New here with a question

**jIM_Ohio** · 03-05-2007, 02:01 PM

One thing we did once take an advance on a CC for 30 days to get cash into account, paid off all current bills and get us thru to the 15th of the month. CC was 0% interest, so it wasn't a big deal and made the first month much easier.

In the meantime we sorted thru bills/paychecks and assigned to various "checking accounts".

For example, if you know DH's paychecks pay bills 1,2,3, and 10,11,12, then have his paychecks go to Account A and pay those 6 bills only from that account.

If you know your paycheck pays bills 6,7,8,9 and 13, then send your paycheck to a different account and only pay your bills out of his account.

This creates many small piles of money as opposed to one big one.

One suggestion, when sorting bills, if some are "debts" and some are "cash" and some are short term things, then sort accounts based on type of debt. When debts are paid off, that account becomes a cash buffer for you (SAVINGS). Check my blog... I outlined what we do in it.

**genmed** · 03-05-2007, 02:16 PM

If you feel like you are "catching up" as opposed to having a buffer in the bank to pay bills as they come in, one option might be to try to get that buffer set up. Do you have money budgeted for savings? If so can you put that into your checking account as a buffer to pay bills versus having every penny go out?

You mention DH's paycheck is for weekly expenses, is there somethig you can do such as eat out of food already in your kitchen, forgo going out to eat for a month, or basically cut down to absolute bare necessities for a month to build up that little extra bit in your bank? I'm not advocating doing this forever, we all need some fun things, but maybe for a month to build up a little bit of money in your account. Ideas to consider:
not eating out
not buying groceries, using things up in your kitchen
if you have to buy groceries, find the cheapest things you can just for the first month
Give up movie rentals
not contribute to a charity
Forgo a haircut for an extra two weeks
Don't buy a new clothes
Limit or try to do without spending money for birthday presents
Paying smaller amounts on your debt for this one month only (if you are paying more than the minumum). Yes you want to pay it off, but not having late fees on bills because you're always a week late isn't good either.

I'd also advise every month look at what you spend, read some of the great ideas here and see where you can cut additional expenses.

**Ima saver** · 03-05-2007, 02:22 PM

Jim is right, you need to either have some cash in savings or actually charge things the first month, in order to get caught up, so you can start on a budget. That is why it is so hard to get started.
I started a budget the first week I got married, so that I never got behind on one single bill.

**jIM_Ohio** · 03-05-2007, 02:54 PM

once in a budget, it is usually "easier" to do things, so the discipline to stay in the budget might be more important than who pays what with what check when.

good luck trying to get started.

**PrincessPerky** · 03-05-2007, 04:13 PM

I started with a small buffer, and followed many of the earlier suggestions to get our spending (including bills) as low as it could go. I even paid just the minimum on our CC for a couple months to get the buffer.

I chose 1k, because it was easy math when balancing the checkbook...my account balance did not show the 1k in my checkbook, but obviously the bank had it, so once a month I added the 1k back in to balance and then ignored it again thereafter. or you could leave it in but just remember it is for emercency buffering, not for eating out, or birthdays or whatnot.

Once I had a nice buffer in the checking account I could relax. Even if my husband doesn't get paid the first like he is used to, the mortgage will. (recently went from paid the first and 15th to paid every friday...so glad we had the buffer)

I do not recomend multiple accounts, right now we have two checking and trying to transfer the money to the right spot at the right time is creating stress, ugh.

Also pay bills before due if you can, for example, while I know that half my bills are due after the second check of my husbands, I deduct the amount from my account the first week (they are auto paid online but I would write a check before that) that way when we are looking at how much money we have to spend on groceries or misc splurging we see a smaller amount (when paying off debt it was usually less than 100, for gas and groceries for a family of 5...keeps your belt tight to see such a low number)

And when that money does come in the following week I deduct a nice sized lump to debt to remove it from availible funds. (leaving the buffer of course)

**disneysteve** · 03-05-2007, 04:51 PM

Originally posted by mommyonamission View Post

Dh and I are starting a budget so we can pay off some debt. I know what we have to do and I have actually made a really good broken out budget in excel.

as of right now we are never "caught up" we pay as they come and when we can afford to pay them. I know if we stick to our budget and reduce our spending we have the money to pay them

Welcome! Congrats on taking that huge first step and setting up a budget.

You say you can never get caught up, but I think you answer your own question with the last sentence I quoted above. Never being able to get caught up means you are spending too much money. Sticking to your newly designed budget and reducing your spending will, in a short time, allow you to get caught up and start getting ahead of your bills.

Here's what I would suggest. The two of you should sit down with the budget you've made. Go over each item and decide first if it is a Want or a Need. If it is a Want, can you do without it entirely, at least for a while? If not, can you reduce what you are spending on that item? For example, maybe you aren't willing to give up cable tv, but can you switch to a less costly plan? You need to have phone service but are there any extra services you can canel like call waiting or caller ID?

If an item is a Need, something you feel you must have, don't ignore the opportunity to save there too. Get new quotes for your auto, home and life insurance policies to see if you can find cheaper rates. Look for ways to reduce your utility costs. Perhaps there is a cheaper place to have your car serviced. Leave no stone unturned. Almost everything you buy or pay for might be available cheaper somehow.

Finally, you absolutely must do what genmed asked about and that is making Savings a budgeted item. Funding an emergency fund should be considered of equal importance to paying your mortgage or your other bills. How much you budget for that will depend on your situation. Even if you can only start with $5 or $10 per week, do it. Then you can gradually increase that amount as your situation improves.

Good luck. If you are interested in posting your budget, I'm sure many of us would be happy to make more specific suggestions.

**boefixepa** · 03-06-2007, 06:56 AM

I feel for you, I remember this situation so well. Now this may not be the answer for you, but it was for me. What I did was take a second out on my home. With the money I paid off all of mydebt. All credit cards, auto loan...everything. Thankfully I didn't have too much. The only debt it left me with was my first and second mortgage. I had a little left over to fund my evelopes I needed for yearly expenses and I stuck to my plan like glue. I knew I was taking a risk, and that if I did not use extremem self-disipline I'd end up worse off then before. I did not allow myself to use CC or spend out of budget at all. I am making wonderful headway and expect to have the second paid off by the end of the year and I have learned so much on this journey. They sense of freedom, from being controled by my money to controling it...there are not words to describe the feeling. I know am able to use CC to make a little money and I can see a furture other then living paycheck to paycheck my whole life.

The battle is worth it. Whatever way you find....don't give up.

**Ima saver** · 03-06-2007, 08:51 AM

Steve is certainly right, you do need to set aside something for savings out of every paycheck, no matter how small the amount is, at first. Later, you will be able to set aside a larger sum.

New here with a question