies and dinners out.
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zippy478
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Post by zippy478 on May 26, 2011 7:34:03 GMT -5
7. Go cheap where it doesn't matter to you. Garage sales and second-hand shops are perfectly good places to get kitchen things and kids' clothes. I have to laugh at this one as I read it and think to myself - I always go cheap because it really doesn't matter to me! Seriously though - in the grand scheme of things we really don't go too crazy - our biggest "fun" money item revolves around food. Neither one of us drinks (I'll maybe have one drink with dinner every once in a while) so that saves a ton of money. The problem is - we like to eat and enjoy the whole process of food. We barely eat out even once a week and when we do it is usually pizza or chinese food. Drive thrus are even more rare and that's only when I don't plan very well. So we spend a lot of time and energy making food at home, we've started our garden for this year and will support the local farmers' market (even if it might be a little more than the grocery store I still go there for the freshness factor).
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Frugal Nurse
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Post by Frugal Nurse on May 26, 2011 8:52:41 GMT -5
The only thing I would suggest is increasing your income somehow. Can one of you get a part time second job? Maybe think outside the box on this one. DH and I use to work for a local company that took photos of the youth sports teams in the state. It paid 12/hour and was super, super easy. i did cookie-cutter photos, DH took the orders. the company provided all the equipment. I was usually 6-8 hours of our time on a Saturday or Sunday, but that money added up. Now for extra cash, DH will do some medical transcription from the doctors at the rehab hospital where the research office he works in is located. I just pick up overtime, because nurse overtime money is quite nice :-). Other part time jobs we've each done: Cleaning offices, yard work, babysitting, pet sitting, retail (yuck-never again!).
It wouldn't have to be forever, just until you knock out a few of those CC's and free up a little more extra cash. It might boost your money morale a little bit.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on May 26, 2011 9:01:50 GMT -5
Overall, your budget could use some tweaking, but other than the car and cc payments, nothing jumps at me. Your housing is reasonable compared to your income. Are property taxes included?
Depending on the duration of the car loan and the interest rates on it and the cc, I'd focus on paying those off - I am assuming that you have an EF?
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on May 26, 2011 9:03:26 GMT -5
Can you all help me come up with some more "rules" to live by?
Create a budget that works for you.
The problem is - we like to eat and enjoy the whole process of food. We barely eat out even once a week and when we do it is usually pizza or chinese food. Drive thrus are even more rare and that's only when I don't plan very well. So we spend a lot of time and energy making food at home, we've started our garden for this year and will support the local farmers' market (even if it might be a little more than the grocery store I still go there for the freshness factor).
We are the same. I won't "cheap out" on good food. It's fine to establish your priorities. The game is to figure out how to spend less on things that aren't priorities so that you can enjoy the things that are most important.
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zippy478
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Post by zippy478 on May 26, 2011 9:49:05 GMT -5
Sroo...that is kind of what I did when I put that $80 out there as my electric bill. The other problem with the budget plan (we've tried it before) is if you miss a payment for some reason they bump you out of it. So I'd almost rather just do my own...at least until I get everything caught up and back in order again.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 10:30:12 GMT -5
I don't like rules for just the sake of rules; I guess I'm still enough of a red head who hears "Rules are Made to be Broken!!!).
I like establishing reasonable goals and breaking them down into long, mid & short. For example for a long term goal; I want to retire by X; then I must save Y/years and then arrive at monthly amount.
Mid term goal (3-5 years): Buy a house; same drill.
Short term goal (0-2 years) eliminate cc and car debt; again same drill.
Then form a budget to get where you want. It may not work out at first but it will after a while. I find the reward of achieving the short term goal has the psychological effect of snowballing. You need to feel success in order to stay motivated.
Also if you can avoid "lifestyle creep" as you earn more money, you'll find it easier to say "no" to additional purchases. And when you become older your biggest concern becomes where the heck am I going to put that! LOL
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on May 26, 2011 10:52:56 GMT -5
Set a dollar limit on purchases that need to be slept on. If you want something above that amount you must wait for the idea to age. So if you want a boat you would keep wanting it for a month or more before selecting one, even if you are at a boat show now and can get the boat show price and want one really badly. If you write it on a wants list along with all your other wants like a nice vacation, wonderful Christmas gifts for the kids, a wealthy retirement, the joy of being consumer debt free and other wants you can see how it fits. It also lets you think about rainy days and your busy schedule and how much or how little you will use it.
Avoid shopping for something to do, you shouldn't have been at the boat show then you wouldn't have wanted the boat and seen the great bargain you would be missing.
If it isn't something you planned to buy when you left home age the purchase. Let that great item stay on the shelf while you finish shopping or let it ride in the cart then go put it back if it was a splurge that you can do without.
Remember when something is 50% off you can save 100% by not buying it.
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Post by bobbysgirl on May 26, 2011 11:56:28 GMT -5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So I've lurked here sporadically since the boards moved over from MSN.
What did you do before the boards moved here?
Plaina and simple. Spend less than you make. Save for you first.
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zippy478
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Post by zippy478 on May 26, 2011 12:26:47 GMT -5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So I've lurked here sporadically since the boards moved over from MSN. What did you do before the boards moved here? Plaina and simple. Spend less than you make. Save for you first. I lurked on MSN I would spend hours reading the posts over there and get totally caught up in them but I never put any of the advice truly into action. Now I'm pretending that I don't know a thing and starting over and reading everything with a fresh set of eyes. It's not easy to leave out pre-conceived notions and approach things with an open mind but I am certainly trying and I've already got some new ideas to think about.
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Clever Username
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Post by Clever Username on May 26, 2011 13:54:06 GMT -5
How's this for Rules to Live By: 1. Each of your list your goals. 2. No, really all of your goals "get my drink on" has an appropriate place in your life. 3. Share the lists. 4. Prioritize them together. 5. Compare that prioritized list to your actual spending.
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doxieluvr
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Post by doxieluvr on May 26, 2011 14:10:51 GMT -5
You need to sell your car and buy that elusive reliable beater for $2k, pull the kids from daycare and have your parents watch teh kids for free, drop the cell phone, eat rice and beans, stop eating out, and stop giving gifts. Seriously, your budget needs a little trimming, but not too bad.......... Hold the show..aside from this budget contains daycare and mine included more gas, this is very close to my budget that i got flack for it.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on May 26, 2011 14:11:58 GMT -5
Um, Doxie, you're spending more than you make, that's the problem with your budget. OP has some savings going on.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on May 26, 2011 14:15:09 GMT -5
Hold the show..aside from this budget contains daycare and mine included more gas, this is very close to my budget that i got flack for it Is that supposed to be a joke? I think you need to go back and look at the budget again, specifically the last line. Income is disposable income after 401(k) and savings deposits. Notice the ginormous difference between this budget and yours? They're spending less than they make. They're saving for the future. They have a cushion to help them out when unexpected stuff comes up.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on May 26, 2011 14:20:03 GMT -5
You need to sell your car and buy that elusive reliable beater for $2k, pull the kids from daycare and have your parents watch teh kids for free, drop the cell phone, eat rice and beans, stop eating out, and stop giving gifts. Seriously, your budget needs a little trimming, but not too bad.......... Hold the show..aside from this budget contains daycare and mine included more gas, this is very close to my budget that i got flack for it. Um, the OP's income is about $1000 more per month, car payments are less, and she's saving. How is that "close" to your budget?
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CarolinaKat
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Post by CarolinaKat on May 26, 2011 14:24:10 GMT -5
Um, Doxie, you're spending more than you make, that's the problem with your budget. OP has some savings going on. *giggle*
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KaraBoo
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Post by KaraBoo on May 26, 2011 14:39:31 GMT -5
I don't remember the numbers Doxie - but they only have one car to your three and their vehicle expenses are probably half of yours (if not more - I don't remember the exact numbers).
You would have room for improvement if it wasn't for your and your DH's "I won't do x, y, z" attitude.
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