Julie in CA Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I've been doing a good budget each month since October. All of a sudden this month I JUST DON"T WANNA DO IT! {whine} Anyone else doing their budget today or tomorrow and just not finding it very fun? The newness has definitely worn off. Bleah, Julie :( p.s. I just have to stick to it for two more months, and my debt will be paid except for my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julpost Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I just signed up for his website and I haven't been visiting it because I kinda dread it. Thanks for reminding me, I'll try to get to it tonight. We have so much debt-you're so lucky to be almost out of it!! Congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*anj* Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Yes, I know the feeling. We started using Dave's plan in June and God willing, our consumer debt will be paid off by May. It's been a tough road, and yes, there are times when I wish we could just go buy whatever we like for a month. But then I remember that those were the Bad Old Days and I don't want to go back there. It's kind of like painting pictures of Egypt, you know? Anyway, maybe it's time for you guys to add a bit more fun money into the budget. Is it possible to do that? As Dave says "If you will live like no one else, you will live like no one else." Keep the vision, girl!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2jnb Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 We are starting our "Dave Budget" tomorrow. I drafted it all up then my "nerd" dh put it on a spread sheet in Excel. That will help to not "redo" it every month. We just have to fill in new numbers etc. I know it is tough. I personally have NEVER been on a budget in my life and I have to be honest. I dont' like that feeling of "control" it gives my dh. I want to live a good life but at the same time I am dreading the constant watch. I don't consider myself a big spender but with 2 full time kids home and 2 dss part time it is a hard thing to figure out. But, we could all be a support to one another...to know that in the end you will have no debt.......We have no "consumer debt". We are saving all of our money possible to buy my mother's house from her.....hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later...(thinking about 4 years or more). But, just keep up with the budget....you will be happy in the end...yes it sounds like the newness is wearing off but just think of how great it will be when you don't have a mortgage either...you will be thrilled with the newness of that..so, the newness of no consumer debt will give you a great feeling, then you will look forward to the newness of getting the mortgage paid off...super early. YOU GO GIRL Alison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basketmaker Amy Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I should be balancing my checkbook now and doing my budget! Thanks for the reminder! Hang in there...it is a great feeling to be debt-free (except for the house). We've been working on our 3-6 months savings...hopefully in a couple of months that will be behind us. You are not alone :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in CA Posted January 31, 2008 Author Share Posted January 31, 2008 I think maybe my discouragement stems from the fact that I just didn't make it in January. I used my cc for about $150. I can make it up from my money for February if I give up my $100 of "blow" money, skip my haircut ($35), and make up the other $15 from my grocery envelope. I also need $89 that I didn't budget for this month in order to get my ds in a math that I think will work better for him. My plan was to pay off the cc by March or April, and then save in May and June for school stuff for the fall. I wasn't planning on a mid-year curriculum change, but for my special needs ds, I think I have to do it now. I'm also a bit intimidated by the fact that I budgeted $100 per month for medical/dental copays, and I've ended up using that much and have not accummulated enough for us all to go to the dentist next month. Even though they'll let me pay over several months, it just feels like taking on more debt, kwim? Sorry for my bellyaching, I know many have it *so* much worse! We're doing great, and have abundance beyond what I ever expected. It's just a little rough learning to truly live within our means, even though our means are great. I don't know how I got used to living beyond what dh earns, especially since we have so much. It's one of those cases where when we were poor, I was a good manager, but now I'm out of practice. Pity party over, Julie :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 The #1 thing Dave talks about is cutting up the cards and not using them. I think I would definitely go there, and then if you have a true emergency, use money from your e-fund. We've been at this for nearly 2 years. We have only our house and second mortgage left, have $2500 saved (not enough yet, but we're building it much faster now), and have paid Lord knows how many medical and dental bills, car repairs, etc. Life continues to throw us curve balls, only now we can actually manage to deal with them and move on withOUT making more debt! My hubby has our budget input in an excel form as well, and each month we just fill in the numbers, including anything extra that will come in or go out, and it keeps a running tab of savings, dr fund, kids fund, etc. It gets a little annoying sometimes, but it is SO worth it! And yes, we did ours last night so dh could input it all at work today and bring my copy home. Each week, we write in what has been spent for the week and go over it together. The communication has done wonders for our marriage too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKinTX Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 p.s. I just have to stick to it for two more months, and my debt will be paid except for my house. WOW if that is the case, it will all be so worth it. Hang in there! Good for you. I was just talking to my husband about Dave Ramsey, because we REALLY REALLY need to get out of debt. We're paying so much on interest alone it's burying us. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.griff Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Denise, this is where we are too. I think I'll get a Dave Ramsey book from the library and do more reading on his site. We are getting a huge return deposited soon, but we are saving that to cover auto repair expenses and relocating expenses- then hopefully we'll be able to save $1000 of it and use the extra (please God let there be "extra") to pay down our debt. Julie, hang in there- you're almost there. Just take a deep breath and this too shall pass. I know it's discouraging to think you have it all figured out and then there's another bill or a bill is more than you expected, or the car breaks down, or something always seems to happen. Hugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Which Jennifer Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Go girl! Come on, it's only two more months and then think of the extra money you'll have for stuff you need. Chant with me, Two months, two months.... This, coming from the woman who just spent $60 on 2 swivel sweepers, which was not in the budget but deemed necessary for some unknown reason. So, you have set backs, but keep at it, and soon enough you'll find you're where you want to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKinTX Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Denise, this is where we are too. . I'm glad to know we're not alone, although that doesn't mean I am happy about your debt, you know? I hope you DO have extra from your return. We're counting a lot on ours, too, although it will only make a dent in what we owe. Blessings to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*anj* Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 The #1 thing Dave talks about is cutting up the cards and not using them. I think I would definitely go there, and then if you have a true emergency, use money from your e-fund. ITA with this. You won't regret it. It was really, really hard for me to do, because I liked my cards and also because so much of the conventional wisdom says that you "need" them, but I don't think you do. If you hold onto those cards you will end up using them every time you find yourself in that position. I can think of a few times in the past few months when I'd have pulled one of mine out if I could. But I am really learning to live on all cash. We cut back on our way of living in a drastic way. When this is all done we'll have paid off $20,000 in less than a year. You can do this, but it isn't easy, as you know. Dh put our budget onto an Excel spreadsheet as well, and we just change numbers monthly when necessary. You might want to go back over your main budget and reevaluate some of the allocations. Can you cut back on your "blow fund" to add more to the medical one? Can you put off the dentist visit for a couple of months? That way you can save up for the visit rather than paying over time and owing. I know what you mean about being thriftier back in your "poverty days." As our income increased, we became much more generous with ourselves and eventually we reached a point where we were spending more than we earned every single month. Oh well, that's enough of that. Press on!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.griff Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I'm glad to know we're not alone, although that doesn't mean I am happy about your debt, you know? I hope you DO have extra from your return. We're counting a lot on ours, too, although it will only make a dent in what we owe. Blessings to you! I know exactly what you mean. And ours will barely make a dent IF there is extra to pay towards our debt. I am trying really hard right now to figure out a frugal grocery budget, so maybe that will help us have more to pay down our debt throughout the year and then maybe next years return will be totally used for debt. Blessings to you too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*anj* Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Are you budgeters familiar with Laine's Letters? Laine and her husband wanted to become completely debt free, including their mortgage. When I first started reading her letters several years ago, they were just starting out on their journey. A year or so ago she announced that they were totally, 100% debt free. She homeschooled their three children and her husband doesn't earn much money (I'm pretty sure she said it was under $50,000.) Laine is exceedingly frugal. If you go looking around her site you'll find tons of frugal recipes and her letters cover various topics, many of which are connected to budgeting and frugal living. Here's a link to one entry on budgeting: http://www.lainesletters.com/letters/thebudget.html She is really my inspiration. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Me Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 You can do it, Julie!! Tell me what time you are working on your's tonight, and I'll work on mine at the same time! You know things always go faster when you do them with a friend!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in CA Posted January 31, 2008 Author Share Posted January 31, 2008 My dh is not truly on board. There, I said it. My dh is not truly on board. He runs our business, and I run our household (including budgeting). I've just plain overspent (just a little, but for a long time), and now I have to deal with it. I explained to my dh about Dave Ramsey, and dh has heard him once or twice, but my dh still is holding out on a few things. He refuses to get rid of the cc. He never *ever* uses it, but he wants us to have it. I'm ok with that, but it's hard to maintain the "never use it" while I juggle fixing the problem. I'm getting better. BUT... We have an emergency fund. We have plenty of money in the bank to pay this today, but my dh won't let me touch it, regardless of the reason, because he thinks if he bails me out I'll get in the hole again. Once $$ is in savings, he keeps it there. Now that I think about it, the reasonable thing for me to do is try to save up a separate $1000 emergency fund of cash that I can truly use for the unexpected expenses. The problem with is that he's having a hard time with my budgeting method, and is having trouble believing that I'm really going to follow through. If I take even one step backwards, I've failed (just like he knew I would, kwim?). On the first, I have him get the cash from the bank when he deposits the paycheck. The money is for these categories: groceries, haircuts, clothes, gifts, music lessons, and misc/blow. The rest is deposited to pay: medical, tithe, utilities, and snowball payoff. He complains, and generally fusses about getting cash, because he seems to think I'm going to lose it or something. Now, lest you think I've been so irresponsible that I've earned his distrust, the amount that I owe on credit cards is equal to 3 weeks of our income--while it's a nagging, constant debt, it should be payable. He just thinks I have no willpower to carry it through, and while he's not standing in my way, he will also be right there to notice if I can't fix this on my own. He's sounding not-so-nice, but *trust* me when I say this, he's a *really* good guy. The good news is that I just bit the bullet and figured out the budget for this month. I can pay off the money that I re-spent on the visa, and I can pay what I owe on the dentist for last time, so I can take the kids in soon. The fact remains, though, that I just didn't make it for January. It was definitely a go-backwards month. I'm disappointed in myself, but all I can do now is tighten the belt for the rest of this month. I have a few pressing expenses that I didn't budget for (appliance repair & college textbooks), and it's probably going to extend my payoff date an extra month. Thanks for the commiseration--I feel better somehow, knowing that I'm not alone in my budgeting woes. :o ~Julie~ p.s. Anyone else have a husband who isn't quite as thrilled with the cash system? I'm finding that the more I use cash, the better I do with sticking to my budget. He just doesn't see why I can't still use checks responsibly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in CA Posted January 31, 2008 Author Share Posted January 31, 2008 You're such a sweetie! Your post is the only thing that could make me regret the fact that I actually already bit the bullet and finished budgeting for this month. I'll be praying that yours goes well! Better than I deserve, Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profmom Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 We're big Dave Ramsey fans here too, and we use Mvelopes for budgeting. I've tried Excel and wanted something more automated. With Mvelopes, I've set up a standard (but editable) allocation for each pay check (two per month), and so it's quick to allocate dh's paycheck to the right budget categories/"envelopes" each time. (He is paid bi-weekly -- and so 2 months a year have a 3rd paycheck, but it handles this well too.) The leftover $$ in each category carries forward from month to month. The program downloads our transactions from the bank, which makes it easy to actually use the budget we've created (which was a big problem for me in the past). We replaced our Quicken with Mvelopes and feel we spend less time managing our money while doing a better job! Anyway, let me know if anyone would like more details. :) It's working so well for us that it's hard not to mention it when the subject of budgeting comes up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profmom Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Good for you, Julie! I have a friend using Excel for budgeting and another friend who uses cash envelopes. Both are very happy with their systems! When my friend who uses cash gets paid, she writes out all the bills and then withdraws the rest of the cash from the bank! Then she allocates it all to envelopes for different categories and divides them between her and her husband the way they've agreed. This would drive me nuts, but I can definitely see the appeal -- no record keeping once the cash has been divided into envelopes and a definite end to spending when the cash is gone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 When I need a boost to stay on track, I visit http://www.llnoe.com (living like no one else) for encouragement and advice. Those folks are Dave Ramsey pros. You have to register, but the site and advice is free--and quite generous. I had a month like that in January too. Something about Christmas drains me and I need some creative boosts to help me recover. At least for us in January, we always underspend our grocery money, so that can cover some of the splurges. :rolleyes: Getting rid of the CC and going cash and getting gazelle intense really makes a difference. Don't beat yourself up. Learn and move on. Every step you take is closer to being debt free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*anj* Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Good for you, Julie! I have a friend using Excel for budgeting and another friend who uses cash envelopes. Both are very happy with their systems! When my friend who uses cash gets paid, she writes out all the bills and then withdraws the rest of the cash from the bank! Then she allocates it all to envelopes for different categories and divides them between her and her husband the way they've agreed. This would drive me nuts, but I can definitely see the appeal -- no record keeping once the cash has been divided into envelopes and a definite end to spending when the cash is gone! This is exactly what we do. Dh has it all set up on the Excel sheet for recordkeeping. On payday he sets up the bills for payment, and then we put cash into a series of envelopes. We have children's clothing, adult's clothing, hair care, homeschooling, groceries, food co-op, dairy (we buy our milk from a farm), medical, gifts, tithing, gas, car care, household repairs, and maybe a couple more. We don't have to write down anything because the money is all right there. It took me awhile to get used to grabbing cash whenever I go out, but it totally works. For Christmas I got the wallet that Dave sells on his site and it is helpful, although now that I see how it works I think I could've made my own. Oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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