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I pretty much buy everything with my debit card, so I never took the advice of "write everything down for a month and then plug some holes." I figured because I kept every receipt and balanced my check book every two weeks, I in effect was writing everything down. The problem is, before today, I never looked at what I was spending money on.
I had a feeling that I spent too much money on restuarants / bars and books. Well, I did good on books this year. Only $125, and I sold a bunch for $25. But then I looked at Restuarants / Bars / Liquor Store / and Grocery Stores.
First, some back story. I am a single late 20's woman who recently moved from Dallas to Wichita to be closer to my family / boyfriend. I was very socially active in Dallas, lots of friends, out pretty much every night, either playing volleyball (sometimes three nights a week) or going to restuarants / bars with my friends. I would say when I was there, I was home maybe twice a week (usually Mon and Tues); other than that I was out with one group of friends or another every night. Don't get the wrong idea...I'm not talking crazy nights of table dancing. But, usually restuarant, then movie, then a bar. Or just restaurant and a bar. Most of my friends played volleyball, so those three night we were playing we would play and then go to Applebee's, or the sand courts were at a bar and we would eat and drink there.
Since moving, I don't know anyone here except my cousin who moved in with me. She is just starting out, so she doesn't have much money. I thought she was helping to keep me in check...I am cooking at home a lot more and watching a lot more TV than I did before (haven't found a team to play on yet). I'm also driving about 2 hours every weekend to see my boyfriend, but because before I was driving about 8 hours once a month to see him and my family, the gas bill hasn't gone up or down.
Ok, for my, let's call it, discretionary spending.
Month Restaurant Bar Food Liquor store Total
Jan 404 61 129 594
Feb 455 116 103 674
Mar 414 82 104 57 657
Apr 353 63 250 666
May 277 129 200 42 648
Jun 498 20 524 1042
Jul 339 0 117 456
Aug 330 13 365 708
Sep 412 0 178 590
Oct 269 29 66 36 400
Holy cow I eat out a lot! I had no idea. Ok, so I had some idea, but nothing this bad. I guess my evening eating out with friends has been replaced with lunch with co-workers.
Now, I have my other spending under control, and I have a fully funded 401(k) and Roth IRA, and I invest in a taxable account (usually $100 a month). I bought a small house when I moved (for a lot less than "they" said I could afford). I have a truck payment and a small student loan, and a business loan. All of that debt is under control...I'm never out of money at the end of the month, and am working to pay off the business loan first because it has the highest effective interest rate.
I am comfortable this way, not struggling at all. But the eating out has to stop. It's not healthy and most of the time lately I eat out because I'm lazy. And even though the debt is under control, it would be great to not have it.
So, I was thinking of using an envelope system only for this category...restuarants, bars, and food. Looking at the above numbers, it looks like if I take out $150 a week, I'll maintain my current spending. (Yes I know, that is a huge number). But, I can start here and maybe gradually move down. I can get money every Friday and make it last until the next Friday, and put any left over money from the envelope that week in a "pay off the loan" envelope.
What do you think? Is this a good plan?
I had a feeling that I spent too much money on restuarants / bars and books. Well, I did good on books this year. Only $125, and I sold a bunch for $25. But then I looked at Restuarants / Bars / Liquor Store / and Grocery Stores.
First, some back story. I am a single late 20's woman who recently moved from Dallas to Wichita to be closer to my family / boyfriend. I was very socially active in Dallas, lots of friends, out pretty much every night, either playing volleyball (sometimes three nights a week) or going to restuarants / bars with my friends. I would say when I was there, I was home maybe twice a week (usually Mon and Tues); other than that I was out with one group of friends or another every night. Don't get the wrong idea...I'm not talking crazy nights of table dancing. But, usually restuarant, then movie, then a bar. Or just restaurant and a bar. Most of my friends played volleyball, so those three night we were playing we would play and then go to Applebee's, or the sand courts were at a bar and we would eat and drink there.
Since moving, I don't know anyone here except my cousin who moved in with me. She is just starting out, so she doesn't have much money. I thought she was helping to keep me in check...I am cooking at home a lot more and watching a lot more TV than I did before (haven't found a team to play on yet). I'm also driving about 2 hours every weekend to see my boyfriend, but because before I was driving about 8 hours once a month to see him and my family, the gas bill hasn't gone up or down.
Ok, for my, let's call it, discretionary spending.
Month Restaurant Bar Food Liquor store Total
Jan 404 61 129 594
Feb 455 116 103 674
Mar 414 82 104 57 657
Apr 353 63 250 666
May 277 129 200 42 648
Jun 498 20 524 1042
Jul 339 0 117 456
Aug 330 13 365 708
Sep 412 0 178 590
Oct 269 29 66 36 400
Holy cow I eat out a lot! I had no idea. Ok, so I had some idea, but nothing this bad. I guess my evening eating out with friends has been replaced with lunch with co-workers.
Now, I have my other spending under control, and I have a fully funded 401(k) and Roth IRA, and I invest in a taxable account (usually $100 a month). I bought a small house when I moved (for a lot less than "they" said I could afford). I have a truck payment and a small student loan, and a business loan. All of that debt is under control...I'm never out of money at the end of the month, and am working to pay off the business loan first because it has the highest effective interest rate.
I am comfortable this way, not struggling at all. But the eating out has to stop. It's not healthy and most of the time lately I eat out because I'm lazy. And even though the debt is under control, it would be great to not have it.
So, I was thinking of using an envelope system only for this category...restuarants, bars, and food. Looking at the above numbers, it looks like if I take out $150 a week, I'll maintain my current spending. (Yes I know, that is a huge number). But, I can start here and maybe gradually move down. I can get money every Friday and make it last until the next Friday, and put any left over money from the envelope that week in a "pay off the loan" envelope.
What do you think? Is this a good plan?
Well, even with eating, I've cut back quite a bit from when I first started (from $450 to $300). However, I've still got a long way to go. I'm trying to learn to cook more as well. I guess that's my problem right now. After I get home from work, I'm usually quite tired and is not in the mood to cook. I still do, but not every night.
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