Need help and guidance with budget

**Maisiedotes** · 08-01-2009, 09:07 AM

I am in charge of the bills at home. When all our bills are paid, we should have about $800/month for EF/savings etc. But, we do not even have enough to pay the bills. DH is partly to blame. I just took away his debit card because he would use it for a $1.59 bottle of soda (20 oz). I am giving him an allowance.

So, we have our fixed bills- credit card, which we try to pay a little extra on- as our balance comes down we continue to pay over the minimum (barely), the car, the insurance, rent, etc. I am considering doing Bill-Pay through our bank because I tend to forget to pay them ontime, so we thought about putting enough to cover the bills plus an extra $100/month into that account and putting the rest- for gas, food, etc, into a separate account since those are things we could possibly cut back on.

I am so... well, I don't know what I am doing, but I do know that I don't know how to do a budget! any suggestions? thanks.

**Marie78** · 08-01-2009, 09:14 AM

It looks like you have a great plan in place. Have you written down how much your fixed and non-fixed costs are? I write down our monthly costs/bills and then I also write down how much our yearly costs are: (car insurance, renters insurance, life insurance, eye exam/contacts/glasses, car maintenance, the cost of our hair cuts, clothes, Christmas presents, birthday and other event costs, estimated costs to take the cats to the vet for check ups, estimated dental and doctor co-pays) We can't afford/don't have time to go on vacations right now, but if we could I would budget for one before we went.

**Preston** · 08-01-2009, 12:33 PM

Get your husband on board ASAP!!!

First off, grab a piece of paper and write down EVERY source of reliable income. If you are paid hourly and usually get 40 hours a week, budget for what your paycheck would be if you only worked 35. Just so you have a buffer.

Second, wite down ALL regular minimum payment obligations -- rent, cc, car payment

Third -- See what you can get rid of -- sell, or rent out if possible to offset the cost. Probably nothing but you'd be surprised what you have lying around can get you a couple $$ on craigslist.

Fourth -- TRACK EVERY DOLLAR YOU SPEND!! SEE WHERE YOUR MONEY IS GOING!

Compare income vs expenses and see where you can tighten things up.

But also show your spouse how much his purchases are truly costing and if he is insistent on having something to drink maybe get him his own water bottle and fill it and have it with him wherever he goes.

**TinyDancer** · 08-01-2009, 12:36 PM

If you guys tend to use your debit card for most transactions, it might be helpful to sit down and look at last two or three bank statements to where you're money actually went. I've done this a few times. I created categories and moved each transaction to a category. That was a real eye-opener! It will help you see where you can cut back.

I also have noticed that when I pay for things with cash vs. using my debit card, I'm a lot more tight-fisted. It hurts to see money actually leave my hands. I know this doesn't work for everyone, but it's worked very well for me.

Hang in there! Budgeting is all about trial and error. I've tried so many systems, some worked and some didn't. Just keep tweaking until you find something that fits your lifestyle and personality.

**ladykemma2** · 08-01-2009, 01:02 PM

MONTHLY
elec
water
nat gas
lawn
gasoline
groceries/supplies
tithe/fast offering
prescription drugs
dining with friend
credit report
bundled service ATT
haircut
pocket money

ANNUAL (take amount, divide by 12 and set aside monthly)
oil change
car maintenance
car insurance
car registration
car inspection
toll road tag
new car fund
computer replacement
predictable medical bills co-pays pap smear, mammogram
optometrist (exam, new glasses)
annual dentist
predictable vet bills
tax prep
xmas
school startup
office supplies, ink
stamps
stocking up
shoes
clothing
work expenses (parties, showers, unexpected everyone's going out to lunch) for me this adds up to 240 a year

**Karen1** · 08-01-2009, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by ladykemma2

MONTHLY
elec
water
nat gas
lawn
gasoline
groceries/supplies
tithe/fast offering
prescription drugs
dining with friend
credit report
bundled service ATT
haircut
pocket money

ANNUAL (take amount, divide by 12 and set aside monthly)
oil change
car maintenance
car insurance
car registration
car inspection
toll road tag
new car fund
computer replacement
predictable medical bills co-pays pap smear, mammogram
optometrist (exam, new glasses)
annual dentist
predictable vet bills
tax prep
xmas
school startup
office supplies, ink
stamps
stocking up
shoes
clothing
work expenses (parties, showers, unexpected everyone's going out to lunch) for me this adds up to 240 a year

hey ladyK

what does a goal of buy back 4.5 yrs. teachers retirement mean in your sig line? this just doesn't ring a bell to me about what it might be...LOL-LOL

just wondering..thanks!!

**Karen1** · 08-01-2009, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by Maisiedotes

I am in charge of the bills at home. When all our bills are paid, we should have about $800/month for EF/savings etc. But, we do not even have enough to pay the bills. DH is partly to blame. I just took away his debit card because he would use it for a $1.59 bottle of soda (20 oz). I am giving him an allowance.

So, we have our fixed bills- credit card, which we try to pay a little extra on- as our balance comes down we continue to pay over the minimum (barely), the car, the insurance, rent, etc. I am considering doing Bill-Pay through our bank because I tend to forget to pay them ontime, so we thought about putting enough to cover the bills plus an extra $100/month into that account and putting the rest- for gas, food, etc, into a separate account since those are things we could possibly cut back on.

I am so... well, I don't know what I am doing, but I do know that I don't know how to do a budget! any suggestions? thanks.

So you are saying.....when all bills that are fixed are paid, you should have $800 at least LEFTOVER. And you have NONE and you are having trouble even paying the bills?????

You guys are blowing way more than 1.59 on a soda per month???

You must be able to account for alot more than 1.59 out of a possible $800 leftover after bills are paid.

Something just is very out of whack on that if I got your post right????

Surely there must be some good sized spending on something other than a soda. Just seems very unbalanced to me but YES we sure can piddle thru money, most people can! I can....LOL

you need to really see where this money is going. cause $800 extra just "gone" and more gone so the bills are tight?? Hmmm...something isn't right on this if you can't account for $800 a month. It is just a huge amt. to say I just can't seem to know where it went too....at least for me it would be..LOL

**Maisiedotes** · 08-01-2009, 01:55 PM

Yeah, soda is the tip of the iceberg.

When we moved here from another state, we got behind on some stuff because of the way the pay weeks fell... we have been trying to catch up on it all. If we could just have one month to gather the money to pay everything on time... But for now, we are focusing on paying all our bills on time and working on using up the food that is in the cabinets. That will help.. we spend about $50/week on food so if we can save even half that by using what we have, in a month we will have enough for almost the car insurance. There is no reason we can't NOT grocery shop except for produce- we make our own soy milk, I bake bread, and we have some stuff in the freezer as far as meals go. Chili, lasagna, etc. I am pregnant, due in Nov, and I really want to get rid of some monthly expenses, or at least pay one off. I had eye surgery a few years ago and financed it- in my less responsible days- and we owe $3000 on that. It is fixed-pay though, so maybe we should focus on our credit card (UGH- bal. is $9000).

I am going to get all my bills together, balances, and interest rates. maybe you all can give me some direction on what to pay off first. We have a high interest rate on our CC because I had a late payment.

Dang dang dang. That did me in.

Thanks everyone!

**frugalfranny** · 08-01-2009, 03:34 PM

Sounds like you are on the right track and gaining knowledge. Know where the money is going is the first step. Sit down WITH the hubby so he will know just what is going on with the bills........also helps get him on board for assisting/thinking about what he is spending. In your case, saving should be a partnership thing......

Some good posts here........you can do it I am sure!

**ladykemma2** · 08-02-2009, 09:09 AM

Originally Posted by Karen1

hey ladyK

what does a goal of buy back 4.5 yrs. teachers retirement mean in your sig line? this just doesn't ring a bell to me about what it might be...LOL-LOL

just wondering..thanks!!

in texas teachers get a cushy retirement. in my early 20s i worked for the state for 5 years, but cashed it in becuase i never anticipated working for the state again.

fast forward to age 46, career retrained as teacher, and now teaching for the state. buying back the 5 years will allow me to have the cushy retirement at age 65, instead of 70. if i don't buy back the years i will have to teach until i am 70. i also plan on buying an additional 5 years to have a beefier pension.

**never2late** · 08-02-2009, 07:38 PM

One of the things that helps me is that I know I get paid every 2 weeks, so I took a notebook and wrote in the date of every payday I will have for the upcoming months. I also know the due date or at least approximate for each bill I have, so I look at each month and write in which bills need to be paid under the corresponding payday date. That way when payday rolls around, I know everything listed under that particularly date has to be paid before anything else.

Another great help to you may be Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover book. I would suggest trying to get it through your local library.

**CouponShelle** · 08-02-2009, 08:08 PM

We were in the same boat, hubby was buying soda and snacks in between clients to "kill time". We moved to an allowance system at our house as well. You'd be amazed. We were spending approx $320 a month on groceries and he was spending an additional $130-$150 on snacks and soda over the month (other "small" debits as well). things were adding up but he didn't realize it until I went thru his statements and wrote it all down, added it up and showed him.

I agree with everyone, write down your bills, write down what you've spent in recent months if you can track it via your credit card statements and bank statements. I went back a whole year, when I added up the interest we were paying on the credit card, I thought I would be ill.

Fast forward one year (and one infant) later and we removed nearly $22,000 in debt last year. And we were in the same boat a year ago, lots of stuff going on credit just because we didn't think we had enough $$. We've paid off all but one credit card (approx $1300.00 left), his vehicle (which we'll pay off in 2010) and the house (ugh, the house...).

You can do this!!!!! It looks daunting on paper in the beginning but once you realize what you're up against, you can really start to knock that down in no time!!!! Can't wait to watch your progress

**MomToTwoBoys** · 08-04-2009, 11:19 AM

We're like many others who think they have enough leftover at the end of bill payments, but miscellaneous expenses keep eating up that amount. Our fix?

In our budget, there's a section for Miscellaneous expenses. When we enter the expenses into the Excel budget, there's a choice for just about everything... including Miscellaneous expenses. We have categories for Eating Out, Smokes, Gas, etc and even the Miscellaneous expenses are accountable. At the end of the entry line, there's a Comments section that we write on what the Miscellaneous expense is. We look at the month overall and see what we spent our money on for Miscellaneous expenses, then collectively discuss how we can reduce that amount even further.

It works but only if you're both on board to ensuring that the Miscellaneous expenses are actively being reduced.

If your DH is spending money on things that you really aren't budgeting for, that's his fault primarily.

Now that I have my Excel open, I'll show you how our Miscellaneous expenses goes:

TOTAL MISC EXPENSE $1,155.71 $808.97 $1,671.69 $1,466.90 $1,933.84 $1,828.23 $1,297.61 $0.00 - - - - $1,270.37

Each amount is how much we spent per month for Miscellaneous expenses. It varies because we have a variety of things coming up. However, the major things that come up as Miscellaneous expenses are things like my gym membership, medication, trips to Home Depot/Canadian Tire for the house, life insurance, hospitalization coverage (which we're ditching soon), clothing, hair cuts, etc. We also include birthdays in this as well, but lately the birthdays and other holidays are being covered with the slush fund and are being withdrawn from the savings account as necessary.

**Bournecrazy** · 08-04-2009, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by never2late

One of the things that helps me is that I know I get paid every 2 weeks, so I took a notebook and wrote in the date of every payday I will have for the upcoming months. I also know the due date or at least approximate for each bill I have, so I look at each month and write in which bills need to be paid under the corresponding payday date. That way when payday rolls around, I know everything listed under that particularly date has to be paid before anything else.

I too also do this, i put mine onto excel and under each pay period i put in all the bills that need paying and what i actually got paid and then put in some automatic sums that tell me how much i have left over to either save or use on other things