wot a silly-billy

**she who can not cook** · 01-07-2007, 01:35 PM

I have been have trouble budgeting..... i run out of money at the end of the month. So

me could not join you all on your monthly challenges . Today i was in a forum reading some posts on BUDGETS and NOW know whats up LOL my monthly budget is for FOUR weeks BUT i go shopping twice weekly thurs and sun and each month has extra shopping days for me (NOT FEB) ha ha ....... wot do you guys do

**Jill B.** · 01-07-2007, 04:39 PM

You are not stupid!!! Just learning how to budget! (Although, I agree, I often feel stupid on the journey to budget harmony) I have been budgeting for a year and a half. Some months are good, some are terrible, still.

I have the same problem as you do. I go shopping on Fridays and I have $400 a month in the food budget. Sometimes there are 5 Fridays in the month. Whoops! Also, My DH gets paid on the 15th and last day of the month. I get paid every 2 weeks. Headaches because it is hard to work my paychecks into the budget correctly.

Just plug away at it and ask here. You will get help for sure!

**nuisance26** · 01-07-2007, 05:08 PM

~Personally, I budget for the month and shop whenever I have a compelling list of needs or the sales are just too good to pass up. That could be twice a week or once every 10 days; depends. It's been my experience that if I set a day to shop every week I end up spending much much more. Maybe you could start by shopping only once a week or when your list reaches 10 items. It's also possible that your budget is unrealistically low. Join in the challenges anyway! It's a great way to keep track of the changes you make to get your budget running smoothly!~

**she who can not cook** · 01-08-2007, 02:08 PM

thank you both i have been thinking of maybe a five week month if that makes sense one of my faults is buying reduced to clear items just can not leave them alone lol

**kabin63** · 01-08-2007, 06:56 PM

I guess I don't look at it in terms of how many weeks a month. for me it's just an allotted amount every two weeks. That being said, I was just thinking about shopping, whether it is bi weekly, which I do, or not, there are still only 52 weeks a year. With bi weekly shopping it all works out in the end, because it's only 26 days a year. Of course I have trips in between, but just another way to look at it.

**ewokgirl** · 01-08-2007, 11:06 PM

I'm not entirely certain I'm understanding your problem with shopping days. Is it that you've been spending a certain amount each time you go, and that's wound up being too much?

My month is divided in two, since my DH gets paid every two weeks. I have certain bills I pay first half of the month, and the rest are paid second half. I have a general idea at all times exactly how much money I have to spend.

Maybe instead of just automatically shopping on certain days, you could try just going when you actually need something. And don't walk into a store looking for sales once you're in there. Watch for sales in advance, and only on things you need, then go to stock up. I receive the daily newspaper, so that's how I tend to know what's on sale and when.

If you need to, switch to the envelope system. Say you have $200/month allocated for groceries. You stick that money in an envelope, and you only use that money when you're at the store. When you see the amount dwindling, it'll really make you think about your purchases and just how necessary they are.

**Marie78** · 01-09-2007, 12:03 AM

I know that for me, budgeting is an ongoing process. I am always revisiting it to see where I can pinch some more pennies. As for running out of money at the end of the month, this rarely happens anymore. For the last year I have kept an expense journal. I write down how much all of my bills are and then I alot money for groceries and gas for the car. I figure out when my money will be coming in and what I need to pay in each pay period so that all of my bills are on time. It would be nice to be able to pay all of my bills at the beginning of the month, living paycheck to paycheck makes that extremely difficult though. So I have found that keeping an expense journal and revisiting it a few times a month, to make sure I am on track with bills and staying within my budget, helps me.

Like I said in the beginning though, budgeting seems to be an ongoing process for me and I hope to have it mastered in my lifetime

**Libby** · 01-09-2007, 01:59 AM

Since I have managed to climb out of debt - with great help from this site no doubt! - I had taken a hiatus - buy what I need, a few simple and small wants. But since Christmas and New Years was pre-budgeted and saved for ahead I was able to do this.

For now - Jan/07 - I am back to budgeting, tracking down each penny I have to spend and save. Every two weeks when I get paid, I do a breakdown, how much do I need to put aside for gas, spending, groceries, savings etc and how much do I need extra to put aside for any other 'events' going on for the week.

It keeps me down to earth and always on track with spending. Some friends even went as far as to call me anal retentive about it. But hey its what works for me.

I just treat it like Im living paycheque to paycheque. Hope that helps?

**tigo** · 01-09-2007, 11:07 AM

My problem was buying things not on my shopping list. Now I have a menu in place and unless there are great loss leaders, I only buy what is on the list (most the time). I just need to get in, get the necessities and get out and not hover near the olive bar - lol.

**she who can not cook** · 01-09-2007, 03:11 PM

Originally Posted by ewokgirl

I'm not entirely certain I'm understanding your problem with shopping days. Is it that you've been spending a certain amount each time you go, and that's wound up being too much?

Maybe instead of just automatically shopping on certain days, you could try just going when you actually need something. And don't walk into a store looking for sales once you're in there. Watch for sales in advance, and only on things you need, then go to stock up. I receive the daily newspaper, so that's how I tend to know what's on sale and when.

If you need to, switch to the envelope system. Say you have $200/month allocated for groceries. You stick that money in an envelope, and you only use that money when you're at the store. When you see the amount dwindling, it'll really make you think about your purchases and just how necessary they are.

yep ewokgirl its thur and sun my days off , so i go shopping, so my prob is some months have a extra sun or thur so i just go shopping again ...opppss . i also work in a shopping arndale with a supermarket four doors way each lunch hour i look at the reduced (BUT DONT JUST LOOK HA HA)