Is it just me......Always overbudget
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I'm struggling too. Things were so much better before my car caught on fire. Now I'm shelling out $450 a month just to keep a car on the road when before that I wasn't paying for anything other than gas.
What are you driving? That is what you pay for an ultima. I drive a Yaris. I pay 280. But....it does take about a minute to get to 100. I miss my super charger.0 -
I was like this until someone told me the pay yourself first rule. It's crazy but it works. Five years of doing it and now I'm buying a house.
What you do is figure out 10% of your monthly take home pay. Then you have to reframe your thinking and consider yourself the absolute most nasty *kitten* feed-you-to-the-pigs mob gangster possible. So the very first 10% of every paycheck MUST get paid to yourself - put it in savings and leave it there. Nothing is allowed to be considered more important, not your food, not your gas, not your rent... YOU WILL SWIM WITH THE FISHES UNLESS YOU PAY THAT 10% to thegang boss.
Do it, seriously. It's a rule to live by. Why work if you're not paying yourself anyway?
This.....and it's paramount...you have to DO this....
sometimes you sacrifice "wants" now to make sure "wants" later are a possibility
I'm a single mother on a 55K salary and I always find a way to make it work......mostly because I pay myself first.
There is absolutely no way in hell I could do that. the person that invented that probably doesn't pay child support.
I'm on the flip side...i'm the one not GETTING child support and I find a way to make it work.0 -
Kids are expensive. If I was kidless, I would easily save $1000 a month. Daycare costs me $1000 a month.0
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Envelope Budgeting : https://www.eebacanhelp.com/envelope-budgeting.php
There are many smart phone apps that help you do it. I use Balance on the iPhone.
Just as with calorie counting, keeping track of what you spend as you spend it helps you save money. You'll always know how much money you have left.0 -
wow, thats sad for you...I have always been great with money and I save out of every paycheck, I have a very nice savings account.0
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http://www.brownsshoes.com/STEVE-MADDEN/198750,default,pd.html?dwvar_198750_color=013#cgid=2&shoesize=9.5&suggestsize=true&start=30
this is my shoe. Check out the price of the others.
You got ripped off, that shoe is now under clearance for 590 -
No matter how hard I try, I am always over budget. Need this, that, and the other thing. I do not spend carelessly, but things just keep coming up............Who can save money in today's world........
I'm very dedicated to the financial budget. There is always something you think you need that you can always really do without, or get by somehow. I've had years of practice and grew up poor. I guess that is what has helped me. We even paid off our house mortgage in 15 years and put money away for retirement at the same time, but taking hand me down furniture and not driving fancy cars, not needing to have the latest gadgets, heating the house with a wood stove and going out to chop an split our own wood, etc. You have to want it. Just like a calorie budget for weight loss.0 -
Here is an example. Shoes for kids $150.00 School fees $200, birthday presents for other kids $75.00 come on! New shoes for me $150.00 Needed them.
^ THIS is your example? Oh poor you.....0 -
Here is an example. Shoes for kids $150.00 School fees $200, birthday presents for other kids $75.00 come on! New shoes for me $150.00 Needed them.
I think I see your problem. $200 school fees might not be avoidable, but the rest is.0 -
I save money every single month as does my man friend. Currently have over 20k in savings between the two of us. And retirement all set away as well. It's not the easiest thing to do, but I'd rather save now and go crazy when I retire.
I applaud your financial savvy but what if tomorrow doesn't come? I know that sounds morbid but I watched my Grandparents save and put a lot of stuff off until retirement. Unfortunately my Grandfather retired early through ill-health and his health didn't improve so they weren't able to go through with those plans. Save a little but live a little too!0 -
I guess I should not mention my IPAD 3........0
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http://www.brownsshoes.com/STEVE-MADDEN/198750,default,pd.html?dwvar_198750_color=013#cgid=2&shoesize=9.5&suggestsize=true&start=30
this is my shoe. Check out the price of the others.
Here's a similar pair at Sears. Not leather, but $100 less.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_3ZZVA46322501P?sid=IDx01192011x000001&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=31-38436209-20 -
Bump I want to read some of this later
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I guess I should not mention my IPAD 3........
yeah dude...you're making choices...it's hard to sit there and complain about not having money when you are obviously making choices to buy things at premium prices just to have them in a consumerist world....
there are WAYS to be underbudget...but all of them require sacrifice and hard work....they just do...
nothing worth having is easy.0 -
I would be OK if it wasn't for the almost $700 in daycare each month. That's only for one!0
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I would be OK if it wasn't for the almost $700 in daycare each month. That's only for one!
This man gets me.0 -
Here is an example. Shoes for kids $150.00 School fees $200, birthday presents for other kids $75.00 come on! New shoes for me $150.00 Needed them.
UHM...My shoes are $19.99... a pair. Pumas and addidas... gimme a break on spending $150.
I space out the time i pay my bills and STILL have money left over. I don't get how people don't have money...I get anxious if I have less that $300 in my account at any given time...(excluding what I have in savings
) 0 -
http://www.brownsshoes.com/STEVE-MADDEN/198750,default,pd.html?dwvar_198750_color=013#cgid=2&shoesize=9.5&suggestsize=true&start=30
this is my shoe. Check out the price of the others.
you know you can get steve madden shoes at Winners all the time at bargain prices...why are you paying full price and then complaining about it?
edited for grammar
Not to mention the shoes I'm wearing as we speak are literally IDENTICAL. I spent $60 on them over a year ago and they are still going strong and look great.
There is no reason at all to be spending $150 on shoes.0 -
I save money every single month as does my man friend. Currently have over 20k in savings between the two of us. And retirement all set away as well. It's not the easiest thing to do, but I'd rather save now and go crazy when I retire.
I applaud your financial savvy but what if tomorrow doesn't come? I know that sounds morbid but I watched my Grandparents save and put a lot of stuff off until retirement. Unfortunately my Grandfather retired early through ill-health and his health didn't improve so they weren't able to go through with those plans. Save a little but live a little too!
My father died last year. A few months after retiring.0 -
Here are the shoes I'm wearing now. http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/shoes/mens-shoes/dress-shoes/stacy-adams-connelly-mens-slip-ons/prod.jump?ppId=16a4032&catId=cat100300057&deptId=dept20000018&N=927&topDim=Brand&topDimvalue=stacy+adams&dimCombo=Brand|&dimComboVal=stacy+adams|&currentDim=Brand&currentDimVal=stacy+adams
No difference in looks. $95 difference in price.
Oh and they are comfortable as hell.
But I'm betting you have issues with shopping at places like JC Penney if you think spending less than $150 on shoes means going to a "thrift store".0 -
i work my *kitten* off at 2 jobs, still can't get ahead. everytime i think i'm going to catch up, something happens. last week it was the truck- tire blew out, $170 + $1100 for tires + ??? for body damage= i'm broke again.
You need to have an emergency fund. Check out moneyunder30.com. That site has a lot of information on learning how to budget.0 -
I suggest anyone serious about budgeting check out YNAB.com
No I don't work for them. I just use the software.0 -
Here are the shoes I'm wearing now. http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/shoes/mens-shoes/dress-shoes/stacy-adams-connelly-mens-slip-ons/prod.jump?ppId=16a4032&catId=cat100300057&deptId=dept20000018&N=927&topDim=Brand&topDimvalue=stacy+adams&dimCombo=Brand|&dimComboVal=stacy+adams|&currentDim=Brand&currentDimVal=stacy+adams
No difference in looks. $95 difference in price.
Oh and they are comfortable as hell.
But I'm betting you have issues with shopping at places like JC Penney if you think spending less than $150 on shoes means going to a "thrift store".
Wow. Way to judge. First. where I live, a thrift store is a place when you buy donated cloths. 2nd, we do not have JC. Penny. I do go and raid T.J. Max when I slip over the border. Perhaps we have a miscommunication.0 -
I save money every single month as does my man friend. Currently have over 20k in savings between the two of us. And retirement all set away as well. It's not the easiest thing to do, but I'd rather save now and go crazy when I retire.
I applaud your financial savvy but what if tomorrow doesn't come? I know that sounds morbid but I watched my Grandparents save and put a lot of stuff off until retirement. Unfortunately my Grandfather retired early through ill-health and his health didn't improve so they weren't able to go through with those plans. Save a little but live a little too!
I have to agree.
I'm currently try to save a deposit to buy a house here in the UK. We are going to need at least £12k and its going to take years to save that much when we can't afford to save more than £200 a month after we've paid our rent, bills, good etc. Me and my husband have a decent income between us but it really dies stretch very far and we don't spend much money on clothes (all from Primark, Asda etc) or go out much. And we've not even had kids yet, so we'll be even worse off if we do that!0 -
I don't even have a steady income( I sub as a teachers aid plus work at a small business part time) and I manage to save money.
What I wound up doing is setting up an excel spread sheet for each of my savings accounts( I have 2, one that I pay bills out of and one that I just sock money away in). I split them up so I can see how much I have to pay my one credit card with, how much I have left in personal training costs(I pre-save for this), how much I have left to pay my cell phone bill(I pre-saved for this), and how much I have in general savings.
I take each pay check and put half in my different accounts.. and it may not be a lot but it adds up over time. The rest of the money sits in my checking for different things that pop up during the month.
I also buy nothing brand new, and almost get all my clothes on sale. I've found awesome deals at Department Stores where I will get hundred dollar clothing items for between 10 and 20 dollars.
The one thing I do splurge on is my hair and personal training.. and as long as my bills are getting paid, I figure I can splurge on those two things.0 -
Here are the shoes I'm wearing now. http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/shoes/mens-shoes/dress-shoes/stacy-adams-connelly-mens-slip-ons/prod.jump?ppId=16a4032&catId=cat100300057&deptId=dept20000018&N=927&topDim=Brand&topDimvalue=stacy+adams&dimCombo=Brand|&dimComboVal=stacy+adams|&currentDim=Brand&currentDimVal=stacy+adams
No difference in looks. $95 difference in price.
Oh and they are comfortable as hell.
But I'm betting you have issues with shopping at places like JC Penney if you think spending less than $150 on shoes means going to a "thrift store".
Wow. Way to judge. First. where I live, a thrift store is a place when you buy donated cloths. 2nd, we do not have JC. Penny. I do go and raid T.J. Max when I slip over the border. Perhaps we have a miscommunication.
Forgive me if I come off as judgemental. But its pretty hard to feel bad for someone claiming that they are "struggling" to pay for their $150 shoes. You know what I struggle to pay for? Food and gas. You know the last time I bought a new pair of shoes? Over a year ago when I bought the shoes I posted above? You know when the last time I spent $150 on ANYTHING frivolous was? 2-3 years ago when I bought the first generation iPad. And I did it with the proceeds from a stock bonus I received from work at the time.
Please don't come around complaining about how you're struggling to pay for these things when more than 50% of the people on this site struggle to pay for basic necessities. I support my family of 4 on $36k a year in one of the most expensive places in the country to live. And I'm not on here creating threads to complain about it.0 -
My two favorite sites for budgeting are www.learnvest.com and www.mint.com. Learnvest they both use your online credit card / bank accounts to track your spending (scary, I know ... but no probs so far for me) and then create a budget.
My sister told me about Learnvest and I really love it. Learnvest is marketed towards women (but the advice is good for anyone) and has amazing articles and email newsletters for all sorts of people in various budgeting situations in their lives (ie, how my family business got us $XXX into debt ... and how I'm paying it all off, how I'm moving into a tiny house -- the size of a parking spot -- and having fun doing it, the financial realities of being a model in NYC, Is Girls (HBO) an accurate depiction of young American women?, etc).
Mint is just the budgeting tool (no frills), but they have more advertising, which I find annoying. They do have an app, though, and that's really nice for updating while out and about.
I would definitely make comparisons to MFP and Learnvest/Mint. You are really just calorie-budgeting here, aren't you? You can definitely have success on these sites if you are having success on MFP. Best of luck!0 -
I save money every single month as does my man friend. Currently have over 20k in savings between the two of us. And retirement all set away as well. It's not the easiest thing to do, but I'd rather save now and go crazy when I retire.
I applaud your financial savvy but what if tomorrow doesn't come? I know that sounds morbid but I watched my Grandparents save and put a lot of stuff off until retirement. Unfortunately my Grandfather retired early through ill-health and his health didn't improve so they weren't able to go through with those plans. Save a little but live a little too!
Who said I didn't live??.... I've traveled Europe, Mexico... the US. I'm busy all the time "living". We're just able to save ridiculous amounts of money because.... we can.0 -
I think they zero in on the shoes because you identify that they cost you 150 but without caveats as to why (needing formal business attire for work) OR how often you make such a purchase (we can't tell if you mention it because shoes are a recurring expense or because they're one of your recent purchases). Obviously, buying $150 shoes to stay "in fashion" with each season or trend, as some do, is different from buying a pair every few years so you have nice shoes for work. So it's easy to quickly jump to the conclusion that you're someone who might needlessly buys expensive shoes on a regular / frequent basis.
Unfortunately, as you know, kids will make any situation complex. I was talking with a coworker today who was ecstatic that his child was now old enough to drink milk because formula is so much more expensive. Add in things like school fees and the fact they'll be outgrowing their clothes, and the costs keep rising.
Myself, I've generally been able to hold to a budget not only because I'm careful about what I spend, but also because I'm pretty lucky. Scholarships meant I graduated from college with zero debt (and actually had a surplus because I had a job) and I was able to use the money I'd saved up for college to buy my car so I have no car payments. That eliminated what are often sizable budget drains for my peers.
But I do find that, just like using MFP to watch my calories and where they come from, writing out my expenditures, even when I know I've got plenty of money in the bank, is a real help. That's how I was able to recognize some underlying "static"- small payments, usually subsriptions, that I didn't need anymore but, because they were so small on their own, I didn't bother to notice or cancel them! Recently, I've realized how much I began spending when they attached a credit card reader to the snack machine at work, so I've had to make a conscious "cash only" decision that I didn't need to think about back when cash was the only option.
Having your budget written out won't bring in more revenue, but you may be better able to see where some costs can be reduced or eliminated.0 -
Everyone has different levels of discretionary income -- the "guide" that is used for lending is around a max 40% of your GROSS income for debt (house, car, student loans, credit cards) -- the rest is for your taxes, savings, groceries, gas, etc and "other" --- In MY case, I have to keep my debt at 25% or there is no money left.
Track your spending for a minimum 30 days. See where your money goes, and set a budget for things that "come up"!
I did mortgage loans for 15 years - the housing crisis was nothing more than greedy bankers wanting a fat paycheck - we could give loans to anyone - and KNEW they couldn't afford it.
As to "how did our parents do it"? Most of them saved, and then bought, not bought and then figured out how to pay for it. A nice house was a 1400 sq ft rambler with ONE car in the garage -- usually not new. Eating out was a luxury, not the norm.
This generation are users of debt... need to get away from that! If all else fails, vote republican.0
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