Money issues already!

jillybean800

I just discovered two very unfortunate things:

1.  I am not eligible for NJ's Family Leave Insurance, because you have to work for two whole years in between leave.  I didn't.

2.  I am not eligible for my prudential disability, because it doesn't kick in until March 1st and now I have a pre-existing condition.

So I will have no money while on leave.  Someone give me some savings advice stat!

Nicole0012

I can't believe the first one! That is bizarre, and it's definitely not the case in our state. And, I thought that the whole pre-existing condition thing was on its way out with "Obamacare." Clearly, I need to brush up on my health care issues. Oops. 

Anyways, that's crazy! I'm sure you will figure it all out, though. When is your due date now? 

chrisncassie

Meal plan, if you don't already ...that REALLY cut down on spending on food.  Take as many lunches into work as you can.

We buy certain things in bulk because it does end up being cheaper.  i.e. coffee, ranch dressing, shredded cheese, meat/chicken/pork.  It looks expensive when you first buy it, but when you don't have to go to the grocery for a month or so for these items, it helps cut down on everything, time, money, gas.

Coupon if you can ...or at least shop the ads.  Off brand items are just as good as name brand.

Kellina

That sucks! I can't believe that about family leave... And I know for my AFLAC disability you had to have it for 10 mo prior to delivery, so I guess I see that. Does NJ have state disability when you're out? For saving, def buy in bulk. Maybe buy extra diapers now if there's a good sale, eat at home- I do a lot of casseroles that are cheap and feed us for days. I also started shopping at Aldis- saves $15-20 a week!

jillybean800

Kellina:

That sucks! I can't believe that about family leave... And I know for my AFLAC disability you had to have it for 10 mo prior to delivery, so I guess I see that. Does NJ have state disability when you're out? For saving, def buy in bulk. Maybe buy extra diapers now if there's a good sale, eat at home- I do a lot of casseroles that are cheap and feed us for days. I also started shopping at Aldis- saves $15-20 a week!

yes, FLI is the NJ State disability.  I am on the phone waiting for them to clarify that, because nothing I read on their website says that.  My friend who is pregnant with twins told me that, because our HR rep just told her. But I'm hoping the new hr rep is just wrong.

mamaholmes2010

H and I just made a ridic budget (we are saving for a new house before we TTC #2).  It was tough at first but we managed to save $3,300 last month.  WIth that number in mind we are planning to have our 20% by next summer.  Anyway-if you want to PM me your email, I can send you our spreadsheet, but here are the basics:

On the first of every month I go to the bank and withdraw the exact amount we will need for the month in CASH.  The cash covers child care, food, household, health and beauty (like co-pays, manicures, etc), landscaping, and we have an "extras" (dinners out, movies, etc). 

I have the 6 cash categories lined out in envelopes on a bulliten board in our office.  When we need money for something, we take it out of the appropriate envelope.  Anything leftover at the end of the month in the envelope goes right into savings (unless its an evelope that needs to build every month (like landscaping-its RI-so now we don't pay anything but over the spring/summer/fall we will have to, so we budgeted monthly for it).

Bills are paid online out of our checking and accounted for in our budget.  I called and got our cable bill reduced to $99 from $190 by threatening to switch providers, cancelling our landline, and taking advantage of a 6 month contract.  I called and got our cell bill down to $120 from $180 by tracking our usage and getting a plan that fit our usage better. 

We pay for gas with our BOA rewards card and get 3% cashback which is deposited directly into savings-this actually is a lot for us since we spend about $500 a month in gas.  We cancelled all our other credit cards (at least 2 had annual fees).

At the end of every month we have a set amount that we need to cover our monthly expenses.  I check the balance on the last day of the month.  Anything above that balance goes right into savings. 

Let me know if you have any other questions. 

A good place to start is by tracking your spending.  For two months we kept an excel sheet printed on the fridge.  Whenever we spend anything even $1.50 on a coffee, we enter it onto the sheet (amount, where, what, and how paid).  This helped us develop a realistic budget without feeling like we were sacrificing a lot. 

lilmgirl

mamaholmes2010:

H and I just made a ridic budget (we are saving for a new house before we TTC #2).  It was tough at first but we managed to save $3,300 last month.  WIth that number in mind we are planning to have our 20% by next summer.  Anyway-if you want to PM me your email, I can send you our spreadsheet, but here are the basics:

On the first of every month I go to the bank and withdraw the exact amount we will need for the month in CASH.  The cash covers child care, food, household, health and beauty (like co-pays, manicures, etc), landscaping, and we have an "extras" (dinners out, movies, etc). 

I have the 6 cash categories lined out in envelopes on a bulliten board in our office.  When we need money for something, we take it out of the appropriate envelope.  Anything leftover at the end of the month in the envelope goes right into savings (unless its an evelope that needs to build every month (like landscaping-its RI-so now we don't pay anything but over the spring/summer/fall we will have to, so we budgeted monthly for it).

Bills are paid online out of our checking and accounted for in our budget.  I called and got our cable bill reduced to $99 from $190 by threatening to switch providers, cancelling our landline, and taking advantage of a 6 month contract.  I called and got our cell bill down to $120 from $180 by tracking our usage and getting a plan that fit our usage better. 

We pay for gas with our BOA rewards card and get 3% cashback which is deposited directly into savings-this actually is a lot for us since we spend about $500 a month in gas.  We cancelled all our other credit cards (at least 2 had annual fees).

At the end of every month we have a set amount that we need to cover our monthly expenses.  I check the balance on the last day of the month.  Anything above that balance goes right into savings. 

Let me know if you have any other questions. 

A good place to start is by tracking your spending.  For two months we kept an excel sheet printed on the fridge.  Whenever we spend anything even $1.50 on a coffee, we enter it onto the sheet (amount, where, what, and how paid).  This helped us develop a realistic budget without feeling like we were sacrificing a lot. 

This is all great.

If you're not on a budget, create one and STICK TO IT.  That's the hardest thing about a budget.  The cash envelope system is probably the way to make sure you don't over-spend.  GL!

MrsDe2008

mamaholmes2010:

H and I just made a ridic budget (we are saving for a new house before we TTC #2).  It was tough at first but we managed to save $3,300 last month.  WIth that number in mind we are planning to have our 20% by next summer.  Anyway-if you want to PM me your email, I can send you our spreadsheet, but here are the basics:

On the first of every month I go to the bank and withdraw the exact amount we will need for the month in CASH.  The cash covers child care, food, household, health and beauty (like co-pays, manicures, etc), landscaping, and we have an "extras" (dinners out, movies, etc). 

I have the 6 cash categories lined out in envelopes on a bulliten board in our office.  When we need money for something, we take it out of the appropriate envelope.  Anything leftover at the end of the month in the envelope goes right into savings (unless its an evelope that needs to build every month (like landscaping-its RI-so now we don't pay anything but over the spring/summer/fall we will have to, so we budgeted monthly for it).

Bills are paid online out of our checking and accounted for in our budget.  I called and got our cable bill reduced to $99 from $190 by threatening to switch providers, cancelling our landline, and taking advantage of a 6 month contract.  I called and got our cell bill down to $120 from $180 by tracking our usage and getting a plan that fit our usage better. 

We pay for gas with our BOA rewards card and get 3% cashback which is deposited directly into savings-this actually is a lot for us since we spend about $500 a month in gas.  We cancelled all our other credit cards (at least 2 had annual fees).

At the end of every month we have a set amount that we need to cover our monthly expenses.  I check the balance on the last day of the month.  Anything above that balance goes right into savings. 

Let me know if you have any other questions. 

A good place to start is by tracking your spending.  For two months we kept an excel sheet printed on the fridge.  Whenever we spend anything even $1.50 on a coffee, we enter it onto the sheet (amount, where, what, and how paid).  This helped us develop a realistic budget without feeling like we were sacrificing a lot. 

Hi...can I PM you my email address? I'd love a copy of your spread sheet! DH and I are also saving for a house and trying to cut the "fat" from our spending. I'd love to see an example of your envelope system. I mentioned this to DH awhile back and the problem is just implementing it. Let me know if it's ok to send it to you. Thanks!

@Jilly...I'm sorry you are going through this. I hope everything works out for you!

mamaholmes2010

MrsDe2008:

mamaholmes2010:

H and I just made a ridic budget (we are saving for a new house before we TTC #2).  It was tough at first but we managed to save $3,300 last month.  WIth that number in mind we are planning to have our 20% by next summer.  Anyway-if you want to PM me your email, I can send you our spreadsheet, but here are the basics:

On the first of every month I go to the bank and withdraw the exact amount we will need for the month in CASH.  The cash covers child care, food, household, health and beauty (like co-pays, manicures, etc), landscaping, and we have an "extras" (dinners out, movies, etc). 

I have the 6 cash categories lined out in envelopes on a bulliten board in our office.  When we need money for something, we take it out of the appropriate envelope.  Anything leftover at the end of the month in the envelope goes right into savings (unless its an evelope that needs to build every month (like landscaping-its RI-so now we don't pay anything but over the spring/summer/fall we will have to, so we budgeted monthly for it).

Bills are paid online out of our checking and accounted for in our budget.  I called and got our cable bill reduced to $99 from $190 by threatening to switch providers, cancelling our landline, and taking advantage of a 6 month contract.  I called and got our cell bill down to $120 from $180 by tracking our usage and getting a plan that fit our usage better. 

We pay for gas with our BOA rewards card and get 3% cashback which is deposited directly into savings-this actually is a lot for us since we spend about $500 a month in gas.  We cancelled all our other credit cards (at least 2 had annual fees).

At the end of every month we have a set amount that we need to cover our monthly expenses.  I check the balance on the last day of the month.  Anything above that balance goes right into savings. 

Let me know if you have any other questions. 

A good place to start is by tracking your spending.  For two months we kept an excel sheet printed on the fridge.  Whenever we spend anything even $1.50 on a coffee, we enter it onto the sheet (amount, where, what, and how paid).  This helped us develop a realistic budget without feeling like we were sacrificing a lot. 

Hi...can I PM you my email address? I'd love a copy of your spread sheet! DH and I are also saving for a house and trying to cut the "fat" from our spending. I'd love to see an example of your envelope system. I mentioned this to DH awhile back and the problem is just implementing it. Let me know if it's ok to send it to you. Thanks!

@Jilly...I'm sorry you are going through this. I hope everything works out for you!

Absolutely!  I will take pictures if you'd like of the board and the tracking sheet.  Without the tracking sheet its easy to feel attacked when you are trying to trim the "fat" (at least it was for me-H would say "you spend $$ on coffee everyday and I never spend anything" when it turns out my coffee habit was once a week and he was eating out at lunch everyday!)-seeing it in black and white makes it easier to decide I should make my coffee AND H's lunch in the morning instead of feeling like I am fighting for $2.00 a day when I work full time and deserve it d@mn it! lol

mamaholmes2010

I would also like to add that I never shop anymore without a list.  If it's not on the list it doesn't go in the cart.  Before I go shopping H and I go over the list to make sure there is nothing missing or nothing we "don't really" need.

I also made my own laundry detergent recently for about $20 and its enough to last about 9 months.  

And last but not least I have been LOVING a couple of local consignment stores.  I have traded a couple of O's clothes that I wasn't planning on saving-some still had the tags on them-for brand spanking new-still have the tags on them-mini boden, janie and jack and hanaa andersson stuff for the spring/summer.  If you have never been into a consignment store for kids before-I HIGHLY recommend it before you spend $$$ on summer/spring clothes.

 

jillybean800

Ok, some good news: I AM eligible for FLI.  The woman at h.r. was wrong. You can only apply once in ONE year, and I will be over that. So that is some money coming in. I will have to see about the disability insurance. I may call under a pseudonym to check it out...if my first dr.s appt to confirm pregnancy isn't until AFTER March 1st, maybe that will be ok. 

Thank you all for the tips! I am going to read through them more carefully when I get home and can concentrate.

MrsDe2008

mamaholmes2010:

I would also like to add that I never shop anymore without a list.  If it's not on the list it doesn't go in the cart.  Before I go shopping H and I go over the list to make sure there is nothing missing or nothing we "don't really" need.

I also made my own laundry detergent recently for about $20 and its enough to last about 9 months.  

And last but not least I have been LOVING a couple of local consignment stores.  I have traded a couple of O's clothes that I wasn't planning on saving-some still had the tags on them-for brand spanking new-still have the tags on them-mini boden, janie and jack and hanaa andersson stuff for the spring/summer.  If you have never been into a consignment store for kids before-I HIGHLY recommend it before you spend $$$ on summer/spring clothes.

 

YGPM!

Thank you so much for whatever info you send me...I'd greatly appreciate it.

I love the consignment shop trade in deal! I'll have to look into whether or not we have any by us. I have a whole rubbermaid container of brand new clothes with tags still on the that S never wore. That would be awesome to trade them in for some stuff for the spring/summer...love that idea!

MrsDe2008

jillybean800:

Ok, some good news: I AM eligible for FLI.  The woman at h.r. was wrong. You can only apply once in ONE year, and I will be over that. So that is some money coming in. I will have to see about the disability insurance. I may call under a pseudonym to check it out...if my first dr.s appt to confirm pregnancy isn't until AFTER March 1st, maybe that will be ok. 

Thank you all for the tips! I am going to read through them more carefully when I get home and can concentrate.

Great news! That's one less thing to worry about!

larrysdarling

I'm in nj. You should get 6 weeks disability FIRST then that rolls automatically right into 6 weeks of NJ family leave all at 66% of your pay.

JRP00

When I was on leave with Brooklyn I didn't have short term disability and my state doesn't consider Pregnacy a disability so I used my vacation pay for the whole thing I took pay for 3 days a week lucky I had some holidays in there to fill in.

jarebearsmom

MrsDe2008:

mamaholmes2010:

H and I just made a ridic budget (we are saving for a new house before we TTC #2).  It was tough at first but we managed to save $3,300 last month.  WIth that number in mind we are planning to have our 20% by next summer.  Anyway-if you want to PM me your email, I can send you our spreadsheet, but here are the basics:

On the first of every month I go to the bank and withdraw the exact amount we will need for the month in CASH.  The cash covers child care, food, household, health and beauty (like co-pays, manicures, etc), landscaping, and we have an "extras" (dinners out, movies, etc). 

I have the 6 cash categories lined out in envelopes on a bulliten board in our office.  When we need money for something, we take it out of the appropriate envelope.  Anything leftover at the end of the month in the envelope goes right into savings (unless its an evelope that needs to build every month (like landscaping-its RI-so now we don't pay anything but over the spring/summer/fall we will have to, so we budgeted monthly for it).

Bills are paid online out of our checking and accounted for in our budget.  I called and got our cable bill reduced to $99 from $190 by threatening to switch providers, cancelling our landline, and taking advantage of a 6 month contract.  I called and got our cell bill down to $120 from $180 by tracking our usage and getting a plan that fit our usage better. 

We pay for gas with our BOA rewards card and get 3% cashback which is deposited directly into savings-this actually is a lot for us since we spend about $500 a month in gas.  We cancelled all our other credit cards (at least 2 had annual fees).

At the end of every month we have a set amount that we need to cover our monthly expenses.  I check the balance on the last day of the month.  Anything above that balance goes right into savings. 

Let me know if you have any other questions. 

A good place to start is by tracking your spending.  For two months we kept an excel sheet printed on the fridge.  Whenever we spend anything even $1.50 on a coffee, we enter it onto the sheet (amount, where, what, and how paid).  This helped us develop a realistic budget without feeling like we were sacrificing a lot. 

Hi...can I PM you my email address? I'd love a copy of your spread sheet! DH and I are also saving for a house and trying to cut the "fat" from our spending. I'd love to see an example of your envelope system. I mentioned this to DH awhile back and the problem is just implementing it. Let me know if it's ok to send it to you. Thanks!

@Jilly...I'm sorry you are going through this. I hope everything works out for you!

Can I PM you my email too? lol

Jilly, I agree with everyone. And coupons help you save SO much money if you have the time and put forth the effort. Even if you aren't an extreme couponer, every little bit counts. But Yay for the good news you just found out  

mamaholmes2010

jarebearsmom:

MrsDe2008:

mamaholmes2010:

H and I just made a ridic budget (we are saving for a new house before we TTC #2).  It was tough at first but we managed to save $3,300 last month.  WIth that number in mind we are planning to have our 20% by next summer.  Anyway-if you want to PM me your email, I can send you our spreadsheet, but here are the basics:

On the first of every month I go to the bank and withdraw the exact amount we will need for the month in CASH.  The cash covers child care, food, household, health and beauty (like co-pays, manicures, etc), landscaping, and we have an "extras" (dinners out, movies, etc). 

I have the 6 cash categories lined out in envelopes on a bulliten board in our office.  When we need money for something, we take it out of the appropriate envelope.  Anything leftover at the end of the month in the envelope goes right into savings (unless its an evelope that needs to build every month (like landscaping-its RI-so now we don't pay anything but over the spring/summer/fall we will have to, so we budgeted monthly for it).

Bills are paid online out of our checking and accounted for in our budget.  I called and got our cable bill reduced to $99 from $190 by threatening to switch providers, cancelling our landline, and taking advantage of a 6 month contract.  I called and got our cell bill down to $120 from $180 by tracking our usage and getting a plan that fit our usage better. 

We pay for gas with our BOA rewards card and get 3% cashback which is deposited directly into savings-this actually is a lot for us since we spend about $500 a month in gas.  We cancelled all our other credit cards (at least 2 had annual fees).

At the end of every month we have a set amount that we need to cover our monthly expenses.  I check the balance on the last day of the month.  Anything above that balance goes right into savings. 

Let me know if you have any other questions. 

A good place to start is by tracking your spending.  For two months we kept an excel sheet printed on the fridge.  Whenever we spend anything even $1.50 on a coffee, we enter it onto the sheet (amount, where, what, and how paid).  This helped us develop a realistic budget without feeling like we were sacrificing a lot. 

Hi...can I PM you my email address? I'd love a copy of your spread sheet! DH and I are also saving for a house and trying to cut the "fat" from our spending. I'd love to see an example of your envelope system. I mentioned this to DH awhile back and the problem is just implementing it. Let me know if it's ok to send it to you. Thanks!

@Jilly...I'm sorry you are going through this. I hope everything works out for you!

Can I PM you my email too? lol

Jilly, I agree with everyone. And coupons help you save SO much money if you have the time and put forth the effort. Even if you aren't an extreme couponer, every little bit counts. But Yay for the good news you just found out  

Sure thing!  Happy to help.  It took H and I a long time to realize we needed to do something better.  We made a few attempts, but this method is really working for us!

larrysdarling

Nicole0012:

I can't believe the first one! That is bizarre, and it's definitely not the case in our state. And, I thought that the whole pre-existing condition thing was on its way out with "Obamacare." Clearly, I need to brush up on my health care issues. Oops. 

Anyways, that's crazy! I'm sure you will figure it all out, though. When is your due date now? 

Also, federal FMLA, state disability and family leave acts have pretty much nothing to do with the health care laws. You are eligible for these types of leave regardless of whether or not you even have health insurance.

Also, in the state of NJ (and probably in other states as well), pregnancy cannot be treated by private insurers as a preexisting condition. If you have insurance, your insurance company is mandated to cover prenatal care and delivery.

mamaholmes2010

larrysdarling:

Nicole0012:

I can't believe the first one! That is bizarre, and it's definitely not the case in our state. And, I thought that the whole pre-existing condition thing was on its way out with "Obamacare." Clearly, I need to brush up on my health care issues. Oops. 

Anyways, that's crazy! I'm sure you will figure it all out, though. When is your due date now? 

Also, federal FMLA, state disability and family leave acts have pretty much nothing to do with the health care laws. You are eligible for these types of leave regardless of whether or not you even have health insurance.

Also, in the state of NJ (and probably in other states as well), pregnancy cannot be treated by private insurers as a preexisting condition. If you have insurance, your insurance company is mandated to cover prenatal care and delivery.

This is true for medical insurance-but for life insurance or private disability insurance I don't believe that is accurate.  I know when I was pg with O we were trying to do our will and get life insurance for H and I.  Our insurance agent suggested we wait until after I was pg to get me insured because being KU pushes you into the "not preferred" category and makes your premiums MUCH higher.

bosha711

I didn't read the other responses yet, but is that really true about a 2-yr wait? Is that b/c you're a teacher? I 'll have to look into it for myself, too. yikes.

I also have Aflac  & I'll have to see what the waiting period on that is too!

lrn327

Jilly, glad you found out about the state disability insurance coverage!  We don't have ANYTHING like that.  You're just on your own.  I had a ton of vacation saved up and took out a short term disability policy from my work so I was covered but most aren't.  It's really difficult.  I know all policies are different but for my STD, the determination date was based on my last period.  My OB had to complete and sign paperwork to this affect too.  Hope your's is different though.  It's worth checking!

And I definitely vote for the budget too.  Our DC is really, really expensive and tracking every penny in a spreadsheet helped us realized we were actually in the red every month.  We've really cut down a ton on eating eat, grocery shopping without a list, coffee, clothes, etc. and it is really helping a lot. 

Strunella

I was not eligible for the NJ state benefits because my company paid my STD for the first 6 weeks.  I was told that the state benefits are only if you do not receive any company benefits.  In fact, I accidentally received the NJ benefits (I didn't realize I wasn't supposed to get them) and then they tried to make me pay the money back!  My HR dept. fought it and they finally agreed to let it slide since it was their stupid mistake.

larrysdarling

mamaholmes2010:

larrysdarling:

Nicole0012:

I can't believe the first one! That is bizarre, and it's definitely not the case in our state. And, I thought that the whole pre-existing condition thing was on its way out with "Obamacare." Clearly, I need to brush up on my health care issues. Oops. 

Anyways, that's crazy! I'm sure you will figure it all out, though. When is your due date now? 

Also, federal FMLA, state disability and family leave acts have pretty much nothing to do with the health care laws. You are eligible for these types of leave regardless of whether or not you even have health insurance.

Also, in the state of NJ (and probably in other states as well), pregnancy cannot be treated by private insurers as a preexisting condition. If you have insurance, your insurance company is mandated to cover prenatal care and delivery.

This is true for medical insurance-but for life insurance or private disability insurance I don't believe that is accurate.  I know when I was pg with O we were trying to do our will and get life insurance for H and I.  Our insurance agent suggested we wait until after I was pg to get me insured because being KU pushes you into the "not preferred" category and makes your premiums MUCH higher.

Yes, sorry I wasn't more specific. I was referring to the health care part of this issue.