my only budget issue

[Quadcam]

a few weeks ago I worked out a budget and it's been working well. 5 days till payday and I still have $100 left over for gas until payday, we never manage to make it till payday without being broke 3/4 of the way there.

Heres my issue with creating a budget and something i don't see addressed in plans from guys like Dave Ramsey. If you are anything like me, everything is behind. We were a month behind on the mortgage but thats caught up now. problem is it put my car payment behind so now i'm due for july and will be due for august in a few days.

so now i'll have to make two car payments @360 each just to get caught up this month. doing that throws the whole budget out of whack for next month. I was trying to get the mortgage a month ahead but with the two car payments thats not going to happen.

theres some other bills a month behind also, so by the time we can make the past due payment we're due again for the current month.
so the issue is really how do you get caught up and ahead in order to make your budget work?

[ladykemma2]

most people sell something to get past this hump. do you have an object of value you can sell?

[Greebo]

a few weeks ago I worked out a budget and it's been working well. 5 days till payday and I still have $100 left over for gas until payday, we never manage to make it till payday without being broke 3/4 of the way there.

Heres my issue with creating a budget and something i don't see addressed in plans from guys like Dave Ramsey. If you are anything like me, everything is behind. We were a month behind on the mortgage but thats caught up now. problem is it put my car payment behind so now i'm due for july and will be due for august in a few days.

so now i'll have to make two car payments @360 each just to get caught up this month. doing that throws the whole budget out of whack for next month. I was trying to get the mortgage a month ahead but with the two car payments thats not going to happen.

theres some other bills a month behind also, so by the time we can make the past due payment we're due again for the current month.
so the issue is really how do you get caught up and ahead in order to make your budget work?

Your budget is not something you make once and then never change. Your budget is a document you need to create EACH MONTH, before the month begins.

When you're behind on payments, your budget needs to prioritize getting current as the #3 priority. #1 is food, lights, shelter, clothing and transportation. #2 is STAYING current on everything you're currently current on. #3 is paying extra to get current on everything else. #4 is anything else.

If you can post out your budget, income, assets and liabilities, I can give more specific input. Otherwise, I can say sell something, get a 2nd job, and do everything you can to stop the bleeding as fast as possible, but DONT stop paying one thing to start catching up on another - that's just chasing our tail - lots of moving, getting you nowhere but exhausted.

[Wendy99]

I agree, I'm just starting to budget again, but in the past we did a general budget so we had an idea of what needed to go where, but from there we would tweak it biweekly (then I did a biweekly budget) to make it work for where we were at that point. If you need more for one category, you pull from another etc.

[Lorelei]

I think even if you weren't behind it takes a few months to get in sync with a budget. It's all well & good to budget $100 a month for car insurance, but if the 6-month payment is due next month... As someone else said, focus on the priorities. Pay what you need to in order to catch up and start setting aside what you can each month for known upcoming expenses. Even though it isn't working perfectly yet, you've taken an important step in gaining more control over your finances.

[missmanny]

Every month your budget will be a bit different especially if you are behind on some bills, Don't think that you can do everything at once, when you make up your budget factor in what needs to be paid and what you have left over, then apply the extra money to what is the most important.

You'll get there eventually. If you have managed to stick to this months budget then you are doing a fantastic job!

[Marie78]

I would keep working on getting yourself caught up with your past bills. Once you are current on all bills then you can work on making sure they are paid on time and have a little money saved each month for the unexpected. I would worry on getting caught up first, either by selling things or a part time job.

[Cricketlegs]

My budget changes very little month to month but I do a new one every month a few days before I will need it.

The numbers change a little--like now I am just about finished paying off our last lingering doctor bill from when dh was in the hospital at the first of the year. I have steadily done $50 to them while focusing on others and picking them off one by one. I BUDGETED in to pay the entire balance but I will pay $50 NO MATTER WHAT.

When I do my budget in my green columnar pad(I can't be without it) I do it this way

on the big entery line I put the names of the bills in order debt first ie house payment, car payment, credit card, insurance,(not debt but I like it by my car payment) then come utilities and finally, groceries, bills we pay for our grown children,my dhs meds, allowances and an entry for adding savings to the EF and to another savings fund I have.

column 1--I estimate all the bills with the amounts I know(like car and house payments that stay the same) and then I put the average amount such as $200 for electric bill. Add it all at the bottom and that is what I need each month to make the bills.

column 2--as the bills come in I add the ACTUAL amounts and add again at the bottom to get the true amount I owe--I find that I am never left oweing more than my first column amount and column 2 is always lower.

column 3--When I pay a bill I put the actual amount I paid for that bill and when the month is done I add it all again to see how well my budget was balanced.

column 4--this is where running debt gets addressed. I will put the new balances of my debt there so that if I want to run a snowball or see my debt balances I have them at a glance. It is also nice to be able to flip up a few months past and SEE how far you have come on getting the debt paid for.

So as you can see, while WHAT I pay tends to stay the same most months(I have school shopping to add to THIS months budget only) the numbers can go either way as not all are set in stone.

[Quadcam]

column 1--I estimate all the bills with the amounts I know(like car and house payments that stay the same) and then I put the average amount such as $200 for electric bill. Add it all at the bottom and that is what I need each month to make the bills.

column 2--as the bills come in I add the ACTUAL amounts and add again at the bottom to get the true amount I owe--I find that I am never left oweing more than my first column amount and column 2 is always lower.

column 3--When I pay a bill I put the actual amount I paid for that bill and when the month is done I add it all again to see how well my budget was balanced.

column 4--this is where running debt gets addressed. I will put the new balances of my debt there so that if I want to run a snowball or see my debt balances I have them at a glance. It is also nice to be able to flip up a few months past and SEE how far you have come on getting the debt paid for.

This is pretty much how I've been doing it...one column for estimated ,another for the actual and one for remaining balance on loans.
for this month I wrote down each bill in order of it's due date and split the payments between our paydays...ex anything before the 15h gets paid from the first paycheck...after the 15th gets paid from the 2nd check. although 90% of the bills are all due before the 15th.

so as en example heres our monthly expenses:
AT&T: $145 due 8/4
car loan: $360 currently due for july and aug as of 8/5
car insurance: $125 8/9
cell phones $180 8/14
mortgage $842 8/16
direct tv $111 8/18
elect. $256 8/18
credit card $15 6/28
student loan 1 $190
student loan 2 $112
gas: $320
food: $300
---------------------------------------
month total $2956
income $3600

that leaves us +$644 for the month
so this month I have it budgeted like this..
paycheck 1 $1800 8/8
8/8
$450 1/2 mortgage
$360 car july payment
$145 AT&T
$125 Insurance
$180 cellphones
$111 direct tv
$150 grocery
$160 gas

total $1681 = +$119

roll that $119 to the next paycheck
paycheck2 8/25 $1800+119 = $1919

$450 1/2 mortgage
$360 car august payment
$360 car sept payment
$150 grocery
$160 gas
$190 student loan
$112 student loan

total $1782

which leaves us +$137 due to the double car payment
the stepdaughters BF is staying with us and supposed to pay the electric bill but he cant keep a job for more than a week without getting fired so I'm not counting on it getting paid. I told my GF if he cant pay it then her daughter needs to since that was the deal we made with him in order to stay here

[rachelj]

Cancel the direct tv. If you are having trouble keeping current on your bills then satellite is luxury that you can not afford. I am sorry.

Do you have an emergency fund? I am assuming you don't. I would not pay the Sept car payment but rather start an emergency fund.

Kick the boyfriend out.

[Greebo]

Cancel the direct tv. If you are having trouble keeping current on your bills then satellite is luxury that you can not afford. I am sorry.

Do you have an emergency fund? I am assuming you don't. I would not pay the Sept car payment but rather start an emergency fund.

Kick the boyfriend out.

I disagree with not paying the sept car payment. The 2nd car payment will be due shortly after that check comes in, so get a little ahead.

Put the left over money in your BEF (baby emergency fund), and in September, finish building up your BEF - october at the latest.

[Quadcam]

Thanks for the tips...I know, I know about the TV, I'm addicted to planet green and the discovery channel what can say

I'm thinking along the lines of what Greebo said...Sept car payment will be due on the 5th again..I'll work on the EF on the following check

as for the stepdaughters BF...I would kick him out, but since my GF pays the majority of the expenses and the house is in her name I dont get much say. her daughter has her wrapped around her little finger so she wont boot the BF out cause she knows her daughter will go with him and she doesnt want her to leave...

So i'm pretty much a bystander in that situation and either way I cant win the argument so why try.