I am on a good start but....

[mea772]

I feel like I am a bit against the wall again.

I have been doing so many things right but I am not really getting on to "budgeting" yet!

You see...there are so many ways people budget their money and I am not sure what would work for me.

I really want to do the envelope system. But how? Each check that we get isn't enough to put in every envelope so how would I even start this?

I have written down in my calendar what needs to be paid but just because I had enough out of our last check (we get paid every 2 wks), doesn't mean we will have enough out of the next one...so on and so on.

In my mind, I am saying to myself...pay the bills that need to be paid, take out a certain amount of money for gas and food and a little for something that I am not remembering (sigh)...put that aside...then put the remainder of the money away to put towards what needs to be paid next time. Sounds good to me but for some reason I just don't know how to get it really started or if that really is the way it would work.

And again...that really isn't helping me get to the envelope system.

Our goal: To put "x" amount of money in several envelopes. We will keep what we need in the checking account that will cover any of our bills (Consumer Credit Counseling, old doctor bills, electric, etc). After everything is in envelopes and put towards bills, we want to put the remainder in a savings account.

Can anyone PLEASE help us obtain that goal??? Any advice???

[justpeachy92]

I don't do the envelope system and don't really know much about it. What I do is add up my fixed expenses (I round these up)every month, divide that number by the number of paychecks each month. The answer is how much goes in the checking account to cover bills. I put 3% of what is left in the savings account, the rest is what we have for groceries, gas, entertainment and anything else we want to do that week. For example my bills rounded up come to $1850 a month, when we have 4 paychecks I need to put $462.50 ( I round this up to $500) a week into checking. For bills like electric that vary month to month my budget allows for the highest electric bill we have every had.

[Its_Donna]

justpeachy has an excellent way of doing it! mea772 jut don't forget to start an emergency fund. IMHO that EF is so important.

[Ani]

The key for me would be to look ahead. I would gather all of my bills and determine what day they are due each month. Bills do not come by surprise, they follow a schedule. Once I've figured that out, I'd figure out the bare bones of what I expect to be paid for the next 3 - 6 months (I do it 3 months at a time, you may want to do it even further out because you're scared of not getting everything paid). If you know those two things, it shouldn't be too difficult to decide what needs to be paid with which check.

For me, the envelope system comes in handy in budgeting non-fixed expenses (not bills). Groceries, entertainment, pet care, health & beauty, gifts etc. Using envelopes for other bills is really not too necessary. It's not like you can accidentally overspend on your mortgage and have to pull from your electricity envelope. It's the variable expenses that get us (well, at least, that get me).

If you'd like, I can post my "rolling budget" (as I call it) to illustrate what I mean by planning what will be paid with what check.

I hope you get this all sorted out. I can tell that you're trying so hard, but all of this is just so confusing. *hugs you*

[DAAC3DEC]

justpeachy has an excellent way of doing it! mea772 jut don't forget to start an emergency fund. IMHO that EF is so important.

I TOTALLY AGREE!!! SINCE I AM NEW AS WELL THAT WAS THE CONSENSOUS FROM EVERYONE TO START ONE, AND THANK GOD I DID--THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS COUPLED WITH A STUPID PIECE OF CRAP TRUCK WOULD HAVE DONE ME IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Momof4cats]

I get paid twice a month at one job and every two weeks at the other. That works fine right now because my paydays are right beside each other, but it gets a bit more confusing when I’m paid at one job one week and the other job the next. But this is my system.

I figured out what I want to spend for gas, food, and such each payday. Then I looked at the due dates on the bills. The ones that are due the middle of the month, I schedule to pay with the end of the month check. For example, my Visa bill is due 10-17. I’ll pay it with the check I’m getting tomorrow. The phone bill is due 10-26; I’ll pay it the middle of the month. That way, I’m always sending the payment in 10-14 days ahead of time, so no late charges. Then I put the amounts I'm allowing for the food and such in their individual envelopes.

I have a spreadsheet in Excel that has my checks each pay period already plugged in, but I do have to adjust it some because one job pays hourly and the hours vary. I just lowballed my calculation to figure my budget, so anything over that amount is just gravy to add to savings or toward debt reduction.

I guess you could say my system is set up more on cash flow and due dates.

[changed4life]

I don't use envelopes. I use two separate checking accounts with debit cards. I can use the cards because I find I have willpower with the spending and I like tracking things with records. I can go online and see in a flash where I spent without having to go through tons of receipts.

One checking account is for fixed bills only. Mortgage, insurances, utilities, food, etc.

The other is funded for miscellaneous extras like haircuts, clothing, lawn care, pool care, and such. It's also for those treats like a small purchase from a home demonstration, an occasional nail appointment or massage, lunches/dinners out, etc. This way, my money for my bills is ALWAYS available. No dipping into it allowed for anything other than bills.

Keeping it separate helps me to keep focused on where and when I can spend on other things.

I pay ourselves at the end of the month. EF is almost fully funded. What's left goes in DD's college fund and household savings.

It works for me.

[cdmom]

mea772, check out this article. See link below. It explains how to create a zero based budget. I am personally trying this method in October. Hope I have good results. I agree with you that budgeting is difficult. Especially if there is more month than money!

http://www.ncnblog.com/2005/08/18/simple-simple-simple/

[mea772]

cdmom, thanks for that link. I don't know if it is because I only had 4 hours of sleep or what but to me it sounds like it wouldn't work unless you have the monies in those accounts when you get started

I sure wish I could get all my creditors to skip a month of payments so I can put the correct amount of money in each category first LOL...sure would make things easier on me LOL

Anyways, if I am not reading that right, please explain it to me again...maybe by that time I will have woken up a bit more LOL

Ani, the more samples of the ways people budget their money the better! I would love to see yours!

Yes, I definately want to put money into an emergency fund. My husband had to take 2 months off of work (I think I said this already LOL)...it sure hit us hard. Wish I had had an emergency fund back then!

[tammy88]

well mine was hit or miss till recently because my husband finally got back to a every week paycheck thats the same everyweek and finally more money.

This is what i do: (im not sure how efficent it is yet = )
1) spread sheet for the month
september EXAMPLE
House hold bills
Rent $$ Due Date Paid on
Electric $$ Due Date Paid on
Water
Debt bills
CC 1 $$ Due Date Paid on PIF balance
medical Same Same

Budget 09/14 09/21 09/28
Income
groceries
gas
blah
blah

then i plan on paper who is getting paid when and i have envelopes made out for every friday with the date and i have a sticky note inside saying who is getting paid that week, and i even make up the envelopes that can be mailed out and put them in there so they are already made and ready to go and i cant change it. i also automatically pay ourselfs $50.00 a week for savings. the rest is for us, groceries, gas, and spending. i didnt want to leave us with out any spending money because i myself and my husband would feel deprived of the money he works so hard for.

start out small, most companies dont freak out if you skip a month to get your self in gear, especially if you call them and notify them or make arrangements for due dates and amounts. i also know that paying things off feels better, but so does having a little money so on my medical bills i send just a little like 15-30.00 per bill depending on how big it is and will slowly pay them off and not starve myself in the process.

i have also planned my bills throught jan 2008. one because its easier to have a plan and 2 im about to have a baby and if i am hospitallized again i want my husband to be able to pay bills and have an easy set up for him or whoever might need to step in.

i know my way probably isnt the best but you gotta find what works with you and your lifestyle.

[mea772]

Thanks Tammy!

I think I figured out why I cannot get this darn thing started....

You see...today I put together a budget. Pammy PM'ed me how she has done hers so I wanted to give it a try. Her way (in brief) was to make to columns...one for bills that need to be paid by the 1st and the other for bills to be paid by the 15th. Easy enough!

Well, I did this and it looks like this way can definately work but the problem is...because I am behind on several things I am having to pay them out of the wrong checks!

For example...when we get paid next week...our total might be around $1850...we have about $2400 in bills that need to be sent out (this also includes gas, food, childcare...)

I have no idea how we can do that!!!

I am going to start another post about something that might help us tho!

[tammy88]

mea

out of that 2400.00 would you lose anything if you didnt pay it this month? can you skip anything until next month when you have a fresh start. i know you said you were behind but if they are things that they cant take away from you another month wont hurt (i dont think) , utilites will sometimes work with you too.

[mea772]

Unfortunately it is us catching up on our mortgage...the payment next week will be for September. We owe the guy for hay $225...he held the check for a week...we would not feel right asking him to hold it for another 2 wks. We owe for our 2nd mortgage...it has to be paid, our phone bill but I think I can get them to wait 2 wks. Our truck lease is another and that payment will just be August (my husband said he is going to call them...we would only be 2 months behind tho, I think, so I don't think they can take our truck...he is going to see if they will wait again...I don't think they will tho). By the way...3 more payments on that truck and we can turn it in! yay!!! That will save us $420 month!

We really are screwed tho, to be honest. We have $30 in the bank right now...I had to put gas in my car and we had to buy goat feed. I need money for gas for the rest of the week, money for milk, etc. UGHHH

I pray that a settlement happens early next week...which I doubt LOL)...see my other thread regarding this!