Help me with my budget!

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-11-2006
Help me with my budget!
7
Wed, 12-09-2009 - 3:58pm

Ok so here goes...this is my financial situation...


I bring home $2400 in a month and DH brings home $1600 in a month = $4000


Here are our expenses:


Rent - $650
Electricity - $150 in winter, $300 in summer (I live in Phoenix, AZ and summers are killer!)
Water, Sewer & Garbage - $80
Cell Phones - $120
Internet - $32.95
Pool Maintenance - $70 every 2-3 months
DH smokes so every 3 months we pay $160 (he is currently trying to quit and I hope he really does not just for the money either!)
Groceries & household items - I budget in $600
Formula - $200
Gas - $200
Oil Changes/Maintenance - $30
Pet Food - $150 (It seems like alot...we have two large dogs, 4 cats and a fish tank)
Dogs Wellness Plans - $40.90
Netflix - $18.37
Gym Membership - $20.00
Auto Insurance (Truck & Car) - $150
(These next two I pay in full once a year, I don't do payments since it's so cheap, I just know that June is a tight month)
Motorcycle Insurance - $100 per YEAR
Quad Insurance - $90 per YEAR
Renters Insurance - $40.98


LOANS
Personal Loan (DH's) - Balance of $1,576.59; 9.99%; Min. payment of $150 (I have always rounded up on this one)
Personal Loan (Wedding) - Balance of $10,437.97; 8.99%; Min. payment of $300 ( I have always rounded up here too)
Consolidation Loan (car + quad) - Balance of $10,552.41; Min. Payment of $250 (round up)


CREDIT CARDS
Visa Platinum - Balance of $1,966.80; I think it's 8%; there is never a min. payment but I try to pay at least something on it in bad months,

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-02-1998
Wed, 12-09-2009 - 4:36pm

I wouldn't put the cards all together, I would just continue to pay them as you are. But I would get the First Premier one paid off and closed. If I read it right you are paying interest and $6 per month fee? If you are paying that fee even when the balance is zero I would close it quick as possible. After that card is gone, I would work on paying as much as possible to the card with the highest interest until it is gone. (While still paying the minimum on the other cards.) Then take that money and put it to the next card in line. But as some of your cards have relatively low balances you may want to pay them off in order of smallest balance first so that you can see progress on getting rid of your cards.

Put your cards in a really hard to reach place or even cut them up so you can't use them. Some people suggest freezing them in a block of ice or giving them to a trusted friend. I just keep mine in the back of a drawer so I have to go home and think about the purchase at least 24 hours before adding to my debt. 9 out of 10 times I decide I can live without whatever it was.

Decide on a small amount of cash that you can spend on anything you want (some ladies here call it blow money) $20 a paycheque or so, and that would be what you spend on fast food, starbucks etc.
Put cash into envelopes for each budget line item and when the envelope is empty then you can 't spend anymore until next paycheque. (if you also put the receipts in the envelope you will have a record of what you are spending on.)

The extra cheques you get should go into an e-fund, that way you will have an e-fund started and won't have to rely on CC's. For your tax return I would suggest that you put 1/2 to e-fund and 1/2 to bills.

I used to be really bad with impulse purchases at the grocery store, but now I check out the flyers at home and figure out what meals I want to make for the week and make a list. I am not allowed to buy what is not on my list unless it is on a really good unadvertised sale.





iVillage Member
Registered: 07-02-2008
Thu, 12-10-2009 - 12:12am

I'm tired and its late so I hope this makes sense.


If you "supposedly" have $300 left over i would carefully track your spending for a month or two. You have several small balances on c/c's ($200ish) and if you got rid of those with your extra money you would have extra to put in savings.


JMO


I would do 1/2 efund and 1/2 credit cards (targeting Dell first and then those small ones) with your tax return.


Sorry I don't have more at this time. Past bedtime for me.


iVillage Member
Registered: 07-12-2008
Thu, 12-10-2009 - 3:38am

Stephanie,


I like to look at your budget on a yearly basis.


Net Income $48,000


Expenses (27,000)


Debt minimum payments (12,060)


Total income left: 8,940 or $745 a month


One question is that you did not give an amount for cash in your wallet.

 

Steve

 
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2003
Thu, 12-10-2009 - 9:02am

Okay, here is what I see.


Your food expense seems


Bex -

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-11-2006
Thu, 12-10-2009 - 10:20am

We also have my 5 yo step-son living with us half the time and he takes lunches to school and my sister is also currently living with us and while she pays for some of her own groceries, as she is vegetarian, she also eats some of ours. Our groceries used to be a lot lower back when it was just us two and DSS was a toddler and didn't eat much LOL


Thank you for your input! This snowballing idea makes a lot sense to me :-)


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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-14-2008
Thu, 12-10-2009 - 12:20pm

Hi,

The reason you never have anything left over (and I did the math, for what you have listed you should have 392 left over so you are right in your assumption) is that, even though it is detailed, the plan is missing things.

There is nothing set aside each month for spending, gifts, emergencies, toys for baby or clothing? Not sure on the clothing, but you get the point. There are things people buy that add up and must be accounted for. Write your budget out again and account for the little things, then track your spending for a few weeks so see where that 392 is ending up. Go back to the budget and tweak it.

I agree with PPs. Put those cards away. You cannot afford to shop at those places right now and need to pay for the things you owe on. Say no to your self and DH more often. You will be paying more for them btw with the interest, but I'm sure you know that.

You have made the right decision to tackle this now. Getting your financial house in order and having a plan of attack will give you peace of mind and help plan for your bright future.

I would target one of those smaller cards, save for the buy now pay later, and save for efund. The efund is key in keeping you out of debt so you don't charge anymore.

Good luck!


iVillage Member
Registered: 12-10-2003
Thu, 12-10-2009 - 12:54pm

You asked what you should do about the reimbursement checks and the overtime....my suggestion would be to put those toward funding your emergency fund to $1000. That would be an easy way to get money there without pulling it out of the budget and then struggling to pay something. Having the emergency fund would prevent adding to the debt totals if something comes up. I wouldn't suggest combining the small payments. I know for me when I had a bunch of small payments and I was using the debt snowball (paying minimums on all but the targeted balance then when that balance is paid off adding the amount you were paying on that toward the next balance and so forth) I actually had more motivation to pay things off because I could see my progress every time I crossed a card off. With the much larger balances I have now it is more frustrating not to see as much progress. I agree with another poster that the First Premier card should be the first target since it charges you a fee every month on top of the interest. When that card is paid off I recommend canceling it since it costs you money even when there is no balance. Dell would be next on the list if it were me since the promotional period will be expiring soon thus adding to the debt total if it isn't paid off by then.

You said June is pretty tight since you pay for the one time payments for the insurance. One thing that helps me with having money for my car and house insurance is treating it like it is a monthly bill. I figure out how much I have to save toward it each month so that by the time it comes due I have the money saved and it doesn't require trying to scrape up the money from an already tight budget. I try to think of everything that might come up during the year and if possible put away a little toward that as well - things like clothing, school expenses for the kids, gifts for birthdays and Christmas, magazine subscriptions, etc. It is always those little things that sneak up on you that tend to break the budget.