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Originally Posted by budgetmom
Ok, all this I have done pretty much. I am a little reluctant to post out all my findings, mostly because of embarrasement. I'll spell it all out, please tell me if I'm doing this right.
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Don't be embarrassed, the more honest you are, the better help you will get.
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Originally Posted by budgetmom
Total monthly takehome (2 adults, 2 kids) $2000
Rent $670
Elecric $200
Phone/Internet $165
Water $45
Groceries (including diapers & houshold items) $240
Gas $120
Ins. (car) $90
Pet $5
Smokes (this is DH vice, I have talked with him regarding and he has agreed to start buying every other day instead of every day so it actually brought the cost down from my actual figure by half) $120
Laundry $40
Remaining balance for Debt minus $20 for leasure
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Are these ideal numbers or actual numbers? Tracking my spending for a month revealed that I was spending money much different than I had thought. Did your DH actually cut back on the cigarettes, or did he just agree to?
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Originally Posted by budgetmom
I will try the envelope method. We don't have any credit cards and sadly the bank account is overdrawn (included in the debt category) so this will work fine for now. I can just go to the store to get money orders for everything until the balance is cleared up. Once that happens I will create another envelope for savings and split the debt money in half (half going to debt and half going to savings). Also, some of the other balances are high do to previous balances. They will be cleared up at the end of the starting month (next month) so the average balances will be smaller next month. Any ideas on how to allocate those remaining funds? Am I even doing this logically/realistically?
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If that budget is complete, then you have $285 left over every month. If you want to use that to reduce your debt, then you will need to list all of your debts & prioritize them. Getting the checking account current should be high on the list, so you don't have to keep buying money orders. (how much do they cost & how many do you need to buy each month?) Then look at all of the interest rates of the debts to know which ones are costing more.