Hello and Budgeting!
22 posts
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Brandie 
770 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
Hello everyone!
Tonight dh and I will be planning next month’s budget.
This will be our first attempt at a budget in several years. We have prompted to do this out of necessity frankly and it’s sort of scary.
Last month we spent almost a paycheck more than we earned! :::gulp::: The scary thing is of course we are over on all those little itty bitty purchases that add up much faster than I think when I am making them!
So this next month will be very hard as we learn to curb spending. I will need all the encouragement I can get!
So, tell us about yourself – are you on a budget? Do you need to get on a budget? Are you a pro at sticking to a budget? Share share share! =)
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Holly
18 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
I read an article in the NY Times, last month I think, about a family that saved on the little things … lattes and lunches and all sorts of small things that add up and they ended up saving enough to put a down payment on a NYC apartment. Anyways, it wasn’t that the article was all about skimping, because it wasn’t. I came away incredibly inspired and feeling that I could save a lot and not really miss the things I was spending my money on. Thought you’d like to know about it because the <strong>gulps</strong> can be tough.
I’ll try to find it and post it here.
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MomToThree
5 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
I was just talking to a friend who was telling me that Quicken in really helpful for budgeting. She and her husband download their bank statements and credit card statements into their Quicken account and categorize everything so they can press a button and create a budget. One a vendor is categorized, the software remembers it. They realized that they were spending a TON of money on going out to eat, so much more than they ever realized, and they decided the best way they could cut back would be just to eat at home.
Haas anyone here used Quicken, and do you recommend it too?
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Holly
18 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
Aha—I found it. Here’s the article I mentioned. It’s called “Every Penny Counts” and here’s the link (I’ll put it on the Link List too) – http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/realestate/29cov.html?ex=1187928000&en=bad86944a5a09b77&ei=5070
Here’s how it starts off: “WHEN Janey Lee and Pablo Agüero were struggling freelance Web designers, buying an apartment in Manhattan seemed like a dream, one clouded by credit-card debt, student loans that had to be repaid and the bills for their wedding.
But now, five years later, they are about to move into a $445,000 two-bedroom condo in Hamilton Heights, in Upper Manhattan, with their 5-month-old daughter, Matilda. Their combined salaries of just over $100,000 qualified them for a mortgage, but it took a lot more for them to come up with the down payment.
In a city synonymous with luxury and spending, Ms. Lee, 30, and Mr. Agüero, 35, decided to do without.
They gave up smoking to cut costs, they stopped meeting friends after work for beers, they didn’t buy new clothes, and they stashed away tax refunds and as much of their earnings as possible. Whenever they wanted to buy drinks, gadgets or cookware, they asked each other: “Do I want an iPod or a house? Do I want a latte or a house?”
“It would be absurd for me to buy things when I wanted a place rather than a frying pan,” Ms. Lee said as she fed Matilda a post-nap bottle.
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AmyE
23 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
The smaller your income is when you start a budget, the easier it is to stick with it as your income grows. It also actually becomes fun once you realize that you can start putting more money toward the fun things in your budget. My husband and I used to spend $40 a week on groceries for the two of us. (Yes, our meals sucked). Now, our budget is more like $125-150 per week with three kids. We do go over if we have people over or there is a special occasion.
My husband managed our money (what little there was) when we first married. I was making $18K as an admin. I had a degree, but the economy was tight (1993) and it was my foot in the door of an international development firm. My husband had an unpaid internship. He got a real salaried job a few months later, but we were on a really tight budget to begin with. Also, we fought about money a lot, because since he managed it, I felt like I was asking him for money and since we were quite young, I felt it hadn’t been that long since I was asking my parents for money. I was busy with grad school and my full-time job and then a baby, so I just let him do the money. In my last semester of grad school, I quit my job to focus on finishing my my exams. I took over our money management to determine how long I could actually stay home before I had to go back to work.
I loved managing our money and it was much easier to deal with not being able to spend money on something if I was aware of where the money was going rather than my husband just telling me I couldn’t afford a new pair of jeans. He did a great job in that we actually bought a house and paid for daycare and still actually ate meat sometimes. He was thrilled to not manage the money anymore because it stressed him out. I still manage it and love doing it. I may be odd in this respect though.
The budget part is hard, but I don’t know how people manage without one. I hear people say how they are saving money by not buying lattes, but if you aren’t actually putting aside that money you saved into some other fund, then where is the money you saved? As part of our monthly budget, my husband and I each get $20 per week for lattes/lunch/whatever and we each get a certain amount each month for clothes/extras. This way, we have money we can use for ourselves where the other cannot say anything about it. I used to spend mine as fast as I got it, but my husband horded his and bought a boat, so I got better at not spending it all every month, so I could buy something bigger later.
You have to track your expenses for a few months before you get a real idea of what your budget can realistically be. If you make it too tight, it won’t work.
Ok….I could go on and on, so I better stop.
AmyF
www.sofiabean.com
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Brandie
770 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
Thanks everyone! My dh and I just started a Dave Ramsey course to figure all of this out.
The sad part is we <strong>thought</strong> we were doing okay until we put it all on paper! We were one of those “well, we are keeping track in our head and don’t need to write it down” couples. Um, yeah, after putting it on paper, we know we were NOT keeping track in our heads.
At least now we know. And we can be proactive about it – at this point we have very little debt and so I think with a few months of living tight and really keeping track of the money we are spending (and of course NOT in our heads anymore LOL!) we will be okay.
But it will be rough for a few months, and so it won’t be easy, but I have faith we’ll get through it!
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catyd
6 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
I know I shouldn’t buy lunch at work, but I always wind up doing it anyway! Any suggestions for quick and easy meals to prepare that I could stow away each night so I don’t wind up buying a $10 sandwich anyway?
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Piper
14 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
This is such a good conversation. I want to give a particular shout out to AmyE because you’ve really inspired me (and to Brandie for kicking this off!!). I like the idea of my husband and I each having a set amount that’s just ours each week to do with as we want. How amazing that your husband then bought a boat. It just goes to show that over time, the pennies really do add up, and these little day-to-day expenditures that don’t really mean anything to us can be such a waste. Thanks for helping me rethink my conversation with my husband and with my money!!!
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AmyE
23 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
Hey Piper,
Thank you. I love this topic because I think women can feel more empowered if they take control of their money. I will admit that my husband is better about sticking to the budget than I am, but I’m the one who has to figure out how to pay the Visa Bill every month and sometimes that means less money goes to our travel budget than I’d like. That’s my favorite category to budget for. I’ve heard some financial “gurus” tell you not to use credit cards, but I think it’s a great way to have all your expenses in one place (as long as you keep track as you go) and we earn miles, which is critical now that our third child is 2 and we have to pay for five airline tickets when we travel. We just got three free tickets for our trip for Thanksgiving.
Catyd, it is hard to come up with lunch stuff you really like, but I think my husband and I have maintained our weight over the years by not eating out for lunch every day. I work from home now, so I have other issues in terms of what i eat for lunch. Sandwiches are easiest, but they get old. However, they are better now than they were in our uber-tight budget phase…...pre-packaged boloney….yuck.
AmyF
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Brandie
770 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
Catyd … my dh likes to take left-over dinner to work for lunch.
Aside from that he likes to buy soup when it goes on sale and he stores a few of those at his desk just in case he changes his mind or something comes up.
I stay home and the kids and I usually have soup, sandwiches, mac n’ cheese, easy things like that.
I’ll ask my dh if he has any other ideas and let you know if he has any more!
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Brandie
770 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
Tracking expenses is where we are at right now! I am astonished at how much we spend now LOL! I will say not only are we seeing where the money goes, but I think I spend less when I have to write it down.
I am using the 30 day diary on this page to track it all http://www.crown.org/Library/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=263 because it has the categories all split up and I can see easily where most of our money goes!
Amy – I am curious how you feed the family of 5 on 125 a week for groceries though. We spent 800 last month and we’ve already hit 1,000 this month (although my 4 year is was put on a very strict diet and most of what she can eat is expensive so that’s where the big jump came in). I am going to see if I can get it back down to 800 next month though. We’ve found a rhythm with her diet and so I am hoping that will help a lot.
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AmyE
23 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
Hey Brandie,
I should have given you more info. We break our categories down into “Groceries for the week” which is actually just Sunday night to Thursday night. Our goal is $125, but it is usually closer to $150. Then we have a weekend category. Our weekend budget is $80-$100 and that covers either going out or buying groceries to eat in, so I guess our monthly food/going out combined is $800-$1000. I’m sorry about that. I may not be as good at this as I thought.
Tracking expenses regularly makes a huge difference. Even if you realize you went over for the week, you can get it under control. Or, if you realize you are under, you might get motivated to put a little aside for a night out (or go buy a nice bottle of wine to go with tonight’s dinner.).
When we did our weekly shopping for $40, we walked through the grocery store with a list and wrote down the price of everything and added it up as we went along. And we put things back. We ate a lot of pasta. And I’m a devout chocoholic, so we had to fit some goodies into the budget as well. And we knew by heart where all the happy hours with free food were. This is easier to work into your budget before kids and when you live in a city. We were in DC at the time. And when you have a taste for cheap Chilean wine. We never outgrew that actually.
There are some other websites or blogs where women have some great tips on saving money on grocery shopping. We have a system that works for us. I have a neighbor with five kids and she stays home and they still go on some great vacations, so I need to work up the nerve to ask her how they do it.
I guess my best tip was to have money budgeted for you and your spouse separate from family money. We call it the Bank of Amy and the Bank of Dan. It used to be the Bank of Dan’s Underwear Drawer because he horded his money in a birthday card he kept stashed in that drawer. Now he trusts me to manage it in our bank account. However, if I ever need cash for something in a hurry, I know I can find a few bucks in that drawer.
Even if you end up spending more than you wish on groceries and stupid things at Target or one too many lattes, if you just track your expenses you will spend less and actually save for more important things. I started my own business with money we saved.
AmyE
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Brandie
770 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
Thanks Amy for clarifying that.
I know some people are great with coupons – doing coupon chains and trades and collecting them all and doing the triple coupons and all that jazz.
I guess I want the coupon price without all that work LOL! Not to mention I’ve noticed our paper has steadily dropped the number of coupons they offer.
I once was told to make a 12 week menu because items go on sale roughly every 12 weeks so hopefully you can find what you need on sale (and hope it’s not perishable) during that 12 week period.
I suppose I should start with making a menu on a regular basis to get grocery spending under control.
I’ll get there, in baby steps LOL!
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AmyE
23 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
I used to do coupons, but then realized I was spending way too much time on them (when I was supposed to be studying for grad school classes) and I ended up buying things I wouldn’t have bought otherwise.
I may start going to Costco again though. My neighbor assures me I don’t have to buy four gallons of milk at a time and they carry some things that I end up buying every week for the girls’ lunches anyway. I used to go there for diapers for my gift boxes, but got sick of driving so far just for diapers.
I may pay attention to the 12-week schedule though and see how that works.
AmyE
www.sofiabean.com
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Brandie
770 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
Amy,
Can you and your neighbor go together and split things up? I’ve heard that is the best way to make those stores economical for most families. I haven’t found anyone who would be willing to do that with me, but as soon as I do, I would really like to try it out and see how it works!
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chaos
21 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
Brandie great idea about going together and splitting things up! AmyE please go to your neighbor and find out her vacation secret. I wanna know too.
Anybody have resources for eating healthy and spending less?
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AmyE
23 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
Chaos, my best tip for combining eating healthy and spending less is to bring your lunch to work. Even if what you bring is not a salad, a tuna sandwich you make at home with an apple on the side is better than a tuna sandwich that you buy at a restaurant and it’s cheaper too.
Farmers Markets are good places to get good produce cheap.
Other than that, I don’t know. Seems like the best places by us to get produce are pricey.
AmyE
www.sofiabean.com
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Brandie
770 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
I am having a hard time managing the healthy food and limiting the grocery budget myself!
For me what I am doing is saving on those things that I can and then spending more for the fruits/veggies/healthy things.
I am excited this week though, the Jewel did Buy 1 Get 1 free on the boneless, skinless chicken breast – which we eat at least once a week (sometimes more often). That will help the budget over the course of the next month. I will end up with 4 free packs and 4 paid for packs, spending about 8 per pack – so I will have spent roughly 32 dollars on chicken, but walked out with 64 dollars worth. I’m pretty pleased with myself (and also because I did such a good job of shopping that I had money left over in the grocery envelope to stock up on the all this chicken! =)
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AmyE
23 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
Brandie,
Now you sound like a budgeting geek like me. Congrats.
Chicken always seems expensive or at least lately. I make Turkey Picata (sp) with those turkey fillets. They are cheaper than the chicken breasts. I think they are just thinly sliced turkey breasts. We also use turkey sausage and ground turkey in place of ground beef for tacos and spaghetti. I got a great pasta recipe out of Real Simple. I’ll have to type it up. I can’t do it be heart yet. Eye of Round is actually pretty lean and you can get it pretty cheap.
If you have a couple of cheaper meals you can work into the rotation every week, then that helps. We really like tacos (even my 2-year old will eat the meat) and we make low-fat hot dogs and pierogies every couple of weeks as well. Frozen veggies go far as well. If you get really fresh lettuce, you can make that last all week. We found it is better to make smaller salads or they go to waste.
Ok…..my 2 cents or 50 cents…..
AmyE
AmyE
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Brandie
770 posts
Posted about 1 year ago
ROFL! Love your 50 cents Amy!
I tend to do crockpot chicken and then 1-2 nights later, we have tacos with shredded chicken (leftover from the crock pot of course!)
I am about to embark on some heavy duty meal planning this week, to get a system in place, start planning meals in advance and finding lots of recipes that can easily be doubled and frozen for those nights I can’t cook!
I was talking to my dh about all my “plans” and he politely withheld rolling his eyes but looked at me like I was nuts for wanting to do that much.
I think in the long run, we’ll eat healthier, save money at the store, and dinner will be more fun if we aren’t runnign around at hte least minute trying to plan.
Brandie
who is proud to be called a budgeting geek
LOL!
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Becki
734 posts
Posted 11 months ago
We HAVE a budget on the computer. We are not ON a budget in any formal sense of the word. Although we are doing okay financially, in that we meet all our bills every month and have a little saved, it makes me nervous not to know exactly where the money is going. Big purchases are easy to keep track of—it’s the little $5 splurges that get you every time.
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Brandie
770 posts
Posted 11 months ago
Becki, my dh and I switched to cash for that reason completely. The big things weren’t breaking us most months, it was all those little things that I threw in at the last minute since I was just going to charge anyway.
Now with cash, I am very conscious of what I am buying and how much it costs! And those small purchases have all but disappeared.
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