NBR - Budget anyone?

narcissticbeaut

So in an effort to get out of debt, and be able to afford our own place, I've been reading Dave Ramseys Total Money Makeover, and I've created a BUDGET! agh!!!

Ive never had a budget. Im an emotional shopper. and a bored shopper. With Target and Amazon being my drugs of choice when i feel like buying something new. Well i need to quit those bad habits out. 

 I've always had an income that was unpredictable (server/bartender so Tips) and a budget just wasn't easy to do. Well now that income is steady, I have a very strict budget now. right now I'm focusing on paying off all my debt (which isn't a crazy amount if you don't count my car) and i should be able to have most of my credit card debt paid by the end of the year. 

But man is it hard! I already went over my grocery budget for the week by $30. So next week I'm going to have to get creative with the food in the freezer to make up that $30. 

Do any of you budget? how do you do it? Do you have any tips for an over spender like me?

rachaelmary

I try...

We have a spreadsheet that we input every thing we spend per month on (groceries, dog stuff, gifts, cable, etc), and it tracks at the end of the month if we were positive or negative for the month. We are bad though and haven't used it in a very long time though.

I also only allow myself $100/2 weeks for "entertainment"...so that includes coffee, take out, if I want to buy some clothes, etc. I used to be really strict with this and saved lots of money, but since lo I've slacked and become a bored shopper (still on mat leave until feb)...I need to get back on track!

Fullerj21

We are also on a budget. I have found that strict meal planning before going grocery shopping will help me stay within our budget. Really plan your dinners for each night of the week as well as lunches, snacks, etc. this helps us save money by limiting going out to eat because we don't have a plan. Also look in store for deals and coupons beforehand.

I know being on a budget isn't a ton of fun but paying off your debt will be rewarding. Good luck!

narcissticbeaut

@fullerj21 thanks. i need to coupon. i used to do it but haven't in years. i guess ill be getting the paper on sunday! 

@rachaelmary see this first month i didn't even allow myself any entertainment money which is bad. But i felt i needed to be super strict on myself and once i learn some self control, then ill open it up for some spending money for me and not just money for LO. but i gave myself $80/month to spend on LOs clothes and toys and whatnot. so looks like ill be spending vicariously through him lol

narcissticbeaut

@katybriggs i wish! same here. which sucks. the BF and i share money but we keep our money separate. like, hell pay for this i pay for that. but he refuses to get a joint account for whatever reason.

so i put myself on a budget. so i sat him down and told him I'm contributing $40/2 weeks for gas in my car, and $100/2weeks for groceries. if he wants to eat out then he's going to pay, etc. he didn't like the idea but he also doesn't think ill make it past this first week with my budget.

I'm hoping once he sees me paying off my debts hell come around and want to pay off his debts too and get on board with the budget. but if not, then my budget can only go so far

JackieP1023

We don't 'budget' necessarily, but we track where our money goes. Simply tracking has helped us cut down on lots of extras. I meal plan & grocery shop from a list, which saves us quite a bit. We rarely eat out, and have minimal entertainment expenses (but we do have satellite + smart phones, so that 's our 'entertainment' money)

Unknown

This content has been removed.

Karlamo

I LOVE budgeting!!!  We used to be great at budgeting, but have fallen astray once we had R.  We're geting back on track now. 

Our budgeting method is we combine our money and break down which paycheck(s) pay for which bills.  That is fixed every month and only varies if there is a unexpected bill that comes up we need to address.  We also have 4/5 checking accounts each serving a specific purpose. 

  We set aside $100/week for food and make almost all meals from scratch which saves a ton.  I actually shop at Whole Foods because it SAVES me money.  I can buy only the amount I need for recipes instead of buying a bag of rice, I buy just the 1 cup I need for the recipe:P

We set aside a specfic amount for "spending" money every month.  This includes entertainment, house projects, birthday gifts and LO stuff, etc.  At the start of the month we plan out what things we'll buy with that money.  For example for Oct spending money I already know we need wall paper for the dining room, LO needs a walker and we're going to SF. 

Our biggest line item in our budget besides the mortgage is money we put in savings.  I'm obsessed with saving money and have a certain amount I must save every month.  I even do "projections" of where I want us to be in 6 months, next year etc. 

It's not a perfect system,  but we are constantly tweaking it.

 

narcissticbeaut

@broccolisgirl yay for hospital being paid off!! i lucked out with not having a hospital bill. my SIL is still paying hers off too and she had the baby in january. 

JackieP1023

I am down to 2 payments on my hospital bill, but we paid the RE bill off a month or two ago! It sucks feeling like we never have any 'spare' money for fun things, but totally worth it to get the 'I just paid this bill OFF!' high!

emar129

Like many PPs have said, meal plan! I check to see what's on sale and go from there. I use coupons.com a lot for the grocery store. I also get a lot of cheap stuff from target and use cartwheel, their coupons, and mobile coupons for their market pantry brand. I stock up if I can afford to when things are cheap. I love couponing!

Also, spreadsheets or using cash in an envelope system can be super helpful (check pinterest!)

narcissticbeaut

they have mobile coupons for market pantry!? i must look into this now. i use coupons and cartwheel at target, but i didn't know they had the market pantry coupons. thanks @elissarump

emar129

Yep!!! Check target.com/coupons and also text "offers" to 827438. They also randomly have other codes you can text to that number. Right now they are "SAVINGS1" "LUNCH" "THANKS" (without the parentheses). Also check out the website totallytarget.com for good matchups and unadvertised deals! 

emar129

Oh and you can sign up for baby coupons to be texted to you via mobile too! Sign up via this link