Is it just me......Always overbudget
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Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University will change your life.
http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/home0 -
When I was young and single, I had a small portion of my paycheck direct-deposited into a savings account. Now there are many options with 401ks and other investment opportunities. Once you get used to doing this, you will never miss the small amount taken from your current income. Try starting with just 2% of your income. When you see how fast it grows, you will probably manage to increase the amount you want to save.0
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I hear you on that. I was forced to buy a new car (I've been driving my mom's car that I bought from her for $1,000 since 2007). My old car had so many problems that it would have taken $2,100 to get it in "proper" condition which would have to come out of pocket directly and I never have that much money at one specific time. At least with a new car, financing was an option. It's making me freak out financially, though. I've never had a car payment, I've never even paid insurance because my parent's kept it as a "company vehicle" so the insurance rates would be lower. Now, I have $450 in car and insurance payments to come up with each month.
My partner and I decided to move into my parent's house after living on our own. My parents graciously made us an offer where we pay $500 in "rent" each month, but they actually put it aside in a savings account for us to have a nest egg when we move out. We don't get access to the money until we move out. I don't know if you have an option like that, but even just putting $50 aside each month and considering it "OFF LIMITS" makes a huge difference. Oh, and keep your change! Over a year, I gathered $150 in change alone!0 -
And OP...just so you know that I'm not ONLY here to berate you for complaining about struggling with frivolous spending...here's how our budget works.
We have 3 checking accounts and 2 savings.
1 checking is for food and gas and gets $400 per paycheck put into it (that's $200 per week for food and gas).
1 checking is for bills - currently since we have so many medical bills (and some small credit card bills) we are putting almost nothing into savings and putting everything that doesn't go into the 2 other checking accounts toward bills.
1 checking is for entertainment and we put about $25 per paycheck in here.
1 savings is short term (currently my wife needs a car so it serves that purpose)
1 savings is long term
Check out YNAB.com
Yes it costs money I know but it stopped me from putting money over here and there and everywhere else to try and track it.0 -
How did our parents ever make it with one income.
Because they didn't spend money on the things we do, the things we think we 'need'.
Word. No microwave, cell phone, cable tv, internet, no subscriptions or services, just rent and food. Kinda simple. Ohm, and we had a phone in the house. But, it wasn't complicated like it is now. If you shed all that stuff, you also see how much money you waste all the time without even thinking about it. The marketers have crept into your life and stolen a whole bunch of your money without you really being aware that it's happening. Do you realize that about 25% of your electric bill is from all that crap that isn't even on, but running in the background? I don't know if that's true, but I just read it the other day. It just shows you how much is going on that we are totally unaware of. Unplug everything and cancel everything. Do without for a while, and then, add back in as you feel the need. I bet you'll only wind up with a fraction of what you had before.0 -
We put 15000.00 per year in our 401k, 10 grand in roth IRAs and 4 grand in our hsa FIRST. All of this goes out before we spend a dime. This is how we save money.
We also have drive old cars. My car is a 1998 and his truck is a 2000. We pay off our credit cards every month and we do not buy it if we can not afford to pay it off. I do not buy people expensive presents to make them think I am wealthy, I start shopping for Christmas in June, buying a few presents at a time so I do not have the stress of trying to get it all done nor the worrying about not being able to eat in January because of the bill.
I have a spreadsheet with the food I buy at Costco. I mark what we need and we buy from there. I shop the sale at our local grocery store and make my list from the internet vic special list that comes out every Wednesday. I outlet shop, my handbags, clothes and shoes are many times last season, some times even 2 seasons ago.
I buy 150.00 shoes because I DO NEED them. I am 44 years old and a runner with a bad back. Those shoes save me from having to wake up at night in full on back spasms. But I try to buy last years model when ever I can to save 50 bucks or so.
I recommend to anyone reading the book The Millionaire Next Door. It gives great hints on how to save money.
I also recommend spending money on things you need and like, not to impress other people. Ego is one of the main reasons this nation is in the state it is in. If you cant afford to pay it off people, YOU CAN NOT AFFORD IT. Living on credit because you think you deserve something is ridiculous. You deserve it if you earn it, you earn it by being able to pay for it the day you buy it, period.
I have a family of five, my husband works full time, I work part time, and I attend college full time. Those amounts that you posted that you save before you spend a dime is very close to what we make in a YEAR. Add about 3k more and you're there. We are beyond broke.
I live in Michigan and my husband has to drive an hour and twenty minutes to work one way. He drives a small car and it still costs $100 in gas a week. I drive the truck, which is paid for or else I'd never drive it, to take the kids to school, to work and my school. My gas is $100 a week. The reason I have to drive my kids to school is because we got a great deal on a house but it's not in the kids original school district, my youngest is special needs so we chose to continue sending them to the same school for consistency. However our house payment is only $250 a month.
We spend more on gas than any other expense the entire year and food is between $600 and $700 a month. There really is no good solution to our situation except trying to get my husband transferred closer to home (which hasn't happened yet) and getting me a car, which costs money to buy.
We were never able to have children and I am sure if we did, we would not be able to contribute the fullest amount legally we can to our retirement. I guess my point is we max out what we can put into retirement savings before we spend a dime on anything else. We also both work from home and live in an area in which we can walk to many things, so we are saving a crap load of money on gas.
I hope things get better for you and your family once you graduate from college. We are in our mid to late 40s with good educations so it has paid off for us in the long run as far as employment goes.0 -
Because I don't feel like being serious I'm just going to respond to OP.
I go over budget almost every single freaking month. Usually because I spend too much on pie making ingredients. DAMN PIES!
*sigh*
I too spend around $150.00 on my shoes and when I buy shoes it's generally two pairs at a time. Why so much? Because I have a damned bad back and I need shoes with proper support or I suffer. Sorry but quality of life is important guys. I'm not going to suffer just because I want to pay $30.00 for shoes instead of $150.00 for a proper pair.
I saw a pair of Dr. Scholl's in WalMart once that was around $60.00 but they were ugly and honestly didn't look like they'd support as well.
Anyway. That's my story. I feel your pain Charlie. Sticking to a budget isn't easy.0 -
And OP...just so you know that I'm not ONLY here to berate you for complaining about struggling with frivolous spending...here's how our budget works.
We have 3 checking accounts and 2 savings.
1 checking is for food and gas and gets $400 per paycheck put into it (that's $200 per week for food and gas).
1 checking is for bills - currently since we have so many medical bills (and some small credit card bills) we are putting almost nothing into savings and putting everything that doesn't go into the 2 other checking accounts toward bills.
1 checking is for entertainment and we put about $25 per paycheck in here.
1 savings is short term (currently my wife needs a car so it serves that purpose)
1 savings is long term
Check out YNAB.com
Yes it costs money I know but it stopped me from putting money over here and there and everywhere else to try and track it.
But if putting money here, there and elsewhere works why should they need to try a new method?
I'm a big believer in; if it ain't broke, don't fix it.0 -
hmmm ...I live in Canada and see shoes for less than $150...0
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You just described me!
Since January I have been cutting corners everywhere.A recent move has allowed me to save a few dollars on rent. I now transfer this difference into my savings each month. Also, since January I have been setting up a transfer into my saving account whenever I cancel or cut back on something. Up until this Jan I was spending 400 dollars a month on gas. Since moving back into town I am only spending 120 per month. I have set up a transfer of the difference. I have also done this with the money I was spending on manicures. I now transfer the 90 dollars a month I was spending on that to my savings. There is more and some is not so substantial. I am now able to add to my savings. I haven't always been able to do this. It feels really good knowing that at the end of the year I will have some dollars stashed away in case I need to get my car fixed or had to take some unplanned time off of work.0 -
But if putting money here, there and elsewhere works why should they need to try a new method?
I'm a big believer in; if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
My dad keeps most of his pacheck a home in seperate envelopes, marked for each bill/expense... To me this is crazy, you at least accrue interest in the bank... Butt for my dad this is the only way that works and keeps him from over spending. He has to actually see and touch his money. When it is all in the bank he tends to over spend.
(going with the 'if is ain't boke, don't fix it' comment)0 -
Budgets suck! Find yourself a rich older woman, that's the only solution I can think of.
No, but seriously, I know how you feel, I am ALWAYS over budget. I feel your pain.
I won't ridicule you for buying $150 pair of shoes, because I'm sure you don't NEED them all the time. When I NEED jeans, I spend $120 on one pair. It's not like a monthly purchase or anything, so I don't feel so bad about spending that much every once in awhile. I'm not going to spend my money on something I don't like. That would be a waste.
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Those are the cheapest shoes where I live. In canada.
:noway: Wow, do you guys get paid more than we do in America I wonder?
Dang, where do you work?! I never spent that much on work shoes in my life.
Less actually. Thats why we sneak over the border a few times a year.
You COULD always..dip your foot in molten rubber every morning. Every night just peel it off.
Or shop online :-D Lots of good deals can be found if you look hard enough!
Yeaahhh, my first thought was "how many kids do you have?"
And no, that's a lie about the price of shoes in Canada. I just spent time looking around online for how much shoes cost in Canada. You can easily find good shoes for as little as $30. And for brand-name, which aren't necessary in the first place, like Nike I found starting at $45.
You need to not confuse "I want expensive things" with "I need expensive things".
Just to be clear. These are shoes for the workplace. Suits and all. Cannot show up in loafers, or crocks.
Where do you work?! I have never spent $150 on work shoes...0 -
I can't believe how many people are justifying the shoe price because they are "work shoes"
I wear suits and dressy clothing to work every single day. I've never had to spend $150 on shoes. That's a crock of crap.0 -
Kids = $$ But we love them so what are you going to do?! You have gotten a lot of positive responses (not going to touch the shoe thing...my husband is Cuban and will gladly pay 150 for a pair of well made quality shoes) I think the one thing is to try to keep a positive mind about it because worrying won't make it go away and will probably make you sick.
We have 3 kids here in the US and 1 in Cuba along with my husband parents in Cuba that we support. We are not broke, but we have to watch and budget for every dollar spent. You just have to do the best you can with the resources that you have. 0 -
I can't believe how many people are justifying the shoe price because they are "work shoes"
I wear suits and dressy clothing to work every single day. I've never had to spend $150 on shoes. That's a crock of crap.
I can't believe how many people are *****ing about his shoes. Whatever man. Let him spend however much he feels is necessary for his work shoes.
Holy crappoly. Just let it go.0 -
I can't seem to leave the produce section of the grocery store for under $60...
Honestly, since I shifted to a healthier diet focused on fresh produce my grocery budget has been killing me. I'm going home for Thanksgiving tomorrow, so I bought a few *supplementary* grocery items so I don't have to panic about grocery shopping when I get back and my papers/midterms hit (I'm in grad school) - the cost was $41! I bought: 2 apples, 12 eggs, 1L of skim milk, 1 package of yogurt, 1 onion, 1 honeydew melon, 2 red peppers, 1 bag of bulk mushrooms, and some cheese (my "splurge" item). I hate that coupon-ing doesn't really exist here in Canada, but I make an effort to use the deals when I can find them and stock up on canned items when they are on sale. Regardless, groceries are seriously hurting my budget, and I was fortunate enough to have my parents "stock" my house with frozen meats/canned goods/flours/spices/condiments/packaged snacks when I moved in September!
Does anyone have any advice for cutting grocery budgets in Canada? As I said, I'm in grad school (so no car and I'm limited to two grocery stores and a farmer's market within walking distance) and have basically cut out meat from my diet other than 1 whole roast chicken I roast on Sundays which I use for the school week.0 -
I can't believe how many people are justifying the shoe price because they are "work shoes"
I wear suits and dressy clothing to work every single day. I've never had to spend $150 on shoes. That's a crock of crap.
I can't believe how many people are *****ing about his shoes. Whatever man. Let him spend however much he feels is necessary for his work shoes.
Holy crappoly. Just let it go.
Isn't that the point of the OP's post? The OP is freaking out about being overbudget...and yet the shoes are what is essentially causing it. So yes...people are going to talk about it. IT'S THE POINT OF THE ENTIRE FREAKING POST.0 -
I can't believe how many people are justifying the shoe price because they are "work shoes"
I wear suits and dressy clothing to work every single day. I've never had to spend $150 on shoes. That's a crock of crap.
I can't believe how many people are *****ing about his shoes. Whatever man. Let him spend however much he feels is necessary for his work shoes.
Holy crappoly. Just let it go.
Isn't that the point of the OP's post? The OP is freaking out about being overbudget...and yet the shoes are what is essentially causing it. So yes...people are going to talk about it. IT'S THE POINT OF THE ENTIRE FREAKING POST.
PSHT! PSHT I say!
I figured the point of the entire post was to ask if anyone else has experienced the same problem.
I have. I totally get it.
I spend the same amount on shoes. Because I don't like wearing crap footwear. Because my back kills me if I wear anything less then the best.
Maybe your back is tough enough to put up with dollar store shoes but some of us don't have that luxury.
So :P. And get over it already.0 -
I can't believe how many people are justifying the shoe price because they are "work shoes"
I wear suits and dressy clothing to work every single day. I've never had to spend $150 on shoes. That's a crock of crap.
I can't believe how many people are *****ing about his shoes. Whatever man. Let him spend however much he feels is necessary for his work shoes.
Holy crappoly. Just let it go.
Isn't that the point of the OP's post? The OP is freaking out about being overbudget...and yet the shoes are what is essentially causing it. So yes...people are going to talk about it. IT'S THE POINT OF THE ENTIRE FREAKING POST.
I hardly consider asking a question to be freaking out.0
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