who is watching and not done a budget

[SOAPPRO]

I know there are many people who check out these forums and still have not done a budget. what questions do you have? And why haven't you done a budget yet? Not being critical. I did it myself for a long time and had questions but never asked them for fear of sounding dumb, and not really wanting to change my life style even though a knew I had to do it, and now I wished I had started my budget much sooner.

[Ima saver]

There are no dumb questions, feel free to ask, there are some mighty smart people on here!!

[JanH]

I think that so many people get embarrassed when they think about it so they don't want to face it. Or they see it as insurmountable. But you guys are testimony that it is not too late, small changes add up to big ones, and the people here are willing to help, not criticize. That's why I have been able to make changes so quickly. Your support has been awesome and I've learned so much. And--I set up a more detailed budget two days ago! I just had a vague one and no real plan for saving or serious debt repayment. Thank you!

[Ima saver]

I hope I am a testimony that it is never too late to start. I knew nothing about mutual funds, IRA's when i started investing and I was 44 years old. I lived (still do) in a very rural area and there were no books on investing in the library.
We moved to the mountains when I turned 40 and we lived for one year on our savings, so we kind of started all over when i was 44. It did help that we did not have a lot of debt, but we sure did not make much money either.
don't be embarassed if you don' t make much money either! You can start small and still make it!
Almost anyone can save $50 a month, that is less than $2 a day!

[JanH]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

I hope I am a testimony that it is never too late to start. I knew nothing about mutual funds, IRA's when i started investing and I was 44 years old. I lived (still do) in a very rural area and there were no books on investing in the library.
We moved to the mountains when I turned 40 and we lived for one year on our savings, so we kind of started all over when i was 44. It did help that we did not have a lot of debt, but we sure did not make much money either.
don't be embarassed if you don' t make much money either! You can start small and still make it!
Almost anyone can save $50 a month, that is less than $2 a day!

We're blessed that people like you are willing to pass on your knowledge. And in such fun and unjudgemental ways. Thank you!

[LuxLiving]

Don't you think that there are many, many people who don't understand what freedom the spending plan/budget scenario affords them after it has been in place awhile?

It is an adjustment at first, but once you get to swinging with it the ease of which finances take care of themselves is REMARKABLE! It's one of those things like learning to float on the water. At first you fight and fight it! But, once you get the concept the floating is so soothing and comfortable you wonder why you ever had such a problem with it in the first place!

So, anyone who hasn't started yet, JUMP IN the water's fine!!

[PrincessPerky]

I was on here for eons trying to cut bills before I made a budget, I knew it would not balance..I knew we were still spending more than we made..so I didn't do it.

I finally did make one, and while it was a bit depressing to know I had a deficit it helped to have it all written down to see where we were..and I made a new one a few months later, I was so happy when I found it was finally in the black

[Ima saver]

It takes a little while, but eventually you can do it. I started some of my mutual funds with very little and I did just like disney steve, I automatically added $50 a month to two of them.

[boefixepa]

I fought so hard for years thinking I was actually doing it right! I thought that the money I had left in my checking was my 'budget' until next payday! I was always short when insurance came due, or car tags, or car repairs.

I even remember going to a free class at church once on budgets and just not getting it. I just could NOT separte the checking account from the budget. Oh my, when I read Money 4 Life and came to understand the envelope system and the light buld FINALLY came on it was...freedom.

I just wonder if all those people out there are like I was, the light bulb just hasn't come on for whatever reason. I honestly felt like I wasn't doing poorly before, but that they just wasn't enough money. It was a shocker to me when I FINALLY grasped that the money you make is completely irrelevant...it really is. Ima is a great testiment to that. More money certainly can make some things easier, but living below your means is not dependent on how much you make.

So for those who have not felt the FREEDOM the STRESS FREE LIFE, which comes from knowing the bills will get paid and you will have food on the table, learn what a REAL budget is and do it! You will thank yourself a thousand times over!

We just moved into a new apartment 3 weeks ago, and I haven't started a budget yet. I know how much rent and internet will be, but until we get our first electric bill, I have no clue how much to budget for electricity. Am I wrong to wait for that to start a budget? I've just been trying to keep usage low on things until we know how much our bill will be.

[JanH]

Originally Posted by boefixepa

I fought so hard for years thinking I was actually doing it right! I thought that the money I had left in my checking was my 'budget' until next payday! I was always short when insurance came due, or car tags, or car repairs.

I even remember going to a free class at church once on budgets and just not getting it. I just could NOT separte the checking account from the budget. Oh my, when I read Money 4 Life and came to understand the envelope system and the light buld FINALLY came on it was...freedom.

I just wonder if all those people out there are like I was, the light bulb just hasn't come on for whatever reason. I honestly felt like I wasn't doing poorly before, but that they just wasn't enough money. It was a shocker to me when I FINALLY grasped that the money you make is completely irrelevant...it really is. Ima is a great testiment to that. More money certainly can make some things easier, but living below your means is not dependent on how much you make.

So for those who have not felt the FREEDOM the STRESS FREE LIFE, which comes from knowing the bills will get paid and you will have food on the table, learn what a REAL budget is and do it! You will thank yourself a thousand times over!

You are so right! My bills got paid, but I couldn't figure out why I couldn't save anything. Then the big stuff went on CC. Then the little stuff. Couldn't figure it out cos Hubby has a good job. Went to church seminar also. Budget came from leftover in account, too. My lightbulb has flickered on. This site really helps!

[boefixepa]

Lisa,

You may not know the exact numbers yet, but you can guess. Set up your categories and then talk to a neighbor. Ask them you are trying to guess what your utilities are and if they could please let you know what to expect. Also call the utilities and ask if they are charging a deposit, don't let that surpise you. Also figure a bit of fluff for the household things you didn't realize you needed to get...that was a shocker to me.

BTW, nice to see you out of the in-laws house, I hope things go well for you!

[poohhbear1221]

I have not started a budget yet for the simple reason am clueless.. dont know what to put on it and stuff like that.. know what my bills are ie.. electric, phone, rent, cable but what else goes on it.. have very little income and alot of bills guess i am a little overwhelmed

[frugalmomof1]

I have been reviewing what I have paid out over the past year, but have not actually sat down and figured out a budget for groceries and other 'non fixed' expenses. I have been trying (pretty successfully) to reduce spending in every way that I can in an effort to pay off some debt (HELOC-for some much needed updates, and the car payment). I noticed a big difference when my checking account statement was 1-1/2 pages shorter this month than usual.
I knew we needed to review our spending habits when I had to take full advantage of the 15 day grace periods for mortgage and car payments, and sometimes had to take money out of my savings to pay on time!!! DH and I make more than enough to cover our bills, so I had no idea what the problem was. When I began to look back at the bank statements, I got the idea. (By the way, last month I was able to pay the mortgage within 7 days, and the car payment on time....For October I should have the mortgage payment by the 1st!)
So.......I am working on the budget....I am hoping to have one in place by the 1st of the year.

[Ima saver]

You need to take a month or two to track your spending. Write down all your bills, including the ones that happen once or twice a year. (car insurance, house taxes, house insurance)
I allow $160 for my elec. bill cause that is the highest it has ever been. When it is under, i add that money to savings or to the heat envelope.
Arrange your budget amounts in order of importance. Shelter, food, elec, water, etc.

[boefixepa]

Where's that thread where we all listed our budgets...hold on I'll search for it...

What does your budget look like???

Okay, click on that and you can see what lots of us use for a budget. I think mine is pretty detailed, but I want to know where my money is going!

Keeping a very detailed spending joural is a necessary first step if you want your budget to be attainable. Once you can see where it is going then you can work on cutting back in different areas.

[PrincessPerky]

Originally Posted by poohhbear1221

I have not started a budget yet for the simple reason am clueless.. dont know what to put on it and stuff like that.. know what my bills are ie.. electric, phone, rent, cable but what else goes on it.. have very little income and alot of bills guess i am a little overwhelmed

start by putting those down, then as a 'ooops' forgot that bill comes up put it down too...making a budget is not one stop shopping, it has to be tweaked and reviewed a bit...

[Ima saver]

Some parts of your budget are kind of set, you can't change your rent or house payment. but you do have some control over your electric, your groceries, your discresionary spending (clothes, make up , eating out, buying stuff you can live without) Allow some spending money (allowance) for you and your spouse,

[geneandmegan]

To all those who may be watching and have not yet done a budget, I think I can understand a few of the reasons that may be keeping you from doing one. For my part, not all that many years ago, the idea of a budget was one of those things that sounded kinda like torture. Thing is, that for me, this was because I was terrified of money. I didn't want to look to closely at money. Grew up in a home where... well, I'm not sure what happened to the money, but I knew that the power, water, roof, etc were not ever really guaranteed and God help us if we should need to eat. So yeah, I was terrified of money. Great amorphous blob that was either there, or it wasn't, and you had no control over which it was.

Then, finally, I tried budgetting and while it was really sucky at first, and scary, pretty soon, it became kinda what I call my security blanket. I knew what money was there. I knew how much I had to spend, how much we made, where it went and what it was for. You can control your money, and you can control your life.

Yeah, so I hope that this isn't like too much information or something, but that also maybe it'll help someone out there. Budgeting doesn't mean, I think, that you lose control over your money. It means you get that control back. Like they say "if you don't tell your money where to go, it leaves".

[Ima saver]

Well I got married at age 20, and i was not sure what to do. I had no credit card and no checking account. So, every Friday, I cashed the paychecks, put a percentage in my savings, and then went home and put the rest of the cash in envelopes marked, rent, car payment, elec., water, telephone, heat, gas, groceries ( 1/4 of what was needed went into those envelopes each week)
After that, I always looked forward to coming home from the bank, and doing my budget. I love it and it is the reason I have been able to always save part of my paycheck.