Payday today. How much do you....

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2003
Payday today. How much do you....
29
Wed, 08-18-2004 - 12:41pm

leave for yourself AFTER you pay everything?


I guess i'm getting frustrated because I seem to




my pet!

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Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 08-18-2004 - 1:25pm

Hi Cher,


I very strongly believe in paying myself *first* - I make sure that I have whatever $$ I need before I pay a single bill.

All my best,
Danni

Avatar for zaboz
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 08-18-2004 - 1:46pm
I don't know if this helps, but

I use a miscellaneous category in my budget.

We usually budget about $200 for miscellaneous

expenses every month. This is for things

like haircuts, magazines, snacks at work, etc.

So every check (one of us gets a check every week),

is about $50 for misc stuff. Something's always

coming up that doesn't fit into a category.

$20 would be hard for two weeks but I guess if everything

else REALLY is covered, you might be ok. I guess the

question is are you going over that amount or doing

ok with it? Maybe you could find $50 (or $20 or whatever)

at some point and put it in an envelope so you'd have a little

security in case you find you're really short. That way,

you can TRY to make it on $20 for two weeks but you'll have

something there if you can't.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Wed, 08-18-2004 - 2:01pm
Hi Cher,

I used to put the feminine products in with the groceries. I gave myself $10/week allowance when I was working on paying down debt, and now I give myself $20/week. That would be if I wanted to buy a coffee or have lunch with a girlfriend or something. Some weeks I use it to buy a new purse or shoes, some weeks I spend $40 and have nothing the next week.

I made some tomatoe soup the other day, and realized that from January to April 2000, Campbell's soup is almost all I ate! No wonder I've been doing all this fancy cooking from scratch since then! But, I paid off $9K in debt just by working two jobs and being drastically frugal. The other $20K got paid off with inheritances.

Of course sometimes from being so stingy to myself I'd go overboard, but I bounced back.

good luck!

Lee Ann

Lee Ann

www.werenotafraid.com

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2003
Wed, 08-18-2004 - 2:41pm

How do you pay yourself?




my pet!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2003
Wed, 08-18-2004 - 2:46pm

I guess I'm beginning to realize, I don't have any extra money for 'what if's"


I wanted to start my Freedom account today and realized I'd have to put about an extra $200 to that. And I don't even have that to snowball.


Oh my. Time to do some restructering I think. lol

~Cher




my pet!

Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 08-18-2004 - 4:15pm

Hi Cher - hmm - with so many unknowns in your situation, it sounds like you've not yet developed a budget that works for you.

All my best,
Danni

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2003
Wed, 08-18-2004 - 4:22pm

Danni,


I seriously think you hit the nail on the head. I don't have a good well worked out budget. I try and try to budget, but it never goes beyond two months because SOMETHING comes up.


and I seriously need to learn to park things too.


I'm going to go lurk on that other board and start fresh on my budget. =) Also, when I give money to myself, it's mostly for lunches. Which, yes, I am starting to bring to work, so that's money saved. =)


One day. =)

~Cher




my pet!

Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 08-18-2004 - 5:32pm

If bringing lunches is something you do regularly, then I would create a "lunch" category in

All my best,
Danni

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2003
Wed, 08-18-2004 - 9:17pm
I used to do that, but it didn't seem to work well, lol.

One thing I did do was to go through Financial Peace University this last winter,and I have to say, my thinking was completely changed. (It's a Dave Ramsey thing-you don't have to go through it, you could read his books)

One thing I learned was to make a budget-give every dollar a name BEFORE I get it. As part of the budget, I had to figure out how much for gas and how much for food were needed to make it to next payday. I learned that we need to take care of our family's needs FIRST before bills-even though that runs counter to much of what society teaches. If you take care of the basics-food, shelter, reasonable car stuff, and utilities, you will 'live to fight another day', which is the goal. This does not mean you get to go out to eat every night and plunk down $500/meal!

Pay yourself first-get a small emergency fund started, maybe through ING (an online bank). The money will be there if you need it, but not so available that you blow through it. If something comes up, you're covered.

As far as the feminine products, add them into your grocery budget, or personal care budget. ;)

You can do this-

Lisa :)

Avatar for zaboz
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 08-19-2004 - 8:35am
It sounds like a similar theory to Carol Keefe (How to Get What you Want in Life with the Money You Already Have). Dave Ramsey never really appealed to me because he has a Christian philosophy (or am I wrong?).

Anyway, she says that you and your family are the first priority. If you spend EVERYTHING on bills you will suck your enjoyment of life away so what's the point of even being here? SO, the first priority out of your paycheck is to take care of your needs. They don't have to be limited to the extremely basic needs but can also be a small amount toward a vacation, a small splurge, a day on the golf course, etc that will really make you feel alive. THEN you work with what's left over and pay your bills.

Of course, there's a fine balance because you can't squander your entire paycheck and then say "oh sorry creditors, there's nothing left!". But you can work your budget out to the point where there's some money just for you too. Sometimes it takes some manuevering or a few months of lean living, but I think most people can get there at some point. She says not to sweat paying only the minimums if that's all you can do for the moment. The important part is not to stress about it and not to spend all of your time and energy worrying about money, because it's just money.

But of course, I never understood what she would say to people who can't make the minimums in the first place. :( I guess the key is to get to that point in the first place, either by increasing your income or decreasing your spending.

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