advice on how to get started

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-09-2004
advice on how to get started
3
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 9:27am
I sat down and came up with a budget that DH and I both said we could and would stick to. This may seem like a silly question but now how do I get started. We both get paid 2x a month and I work part-time so my check is always different. I went through our budget and figured out what should be allotted to each thing from our checks (1/2 from the first check, 1/2 from 2nd check) but when bills come due I don't have all the money to pay them, do I short something else to pay what is due and then make it up, I feel like then I will just always be behind in something. We are getting a really nice tax refund, should I use that to "fund" my budget and use what is left to put on the cc's or put all on the cc's? It is sad but I am 35 years old and I have NEVER had a budget in my life. My parents never taught me! I can tell you that is one thing I WILL teach my children. The value of money and saving and not spending beyond your means.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 11:53am

Hi there! Good for you for tackling the budget and figuring out where you stand. A few suggestions.

1. You might be able to call your credit cards or maybe even other bills(insurance or utilities) and ask for adjustment of your payment due date to get things more equalized between paydays.

2. I don't think using a portion of your tax return to build a cushion into your checking account to help balance out some of the highs and lows is a bad strategy. I'm going to do it too. If you have an emergency fund, you might be able to utilize it to do some of the same things.

3. Manipulate 'flexible' spending items like groceries, spending money, etc. to balance these out. Maybe this payday you can't spend the whole amount you have budgeted for groceries but you can make it up next half.

4. Do you have Quicken? I am learning a lot by plugging in my recurring expenses and income in there and using the graphs to see what is going to happen to my balance over the next few months.

Hope that helps.

Peg

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-02-2004
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 1:16pm

Congratulations on gettin started. I get paid weekly, so I have to be very careful about timing my payments in advance to make sure there's enough in the account on the various due dates.

What I did was put my check register onto an excel spreadsheet and enter what my paychecks, fixed monthly payments like rent and insurance, and estimated payments like utilities, groceries, gas, etc. will be a couple of months in advance. I list deposits on the friday pay dates and estimates of what my utilities/CC/other bills will be on the dates when they need to be paid. I can see several weeks ahead what my running balance will need to be so I know when I can spend and when I can't. When I buy something I estimated for and when I receive my actual utility bill, I change the numbers in the register to the actual figure spent/to be paid. You could even "color" the estimated numbers and leave the "real" numbers black. (brainstorm just this moment!)

I also use my bank's online bill paying service at $4.95/month and log on every few days just to make sure I haven't missed entering anything into the excel spreadsheet. I find this easier than keeping the paper register. It's really imperative for me to be able to plan and see what's coming up. This way I can look at what's happening on any day and know whether I can go out to eat, buy something or have to wait and save for something that's coming due soon.

Hope that helps.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-25-2003
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 1:58pm

We have the same problem, too - my income fluctuates weekly, and especially drops if I get sick.

Last month and this month I only paid a little over the minimum on the credit cards, so I could start building a cushion in the budget. That way, every time I get paid, it's for next month's bills, not this month's. So far I have a $400 cushion, which means we should (except for rent) always be able to pay all of our bills.

I would use part of your tax refund to make a cushion in your chequing account. It might be more satisfying to pay down your credit card balance, but this way, you will be able to make ontime payments and keep your credit score safe.

HTH
mouse