Budget---where to start?

[Atkid]

Re: Budget---where to start?

Great tips! I am gonna have to sit down and figure this all out. While I am not overly concerned with present money issues (other than 2 college tuitions) I worry about when hubby retires. He makes 49 this year so not right around the corner but boy the years fly fast.

A few more things....

You know how much you take home per pay period. And you know how much of that will go to paying utilities, etc. For example, you make $100 per month (I'm keeping the numbers simple for my pea-sized brain.) Rent, utilities and other bills comes to $30 per month. Food is about $20 per month. That leaves you with $50 right? Okay, get into your mind that you only have half of that 50 to use as spending money for the month. Forget entirely about the $25 that is in your bank account---it doesn't exist. You only have $25 in your wallet. That's it. Nothing more. If you only spend $10 of that $25, put the remaining $15 in the bank and forget about it.

The more you get in the habit of putting 'leftover' money in the bank and forgetting what's in the bank, the more your bank account/savings will grow.

[Atkid]

Re: Budget---where to start?

The best way to save money is spend as little as necessary for everything. You can buy and cook a dozen eggs for a fraction of that same dozen served at a diner. Covenience store purchases should be avoided, in favor of the larger market much lower priced identical goods. Better yet, look for the market's brand of an item versus the commercially advertised version. If you use something often and it can be stored awhile, buy larger more economical size packages. For instance, instead of a $5 bag of cat food a week, get 2 months worth for $20. Scan super clearance sales, closeouts, markdowns, damaged packaging discouts, etc. for things you can use before you run out of it and have to buy it when not on sale. Close doors & windows quickly when there's a big difference in the indoor-outdoor temperatures and turn off unused lights and taps to save on utility costs. Avoid long calls which charge you by the minute. Repair an item if you can rather than replace it. As you save, apply the cash leftover to the debts with the highest interest rate first, continue until debt-free.


Do these things and you may not need a "budget".

I am guilty of buying the $5 dollar bag of cat food. It always seems better to me to spend the lesser of the two amounts of money even though the bigger bag will last longer.

[staziaw]

Re: Budget---where to start?

Personally, I hate spreadsheets -- they make me queasy! And throwing up on your money is never a good choice!!

You have lots of options and lots of advice, Miss Phode. Of course, you need to figure out what's right for you!

XO
Stacy

[Miss Phode]

Re: Budget---where to start?

Well....since I use my debit card for everything, I was able to figure out how much I spent, and on what. I made a list of my every month essential bills, rent, car payments, insurance, utilities, phones, internet, lawn care, gym. I separated everything else like so.

Groceries - 416.65

Gas - 294.20

Eating out & extra stuff.....This is where my problem lies. Go figure.
I spent $407.85 on eating out, and I don't want to talk about the "extra stuff" right now......

I guess now that I have an idea of what I'm spending, I can work on reducing the extras, and concentrate on putting that money into a savings account. We could probably buy a house if we didn't eat out and blow money on things we don't need.

[biogeek]

Re: Budget---where to start?

That's a great start! Once you see where the money goes, it's easier to cut stuff out.

One important question: is your DH share your concern for saving? Hope so, because it'll be a lot easier if you both are on the saving bandwagon.

[Miss Phode]

Re: Budget---where to start?

That's a great start! Once you see where the money goes, it's easier to cut stuff out.

One important question: is your DH share your concern for saving? Hope so, because it'll be a lot easier if you both are on the saving bandwagon.

Well...................

He says he does, but.............

I don't know if I should go there right now.

[biogeek]

Re: Budget---where to start?

OK, we'll leave your DH out of the conversation for now. All I have to add for now is that the sooner you start saving, the more you can take advantage of the power of compound interest.

[sadie147]

Re: Budget---where to start?

I wont be adding any advice here as i'm not the greatest with money

There is some great advice here! I try to budget every month, but it usually ends up not going well and once again i'm broke . I do have a bit put away (registered retirement fund, company stock), but not nearly as much as I should.

Well....since I use my debit card for everything, I was able to figure out how much I spent, and on what. I made a list of my every month essential bills, rent, car payments, insurance, utilities, phones, internet, lawn care, gym. I separated everything else like so.

.

I use my debit card for everything too, and that is a big problem of mine. I don't know about there..but here..banks fees for using debit cards are phenomenal. I would save a fortune just by taking out money once every pay and using only that as my spending money. Does anyone else do this? set a limit and then take out that amount and only use that?

It sounds good in theory, just not sure if it works.

[biogeek]

Re: Budget---where to start?

We don't use debit cards in our home, just credit cards. We only use the ones with no annual fee and gives you cash back as a "reward." So we use discover card for gas, which gives us 5% back. We've got another card that gives us 3% back at restaurants, grocery stores, and other retail places. However, we do pay them off each month, so there's no finance charge and no fees for using it each time. At the end of the year, we ask for the rebate check to pay for Christmas presents.

I had no idea debit cards were so fee heavy! I advise not using them!!! You work too hard for your money to be giving it back to the bank!

[Miss Phode]

Re: Budget---where to start?

Sadie, as long as I use my debit card as a credit card, I don't pay fees. But if I use it as a debit, I get hit with the store fee and the bank fee. Some places, especially smaller businesses don't want to run the card as a credit card, because they get stuck with the fees then. Most stores you go to they ask debit or credit. It might be different in Canada.

[boonie stomper]

Re: Budget---where to start?

MP, check with some other banks in your area. There are some (like mine) that charge nothing for the card usage either as debit or credit, unless it's an ATM transaction not at their own ATM. I can ask for cash back during a purchase if I do a Debit swipe, too, and avoid needing the ATM. I got tired of always having tons of receipts to keep up with until I got the chance do balance the checkbook, so now I generally use the card only for purchases over $50, medical & Rx's, and fillups.

[sadie147]

Re: Budget---where to start?

I just checked my online bank statement, I paid 28.60 in atm/debit service charges last month. That's alot of money for convenience i really have to start using cash.

[Miss Phode]

Re: Budget---where to start?

That is a lot of money Sadie. That's over $300 a year you'd save.

[not2late]

Re: Budget---where to start?

I don't use debit cards. It's either cash for purchases less than $30 or credit card. And I only have 1 credit card.

When I first lived on my own and had to figure out a household budget, I kept an accounts book---just a notebook where I wrote down my expenditures daily, cash and credit. That gave me an idea of how much pocket money I needed to have.

[sadie147]

Re: Budget---where to start?

That's what I'm going to have to do Megs, I haven't got a clue how much spending money I need a day. Technically, since I work from home, I really shouldn't need any spending money on most days. I don't eat out, drive anywhere etc. My worst habit is going out shopping at lunch for something to do. I should change that to going to the gym to get out of the house.