I can't believe it.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-2007
I can't believe it.
6
Fri, 01-23-2009 - 11:44am

I just sat down and included all of my numbers together. My cc's, houses, car payments, daycare. And I took a rough estimate of our income each month (because some weeks I get OT). After all the bills are paid, I should have another $2500 extra floating around! This does not include my utilities or groceries

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2003
Fri, 01-23-2009 - 12:41pm
Its startling when you realize how much money has been leaking out the budget! But now that you are aware of it you are more likely to be able to focus trimming the fat and paying down debt! Good for you!

Bex -


"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift -thats why its called the present."


Bex -

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
Fri, 01-23-2009 - 2:14pm

When you are counting your income take out the OT don't count that in the mix. Then see where you stand. When my husband worked he got many years a lot of OT and for a while we kind of lived on it to make it.


Then as fast as it was there it was cut back. At that point I took all the OT out of the mix and just put it in saving. If you can do that I would Then when things come up in life where you need money You have it and OT is great for snowflaking too.


Hugs


Mary Ann


iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-2007
Fri, 01-23-2009 - 2:39pm
The OT is part of my weekly hours believe it or not. I work 8-5 Monday thru Friday. I work in a radiologists office and those are the hours of the office. So basically, they just pay us the OT because they have to due to the fact that we work over 40 hr/week. When I did my numbers, I actually did do it without the OT because I used this last checks amount. If we have a holiday or a vaca day we don't get the OT for that week, it is just straight pay. So thats how I did count it.
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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-07-1999
Fri, 01-23-2009 - 3:18pm

"I can't believe it."


Oh, I can!!!! lol Don't feel too bad, I just went through all my checks for 2008 to see what I was averaging monthly for groceries and I almost passed out. $1500 a month. Do the math. That's $18,000 a year. EIGHTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR!!! What the heck are we eating? Oh, and that doesn't even include eating out! AND my kids buy lunch at school everyday

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-21-2006
Fri, 01-23-2009 - 3:28pm

I did the same thing just last week, figuring out how much was coming in and what was going out. I started doing everything in cash (the Til Debt Do Us Part way) and I think a lot of it was going out on stupid little things like diet coke in the 571ml or Tim Hortons Coffee and eating out. We'd regularly go out a few times a week, sometimes more.


I'm still working out my budget, you know fine tuning it. I find that the 50 I put for gas for the car just isn't enough for example, and I think I might need a little more than 100 for groceries per week too. But the point is I'm slowing the leak considerably. I also made sure that I had an amount for eating out/entertainment, and that also helped me because there was no way we're not going to go out at all, but now if there's no money in that fund, then we have to eat at home. Good luck in doing your budget, it's hard to come to terms with how

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-28-2007
Fri, 01-23-2009 - 10:09pm
wow thats more than we bring in a month lol

 


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