Advice on keeping a budget

[Dolly-Mama]

Unix and I have been having a habitual problem of over extending our budget. I am tired of trying to look the other way and want to fix the problem instead of trying go through damage control every 2 months. We are pretty behind on bills, and barely scraping by. I was wondering if you guys have any ideas on how not only to set up a budget but more importantly sticking to it. I have already thought of a couple ideas on how to help myself keep track and I am going to get it all set up this weekend when I have a free minute from the baby. Here is what I have so far.

1. I got an organizer to put my bills in and little tabs to label what day of the month they are due.

2. I got a dry erase board with a calender on it to mark what days bills are due on and also other things that need to be done.

3. I got the starter edition of Quicken to set up a budget and keep track of what is going on in the bank account.

If any of you have any other ideas I would greatly appreciate them and if any one knows how to make two people who like to order out and buy video games stick to our budget please please tell us!

[Iggy]

When I was recently divorced and on unemployment, I wrote down on the calender the days I got paid and how much. I put this is blue. Then I wrote in red the $ amounts of the bills and when they had to be sent, NOT the day they were due.

It was easy with the utilities, because I could take them in and pay in person. The rent and car insurance had to be mailed.

On the days that I knew I would probably put gas in the car- I wrote the average amount there in red. Then I subtracted the red from the blue and put the balance amount in green. That is the amount I could spend on groceries.

During that two years I did not buy new clothes, books, or anything that was not a most definite NEED. I bought clothes at Thrift stores, and got my books there too. Never spent more than $0.50 on a hardback! I got paperbacks from my co-workers. They never wanted them back, so I took them to the thrift store and traded them in on hardbacks!

Quite often I had to get food from the Church. By the way I paid tithing when I got each unemployment check. I also cleaned homes for two Sisters in the church, and I took any job that came along - no matter how short of duration it was to be. I also paid tithing on the cleaning and odd job incomes too. First and foremost- always.

I stopped buying bread, & noodles and made my own. Also I found out that I could barter fresh made bread for odd jobs done for me - new light switch installed, oil change on my car, tailoring done on clothes I got at thrift stores, gutters cleaned, firewood split and stacked, etc.

When you get food from the Church, you really don't get a lot of variety of fresh vegetables. NO salad makings, etc. I quit buying snacks, candy, ice cream, etc. That saved me a LOT of money! Then I grew my own salads. One huge bag of Steer Blend soil amendment cost $1.29- lay it down and slit it down the middle from end to end and then across the middle. Roll back the cut ends and plant your leaf lettuce starts. Then get an envelope of radish seeds and sprinkle some in the corner of the bag. Make sure you poke some holes in the bottom of the bag to let the excess water drain.

I put my soil in huge peat pots the store had tossed out. They were cracked and there were three jammed together and they could not get them apart.

I got them wet, then bounced them on the ground a couple of times. They came apart- with chunks missing across the top. Big deal - I cut it across the top to even it out. One pot was just 3 inches shorter, the other two were only half the height. I planted snow peas, carrots and cherry tomatoes in the tall pot. I did leaf lettuces and radishes, & cucumbers in the two half pots. My neighbor gave me three huge bags of bark rock that he didn't want to use. I used that in the bottom of the pots, then emptied the steer blend into the pots. Took 4 bags of steer blend. I had salad makings and plenty of cukes, radishes, snow peas, and carrots to last the season. That saved me loads of cash too. When you thin the radishes and carrots, use those thinnings in your salads or toss in a bowl of soup.

When you wash your laundry, make sure you have a full load. Not over full. If your machine is too full, it can not get your clothes clean. You waste soap that way. You can wash your whites with your pastel sheets if it will make a full load. Get your self a decent brand of liquid all color bleach. Also, don't use the "recommended" amount of detergent. The detergent companies are out to sell you soap, not save you money. Try using 3/4 of what the recommended amount is.

If you are allowed to, hang your laundry outside. I saved nearly $500.00 on my electric bill one summer by doing that. Living on the Central Oregon Coast I learned that you wash the heavy jeans and towels first. Hang them out before 10am, then you can do the perm press, sheets and then knickers and unnerwares. I had to get the jeans, towels, and flannel shirts off the line by 4:30 pm. That is when the fog would roll in and get them damp again. Generally, they were dry and I didn't have to worry about it.

When I had to iron, I did it outside. Why heat the house up? It was perfect outside and I could hang the ironed clothes back on the clothesline (on their hangers) and take them all in when I was done. They smelled wonderful, took less ironing too. The towels absorbed water better and were just rough enough to feel great when I dried off after a bath!

I do half, let the machine agitate a bit, stop the machine and then feel the water. Does it feel soapy to you? If so, you have enough. Same for liquid dish detergent. Actually, when I hand wash, I do not use a dish pan or fill the sink. I fill a 2 cup container with hot soapy water. I use a rubber spatula to scrape the left over food off of the dishes, then I wash them. Uses less water and less soap. Have a dishwasher- scrape the food off, do not pre-rinse or pre-wash. Fill the soap containers 3/4 full.

If you are on Church Welfare, their powdered all color bleach is the best I have ever found. Too bad you can not buy it in regular stores!

Another thing, before you buy any non-essential item, think long and hard about it. Whether it is a gallon of ice cream or a new dress that is marked down 40%. Will that gallon of ice cream make a healthy nutritious meal?

How about the dress? Are you really in need of that dress? Is it because it is 40% off? How much food will that money buy, or how much of a bill will it pay?

Rather than buy ice cream or Popsicles, buy kool-ade and real sugar. Go to the thrift store and hunt around until you find those Popsicle makers. Don't spend more than a buck for six of them either. OR go to the Dollar store and get them.

When you make the kool-ade, only use half the water and 3/4 cup sugar. I use 1 cup boiling hot water to dissolve the sugar and kool-ade, then add cold water to make 1 quart. Pour into the Popsicle molds and put in your freezer. Wait 24 hours or overnight, and you have popsicles. I don't buy kool-ade brand either, I buy the store knock-off. Cheaper!

Make your own lunches for school, work. Unless you can get the frozens for $1.00 or $1.50.

OKAY, guess this is a tome, rather than just a short hint.

[unixknight]

Lotsa great stuff in there, thanks!

Our problem isn't so much that we're living beyond our means per se, it's that we tend to not pay close attention to what's in the bank at any given moment and no matter how thrifty you are, that bites you in the bum every time. We can afford some little luxuries when we're not paying out hundreds in overlimit charges. Money management is our Achilles Heel.

[lilered]

Lotsa great stuff in there, thanks!

Our problem isn't so much that we're living beyond our means per se, it's that we tend to not pay close attention to what's in the bank at any given moment and no matter how thrifty you are, that bites you in the bum every time. We can afford some little luxuries when we're not paying out hundreds in overlimit charges. Money management is our Achilles Heel.

My advise is to install Quicken as quickly as possible and become familiar with it. Then use it for all your bill paying, etc. When you write checks (in Quicken), only write for the amount of the purchase. This way, you will begin to develop a record of exactly what things are costing you and where you spend your money. I would advise you decide on how much spending money you think you need and budget that amount. If you have some left over, cut back a little on the budget. If you start to go over, then you need to cut back on the spending and revise your budget downward.

Get in the habit of working on your budget a little each day and not wait until the end of the month to evaluate your spending. If you do not post and keep a good current record, the process will become to laborious and discouraging. IMHO

P.S. Buy one of Dave Ramseys books or listen to him on XM or radio. He is death on debt & credit cards and gives great advise.

[beefche]

Two things helped me with my budget. First and foremost was get out of debt. I read a lot of books from the library on the best way to get out of debt (the LDS church has info on this as well). I took a little from everyone to come up with a plan that worked for me (I used Dave Ramsey and Suzie Orman the most).

Then once that happened, I automated as many bills as possible. For the majority of my bills, I can choose the day for it to be taken from my checking account, which helped when I looked at other bills. My mortgage bill (the largest) is paid with the last check of the month. Therefore, I had most of my other bills taken from my first check of the month. That eliminated me having to worry about missed deadlines.

I'm not sure where you are in your financial quest, but just something to think about.

[Hemidakota]

Unix and I have been having a habitual problem of over extending our budget. I am tired of trying to look the other way and want to fix the problem instead of trying go through damage control every 2 months. We are pretty behind on bills, and barely scraping by. I was wondering if you guys have any ideas on how not only to set up a budget but more importantly sticking to it. I have already thought of a couple ideas on how to help myself keep track and I am going to get it all set up this weekend when I have a free minute from the baby. Here is what I have so far.

1. I got an organizer to put my bills in and little tabs to label what day of the month they are due.

2. I got a dry erase board with a calender on it to mark what days bills are due on and also other things that need to be done.

3. I got the starter edition of Quicken to set up a budget and keep track of what is going on in the bank account.

If any of you have any other ideas I would greatly appreciate them and if any one knows how to make two people who like to order out and buy video games stick to our budget please please tell us!

Being sincere, noting previous comments has answered your question, I am concern over your living day-to-day. Do you have Visiting Sisters and Home Teachers? Is the Bishop aware of your situation to ease this situation?

[unixknight]

Being sincere, noting previous comments has answered your question, I am concern over your living day-to-day. Do you have Visiting Sisters and Home Teachers? Is the Bishop aware of your situation to ease this situation?

We haven't discussed it with him, no.

[Hemidakota]

When I was in the Marine Corps and living aboard a military base, we made it a point to take care of those who were on tight budget, having financial problems, or simply large families, we would ensure they were taken care of.

There were times when we would take items from our pantry and fill a box and then proceed house-to-house, until the food box was overflowing. Our next stop was with the Home Teachers or Visiting Teachers to make that delivery for us. As a family, we were blessed by these actions in taking care of those who were less fortunate than our own family.

When you fill you cannot make it during that month, approach your HT or VT or Bishop. The church is here to help you.

[unixknight]

When I was in the Marine Corps and living aboard a military base, we made it a point to take care of those who were on tight budget, having financial problems, or simply large families, we would ensure they were taken care of.

There were times when we would take items from our pantry and fill a box and then proceed house-to-house, until the food box was overflowing. Our next stop was with the Home Teachers or Visiting Teachers to make that delivery for us. As a family, we were blessed by these actions in taking care of those who were less fortunate than our own family.

When you fill you cannot make it during that month, approach your HT or VT or Bishop. The church is here to help you.

Thanks for that. I think our hesitation comes from the fact that it's our lack of discipline that causes this more than any other factor, and it's hard to justify, in my mind, asking someone else to help me when I can't seem to get disciplined enough to do my part.

[LostInSpace]

This is what we do and it has worked wonders. Might not work for everyone but since you've asked :)

First, we pay off debt as fast as we can - don't go overboard on it but put extra on all debt every month. Paying off debt does not mean don't save anything. We got rid of credit cards completely (as in cut them up)

Second, stop letting bills come out of your bank account automagically. Never let bills go on credit card. Instead wait for the bill to come in the mail and pay it via online banking or write a cheque that same day. This is different from what I think most people do but it keeps the bills in my mind and I'm never surprised by the $ in the bank.

Third, my best budgets are made in a very simple spreadsheet. This is the budget plan.

Fourth, I use KMyMoney (Linux/KDE) but I suppose Quicken offers the same. Reconsile all your accounts every day. This is a must. The spreadsheet is the plan, the KMyMoney/Quicken is the fact. At then end of the month you can use this data to update your plan since when starting out most folk have no idea where money is really going.

Pay yourself first. (When/If I become a member Tithe first . Since we're single income I like to save a lot. In food stores or in cash etc. Once debt is paid off decide how much to save and put this somewhere safe. If you have trouble with money, put it into food stores. I also collect gold and silver bullion since it's hard to spend and is a safe store for cash. I tend to spend cash as well.

Also, more on KMyMoney/Quicken. I create different categories for things. Meat, Produce, Staples (Flour,rice,spuds, pasta), Fast Food, Junk Food, Restaurant, Work Lunch etc.. everything I can categorize I do. This really helps to see how much I can save by taking lunch to work and how much a quick stop at the 7-11 costs for those chips or choc bars etc.

Finally, develop a weekly meal plan. Groceries can be a huge cost and flying by the seat of your pants is not the best idea.

Hope at least some of these ideas can help you!

[pam]

I kept receipts for 2 months of EVERYTHING I spent money on. Even wrote down in my log money spent in a vending machine. I was somewhat surprised and shocked by how much money I spent on total junk. Things I just didn't need.

I have been working trying to get out of debt. It's hard, especially after going through a divorce. I haven't had a credit card in several years now which has helped.

Not saying I'm perfect...far from it...I have my credit issues still to deal with...but I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.

[MorningStar]

Back when I was really disciplined, I made menus for what we were going to eat every night and I bought all the ingredients to last for a week or two (I also would write on the menu "leftovers" every few days, then we could have a variety of whatever we had left) and this cut down on trips to the grocery store. I need milk frequently though, so I would stop at 7-11 or something because I don't have urges to do a lot of shopping there. Places like that usually have inexpensive milk as a lure to get you in there, so I take advantage of that. In our adult living class I took in high school (15 years ago), the teacher said for every minute you're in the grocery store, you spend $1.38 (something like that), which I don't know what it is now with inflation. The grocery stores keep the expensive, unhealthy food your kids beg for down low and healthy stuff on top and we were taught to just shop around the circumference of the store where the main needs are - dairy, meat, produce, etc. and avoid the areas in the middle. I think our food budget is the area we have the most potential to save. Do you toss food a lot? When you have a menu and you stick to it, you don't really have an excuse to toss food. You might also want to consider shopping once a week and not cram the fridge too full so you can see the food you have instead of having a funeral for your strawberries you forgot you had.

Also, grocery shopping online and having it delivered helps you avoid those extra purchases you make in the store and you can see exactly how much you're spending as you go. If it gets too high, you can remove items from your cart. I did it for a while with dial-up and it was a pain, but so nice to have someone drop off the food, then I wasn't too tired to put it away immediately. After our baby is born, I will probably start doing that again. Saves you on gas too even though there's a delivery charge. I tried to get a milk delivery service, but they refused to deliver to any apartments even though ours is very accessible. When we had our third son, our other two were 18 months and 4 years old, and going to the store just for milk was such a pain.

[Still_Small_Voice]

I like to keep things as simple as possible.

First, I avoid the word budget. It has a negative word association with it. I call it my "CASH FLOW PLAN." You want to have positive association with money.

I keep my cash flow plan very simple. You plan 10 percent of your money for tithing. Ten percent of your money for savings. Ten percent of your money you have fun with. Then you pay your bills with the remaining seventy percent.

Very simple. 10% Tithe, 10% Save, 10% for Fun, 70% to live off of.

My wife and I are now currently saving 12.4 percent of the money I bring home. Woo hoo! (Hopefully there won't be any more emergencies in the future to burn our money up with.)

[tefor]

Very simple. 10% Tithe, 10% Save, 10% for Fun, 70% to live off of.

I agree in principle--unfortunately, our basic living expenses come to about 150% of my take-home! (We're talking low income, folks.)

[KrazyKay]

Dolly-mama, you sound like me. My problem is remembering to pay the bills and remembering to write down in my check roster when I use the debit card or write a check, lol.

Since I've learned about online bill pay through my bank, it has helped a lot with remembering when I last payed the bills without having to look through the account summary. My bank's online bill pay will list the bills, the date they were last paid, and the amount I paid. So if for some reason I can't find the bill (which happens a lot with my disorganization), I can at least pay the same as the previous month.

There are too many times that if my head wasn't screwed on, I would lose it or forget it somewhere. I tend to be absented minded a lot.

Reading through some of these posts, I might try some of the suggests for keeping a cash flow... I like that better than saying budget :).

As for grocery shopping, I've been getting around $100 worth of food each week but only spending around $60 for all the food. I shop at Walmart for my groceries, I use the comparison shopping and coupons. For example, a few weeks ago at one of the other local grocery stores, they had boneless pork chops for 99 cents a pound, I took the ad with me into Walmart when I did my shopping, their boneless pork chops was 2.99 a pound, but because I had that ad, I got 2 lbs of pork chops for 99 cents a pound. So it cost me about $2 for the pork chops instead of $6. Then I had 4 extra dollars for something else that I otherwise wouldn't have gotten. I get most coupons from coupons.com

[RainofGold]

I am so bad sticking to budgets. I use checks to pay a lot and a lot of times forget to register them in the book until is too late and end up paying for non sufficient funds. I hate when that happens, but is so hard to break that habit

[Still_Small_Voice]

I agree in principle--unfortunately, our basic living expenses come to about 150% of my take-home! (We're talking low income, folks.)

Have you evaluated what you really need? Sometimes we equate cable television or Internet as a need when it isn't.

[Still_Small_Voice]

I am so bad sticking to budgets. I use checks to pay a lot and a lot of times forget to register them in the book until is too late and end up paying for non sufficient funds. I hate when that happens, but is so hard to break that habit

Start buying money orders to pay bills. I don't have a checking account because I had a very bad experience with a credit union that liked to just hand my money over to companies that I had no connection with.

[RainofGold]

Start buying money orders to pay bills. I don't have a checking account because I had a very bad experience with a credit union that liked to just hand my money over to companies that I had no connection with.

You're right I have tried buying money orders for a lot of the important bills and it seems that is a lot better than paying the bank all the extra money...

[Over43]

Pick up "One for the Money" by Elder Faust. I think you can get it from tour Bishop. It isn't big or complicated but full of excellent advice.

O43

[Over43]

Have you evaluated what you really need? Sometimes we equate cable television or Internet as a need when it isn't.

Cell phones?

O43

[unixknight]

Dolly-Mama and I have been kicking around and trying some of the solutions presented here. The common thread among all those solutions seems to be that we need to develop some kind of discipline. That's our weakness.

I've been seriously considering asking someone else to handle it for us. My mom used to work in accounting AND she's often the one who winds up helping us with extra money when we get mauled by overdraft fees. I was thinking of "hiring" her as an account manager of sorts, to basically handle our money for us and take a portion for herself to pay her back for all the times she's helped us out.

It seems stupid for a pair of grown adults to have to take a step like this, but I don't know what else to do and I'm tired of seeing money hemorrhaging from our account when it could have been used to pay down some of our debt or get saved for emergencies.

[unsteadyrock21]

I have used a budget since I was sixteen, and I find that once you give it time it will work. This is what I do. I manage my money instead of letting it manage me. I am a stay at home mom so budgets are very important. At the first of the month I set down with my excel program and make a little budget form. It includes when our pay periods are, what bills are due(who is the company or person, the amount and the date). We get paid every week so it makes it a little challenging, but I break my bills down into weeks. Once I have my bills written down, I add them up. That gives me a rough idea of how much our paycheck needs to be. Then once payday comes, I pay the bills for the week. Once the bills are paid I decide on what we are going to eat for the week and how much I will need for groceries, then gas, and blow money. I hope that doesn' sound confusing. I keep a calendar printed from word perfect in a binder, on the calendar I write down what we are going to be eating, that includes date nights, and football games. I write down bills, paydays, and other odds and ends. I try and keep it simple. You have to remember that a budget will most likely take three or four tries before it will work one-hundred percent. I also use envelopes. I put cash into the envelopes that I will need for the week. When the cash is gone, then I've spent all I can for that catagory. Its what my grandma did, and it works. I also pay our tithing very first no matter what. I don't look at if we can afford it I just pay it. I know that if I do that then things always work out. Plus plan for the expected unexpected situations like christmas, it's no news flash that christmas comes every year, or birthdays, anniversaries, car registration or property taxes. Then if you know an estimated amount of each catagory you can break that down into how much you will need to save each month.

And if debt is a problem just remember there are four necessities that have to be paid. That is your house payment or rent, food, electricity, and transportation. Aften those four things if you don't have enough to pay all the bills draw a line. Pay what you can this month, and then next month rotate those that got paid with those that didn't. It may seem like a sticky situation but you need your house, got to eat, and your car takes you to work. After that when ;you have no money there isn't much anyone can do. But be nice if you are in that situation kindly explain to the creditor that hey i have no money, wish i could pay you but i cant. You are below the line this month, but I would be glad to move you above the line next month depending on your attitude, that seems to always get their attention. Plus if you have no money they aren't going to do anything drastic, it would take too much of their time and money. Just work on one debt at a time. If you need andy details I would be glad to help. As I said I have been doing that kind of budget for six or seven years now, and it works if you give it a chance, well for that matter any budget will work if you give it a chance.

[Gwen]

Thanks for that. I think our hesitation comes from the fact that it's our lack of discipline that causes this more than any other factor, and it's hard to justify, in my mind, asking someone else to help me when I can't seem to get disciplined enough to do my part.

talking to the bishop may help you get the discipline. set up a plan that you think will work for you. one week at a time. then meet with the bishop (or someone else that you will feel equally accountable to) and share how the week went. if you do need urgent help and you've given the week 100% then he can make the call to help you out or not, can give another perspective on how to make the next week better, etc. having someone you have accountability to can be very helpful.

you mentioned your mom. if you have a relationship with her that it would work that's not a bad idea. she would probably rather have that money than the bank. if you would feel equally accountable to her as you do the bishop then that could work. two cautions come to mind with that. be careful it's not a way to show her how much help you really need so she will do the mom thing and offer help more (we all know how most mom's are). also will it hamper your relationship more (borrowing money always hampers a relationship) with her "telling" you what to do in your marriage. don't want to create tension there.