Here is our current monthly budget:
| Electric/Gas | $70.00 |
| Credit Card #1 | $15.00 |
| Car Loan | $174.00 |
| Truck Loan | $663.00 |
| Credit Card #2 | $21.00 |
| City Water | $32.00 |
| Credit Card #3 | $0.00 |
| Gas - Auto | $40.00 |
| Credit Card #4 | $39.00 |
| Groceries | $217.00 |
| Water - Sanitation | $14.00 |
| Internet | $19.95 |
| Car Insurance | $123.86 |
| Rent | $500.00 |
| Student Loan | $35.00 |
| Cell Phone | $88.59 |
| Totals | $2,052.40 |
I am begging someone to make my budget make sense to me....how do we have less expenses to income, yet can't seem to make all our payments on time. I really need to be better about tracking our expenditures, and how much we are bring in.
Anyway, here are our financial goals for the month of October.
1. Stay under budget for groceries.
2. Readjust budget to better suit our needs.
3. Find ways to increase our monthly income and reduce our expenses.
4. Create a way to better understand our budget....do they make a "Creating a Budget for Dummies"? Haha.
What are your financial goals? How did you do last month? Good luck!
So I've been reading Dave Ramsey and listening to his radio program, and the way he suggests it is. At the beginning of the month you sit down w/ your spouse and budget together (or in my case I do it and then we talk about it...). He has you start w/ your monthly income (take home pay) and then out of that write out bills and "pay" them all on paper, and groceries, gas... etc. He says to "spend" every penney of the money on paper before the month begins, so if there is extra money in your budget you still must budget it somewhere- even if you are just budgeting it to blow on nothing or save or whatever. Then you agree to it as a couple and agree to not spend anything that is not on the list. So if this month you know the car needs an oil change, or someone needs a haircut- you budget for it. It makes sense but I'm still having a hrad time doing it :) I would like to be able to not use our debit card at all and only use the account to pay bills and have everything else (food, gas..) in cash, but I'm not paying cash for gas when that means getting 2 kids out of the car... I would suggest reading one of his books they have a lot of good info, and while we don't really have much debt (besides student loans) it's given mean some good goals for our future- financially.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby and I had the same issue where we made enough to cover our bills plus a bit extra yet each month we'd be cutting it really, really close - I'm talking pennies under budget. The one thing we did was start on the 1st of the month with a notebook (something we had laying around the house) and we wrote down every time we spent money. We had no idea how much we were spending on little things like coffee in the morning or a snack at the vending machine, it added up to major bucks. Hope this month goes a bit more smoothly for you guys.
ReplyDeleteThe first comment is right on. You are trying to do you budget just like I used to. I would write a list like yours over and over! It didn't make sense! When I read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey everything just clicked. I highly recommend his book and I suggest listening to his show. We have paid off all debt--over $60K and are now paying DOUBLE house payments! His system really works.
ReplyDeleteI tried a bunch of budget software, etc. and have actually found that pearbudget.com is the best. It was created by a couple who were looking for a simple budget solution so it doesn't require tons of accounting or higher degrees to understand. I'm kind of using the first year to see where we are and what we spend (while trying to keep it in check) but it really does a great job at helping me keep our budget in line. Check it out and see what you think. You might like it.
ReplyDeleteI just came to your blog through your link at Money Saving Mom.
ReplyDeleteWe struggled with budgeting ourselves until we realized that we have to be realistic. Sure, your income might be less than the expenses you're listing but in your actual budget, have you included things like:
eating out
gasoline
car repair
medical co-pays
toilitries
entertainment
gift giving/christmas
That is how we were screwing our budget up... you don't realize what a huge chunk of money those 'etc's' take, but they really do.
It's definitely a learning curve. I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to learn it. If only I could erase the debt and start again with the knowledge I have now.... Oh well, I guess it's all battle scars.
Good luck!
Oh, I forgot to add clothing to that list -- that's a big one!
ReplyDeleteI'd also recommend listing your debts per paycheck. So the first 8 are paid with the first check and 2nd 8 paid with 2nd paycheck. Call companies if necessary to change due dates. Then (assuming biweekly pay) the 2 times you get a 3rd check, you can use all if it towards your smallest debt.
ReplyDeleteHi-I totally feel your PAIN, it's so hard trying to make 1.) make a budget stretch, and 2.) stick to it. I notice that a big chunk of your monthly is on cars--is there any way you can get rid of these? If you sold your truck and bought a beater (aka Dave Ramsey style) you'd free up quite a large portion of your income to devote to getting out of debt and savings. My husband and I did this while we were on two incomes so we could be comfortable when we switched to one. I definitely agree with everyone above, read his books if you haven't already, and don't sweat the budget part. I have never EVER been able to get to a zero budget, but as long as you are making the commitment to try and tell your wallet where the money is going to go, you are doing great. Also definitely check out pearbudget.com, I loved it. I switched to a more sophisticated site, mint.com until I figure out how to work quicken. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHi there! I came to your blog through Money Saving Mom. I want to agree with the person who said to write your bills via paycheck. If you get paid twice a month, this is a very easy thing to do. I actually don't use any budget software, just MS Word, I just divide it by paycheck and write out what needs to be paid with the first check and what needs to be paid with the second. The leftover money we take out as CASH and then we use the envelope system, we put some money in medical for copays, we put some money in for haircuts, we put some money in for eating out, for my Target trips, etc. I really do love the envelope system for some things.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing is maybe try the envelope system for groceries. That may help you to not go over as well. Take out at the beginning of each month what you want to spend in groceries and use cash only for it. That way you may be more conscious that when it's gone, it's gone!
Good luck! I know how hard it is, I'm a fellow SAHM trying to stretch our money!
My household income and expenses seem to be the same as yours. What I do is I have a calender that is specifically for bills. My husband gets paid every two weeks. So it's really hard making things stretch. I have learned when my bills are due every month. I write the paydays down and I match them up with the paydays by the date they are due. I try to make it where we have at least $200 left at every paycheck for groceries, gas, whatever unexpected expense may come up. I've posted before on the grocery budget. I have the family of 6 that I feed for about $100-150 for every two weeks. Sometimes we have something that just has to have a late payment throwed with it, but sometimes it's just impossible to match everthing up perfectly. My biggest problem with the every two weeks is, like this month it evens out to my husband gets three checks this month. Which completely throws me off for November. This extra paycheck is what we use for christmas shopping. The past couple of years that extra chech has come in october but normally it comes in november. Also in june another extra check comes which we use for our vehicle plates. So those two months work out perfectly for our budget and those two major expenses that come up. Also we just refinanced out house getting us at a 5.5% interest and it lowered our monthly mortgage by $160 (I'm so happy) Another thing is our first payment is not due until Dec. 1 which gives us alittle more extra money in november to get a couple of bills caught up. We did a streamline mortgage to refinance which has no money that you have to spend out of pocket at all. We were only two years into our mortgage so i figured we'd take advantage of these low interest rates while their still here. If you have any questions you can email me at shawnadallas@sbcglobal.net
ReplyDeleteRachel,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment! I have heard a lot of great things about Dave Ramsey from you and others....I definitely need to get reading his book.
I hear ya on the getting out of the car for gas. I NEVER pay cash for gas. My first stop after a paycheck is to the gas station to fill up for the next two weeks...and then I take out any amount left over in cash. Might work for you?
A few days before a paycheck I write out all of our bills, and expected expenses in the next two weeks (we are paid bi-weekly). Then based on my husbands average paycheck I spend every penny out on paper. I just recently started this, so I am not completely sold on it...but, I am giving it a try.
Thanks again for your comment!
Jenn
Carrie,
Thanks so much for your wonderful comment!
In the past all of our "unplanned" for expenses would come out of our grocery allotment. However, I do realize that it would be beneficial to list out each item separately. We really don't spend much money on clothing, etc....but, I really should plan for when we do.
Thanks again for the great comment!
Jenn
The Ruby Mama,
Unfortunately no. There is no way to get out from under these vehicle payments....short of filing for bankruptcy. We owe more than the vehicle is worth, and we are currently using both of our vehicles daily. (My husband uses his vehicle all day for work, so if I need to go anywhere like doctor appointments, my vehicle is necessary.)
Believe me I would love to get rid of that darn truck!!! Too bad the debt wouldn't be erased if it "accidentally" ended up in the river. Just kidding!
Thanks again for your comment!
Jenn
I tried a bunch of budget software, etc. and have actually found that pearbudget.com is the best. It was created by a couple who were looking for a simple budget solution so it doesn't require tons of accounting or higher degrees to understand. I'm kind of using the first year to see where we are and what we spend (while trying to keep it in check) but it really does a great job at helping me keep our budget in line. Check it out and see what you think. You might like it.
ReplyDelete