create and stick to a budget

alright…

i get paid on Wednesday & have to watch my money very carefully. i’m buying a car this week & i am taking a vacation out of the country in two weeks. that’s a lot of money. whew. i know i can do this. priorities…

i’m so fucking sick & tired of being broke all the time!

i need a new car or get my car fixed…i think i have $6 to my name right now? how is that possible?

i am in debt & have no savings. why do i put myself in this situation? it’s so stressful.

i am going to track all my spending until i get into the habit of spending wisely.

step 1: track spending & create budget sheet

So I’ve been using cash and I’ve been observing my spending more. Just doing that helps me cut down on expenses somewhat. I’m also trying to get a realistic spreadsheet together of what I spend each month. What I’d like to do next is set some clear, realistic savings goals, and take care of my saving before I start spending for the week. That always seems to work for me, if I can get a good system going.

Okay, so this one is blown, thanks to Tony’s layoff. I need to now create a whole new budget wherein I see just how dire our situation might possibly be.

Crikey!

Yep, and along with my goal to “Live Frugally, but Stylishly and Deliciously”. I’ve been spending money quite a bit lately.

This week, I at least took out cash, so I could see how fast I go through my money. But what i keep meaning to do is to sit down with my bank statement and figure out where it does go and where it should (and shouldn’t!) go.

I spent several hours on this goal today, doing some long-term forecasting. The amount of time it is going to take me to reach my savings goals is daunting. However, for the first time since Tony and I married, we are facing our financial concerns with an aggressive attitude. And that feels great.

Also, a side benefit is, I can predict approximately when I will reach my sub-goals and when I can plan to begin looking around for a newer car. This will give me something to cling to when I’m avoiding spending money I don’t really have and help me feel good about not impulse buying. If I have to live frugally, I can do it, providing I have that goal in my mind and in my soul.

We will do this. We will!

I’ve been saying for FOREVER, to EVERYONE, that Tony and I were going to start budgeting and stick to it. Really begin to address our goals and debts with a vengeance. But prior to Tony’s raise (Amen!) at work, I was plain scared to make a budget. Nothing like looking at the cold, hard truth…that you don’t make enough to live. When you can’t make your basic expenses, however modestly you try to live, you really don’t want to face that. Which doesn’t help you achieve your goals or embolden you to try and pull out of the abyss of debt. Tony’s raise was the boost we needed…screw the fear! We’re taking charge of our lives! I’m sick of avoiding the phone. I’m sick of worrying! I’m sick of borrowing from Peter to Pay Paul.

So I made a budget, based on his raise and me working part time. I was very thorough and didn’t shortchange our true needs. I also was able to include four savings goals and (dear lord!) a very reasonable amount of weekly personal spending money. What’s more, I did not include potential overtime in the budget, so if Tony gets a few hours here and there…
Bonus! I’ll actually know it’s free money, and that spending it doesn’t mean ignoring something else. Amazingly, all our needs can be met without me going back to work full time. So now I can stay at home with the baby for as long as I want! I even withdrew money for “emergency” cash for the month for both me and Tony to keep on us in sealed envelopes…just in case type money for an unforseen crisis while out and about. I also had enough money this week to seal a modest sum of cash in an envelope and hide it in the house for an unforseen, cash-needed crisis. I got that idea from my brother in law, who used to hide a couple $100 bills in the house. Because some time, you may just have an episode where the bank is closed and you can’t find your atm card or the area is out of power so atm’s and credit cards won’t run and you HAVE to get something. But you seal this in an envelope and agree that it is for a true crisis, not pizza delivery on a friday night. So it’s there…as a type of insurance in addition to your savings accounts.

I’m so excited. I think we’re making a turnaround.

right now, the most important aspect of fulfilling this goal is simply monitering where the hell all of my money goes. i picked up a passbook from the bank i use a few days ago, and plan on keeping track of all my purchases over the next few weeks. that will help give me a better idea of what my budget will actually look like! i’m hoping to have created and be sticking to my own budget within the next few weeks.

I have made my budget and it looks realistic.
i think if i really try i can stick to this. i need motivation though so if there are any kind words.
now would be nice to tell me

I finished my budget a few weeks back and I’ve been doing pretty well at sticking to it. It’s not really that hard when there aren’t a lot of things that you want to purchase. That was my big challenge – trying not to want new toys (especially computer equipment) to play with.