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!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2003
Thu, 08-19-2004 - 10:33am

Thanks luckyme and zaboz.


I think I will have to check out both the books and read more about how to take care of finances. My bf said he'd help me make




my pet!

Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
Thu, 08-19-2004 - 12:30pm
One thing you might try doing is writing down everything you spend for several months. This won't provide an immediate fix, but it will give you an idea of how to budget for things that happen infrequently, such as car registration and repairs, dental & medical expenses, tuition payments, Christmas presents, weddings, etc., which can be averaged over months and saved for in advance.

You need to find lines in the budget for things you simply cannot do without - feminine protection is not an option, for instance. ;) But you can do without lunches out or coffee or gum or cable, so start with the things that must be paid for and work your way from there.

Some bills have just got to be paid - electric, phone, gas, rent, car & disability & medical insurance - the basic ones for living a decent life with a roof over your head. And you have to feed yourself and get to work, but you can figure out how to do that less expensively, if need be. Then you have the other creditors to pay and life to live (e.g. going out with your boyfriend, the occasional new pair of shoes, etc.). I agree that leaving yourself with only $20 for a week or two can leave you feeling dangerously deprived and lead to potentially paying for things with credit, so make sure you are allowing yourself enough to really live properly.

If you're already doing all that and still have only $20, then it might be time for a second job, a debt management plan if your credit rates are too high, moving into less expensive digs, etc. But start with learning what you *really* need to live, including those "unexpected" expenses that, more often than not, we could have anticipated.

Kelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2003
Thu, 08-19-2004 - 1:24pm

Thanks Kelly. Lots of great info I am going to take into consideration.


The sad part....I live at home with my folks. So, I don't pay utilites, rent, water bill, gas, etc. I pay for my CC's, my loans, my cellphone, and my gas for my car. And all my toiletries and stuff. So sad.


I am doing a




my pet!

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2003
Thu, 08-19-2004 - 6:19pm
Yes, Dave Ramsey does take it from a Christian perspective, and to be honest, that at first was off-putting to me as well. Buuut, one thing I've learned along the way is that I can 'translate' it all into a more universal view, if that makes sense.

The whole tithing thing threw me at first, because he comes at it from an entirely different mindset than what I've been told. He says to give 10% right off the top-to your church. Hmmm. I'm Catholic, and in our parish/diocese at least, it's give 5% to the church, and 5% somewhere else. (I'm not saying I follow that 300%, but we're getting there. Sorta.) But, if you look at it in more 'universal' terms, it can translate out into: When you give some away, you're not holding it so tightly that you will be unable to receive more. Suze Orman talks about that too-the whole open hand vs. tightly closed fist deal.

Also, one of the scripture verses Dave Ramsey quotes frequently is "The borrower is slave to the lender." (can't remember where it comes from, sorry) This totally translates into the universal if you look at it like this: If all my money is going to repay other people, then I have to keep working so that I can pay them, which in effect, does not make my choice to work a free choice.

I'm not trying to tell you that you're wrong, by golly because you don't see it the way I do-just that sometimes there's a way to get around all the 'static' that seems to be the first thing that is noticed. ;)

Lisa

Avatar for zaboz
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 08-19-2004 - 8:48pm
Thanks Lisa, that makes a lot of sense!

I definitely believe in giving to charity, although in my

case it's not to a church. I think we're all very fortunate,

even those of us deep in debt, because most of us have food in our bellies

and a roof over our heads. A lot of people in the world

don't even have that. So I totally agree that it's good

to let some of your money (and possessions) go. I really

think when you "hand it over to the universe" it comes back

to you, if not in money in some other way.

So I can totally understand what you're saying about deeper truths,

regardless of the religious viewpoint it's coming from.

Maybe I'll have to check out some of his stuff. I guess if I

can take anything useful from it, then it's always worthwhile!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-25-2004
Wed, 09-01-2004 - 7:00pm
Hello Cher,

Two years ago, my husband and I found ourselves bouncing several checks because one check was cashed twice and our balance was very low just before payday. Ever since then, I have left a "cushion" of $500 in our checking account at all times. This means that I rarely if ever let the balance get below this point. It comes in handy when we *do* have unexpected expenses, like a car repair with a $250 deductible, or an annual / semi-annual payment that I somehow forgot about.

It was difficult to learn not to spend every cent we had just before payday. "Paying yourself" is not too hard to do, but it needs to be automatic. I read a good book, called "Automatic Millionaire", which shows you how to set up automatic savings. I have an account with Ing Direct, which will let you transfer money back to your checking account in 24 hours if you need it. However, it requires me to sit down and think about doing that, so I can't spend it on impulse. Anyway, I set it up so $25 was deposited into my savings account there, every two weeks on payday. Because it is automatic, I didn't have to think about it for it to happen. I also couldn't "spend" that money because it wasn't available in my checking account unless I moved it there. Eventually, I changed the amount to $50, then $100, then $200 each payday. Once our savings account got up to $2000, I turned off the automatic deposit. That was our rainy day fund for those unusual expenses (like my husband needing an emergency root canal) that we couldn't plan for. If we used any money from it, I would set up the automatic deposit again until it reached $2000.

I then set up an automatic payment (online billpay through my checking account bank) to send $200 every payday to my largest credit card. Since I was *used* to not spending that $400 per month (I get paid every two weeks) I didn't miss it when I started sending it to my credit cards. We have paid off $10,000 in credit card debt in the last year by doing this. Occasionally I'll notice that our checking account has more than the usual "cushion" of $500 just before payday, and I'll send a little extra to the credit cards. We aren't debt free yet, but we *will* pay down all of our credit card debt in the next 6 months with this automatic system. Once the credit card debt is gone, those automatic extra payments will be sent to our mortgage. Nice, right? I don't have to think about it, but it still gets done.

Of course, getting those extra dollars out of our checking account each month did require me to write down all of our expenses for a week. I started looking for things we could lower, such as our cell phone bill. We changed our cell phone plan to one that will keep us from going over our minutes regularly. (Saved $20 or more per month) I cancelled our cable TV service when I realized we hadn't watched anything but the local news in 6 months. (Saved $60 per month) We refinanced our mortgage to a lower interest rate when they were very low, without paying any closing costs, because we have an FHA mortgage. This saved us an additional $100 on monthly mortgage payments. All of these add up to more money going to creditors (while minimums continue to go down) and we still have enough money for unusual expenses.

I also have read Suze Orman's book, but did so after I had already set up some automatic savings. It was a nice review, though.

Sincerely,

Lindsey Schocke

http://www.tinyurl.com/5vcog

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2004
Thu, 09-02-2004 - 9:46am
I just want to say that your advice seems wonderful!! (I say seems because I haven't tried it yet, but plan to!) And you deliver it in such a kind, understanding way. I've poked around ivillage occassionally, but just realized these board existed. And what a relief to see that I'm not alone!! and there's light at the end of the tunnel, right?? I hope you'll extend your kindess and offer me some advice ...

Often I just try to forget my debt or ignore it because it can seem overwhelming. It isn't THAT bad I don't think: about $4,000 in CC balances (that I haven't used for almost 5 years)and then I think $10K in student loans (but I just graduated last year). I make pretty good money, and have a great job (esp. for my age) but have awful spending habits. I like nice things and it is really hard to deprive myself of them. I don't drop $200 on one purse, or anything, I look for deals, but the thing is I'll rationalize purchasing items BEFORE paying my bills. The CC people call and I ignore them because I'm afraid to talk to them, and it KILLS me to throw money in the air like that! I know I need to budget, but the biggest hurdle is living frugally. I also need to make friends in the city I've just moved to (don't have any connections here; moved for the job) so I do need to go out and do things. When people at work ask me to go places, I am embarassed to say, "I can't afford to." My want/need balance is highly disproportionate, I think. How did you cut back spending? Was it hard not to have things you wanted? How did you overcome that? It hangs over my head and I hate it, but not enough to not buy those jeans or go out to dinner with a friend, apparently!! Am I insane???

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-25-2004
Thu, 09-02-2004 - 12:03pm
Hello Daphne,

There are several ways to make new friends. Some of these ways do not involve spending money. For instance, your local library may have a book club. Your local park may have a walking club. There are many groups that get together without spending a dime, to enjoy something they have in common. If friends from work invite you to go out dancing, bring a water bottle rather than buying drinks when you get thirsty.

One thing that will help you is to pay your bills as soon as they come in the mail. Not when they are due, because you'll have time to rationalize spending some money between then and now. Your student loan can be set up to withdraw money from your account every time you get paid.

You *can* have nice things. However, try thinking about it this way. How much better would it feel to know that you can afford your purchase because you've saved up money for it? If you like to go shopping, set aside some money for a once-a-month trip to your favorite store. Then, when you go there, leave your credit / debit cards at home, as well as your checkbook, so you can't spend more than the cash in your wallet. Withdraw just the amount you've "budgeted" for your shopping trip. Then, go have fun with the money you've set aside for this purpose.

You can also go out with friends to "window shop". If you again only carry the cash you've set aside to spend, you won't be able rationalize using what you aren't carrying on you. =)

I do understand what it's like to have debt. Currently, we have $14,000 in credit card debt, mostly because we transferred our car loan and student loan to a very low interest credit card. I have used budgeting techniques like I mentioned above to shop for christmas gifts without overspending (a big weakness for me) and to set aside money for fun things for my husband and I to do. Also, when you save up money, later on you'll find that you are much more picky about what you buy when you've worked hard to keep that money from getting spent on other things. =)

Sincerely,

Lindsey Schocke

http://www.tinyurl.com/5vcog

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-23-2004
Wed, 09-08-2004 - 3:58pm
"Meeen", what the wise says is "Pay yourself first.", but it's easier to say than to be done. If you live from paycheck to paycheck, it is impossible. You know you have to pay your electric before you treat yourself for that Saturday night out. (If you don't, now you do!) If you make enough money or there are two incomes coming in into your household, then you can do it. When I say enough money, I mean: Expenses-Leftover=+ In plain english, add all your monthly expenses, then subtruct your monthly income. If you see a positive number, that is left, then you need to make a budget plan and analize where you spend your money. If you get negative, then you should be already looking for a better paying job. Even if it's positive, but not so much left and you have a job, you can still look for a better paying job. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR WORK 'TIL YOU HAVE ANOTHER JOB!!!!! FOR SURE! And make sure you give your present employer the two weeks notice and go through with it! Otherwise it will hunt you for life. We had only one income and lived like s&>*#t, but I made a budget plan, and now we are doing a lot better. It worked! So you can do it. Plan. Write down everything you have to pay, how much, the due date, see how much money you'll have and divide. If you have to, get you one of those little coupon holders and mark all the payments (electric, phone, etc.) and put the amount you have to inthere every week. But the main thing is first do the: Expenses-Income,and of course see what is the luxury or special treatment you can drop. Do your own nails, get your man give you a massage or go out once a month instead of 4. Let me know if this is any helpful to you?
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2003
Wed, 09-08-2004 - 6:12pm

Wow! Some great information. Thanks.


Actually, I have $25 a paycheck going....but going into a retirement, not a savings. I do have $25/month going ot savings, but I use that when I need it.


I guess now my question is. Do I stop my retirement pmts to build a savings buffer?


Also, I will get my buffer at the end of the month, and will start my budget in October. I'm excited to HAVE a buffer. =)

~Cher




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