Budget Budge-it Budget [Archive]

MouseWife

08-27-2007, 09:58 AM

Um, don't be like me.

Good to use only cash. Good not to buy things you really can't afford. If you are going to do so, try and get it on a plan where you don't have to pay interest {my son bought a t.v. for $1,800. and had 18 months interest free...of course, they only asked for a $10. a month payment...we've made him pay $100. a month...the accrued interest is almost $400., we'll get it paid off}.

Use coupons, when you can. Seriously. I don't use them much now, but, when I did, I saved so much.

Eat at home!!! Oh my gosh!! It is sooo expensive to eat out. That is one thing that really breaks our bank. And, it is more healthy for you, too.

Try and save something. This is really hard to do, I know, because I know I can't save sheit. But, it is good.

I wish I had the worksheet about how your money should go but it does save to save for all unexpected expenses. Like, for your auto, your medical, etc. Like, you know down the road you'll need a tune up, tires, etc. Put away for it so when it comes it isn't a big deal.

But, like I said. I suck at money management. I really loathe it. I'd done it for my dad for years when I was a teen but it was his money, and, ha, he had enough to pay his bills. LOL

Good luck, GC. I think the first step is the one you've taken~ knowing that you need to do it.

{I work and save all of my money to go on vacation.....real smart, eh?}

innerSpaceman

08-27-2007, 10:04 AM

Here's my advice. As long as you can make ends meet, don't pay a lot of attention to your money situation. The more carefully you watch it and tend to it with an eye toward making it stretch and fit ... what you're really doing is keeping the thought active in your mind that you don't have enough money.

And sure enough, that's the feedback you will get from the universe. Not enough money.

You DO have enough money. You have a good job and a place to live and the means to eat, have some fun, pay the rent, and pay a little to your debt. Sweat the details less, with the confidence that you've got enough to go around ... and your universe feedback will be enough to go around.

If you master that process, and know you are bountiful ... then you will be.

* * * * *

More practically, get your credit card debt spread out among a few low interest "promotional" rates. Some of these are for the "life-of-the-loan," which is very advantageous even if you have to pay a hundred dollar transfer fee to get your debt there.

Then pick the highest rate card and pay that down with as much spare cash as you can, while paying only the minimum on the other cards charging less interest. When that first card is down to a balance you can pay half of in one shot, continue to pay half of that card's balance every month until that debt is gone.

Then attack the next highest rate loan in the same way.

Don't worry that your debt will not be gonig solely in one downward direction. Life goes on. Health expenses, automobile expenses, and yes - even the fun of life - often require a dip into your credit debt.

The more credit debt you take on and make payments on, the more companies will send you offers for credit. This is the key to sifting out those advantageous promotional offers that come along only once in a while.

Don't freak out that you have credit card debt. It's the American Way!

Ghoulish Delight

08-27-2007, 10:12 AM

If you really want to budget, the best thing to do is simply track everything you spend for 3 months. It's a simple exercise, you can do it by hand, put it in a simple spreadsheet, use Excel to do some graphing for you, or you can get as complex as using Quicken or Microsoft Money. The 3 month part is important because that will you get an idea of what your constant spending vs. one-time expenditures are. Having it all in front of you like that makes it much easier to see where your money is going and where you've got room to alter your habits.

innerSpaceman

08-27-2007, 10:26 AM

And, with all due respect, I don't think you need get even that complex. Do you really need a spreadsheet to tell you what your discretionary spending items are?

If money's tight, then the tiny part of your expenses that are discretionary are movies & entertainment, eating out, your Disneyland AP, and pleasure travel gasoline. These are the only things you can cut back on.

If you get a roommate, you'll save a lot of money. If you can find a way to do without a car altogether, you'll save a ton of money.

Outside of changing those fixed and expensive expenses, trimming your discretionaries is your only option. Keep in mind, that sacrificing all pleasures is NOT a good idea, no matter how much in hock it keeps you.

3894

08-27-2007, 10:30 AM

sacrificing all pleasures is NOT a good idea, no matter how much in hock in keeps you.

*holding lighter high* Preach it. :snap:

MouseWife

08-27-2007, 10:44 AM

Ghoulish Delight

08-27-2007, 10:45 AM

Keep in mind, that sacrificing all pleasures is NOT a good idea, no matter how much in hock it keeps you.
I'm don't believe anyone's recommended that.

Winging it may work for you, and I personally don't track everything all the time. But spending 3 months tracking it helped me quite a bit. It's one thing to say you know where all your money goes and what you spend it on. It's another thing to see it all in front of you and have a good picture of it.

He's asking for help, winging it obviously isn't working for him. I thought I'd give him some advice to solve the problem he was asking for help with. Don't really know why you, Steve, feel the need to convince him that my advice is bad.

Cadaverous Pallor

08-27-2007, 10:52 AM

Just like MW said - When we did our budget the most glaring thing was how much eating at home and brown-bagging your lunch saves you. Seriously. That's the best advice you'll get regarding saving money on a day-to-day basis.

Do you really need a spreadsheet to tell you what your discretionary spending items are? Actually, I think so. It's hard to remember where all the money goes. Trying to remember all that will make you a nervous wreck. ("ok, so spent this and this and this, can I afford this dessert?"). It's also hard to figure out what's worth more to you. If you're able to look at the figures later and say "that night out was totally worth what I spent, but that thing I bought for fun was definitely not worth the cash," then you'll know where to cut your fun money.

You can't know what your budget should be if you'd don't get some real world data first.

Gemini Cricket

08-27-2007, 10:53 AM

Thanks for the tips so far. Makes a lot of cents. ;)

I think one of the big problems is that my apartment is too expensive for me right now. I mean, I can handle the rent payments but it doesn't leave a lot of loot left to pay down my debt. I'm in a year lease right now, so there's not much I can do about it. I was thinking a room mate would be the way to go, but it's a one bedroom. One of us would have to sleep in the living room. I think it would be kind of odd. Unless I can find someone who doesn't care about that.

I thought about the spreadsheet thing, but I can't commit myself to anything. I can't get myself to write a journal, I can't get myself to read a whole book... etc. I do know that I would save a lot by bringing a home lunch. But for me, leaving the office is important and buying a lunch is a reward for making it to lunch. :)

I have never been good with money. It feels like it disappears.

I do get what iSm is saying, too. The more I stress about it, the more it seems to be out of control. But I get the GD thing too that if you don't pay attention to where it's going it's harder to control.

I do the coupon thing when I actually buy something at the store I can use a coupon on. I don't buy a lot of items at the store usually. I eat out a lot.

I did buy a 50 lb bag of rice from Costco, though. It should take me a year to get through it. :D

I haven't been buying a lot of CDs and DVDs. I've been curbing my spending on those things. I even stopped myself from buying the new South Park Season on DVD. It'll have to wait.

Worst news of all, my AP expires on 9/4. As it stands right now, I won't be renewing it for a couple of months. I need to save up for it.

Ugh. I hate dealing with money. (Maybe that's the problem.)

MouseWife

08-27-2007, 11:15 AM

Oh, if you could find someone who needs a place enough to take your couch.

One thing I thought of, always keep your receipts. If you do buy something, and it doesn't work out, get your money back. I know a lot of people who just say f'it and keep the item. Well, that is your money. Get it back and re-apply it towards something else.

AND Uh, this shouldn't surprise you but, if you listen to the radio and try to win things....this has been an avenue of my entertainment forever. Movies, Disneyland, concerts, prize packages.

And, back to the lunch~ well, I've changed my thinking about that. I love to eat out. I love all of that. But, if you think about what is in the food, what you are actually getting. I've tried to be more aware of what I eat. I think if you flip your thinking around and think you are treating yourself to a more healthy lunch, and the rewards of such a treat {your hotness amplified} it might go over more easy.

Good luck!

katiesue

08-27-2007, 11:16 AM

online banking helps me to keep track of things. It's not as detailed as keeping a journal or anything but I only have one account and use my check card for most of my purchases. It's easy to see vons $20, Target $40 etc to give you a basic idea of where the money's going. And I don't really have to do anything.

I do a spreadsheet every once in a while (I suck at money too). I have friends who are really good with money but their methods don't seem to rub off on me. I had one person who was helping me budget but she kept using my gross pay not my actual take home, then took taxes out. It's much easier for me to keep track of what my actual paycheck amount is and go from there.

And I hear you with the rent - mine is outrageous but I stay because I'm in Maddy's school district so I don't have to worry about transfers etc.

I'm trying to pay down some of the debt (I can't help it if Bloomingdales loves me) so that hopefully by next summer I'll have some saved for a down on a new car - or newer car doesn't have to be brand new.

I guess for me it helps to put in a basic spreadsheet what my expenes are - rent, gas, electricity etc to see what I've got left. Then add in for groceries, fun and put the rest toward the debt.

BarTopDancer

08-27-2007, 11:34 AM

Eating out is my budget buster. I hate cooking for just me, so I eat out a lot.

But I've done some math on it and if I am going to Wendy's or McD's or Chipotle and not grocery shopping it works out about the same. If I am going out for $10 meals every day then my budget is shot.

DreadPirateRoberts

08-27-2007, 11:44 AM

Live beneath your means.

It's the easiest thing to say, but one of the hardest to do. I remember the first raise I got at my first job, I thought, "oh wow, I'll have all this extra money", and my boss (a good friend) said to me, "it doesn't matter how much of a raise you get, you'll find a way to spend it, and you'll be back in the same place that you are now". I didn't believe it at the time, but it sure seems to happen again and again. There are many smart people on this board who come up with good ideas. It's up to you to pick and choose the ideas that will best fit your situation.

For me, it's easiest if I don't see the money in the first place. If I can have a portion of my payroll deposited in another account (that's difficult to access), that helps to force me to save (sort of like a 401k withdrawal). It's amazing how well you will adapt to the spend only the money you have.

A friend of mine gave me a book, "The Richest Man in Babylon (http://www.amazon.com/Richest-Man-Babylon-George-Clason/dp/0451205367)", which I found very helpful, and had a lot of good common sense advice told in an entertaining way.

You said that you eat out a lot. I used to too, but now I bring my lunch to work. Maybe you can strike a balance where you could eat out a bit (to appease the ISM on your shoulder), and bring your lunch ( to appease the DPR on your other shoulder).

Anyway, enough of my blathering. This is a situation we all have to deal with in our own ways. I'm sure you will strike a balance that will let you achieve your goals.

Gemini Cricket

08-27-2007, 11:44 AM

I'm pretty good at cooking dinner for myself. It's lunches that get me.
I guess it's because when I get home from work, I become a toad and don't want to move from my bog.
:)

Ghoulish Delight

08-27-2007, 11:46 AM

This thread is going to make me feel guilty for not bringing my lunch today, especially since there's perfectly good salami, bread, and fruit sitting at home in the fridge.

DreadPirateRoberts

08-27-2007, 11:48 AM

I bet GC could save up enough money for an AP in a month, if he brought his lunch to work.

innerSpaceman

08-27-2007, 11:51 AM

I was thinking a room mate would be the way to go, but it's a one bedroom. One of us would have to sleep in the living room. I think it would be kind of odd. Unless I can find someone who doesn't care about that.

Hence, a LOVER is the only logical solution. :cool:

* * * * * *

Sorry if I came off too strident against the spreadsheet option. I'm not desperately trying to convince GC not to take the advice of GD. But it's the kind of questionably-necessary step that I believe focuses too much attention on lack.

I admit that as a concrete step to track where your money is going, it's an ok tool. But it is any more useful than just thinking about it for a few moments. Is it really a mystery if you're spending more than you can comfortably afford on restaurants or gasoline to Anaheim?

But I don't want to get into an argument. I'll restrain myself from being adversarial. Sorry. :iSm:

Gemini Cricket

08-27-2007, 11:52 AM

I bet GC could save up enough money for an AP in a month, if he brought his lunch to work.
You know, I'll take you up on that challenge. I'll start tomorrow.
:)

Gemini Cricket

08-27-2007, 11:53 AM

Hence, a LOVER is the only logical solution. :cool:
Do cowboys make bank? Hmmm. Liz Taylor did pretty well for herself in Giant...
:blush:

madmonkeygirl

08-27-2007, 11:54 AM

GC good luck on the budgeting. It took me forever to get a budget that we can live with. As far as lunches go if i get a lunch break at work then i bring my own food if i don't then i grab something on my way home since i eat at home before i go to work (it equals out money wise).....coupons i hate them...lmao

I always use cash first never charge anything anymore. (yes i've been putting money aside for entertainment mainly concerts coming up) that way i have the money for tickets rather than putting them on credit yet again.

Sorry to hear your apartment is so expensive rent wise. That seems to be happening all over lately due to the housing market. That's why i'm glad we own even if it is a mobile home and we have to pay monthly rent space but hey it beats what they were are charging for an apartment.

Sorry to hear about your Disneyland AP expiring. I took my tax refund money and renewed mine with it. The only way i could renew it. I might have to do that again this year or else figure something out but have almost a year to worry about that.

For holidays for my friends i make things for their presents. Cut the costs down and it costs a few bucks to get the materials that i need to make presents. Family we do a gift exchange so we don't have to buy everyone a present. It really cuts down the expenses. In previous years i could spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars but not now.

Good luck

Alex

08-27-2007, 11:55 AM

Keeping a budget for a while doesn't just tell you how to cut out all of the fun from your life but also helps to make sure you are actually spending the money on things that are of a priority to you.

I've never really been a budgeter. When I have money I spend it and when I don't I stop spending it. I've always been good at that and it has worked for me and we've never really operated on a large credit load. But when I was looking at quitting Wells and working on MousePlanet full time we did have to spend some time looking at the math.

Once we did that it showed that we could pretty much cut our income by 40% without dramatically altering the parts of our lifestyle that were important to us. I stopped spending $150/month on DVDs (which I like to have but never actually watch). We ate at home more often (but still ate out a fair bit). We cut back on the spontaneous three-day road trips (where the huge expense was rack-rate hotel rooms since we often didn't know where we'd be until we got there).

And it can reveal some surprisingly easy ways to stop spending money in places you just don't think about. Spending $3 for a cup of coffee seems negligible, perhaps, but less so when you combine that and realize it is $720/year if you grab one every day on the way to work simply because it is more convenient than some alternative. One thing I learned when we looked at the budget was that I was spending about $200/year on newspapers essentially so that I could do the crossword puzzle on the train home.

One thing GC mentions is that he has a Costco membership. Though it is an annual expense, since he says he doesn't cook at home much I'd make a strong guess that this is an expense that comes nowhere near paying for itself. You generally have to spend thousands of dollars at Costco to recoup the expense in product savings.

If the big strain is the apartment and you're locked in for a long while, you might consider talking to your management or landlords about it. Letting them know that you can squeeze the payments but that you've maybe bitten off more than is comfortable and that if they can place the unit you'd be interested in moving on. The worst thing they can do is say no.

MouseWife

08-27-2007, 11:56 AM

I would make the packed lunch more of an adventure. Take it somewhere and enjoy the view. Or make it part of a walk. Heck, you don't have to eat a big lunch every day.

I eat fruit all day and then enjoy dinner with the family.

Gemini Cricket

08-27-2007, 11:58 AM

Once when I was in Monterey, I actually froze my credit cards. Literally. I wrapped them in a sandwich bag and then wrapped that sandwich bag in duct tape. Then I immersed it in a jar of water and stuck it in the freezer. It prevented me from using my cards (and since I don't have a good memory, I never committed any of my card numbers to memory) and I got the balance down.
It totally works. I think I got the idea from Suze Orman on PBS...
:)

Scrooge McSam

08-27-2007, 12:00 PM

Preach, Alex!

(that would be visible mojo)

Ghoulish Delight

08-27-2007, 12:01 PM

All I'm saying is don't knock it 'till you try it.

I'm good with money, thanks to learning from my parents who are masters. I lived for 8 years on my own without tracking my spending and ended up in a position where I could afford to buy property, so believe me, I know how to do the in-my-head-accounting thing. But buying said property constituted a major shift in my baseline, and getting down on paper exactly how much was going out became a necessity, at least to see it once so I could figure my new mental baseline.

I didn't expect to get much out of it other than a couple bottom line numbers. I was surprised as anyone by how much just seeing the numbers in front of me changed how I thought about spending. With it spelled out in black and white (well, actually, several different colors thanks to Excel), it wasn't even an effort to start increasing the amount of saving I was doing. When I could see in near real-time how much a simple decision like packing lunches or splitting an entree (amazing how much of one's spending flexibility involves food) was affecting the bottom line, those simple decisions that didn't negatively affect my quality of life and yet positively affected my budget bacame very very easy.

Gemini Cricket

08-27-2007, 12:04 PM

Yes, I was thinking about talking to my landlord. She loves me. I should talk to her. I also need to talk to her if I'm going the room mate route...

The Costco membership is split still between Ralphie and me. I stockpile dinner foods from them. It seems to be saving me some money buying in bulk. That 50lb bag of rice was only $12.79. That's not bad.

Alex

08-27-2007, 12:54 PM

Oh, with the Costco, it is paid for so use it while you have it, but when it comes time to renew you might want to do some mental math on whether it is paying for itself (and if it is, great).

Lani and I thought ours was but we then found that with a little bit of effort we could match prices on most things elsewhere and that frequently we bought something in bulk that never got used completely (getting twice as much for 150% the cost is not a savings if you only use 70% of it). While other items do eventually get used but end up being annual or semi-annual purchases so saving $5 on the big jug of Tide doesn't necessarily go far towards recouping the $100 (or whatever it is, I've never been the one that pays it) for membership.

If you want to start saving a bit, open a separate savings account that is not associated with your current accounts (maybe even at a different bank) and have a portion of your pay directly deposited there. Most larger employers should be able to handle split direct deposits and as was said above it is much easier to not spend money you never see. Be sure to put the ATM card they send you in a drawer somewhere safe and forget about it. Freezing your credit cards may be a big extreme but if you have low impulse control in using them, definitely take them out of your wallet and put them somewhere you'll have to think about before using them.

BarTopDancer

08-27-2007, 12:54 PM

That 50lb bag of rice was only $12.79. That's not bad.

It's only not bad if you eat it... ;)

Gemini Cricket

08-27-2007, 01:16 PM

It's only not bad if you eat it... ;)
I'm from Hawai'i. I will.
:)

Morrigoon

08-27-2007, 01:29 PM

Kevy Baby

08-27-2007, 01:33 PM

I say write checks for everything. That way, when you run out of checks, you'll know you don't have any money left.

Gemini Cricket

08-27-2007, 01:34 PM

GC: Start by figuring out how much you'd like to save, and put that in your budget first. Then figure out the expenses you HAVE to spend on. Then use the remaining amount for things you WANT to spend on.

If you put savings last, it'll never fit.
That's a great idea.
I never thought about it that way.
:)

I think the thing that gets me hung up is the huge balance on my big credit card and my car loan. I don't see it being whittled down fast enough so I panic or tend to give up. Lacking the patience to see the balance go away is a downfall of mine.

Kevy Baby

08-27-2007, 01:40 PM

I think the thing that gets me hung up is the huge balance on my big credit card and my car loan. I don't see it being whittled down fast enough so I panic or tend to give up. Lacking the patience to see the balance go away is a downfall of mine.I have mentioned this before, but this is a good time to bring it up again.

Susan and I were faced with a fairly large amount of debt because of credit cards and student loans (mostly the former). We worked with Springboard (http://www.ncfe.org/), a non-profit consumer credit management outfit. We worked with them to secure reduced or zero interest on all of our credit cards and worked out a payment plan and they can help you budget as well. They have an office in Santa Ana (http://www.credit.org/locations_OC.htm).

We were able to pay off about $27,000 in unsecured debt in about 4-1/2 years. If you CC debt is under a couple of thousand, it probably is not a good solution - just budgeting is fine. I just wanted to mention our experience.

Gemini Cricket

08-27-2007, 01:56 PM

KB ~ My debt's not that big. It's a great service. I did talk Ralphie into doing it. It's a huge help for him.

I have some shopping to do tonight for home lunch stuff.
:)

Alex

08-27-2007, 02:04 PM

If that is an issue for you, I'd suggest spending a bit of time doing a spreadsheet.

Take your current debts and lay them out showing how the balance changes depending on how much you pay to them each month (don't forget to include the interest). And include how much you spend total on the debt.

At your point in life I wouldn't really focus on saving (except for some truly emergency fund) but on eliminating the big debt. It can be quite an incentive to see that if you put an extra $50 into the credit card payment each month that it pays off six months sooner (for example) and that every extra $1 you pay now saves $2.50 over the course of the payoff

Definitely don't get stuck in a cycle of just paying the minimum on your credit card since you'll never make any progress.

As an example, let's say you owe $5000 on a credit card and it has an interest of 12%.

If you make $50 payments each month you will maintain that $5,000 debt forever and the credit card companies will be extremely in love with you.

If you make $60 payments each month you will carry a debt for just over 15 years and pay out a total of $10,860 to pay off that $5,000. This is about what the credit cards will let you get away with.

If you make $75 payments each month you will carry a debt for just over 9 years and pay out a total of $8,325.

If you can make $125 (twice what the credit card companies will let you get away with) it is paid off in 4 years, 3 months - almost 1/4th the time - at a total cost of $6,500 - 40% less cost.

Of course, the key is that while you're paying off consumer debt that you not be adding new consumer debt. Don't make late payments that will allow the cards to jack up the interest rate to incredible levels and if you have high interest cards try to transfer your balance to new cards with more reasonable rates and then close the old card. If you have multiple cards, pay the minimum on all of the other cards and put the rest that you can into the highest rate card until it is paid off.

Don't fall into the trap I did in college which is pretend the debt simply doesn't exist and that if I ignored them long enough the debts would simply go away (they do, but it is a really long time).

Don't think of your car as investment debt (like a house or an education) but rather as consumer debt. That is, debt that in the end leaves you with no asset of great value. When you pay off your $300,000 house you have $300,000 in equity. When you pay off your $25,000 car you probably have at best about $3-5,000 in equity, against which you can't easily borrow. If you're finding the car payment and the apartment rent to be onerous then put your energy most into changing them because they are most in your control (don't waste time worrying about credit card debt; it can't be changed and all you can do is keep paying it). Sell the car and get a cheaper one that is good enough for your needs (though odds are you car has been depreciating faster than you're paying it off but it might still be a good move).

Gemini Cricket

08-27-2007, 02:16 PM

I found a couple of Excel spreadsheets online that I think I'll use.

I try to pay twice the minimum on my credit cards.

I have to get into not using the credit cards anymore. For about the last month or so, I have been pretty good at not using my credit cards and just using cash or my debit card. It is tempting though when you see the all that available credit there...

As for my car, it's a used car and the loan is for that. It's almost half paid off. I'd love to see the loan get paid off soon. :)

Gemini Cricket

08-27-2007, 07:49 PM

To start myself down the road of thriftiness, I decided to make a big dinner. I ate half and will pack the rest for lunch tomorrow.
:)

Stir fry chicken and rice. Yep. Lots and lots of rice.
:D

MouseWife

08-27-2007, 08:32 PM

LOL Lots and lots of rice!! Heck, I buy giant bags of rice {not quite as large as yours, I think}, giant packages of spaghetti, the giant bottle of sauce, bread in two packs...

We aren't supporting everyone in the house but we try and buy things that we can all eat in giant sizes. {what do they call that???}

Hey, your lunch will be delicious!! Just remember to grab extra soy sauce packets when you get the chance....easier to pack in your lunch.

innerSpaceman

08-27-2007, 08:34 PM

Cooking for one is riduculously wasteful. Of time and resources. Making two meals of every cooking session is a great thing to do. Dinner is also tomorrow's lunch. That's making the best of a poor situation.

Alas, a live-in LOVER is also the better solution to the meal and cooking dilemma.

Where in God's Name are all the suitable, sexy, homo domesticated lovers?!?!

lindyhop

08-27-2007, 08:35 PM

Sounds like a good start.:cheers:

Writing down what you spend can be a real eye-opener but it sounds like you already have a good idea about that. I bring my own lunch to work and don't eat out as much as I used to. I do that more for watching what I eat than for watching what I spend. If you like to eat out, keep doing it but only half as much. Every little bit helps.:)

lindyhop

08-27-2007, 08:36 PM

Where in God's Name are all the suitable, sexy, homo domesticated lovers?!?!

At home, waiting for someone to show up for dinner.

alphabassettgrrl

08-27-2007, 08:42 PM

I don't really have any advice, but good for you GC for paying attention to your money. :)

innerSpaceman

08-27-2007, 08:50 PM

I don't know if this would work ... but for someone who has literally frozen his credit cards to restrict access, it just might.

Someone mentioned earlier (was it Dread Pirate Roberts?) that we all adapt to the level of income we have, and keep adjusting as that adjusts. Any increase in income is matched by a natural increase in expenses.

I used to live on giant bags of rice and huge bags of popcorn that I swiped from the movie theater I worked at. And at each progressive step of more income since then, my expenses have kept rising pace.

So ... what if Gemini Cricket freezes some of his money (not literally this time). Socks it away, diverts it before it even hits his bank account. I believe Alex suggested this earlier. Perhaps if you can fool yourself, and more importantly, fool the universe into believing you have less money than you do ... maybe you can live just fine on less money (if "less" is your new income), and use the diverted funds to pay down the debt you'd like to see paid off faster.

It's very tough to fool the universe about money. Just as it always sees that your expenses match any rising income ... the reverse is also true. Ever notice how any windfall is quickly taken away by, oh, a car repair suddenly necessary, or a health issue that didn't exist the day before the windfall? Oh, the universe knows ... and is not fooled too easily.

But it might be worth a try.

OR - - you can forget the live-in LOVER ... and go for the SUGAR DADDY!

Gemini Cricket

08-27-2007, 10:00 PM

Apparently there is a Sugardaddy.com somewhere on the internets. I should check it out. ;)

My workplace allows us to divert our funds to many different accounts. I may just do that.

Stan4dSteph

08-28-2007, 07:05 AM

I'm thinking of doing that once one of my student loan payments goes away in a couple of months. It's a low interest loan, so I haven't been in a hurry to pay it off more than the regular payment schedule, but when it goes away, that's about $70 a month.

Snowflake

08-28-2007, 08:00 AM

I agree with that, iSm. Like I've told people on food diets, if you cut out everything, make everything bad, you'll end up like the guy in 'Chocolate'. {but darn it, not everyone knows what I mean when I say that....}

I do!

GD~ I get the tracking thing. Similar to an eating diary. I doesn't have to be a big deal, but, keeping track for a while, it makes you aware of where your money goes. Lets you see where you might be blowing it without even noticing it.

Yes, I've been hand tracking just my daily spending. I keep a notepad in my purse. It's amazing and quite an eye opener how much $$ can flow through your hands without even thinking of it. I'm budgeting too, GC, so I know what you are going through. Now that I am watching the cash flow, it's amazing how long a $20 can sit in the wallet. Of course, bringing lunch to work really helps too!

If you are trying to pare down your cc debt, simple rule of thumb that is working for me. Line up your cards by amount owed and by interest rate, pay on all of them, but on the lowest card, pay it off as fast as you can. Then, take the $$ you were paying on that card and apply it to the next one up on the list, and so on. I'm still a mess, but I've pared 20k of debt down in 2 years to 5k now. So it can be done.

What you said, iSm, that is true. If you always think you don't have money, that isn't really a good thing, either. It can hold you back from accomplishing things or having something simple that you think is out of your reach. That is how I think and it really sucks.

Exactly, keep your mind in the land of plenty mode. But, I also do not use credit now unless I absolutely must (like the car thing earlier in the year). If I do not have the cash on hand, I'm not going to buy it. You do not have to sacrifice everything, simply not going to Starbucks once a day during the work week saves me $20 a week, which in turn allows me to go out to a movie and dinner if I want to or a lunch out with the gang at the office. A fair trade, to me.

I feel your pain and am rooting for you too! I can see the end of the tunnel when it comes to my cc debt, you can get there too. As the not always so wise Mr. Micawber said, "Annual income 20 pounds, annual expenditure 20 pounds, result misery, Annual income 20 pounds, annual income 19 pounds, result happiness" Of course, he didn't take that advice to heart, he only gave it to David Copperfield. It's advice I've been trying to take to heart.

Snowflake

08-28-2007, 08:03 AM

So ... what if Gemini Cricket freezes some of his money (not literally this time). Socks it away, diverts it before it even hits his bank account. I believe Alex suggested this earlier. Perhaps if you can fool yourself, and more importantly, fool the universe into believing you have less money than you do ... maybe you can live just fine on less money (if "less" is your new income), and use the diverted funds to pay down the debt you'd like to see paid off faster.

I'm doing this now with the $$ that was diverted to VA for the car payment. Except, I am trying to save it. Like it's not really there. I really should burn the debit card for that account.

Kevy Baby

08-28-2007, 10:32 AM

I'm doing this now with the $$ that was diverted to VA for the car payment. Except, I am trying to save it. Like it's not really there. I really should burn the debit card for that account.Why did you divert funds to Virginia?

Snowflake

08-28-2007, 10:47 AM

Why did you divert funds to Virginia?

My bank account in VA, I kept direct depositing so the car payment would be auto-debited. The car payment is done, I don't see the money, I don't spend it. Or that's the plan, anyway.

Kevy Baby

08-28-2007, 11:02 AM

Ah. It struck me as odd, but that makes sense.

Gemini Cricket

08-30-2007, 12:04 PM

Day 3 of bringing home lunch.
So far so good.
Not as boring as I thought it would be.
Trying to get myself into a routine...
:)

DreadPirateRoberts

08-30-2007, 12:33 PM

Day 3 of bringing home lunch.
So far so good.
Not as boring as I thought it would be.
Trying to get myself into a routine...
:)

Visible GC mojo

Snowflake

08-30-2007, 12:49 PM

Day 3 of bringing home lunch.
So far so good.
Not as boring as I thought it would be.
Trying to get myself into a routine...
:)

I should send you my rice cookbook! Now that I am cooking just for me, bringing lunch is much more fun! All the dining choices are mine!

BarTopDancer

08-30-2007, 12:58 PM

Keep it up GC!

You've inspired me to get back on track too.

Brought my lunch Tues, Wed and today. I keep a bunch of Lean Cuisines in the freezer in my office too - just in case I forget to bring something.

Gemini Cricket

08-30-2007, 01:00 PM

I wonder if saving money can be just as addicting as spending money. I'd love to try that for awhile.
:)

Snowflake

08-30-2007, 01:01 PM

I wonder if saving money can be just as addicting as spending money. I'd love to try that for awhile.
:)

You and me both! I'm trying, so far, staying away from ebay (except for this last week) has been remarkably easy. This has saved me bunches of money!

Gemini Cricket

08-30-2007, 01:02 PM

Yeah, I'm staying away from eBay, Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Circuit City...
:)

Alex

08-30-2007, 02:14 PM

The Consumerist posted today their list of the Top 10 Ways Smart People Waste Money (http://feeds.gawker.com/%7Er/consumerist/full/%7E3/150205598/10-stupid-ways-that-smart-people-waste-money-295190.php). Several things have been mentioned (and I disagree with some) here but thought it would be apropos. The link has more info on each item.

1) Forgetting To Pay Bills
2) Bank Fees
3) Tickets [Moving violations and parking]
4) Memberships
5) Subscriptions
6) Letting food spoil in the fridge
7) Wasting Energy
8) Letting your money sit in a checking account
9) Buying DVDs you will never, ever watch, or books you'll never read, or clothes you will never wear...
10) Paying too much for cable

Gemini Cricket

08-30-2007, 03:40 PM

1) Forgetting To Pay Bills - I pay all of my bills through wamu.com. It's so handy and helps me keep track of what's paid and what's not... Love it.
2) Bank Fees - I got hit with an overdraft fee last week. Total suckage.
3) Tickets [Moving violations and parking] - None to report... thank goodness.
4) Memberships - Just Costco. Split with Ralphie.
5) Subscriptions - None
6) Letting food spoil in the fridge - Does gin spoil?
7) Wasting Energy - I never leave anything on when I leave for work. Occasionally, I will leave the fans on... I don't want to boil the fish in my aquarium.
8) Letting your money sit in a checking account - I tried not to let it sit and then I got that overdraft. :D
9) Buying DVDs you will never, ever watch, or books you'll never read, or clothes you will never wear... - I have a rule of thumb now. I don't buy DVDs unless I am for certain that I will watch it over and over. It really did cut down on my DVD buying...
10) Paying too much for cable - I got rid of my cable. Nothing to watch. I only have internet to pay for...

Snowflake

08-30-2007, 05:02 PM

Following GC's lead:

1) Forgetting To Pay Bills - (many are e-pay and get paid once I get the email, everything else is sorted by date and paid on time)
2) Bank Fees - Sad, but I do not have enough in there warrant free accounts, yet.
3) Tickets [Moving violations and parking] - None, I have my parking sticker for my neighborhood, and speed enough to keep up with the flow of traffic, so no citations, yet
4) Memberships - Costco is through my office, so I'm good, and I rarely go. The big waste, so far, this year is the unused AP sitting in my wallet
5) Subscriptions - TCM Viewer's guide $9.95 a year
6) Letting food spoil in the fridge - I'm good with leftovers, try to be, my problem is hitting the store too often and not sticking to the list
7) Wasting Energy - I suppose I do, but I really do turn the lights off when I leave a room, etc. Now that it's just me & the cat, PG&E has gone down by $10
8) Letting your money sit in a checking account - guilty, just not too long
9) Buying DVDs you will never, ever watch, or books you'll never read, or clothes you will never wear... - very guilty, or books that I've read once. I offloaded a ton before the great drive back to CA, but I still moved way too many boxes of books, according to some.
10) Paying too much for cable - cable is a ridiculous expense, looking for ways to cut it down as we speak.

innerSpaceman

08-30-2007, 05:06 PM

1) Forgetting To Pay Bills - Has never happened, but I might just try that wamu.com GC speaks of.

2) Bank Fees - My account has no fees. Notice it's account singular.

3) Tickets [Moving violations and parking] - None in the last few years.

4) Memberships - The only thing close is my Disneyland AP, at a whopping $350 a year - ouch (when it's time to pay).

5) Subscriptions - I subscribe to a couple of magazines, less than a hundred per year. Plus Netflix at, what, $16 per month?

6) Letting food spoil in the fridge - um, not a problem. If an earthquake happens on a Friday, I'm screwed. (aka, only a week's worth of food in my house at a time.)

7) Wasting Energy - well, I do drive an SUV, so I guess I waste energy on a regular basis. I'm pretty good with electricity though.

8) Letting your money sit in a checking account - Ha. Um, excuse me, Hahahahahahahahahahaha!

9) Buying DVDs you will never, ever watch, or books you'll never read, or clothes you will never wear... This is my downfall. DVDs I will watch once, maybe twice. All the while, paying for Netflix. Ugh.

10) Paying too much for cable - My cable is included with my HOA fees, so I have no choice about it. I think it's $11 per month. A waste, since I don't watch any TV ... but no opt out available.

Kevy Baby

08-30-2007, 05:41 PM

1) Forgetting To Pay Bills - Yep
2) Bank Fees - Yep
3) Tickets [Moving violations and parking] - Yep (although it comes in spates)
4) Memberships - Yep
5) Subscriptions - Yep
6) Letting food spoil in the fridge - Not too much since we tend to eat out a LOT (which is another money burner)
7) Wasting Energy - Yep. We have six dragon enclosures in our house, each with a heat lamp. This warms up the house significantly. We run the AC a LOT to compensate
8) Letting your money sit in a checking account - Nope
9) Buying DVDs you will never, ever watch, or books you'll never read, or clothes you will never wear... - Nope; they all get watched and books get read repeatedly
10) Paying too much for cable[/quote] - How much is "too much"? We pay for it and we use it. Now what IS stupid is that we stopped using Dish Network several months ago. Yet we are still paying for it each month. Why? Because we have a warranty return receiver that when (if) we return it, we will get that $100 deposit back. In the mean time, we have spent a few hundred dollars paying for a service we don't use. Makes sense, doesn't it? :rolleyes:

Snowflake

08-31-2007, 07:40 AM

Taking a tip from MG here, I want to thank GC for bringing up this subject. I've made strides and still have a long road to travel, but you've inspired me to really sit down and be serious about my finances.

I've pulled the cc's out of my wallet and am considering taking the drastic step of freezing them (a darn good idea) and I'm working on a MS Money budget. It is depressing to see how much goes out right now. Of course, it has to, I am serious about paying things down and starting to really save. Once the CC's are paid off and I close all but one card (I have 4) then I won't have stress of those kind of bills hitting me month after month.

So, GC, thanks! My hat's off to you, you are my hero (as is everyone else here who has offered sagely advice and support) :snap:

MouseWife

08-31-2007, 09:08 AM

Yes! I want to thank GC for coming forth and being open with his situation. Some people get funny with their money and make it a taboo subject that we must suffer with in private. But, with a little help from our friends {advice, tales from their experiences, etc.} we can work through it!

Thanks to everyone who has posted advice and experience, it does help. Any one single plan won't work but a little bit of everything can!!

Major visable mojo for you, GC!!!:snap:

BarTopDancer

08-31-2007, 09:13 AM

1) Forgetting To Pay Bills - Rarely, but it happens
2) Bank Fees - Free accounts. I stick half my rent money in an ING account and get a little interest 2 weeks out of the month. Also helps me make sure I have said rent money
3) Tickets [Moving violations and parking] - none lately
4) Memberships - DL AP and Ducks Tickets. I use and enjoy both
5) Subscriptions - none
6) Letting food spoil in the fridge - Biggest issue is buying too much produce
7) Wasting Energy - my roommie likes to keep the place a freezer
8) Letting your money sit in a checking account - See #2
9) Buying DVDs you will never, ever watch, or books you'll never read, or clothes you will never wear.. - Clothes are my downfall but I am getting beter.
10) Paying too much for cable - When I paid for cable and internet I would call every few months and get on a promotion. I ended up paying full price for each 2 times a year.

Gemini Cricket

08-31-2007, 10:32 AM

innerSpaceman

08-31-2007, 10:34 AM

Heheh, I save on my personal electricity expenses by chaging all my portables at work.

It's a perk.

katiesue

08-31-2007, 10:45 AM

Heck, I appreciate the kudos and the help. It helps to vent about it. It's comforting to know that I ain't the only one with budgetting probs. :)

I forgot to add something to my expense list... prescriptions. Allergies suck. I have a couple of prescriptions that I have to fill monthly...

GC do you have insurance? For mine if you use the mail in option for perscriptions that you take all the time it's much cheaper. You get three months supply at a time but you pay less. You have to make sure the doctor writes the perscription the right way otherwsie they'll only send you one month at a time with no real cost savings. Also supposedly Costco is much cheaper for perscriptions. My copay on my allegra seems to be the same there as it was at SavOn so actual mileage may vary.

katiesue

08-31-2007, 10:50 AM

My power bill always seems high. It hovers around $100/month. More when I use the air/heat more. I'm thinking it's the crap fridge in my apartment. My washer/dryer are energy efficient, and being just me and Maddy only half the time I don't do a zillion loads a week. The dishwaser is also crap but I only run it bi-weekly at most. I've got the heat/air on the timer things so they're not on during the day when I'm out. And I'll turn it compeletly off if I'm gone for the weekend. I'm also a habitual turn the light off when you leave the room person, and I've switched out most of the bulbs to energy efficient ones.

Gemini Cricket

08-31-2007, 11:17 AM

My health insurance starts tomorrow. Yay!!
And the mail in deal is totally awesome. 3 month supply... love it.
:)

BarTopDancer

08-31-2007, 11:34 AM

If you take generic drugs, check Wal-Mart. They have $4 generic drugs regardless of your insurance status. I hate Wal-Mart but that isn't a bad deal.

Too bad my drugs are all brand name.
And not on my formulary.

Gemini Cricket

09-13-2007, 10:32 PM

So here's an update:

I have been eating home lunch and making dinners a lot since the 27th of Aug. And can I just say that I have been saving a ton of money. I mean I have figured out that I used to spend $12-$20 dollars a day for lunch and dinner out. I did treat myself to a couple of nights out here and there but there has been a significant difference. And the money I saved I dumped into savings to save up for my AP. :)

On top of that, I got a promotion at work and have moved to another facility owned by our company. And best news of all, they buy us client reps lunch everyday. What a savings! I do need to watch my weight though, I think a salad or two is in order.

So, I recommend bringing lunch to work and making dinner as often as possible. I've saved a lot.
:)