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If you and/or DH have a seasonal job....

thomas&lynnthomas&lynn member
in Babies: 9 - 12 Months
what is your budget system like? MH makes most of our yearly income May-Oct and then we live reeeeeeaaaaly tight Nov-Apr. I'd like to even that out more so there isn't such a disparity between the halves of the year. Will you share what works for your family?
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Re: If you and/or DH have a seasonal job....

  • krys2729krys2729
    ugh....dh is a tree climber and works seasonally.  he goes on unemployment in the winter months and we just sort of wing it and are really tight.  i will also be interested in the responses to this post.  all i have to say is it sucks and i wish i was better about "budgeting" for the tight times in the winter.
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  • Kays2greenwoodKays2greenwood member

    I work in retail and the busiest time is Nov-Jan.... DH is a bricklayer and is pretty much laid off from Nov-Feb...  I have learned the Dec. is the most difficult month for us. 

     This year was particularly hard with dd being here :)  We didn't plan for all those extra costs.... There were days when I didnt know how we were going to pay bills.  I have opened a Christmas club this year to put money into.  Most likely I won't use it for christmas gifts because I do all my shopping year round, but it will be money to help pay the bills in Dec.

    I basically budget out our money for the month now. I also opened a second checking account so I can move extra money into it to start saving up.  I am also going to put about $1000 back from our tax money.

    It has always been really hard for us to save, but knowing how hard it's been this year.  In NO way do I want to go through that again....

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  • thomas&lynnthomas&lynn member

    See, we always say we'll do that but it is never executed well. And by the time summer comes around again and we have a little extra again, it's super hard to put it asside for the winter.......it's similar to feeling starved and then you have this gorgeous steak dinner placed in front of you; there's very little chance you'll save part of that meal for the next time you're starving! lol

    I'm wondering if maybe having more of a structure to it would help. I guess by that I mean...okay, we need x amount to survive each month of the year so we need to make sure x is put asside for Oct-Apr before we can spend on anything beyond what's neccasary.

    I had a thought yesterday that involved taking ANY income we make at any time of the year and always dividing that money by 12. Then earmark each 1/12 for one of the months.But I don't know if that'll work in the short term. Y'know...to actually get us through the present month...as we need all the $$ we can get.

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  • oceanloveroceanlover

    My hubby ownes a construction company, so he is pretty much seasonal. We save save save from getting our taxes back to the start of winter. we try to plan our vacations ahead of time so that we feel like we are not totally deprived. He also stays home with our kids in the winter, to cut down on childcare cost and spend time with his kids. We keep no credit cards, and when we do open one, we create a payoff system immediatly. We do not have car payments either. (paid off our cars on pay-off system)

    GOOD LUCK, its tough but being conscious about spending really helps!

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  • oceanloveroceanlover

    This summer, put anything ANYTHING extra into a savings account. Do NOT touch it until winter. It is really hard! believe me, after a long winter of being frugal (and NOT buying Sophia! lol!) I do want to spend when I am seeing those great paychecks come in again.

     

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