power of a budget

[jared521]

so im still new here. that being said. i started a envelope budget system just under a month ago. all my bills are paid up for the month. and were looking at 2 pay periods of nothing due. we have 321.00 going into envelopes a week. which includes food and spending money. so we are going to try to take 1k each week and put it on a credit card bill. for those two weeks. our net is ruffly 1360.00 a week. the only dilemma i see is my 14 y/o son needs school clothes. were thinking 350.00 for that. and to top it all of we sent citi card 600.00 yesterday. it is the first time ever we made a payment out of the blue like that. my wife and i are in shock. it almost brings tears to my eyes. we have been struggling for so long with finances. always making decisions based on bad information. our own lol. it wasnt until we started to listen to people who are doing good with money. did things start to change. we pray we can remain vigilant in our quest to become debt free.

[disneysteve]

That's awesome, Jared!

As you're already seeing, it doesn't take long to see dramatic results once you decide to become intentional with your money. Once you start being in control of your money rather than letting it control you, amazing things happen.

Keep it up and keep us posted. That debt will be gone before you know it.

[scfr]

Thank you so much for the update!Well done.
What a great feeling that must have been to send off that extra payment to citi.
Just imagine how great you'll feel when you are paying no more credit card interest!

[snafu]

Good on you! Making large, extra payments on CCs is very effective. Delighted to cheer your every step toward success.

[jared521]

thanks everyone for the encouragement. I have gotten so much information here. its so inspiring to read about how well some people do with there finances. we have been saying for years to each other. we make too much money to be this broke. who knew it was senseless spending. coupled with cc debt. although i believe i can only worry about where im going not where ive been. but at the same time be aware of mistakes ive already made and learn from them. thanks a million. lol hopefully

[jared521]

hello everyone, I just thought i would offer up an update. We were able to send citi card 1k last week. and feel great about that. And we plan on sending another 1000.00 this week. That will bring that account down to 600.00. which started at 3200.00. But after that we will be paying all our monthly bills for the next 2/3 weeks and do it all over again. we paid them in two weeks last month. so we will see how it goes. Although September is a 5 pay period month.On a side note. My wife found an old day planner from 2010. Which she used to manage our debt payments. Completly crazy 18-21 debt payments a month. I really dont know how she kept track of it all. I will see if i can figure out how to post a pic of it all...

[jared521]

Here we go

[james.hendrickson]

Jared - I just wanted to take a second to echo DisneySteve's comments. You are doing a great job and keep it up.

Also, are you guys using an electronic budget tracker? The paper ledger looked a bit confusing.

[jared521]

thanks james, that ledger was from 2011. now were down to 8 bills a month. I just wanted to show how crazy it was. We are finally starting to get to the other side of things. There is still a bit of work to do. But its starting to go much faster now. And yes we still do it on paper. Im kinda anti tech. no debit card just cash. And i still read the news paper. lol. Only on sundays thoughl.

[scfr]

That's some really great progress you are making! I'm sure you and your wife are both enjoying the benefits of reduced stress in your life as the number of payments goes down.

Don't worry about using a paper ledger. Some like electronic, some like paper. As long as what you are doing is what you like and it's working, that is all that matters.

As a word of advice, try to remember how good you feel right now. Eventually, there will almost certainly be setbacks (we all experience them), so use your memories of how you feel right now to quickly get yourself back on track. Onward!

[snafu]

jared, kudos to you and wife for reducing the number of accounts and bring down debt so quickly. With September a 5 payday month, are you willing to stretch out a bit with future planning?
I hope you can confirm you've taken care of the family with a Will, an ADVANCE CARE DIRECTIVE, and LIVING REVOKABLE TRUST. These three documents are incredibly important protection for your family. You do not necessarily need a lawyer, printable forms are available on-line or buy a kit at a stationary like Staples. Keep it simple using words like 'current residence, current vehicle, current insurance, current bank accounts, current health provider etc. Get it done, have the signatures witnessed at your bank; a Commissioner of Oaths is nice but not a necessity. Make copies so that wife knows location of all important documents.

Important documents: I can't even find the words to explain how important it is to gather up all the important documents affecting your life. You will find a list on a site like www.suzieorman.com for example. It's helpful to corral them all in a 3 ring binder stuffed with page protectors. It becomes a 'grab and go in an emergency. [we had less than 30 minutes to evacuate when a train derailed with dangerous fumes] I keep $ 100. in smaller bills in the binder as credit cards are useless if electricity goes down.

Finally, what are your irregular or quarterly bills? Are they included in your envelop, budget system? [car insurance/registration/licence tags, driver's licences, home/rental insurance, auto maintenance, son's school events, Charity/donation/Religious tithe /Birthday celebrations/ Halloween Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years/Valentines/Easter/Mother's & Father's day etc] How do you like to handle the category of Gifts?

You're doing a terrific job of managing money and giving every dollar a job. I hope you are giving yourself a reward.

[jared521]

well its been a week. And i thought i would offer up an update. week 2 of no bills due. Nothing at all. although i am still in disbelief about that. Spending was pretty good. Just a few coffees. One problem i had was i woke up late for work on Thursday. And had to run right out the door for work. I deliver beer and liquor in the Boston ma area. And you pick your run based on seniority. And if your late you get picked over. lets just say if you cant get there on time. You call in sick. But anyways i didn't have time to pack a lunch or anything to drink. So i ended up spending 15.00 dollars at work that day. Its quite hot this time of year. But it did come out of my spending budget.
We did end up with almost 1100.00 from our checks. After we funded the envelopes. Our plan was to send another 1k to citi card. But my wife had an aunt who passed away the other day. And she took our 14 y/o son clothes shopping tonight. Although we had 200.00 budgeted for school wear. We'll have to wait and see how they do. So the finial decision is to wait till mid week and send whatever is available. I really hope its around 900.00. That will put us at 2500.00 to citi this month leaving around 700.00 due.
So our plan is to pay all our bills in advance in the first couple of weeks in September. In anticipation of having 2 weeks again for heavy debt repayment. It just feels great sending big chunks of money to a credit card balance . Also being able to see the balance drop a lot all at once.

[jared521]

[QUOTE=snafu;435989]jared, kudos to you and wife for reducing the number of accounts and bring down debt so quickly. With September a 5 payday month, are you willing to stretch out a bit with future planning?
I hope you can confirm you've taken care of the family with a Will, an ADVANCE CARE DIRECTIVE, and LIVING REVOKABLE TRUST. These three documents are incredibly important protection for your family. You do not necessarily need a lawyer, printable forms are available on-line or buy a kit at a stationary like Staples. Keep it simple using words like 'current residence, current vehicle, current insurance, current bank accounts, current health provider etc. Get it done, have the signatures witnessed at your bank; a Commissioner of Oaths is nice but not a necessity. Make copies so that wife knows location of all important documents.

Important documents: I can't even find the words to explain how important it is to gather up all the important documents affecting your life. You will find a list on a site like www.suzieorman.com for example. It's helpful to corral them all in a 3 ring binder stuffed with page protectors. It becomes a 'grab and go in an emergency. [we had less than 30 minutes to evacuate when a train derailed with dangerous fumes] I keep $ 100. in smaller bills in the binder as credit cards are useless if electricity goes down.

Finally, what are your irregular or quarterly bills? Are they included in your envelop, budget system? [car insurance/registration/licence tags, driver's licences, home/rental insurance, auto maintenance, son's school events, Charity/donation/Religious tithe /Birthday celebrations/ Halloween Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years/Valentines/Easter/Mother's & Father's day etc] How do you like to handle the category of Gifts?

You're doing a terrific job of managing money and giving every dollar a job. I hope you are giving yourself a reward.[/QUOT



well im sorry to say i dont have any of those important documents. they have been in the back of my mind. and on the list of things to do. I'll post my envelopes
camping 20.00
cats 15.00 dont laugh...
car maintenance 23.00 tags,reg,light maintenance and inspection stickers
gifts 25.00
house goods 5.00 kitchen towels ect.
entertainment 15.00
food 88.00 a work in progress.
clothing 22.00
these are a weekly goal. No our quarterly bills are not included the water bill was 152.00 last quarter.

[scfr]

So it sounds like the citi card may be 0 balance sometime in September? That is terrific!

If I were in your shoes, I would have done the same thing on the day you overslept - getting to work on time is much more important than packing a lunch. At least it came out of your spending budget, so it's not the end of the world. I'm not a rise-and-shine-all-happy in the morning person so I have to set 2 alarms, and I keep some lunch stuff on hand that I can literally grab & go.

Keep up the good work! Hope the back to school shopping trip went well.

[Nutria]

we have been saying for years to each other. we make too much money to be this broke. who knew it was senseless spending. coupled with cc debt.

I know this is an old thread, but that's exactly where we were in Deb 2012. Finally got them paid off after paying attention to where our money was actually going, getting disciplined and cutting out the waste.