What does your budget look like???

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by lisasayzhi

Our a/c is set at 80 degrees, which is the max dh will let me set it at.

Is that dh as in dear husband? Are you married? If so, what's the deal there? Is he working or also a student?

[jmjj215]

That's exactly how we are. As I said earlier, we don't budget our spending - only our savings. I can tell you exactly how much goes into savings each month and where it goes. But I don't have a clue what we spend on groceries or gas or dining out. It just isn't important because I know inherently that we aren't spending more than we have.

I can see this line of thinking pretty easily. Make sure savings is on autopilot (of sorts) and don't bother with the rest. My only grain against that is that it may be possible that I could be savings more if I watch my expenses more and truly maximize the value of every dollar that comes my way.

This isn't necessarily good though, because one should find contentment some time or another. I suppose working toward a set amount is probably smart b/c then you don't have to feel bad about using the extra not needed toward that goal for some splurge.

I dunno. The budget has really helped us make our money go further. I don't know if I'd give it up completely. And we are debt free (though we don't own a house yet).

[lisasayzhi]

PrincessPerky: As I said about the windows (at least I think I said this lol) they don't open well, they're really cheap windows and break easily, and our landlord warned us that we shouldn't use them often because they get stuck up and won't close and get broken that way.

Online classes cost more (there are extra fees) so that would actually cost the same if not more... although none of my classes are offered online anyway (mine are upper level math courses). As far as going only part time... I already owe so much in student loans that I honestly just want to get done with it so I can start making more money than I make at Wal-Mart. So I'd rather keep my full-time status, plus, being full-time gets me health coverage at school, so going part-time would eliminate my health insurance.

disneysteve: yes, i'm married, but my husband is legally blind. he works from home because he can't drive anywhere, and the jobs around this town he'd have trouble doing with such horrible vision. he's supposed to start getting disability next month, though it will only be $350 a month, but that will help some. as far as gas or insurance though, i wouldn't feel right asking him to help pay for it since he can't drive. he stays home most all of the time. anyways, he pays half of all the other bills, and i can't really ask for more than that, considering the gas and insurance costs are mine (i'm the one who drives to school and such.)

[Ima saver]

Could I ask, what is the insurance for?

[Ima saver]

Oh, I just realized that you have a car, that must be what the insurance is for.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by jmjj215

I can see this line of thinking pretty easily. Make sure savings is on autopilot (of sorts) and don't bother with the rest. My only grain against that is that it may be possible that I could be savings more if I watch my expenses more and truly maximize the value of every dollar that comes my way.

That's definitely true, and we've been working on that. We recently started trying to reign in our food spending. We're paying more attention to the weekly flyers and coupons, buying in bulk to take advantage of sales, going out to eat less, etc. Still no "budget" for our food spending - just a conscious effort to spend less.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by lisasayzhi

disneysteve: yes, i'm married, but my husband is legally blind. he works from home because he can't drive anywhere, and the jobs around this town he'd have trouble doing with such horrible vision. he's supposed to start getting disability next month, though it will only be $350 a month, but that will help some. as far as gas or insurance though, i wouldn't feel right asking him to help pay for it since he can't drive. he stays home most all of the time. anyways, he pays half of all the other bills, and i can't really ask for more than that, considering the gas and insurance costs are mine (i'm the one who drives to school and such.)

How you choose to arrange your finances is your own business, but this is just a totally foreign concept to me. As far as I'm concerned, marriage is a partnership. All our money goes into the same pot and it has since the day we got engaged in 1989. It doesn't matter who earned it. And we don't have "my spending" and "her spending." If you are spending more than you are earning and he is spending less than he is earning, especially once his disability payments start, I don't see how it makes any sense for him to be accumulating savings while you are working to pay off credit card debt. That doesn't do your relationship or future planning any good. Again, just my opinion and certainly none of my business ultimately but just something worth thinking about.

[PrincessPerky]

Originally Posted by lisasayzhi

disneysteve: yes, i'm married, but my husband is legally blind. he works from home because he can't drive anywhere, and the jobs around this town he'd have trouble doing with such horrible vision. he's supposed to start getting disability next month, though it will only be $350 a month, but that will help some. as far as gas or insurance though, i wouldn't feel right asking him to help pay for it since he can't drive. he stays home most all of the time. anyways, he pays half of all the other bills, and i can't really ask for more than that, considering the gas and insurance costs are mine (i'm the one who drives to school and such.)

Missed the info on the wiundows, sorry.

Now bout that "can't ask for more"......
when you get a job in your field, and pay off those pesky loans, you will have 'free money' meaning money with no bill needed, are you planning on sharing that with your husband? or were you going to hold him the same "don't ask for my money" that you are saying he has?

I don't know the specifics, Maybe you are planning on that...or maybe he isn't the type to want to help his wife out ...... Like I said, I don't know you.....but..it is my experience, that people often WANT to help, and people , forget they will be doing some helping of their own, later or in different ways....

(though yes I read he doesn't have much either, just wondering bout hte whole theory of not asking a spouse for cash.....)

[boefixepa]

Lisa,

Congrats on the marriage! I wasn't sure if you two had just moved out of the in-laws house or if you'd actually gotten married! CONGRATS!

Since your husband is legally disabled have to looked into financial aids you may qualify for? Housing assistence? Obviously your holding for the disability pay... I know there are lots of things out there designed to help those with disabilities, but I don't know them personally. Grutina on this site is deaf, you might try sending her a private message and see if she has some ideas where you could look for aid. The fact that your husband is blind should give you quite a few more options to look at.

Other then that I side with PP in wanting to know where hubby stands on the budget. I know each couple works out their own means and methods, but from your other posts I am guessing you are the personality type that likes to keep everything flowing and not rock any boats, the peacemaker type. My dear friend is one too, every family needs at least one, but I know often times she suffers in silence and when she finally brakes down and tells you what the matter....I'd look at her and ask 'why didn't you tell me that two months ago!' I just want to make sure you don't get into that situation. (I like you too much!!)

Oh, after thought. Put up signs at the COLLEGE offer tutoring for like $30 an hour! If you are desperate to pass Cal 1 because you are taking it AGAIN there are college students willing to pay it! Parents aren't generally so generous, but they are closer to your house.

[lisasayzhi]

Ok, I should have clarified. He has other expenses that I don't have. He graduated college last December so he's having to pay back his student loans now, plus his own credit card debt. That's why I don't ask him for the money. He's got his own to worry about.

As far as disability assistance, i'm not sure how it all works exactly. He's always been legally blind, but never would apply for disability (the stubbornness in him wanting to not be different than other people or accept help), but he finally applied for it in February of this year. We're in income-based apartments, so our rent is about $443 a month right now, but we moved in before he got the letters about being approved for disability so I'm not sure if that will change our rent or not. They re-evaluate income every 3 months, so in another 2 months we'll know.

I did talk to him about my financial problems and he said he'd planned on helping me with the insurance anyways... we just haven't gotten it yet. I was on his parents' insurance when we lived there, and I haven't had time to get mine here yet. I looked up quotes online and Geico looks like it'll be cheapest, but I've never had insurance on my own before, so I'm not sure how to actually get the insurance. But I'm working on it.

I have been working this afternoon on getting bills down. My birthday is coming up on the 11th, and my inlaws tend to buy me gifts, which I hate... seriously... my closet is OVERFLOWING with sweaters - and they aren't handmade, just jc-penneys store-bought sweaters. I wish there was a way I could get them to just give me money or a gift-card to wal-mart instead (that I could use on food), but I don't want to be rude or sound ungreatful to them. I just... I seriously have 23 sweaters from them, and I can't take anymore, lol. I checked the oil in my car today and inflated my tires to the proper pressure (at a free place), to make sure i'm not burning extra gas. I also checked the air vent filter b/c the landlord said they replace it every 3 months, but we just moved in 1 month ago, and I don't think it was replaced before we moved in b/c it's nasty! So we're gonna go get one later tonight or tomorrow I think. Oh, also, I was curious about getting a home energy audit to see where we can save money, and our power company has a way you can do it through their website yourself. It like walks you through the process step by step and you enter the info into their forms and then it gives you a personalized list of areas you can improve in. I'm gonna finish that up after I finish this message actually.

[boefixepa]

If you have really cheep windows...I did in one apartment I lived. Keep them well covered in the winter (I stapled a blaket over mine) the heat leaks out like an opened window. In the summer I'd put up tin foil, reflective side to the outside, to reflect the sunshine out. This is a BIG help on windows that get direct sunlight in the summer!! Bad windows are a real source of trouble for the energy bill.

[LuxLiving]

Lisa can you have your husband mention to his parents that you might be needing some OTHER school clothes/supplies/lunch food/car oil, etc. and that perhaps a giftcard to Walmart might be more helpful than another sweater?

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by lisasayzhi

He has other expenses that I don't have. He graduated college last December so he's having to pay back his student loans now, plus his own credit card debt. That's why I don't ask him for the money. He's got his own to worry about.

So do you keep your finances totally separate? If so, is he also running at a deficit?

If both of you are spending more than you are making, you've got a serious problem. If, however, he has a surplus, you really need to consider merging your finances to get rid of your deficit. It's not a matter of whether or not you want to ask him for money. You got married. Now you are in this life together as a team.

[abowers]

We are both grad students. (Eeeep.)

2 grad students - 1 greyhound.

My half of things in a given month:
$380 rent
$35 gas & electric (let's watch this double as we get into winter)
$35 cell
$60 gas
$90 car ins
$262 car payment
$150 groceries
$50 eating out
($123 undergrad loans - but currently deferred for grad school)
~$123 - credit cards! paying down my debt which is all on 0% cards until July '07 - which means I will pay it off by then!!

The dog hasn't cost too much so far--$50 for some preventative heartworm medicine, a few toys & bedding when we first got her, and $35 on food/treats for training every 8 weeks.

That leaves about $200 left a month, which is going into my ING account as my wedding/emergency fund. I'm on student health insurance which for $230/year pays for major accidents, so that is what my emergency fund is for (i.e. eye exam coming up next tuesday). In addition to the $200 extra/month - I've got a little bit of excess on my subsidized stafford grad loans beyond tuition my grad assistantship doesn't cover (a few hundred) that is going toward the emergency fund which paid for my textbooks this fall and which will pay for my eye exam & new contacts on Tuesday.

Fiance is making more than me, and gets free tuition (I get 6 credits), and doesn't have a car or edu loan payments, but recently spent a budgeted amount of his savings on my engagement ring :-) We split all our bills equally except sometimes he fills up my gas tank & usually pays when we eat out.

[lillyb]

Our monthly budget:
2 adults, one teen, one lil pooch
Income about $4,000 a month, yearly bonus would average an additional $550 monthly.

Monthly Expenses:
Mortgage- 470
Student loan- 156
Electric- 250 (working on getting this down)
Dish/phone/dsl- 90
Phone- 25 (for relative that can't afford it)
Cells- 140 (mine and teen, under contract, will not renew)
Water/sewer/garbage- 25
Netflix- 20
Sirius- 30 (all 3 vehicles, not many radio stations out here)
Groceries- 325 (includes household items)
Gas- 150
Spending- 325 (high enough to keep us on budget )
Total expenses: 2006

Insurances- house and 2 vehicles (teen pays her own) average 200 monthly, but we pay annual or bi-annual premium when they come in. Health and life insurance paid by dh's employer.
House taxes paid annually, would average 58 monthly.

Only a 3% going to IRA, 100% matched, at the moment. We want to knock out the mortgage and student loan within the next couple years before we really start investing.

Everything left over is going to savings for a bigger emergency fund, then it's on to the student loan and house. Totally debt-free goal by age 39.

[PrincessPerky]

Originally Posted by lisasayzhi

Ok, I should have clarified. He has other expenses that I don't have. He graduated college last December so he's having to pay back his student loans now, plus his own credit card debt. That's why I don't ask him for the money. He's got his own to worry about.

I did talk to him about my financial problems and he said he'd planned on helping me with the insurance anyways... we just haven't gotten it yet.

I have been working this afternoon on getting bills down. My birthday is coming up on the 11th, and my inlaws tend to buy me gifts, which I hate... seriously... my closet is OVERFLOWING with sweaters ....

glad you talked, hope you continue to merge finances, and I hope together you can get costs down.

energy, dittoing the windows, also if you havn't yet unplug your house..if you are not currently using it (ok leave one clock at all times) unplug it! no matter how small..the less electricity you use, the less you pay.

aim for non electric entertainment, it it isn't saving you money or making you money, cut it..as a new married couple I am sure you can think of something to do in the dark...

so...you mean you don't have car insurance?..politically I disagree with the law, but truthfully it is cheaper to get it........

[PrincessPerky]

and congrats to abowers on being so close to paying off cc!

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by PrincessPerky

so...you mean you don't have car insurance?..politically I disagree with the law, but truthfully it is cheaper to get it........

Totally OT, but since you mentioned it... Do you not think drivers should be required to carry insurance? Just curious what your reasoning is there.

[PrincessPerky]

I am a libertarian, I ........... well much of anything outside of the constitution that the govt is doing..but that is really OT..I would love to tell you why..but I think in an email would be better (save everyone else from having to see it), and if you really want the long version feel free to pm me with yours, I'll send it. (I wont be insulted if you don't want it either)

[bjl584]

Let's see:
This is all per month

768 Mortgage (668 + 100 extra towar