Financial Challenges Support Group
This community is for people who are struggling to meet financial obligations of any kind. Financial challenges include everything from the day-to-day challenges of making ends meet to managing credit card debt to bankruptcy. Get support from others who are going through similar obstacles on the road back to financial stability.
Well, July is officially closed in my record books and all bills paid in full.
Now with a new month... new bills and some anxiety on my part. Twice a year some "extra bills" arrive - car insurance and rent insurance. I pay both just in two payments to cut down on charges, but it does make for a pretty hefty premium. Just with those two bills and my CC already has $230 on it from this. Plus, some groceries and a microwave oven... my last one was becoming unsafe to use, so I spent some money on a new one.
Then the last dental charge and internet and on the first day of the month $675 has been charged. Quite a lot for just the first day of the month BUT, it is basically every bill for the month except rent... which I'll pay on the 8th, which is the due date and also my payday.... I will pay for that with cash, get some groceries and put the rest is savings.
Then on the 22nd I'll have a second paycheck, which will pay the CC and hopefully some more into savings.
Today, I also paid in full my Orbitz CC, which I use exclusively for traveling... I had the money in savings, so this wasn't a "bite" to my finances... yet almost $2,000 spent in one day has me a bit jittery...
On a bright note, I am hoping to take a visit to see my daughter and son-in-law and two grandkids, on the weekend of the 15th. The grandson has a ninth birthday and hope to be a part of it... it will be my final "little getaway" before my winter trip to England.
They are about 100 miles from me, so I'll rent a car and book a hotel for a couple of nights, so my Orbitz card will have a new balance on it... it is also the town where I got sober and will stop into a meeting and celebrate my 20th year of sobriety with my original home group...
Now with a new month... new bills and some anxiety on my part. Twice a year some "extra bills" arrive - car insurance and rent insurance. I pay both just in two payments to cut down on charges, but it does make for a pretty hefty premium. Just with those two bills and my CC already has $230 on it from this. Plus, some groceries and a microwave oven... my last one was becoming unsafe to use, so I spent some money on a new one.
Then the last dental charge and internet and on the first day of the month $675 has been charged. Quite a lot for just the first day of the month BUT, it is basically every bill for the month except rent... which I'll pay on the 8th, which is the due date and also my payday.... I will pay for that with cash, get some groceries and put the rest is savings.
Then on the 22nd I'll have a second paycheck, which will pay the CC and hopefully some more into savings.
Today, I also paid in full my Orbitz CC, which I use exclusively for traveling... I had the money in savings, so this wasn't a "bite" to my finances... yet almost $2,000 spent in one day has me a bit jittery...
On a bright note, I am hoping to take a visit to see my daughter and son-in-law and two grandkids, on the weekend of the 15th. The grandson has a ninth birthday and hope to be a part of it... it will be my final "little getaway" before my winter trip to England.
They are about 100 miles from me, so I'll rent a car and book a hotel for a couple of nights, so my Orbitz card will have a new balance on it... it is also the town where I got sober and will stop into a meeting and celebrate my 20th year of sobriety with my original home group...
I wanted to ask you if you have a budget. This is how I synchronize my CC and my budget.
I listed all of my expenses on a notebook (or spreadsheet), and I mean all of my expenses including those expenses that we don't incur monthly like (medical expenses, clothing, vacations, appliances, car repairs, hair cuts etc.) Of course my first expense is SAVINGS. Once I listed everything, then I looked at my income and began allocating money to each category. Even if it was a token amount, but I had something going to each category, being careful of course not to exceed my income. I then took a notebook and wrote the name of each category on a separate page with the corresponding amount on each one. As soon as I receive my money (in my case a pension check) in most cases a paycheck. I write down the amount allocated for each category on its own page of my notebook, keeping a running total for each one. Of course the actual money is in the bank. When I make a CC purchase, I subtract the amount of my purchase from the category I made the purchase from. EX: If its groceries, I subtract it from my groceries category. So, I always know exactly how much money I can spend in each area, If I want to go out to a restaurant, I check my notebook to see if the "Entertainment" category has any money in it, if it does I know how much I can charge on my CC. for that outing. When my CC statement comes, I pay it in full. When my money comes in again, I add the corresponding amount to each category of my budget in my notebook.
I have found that even though I don't need a car repair every month, by the time I do need one, the money is in the notebook category, and of course in the bank. Same for medical expenses, etc.
The key, is habit, some call it discipline. I have done it for so many years that it is a habit. I have a separate checking account that correlates with my notebook. So every so often when my savings account category has grown, I transfer some money from my checking to my actual savings account in the bank. Of course I subtract the amount I transfer from my Savings category in my notebook. That way the sum of all categories in my notebook always equals the amount in my checking account.
This way, using the CC, is the same as paying cash for your purchases. As soon as you charge something on your CC the money is already in the bank before the charge is made. The rewards money accumulates quickly too.
And as everyone knows, its when inflation (cost of living) continues to rise, that is when, I look towards frugality options in the category in which the cost of living has gone up. I have been on the same budget for over 5 years, and of course if absolutely needed, then the savings category will be smaller on my budget, in order to increase another category. Yet the overall amount of the budget stays the same, since my income is the same.
I don't know if all this makes any sense, I hope I explained myself well enough. If not I apologize. Take what you like and leave the rest.
Toty
Toty
What I do is put money in savings for future expenses besides regular savings. An example would be this month with car and rental insurance. The car insurance is roughly $180 for six months... so starting with the next paycheck $15 will go into savings for that bill... I get paid twice a month so that is $30 a month and in six months the money is in savings waiting to be used... the same with rental insurance...
I do this with my journey to England as well... I just got the latest tickets paid in full and will now start putting $150 a month into savings for next years (2015-16) journey.
I, too, pay myself first. On top of these expenses going into savings I also try to save 30-40% of my pay per month...
My monthly budget all revolves around savings. I have no large monthly payments and the only unforeseen expense is my grocery bill.
My checking account is also for emergencies... for four years I have rounded up checks and rounded down deposits plus have written off $25 a week in it. Right now, I have $2,000 hidden in that account. If I have a car expense or need a prescription or if I need to get on a plane in a hurry... the money is waiting in my checking account. The money earns interest and I continue to add to it every week.
My brick and mortar savings account is for expenses like car insurance, rental insurance, England Holiday, and right now one year expense emergency fund. Right now, this has account has reached a level that I never want to drop below. What I mean is I can take a bunch of money out of it and be OK... but I'd rather just stay above this amount.
Where I struggle with this account, in a good way, is not wanting to take anything out of it. You see, I just paid my Orbitz CC... I had the money in this account for it... yet when I got the CC bill for it, I saw I had 45 days to pay it. So, I went on a mission to save what took me a year to do, to do it again, this time in 45 days. And I did it... so this savings continues to grow. The next step for this account is moving it into a high-yield savings account (on-line) which is starting to get a pretty good balance in it as well...
So, I'd guess I'd say my budget is prepared for emergencies but the majority of it is built on savings instead of expenses...
In our Country flights are by and large paid up front. (most flights are with Budget Airlines either to Europe or within UK/Ireland) Paying so much per month for an item is usually associated with purchasing a car.
I remember having to pay so much per month for a computer ten years ago. I had a job then, but got fired for incompetence and then that's when my Money issues began. (Beforehand, I was able to manage okay with money)
Now I have completed Step three in Underearners Anonymous and hope to get a clearer picture from my sponsor.
I am still awaiting the return of my Benefit that was taken from me. (the Tories truly are the nasty party) and need to focus on my vision work of a patent. I have emailed a local Entrepreneur about getting involved.
with my past life, that meant for me to use a credit card and try to pay it off well after the flight...
My new life is saving for it all year before the flight and paying for it with cash...
This years flight (2014-15) is paid for... now I am saving for next year's holiday (2015-16)