restoring my financial stability

[Radiance]

Hello,

I don't like quicken and the such, too advanced for me.
I use xpenser because I can text or email my expenses right at the cashier and forget about the paper receipt.
It also allows me to do "virtual" envelop so I don't actually carry the money around.

Let's say I 'allocate' $150 for food. If I buy 15.78 in groceries, I sent a text message and xpenser deducts that from my food money.
I do check both my checking account and my xpenser every day I make a purchase, any purchase. This includes crdit card purchases, this I tag with the name of the card so I know it didn't come from my checkings. Envelops on xpenser don't care how you paid, only what specific envelop is the money coming from.
I check on my credit card transactions once a week to ensure there are no surprises.

I do allocations of money to each envelop every time I get paid which is twice a month.
I keep track of my recurrent bills in a spreadsheet in google docs.

Both xpenser and google docs are free..

My main advise is that if one method doesn't work, try to figure out why and try something else if you can not adapt it. I spent too much time kicking myself for not being able to stick to a budget when what I needed was a method that worked for ME All the best!!!

[Payn_it>>>]

how do i sign up for this xpenser?

[Payn_it>>>]

got it....wow this is gunna be cool.....thanks guysl\.

[Payn_it>>>]

ok problem two.

I have a car that was bought in my parents name back in 2005. when i turned 18 (two years ago) we transfered it into my name. Ford Motor Credit made a mistake and transposed a number on my SSN. So in January of this year i went to trade in my car and my score was down around a 540. then they tell me my car is not in my name. Long story short. It took me 7 months for Ford to properly add my car to my credit accounts. When we found the problem, i was assured by both Ford, FICO, Exerian and Equifax that not only would my history be fixed, but my score as well. This did not happen.

I got the car on the account showing all the way back to august of 05 with no lates at all. yet my score is still hovering around a 570. Any suggestions?

[boosami]

I got the car on the account showing all the way back to august of 05 with no lates at all. yet my score is still hovering around a 570. Any suggestions?

Any recovery after adding the missing account would have been immediate. Are there any other negative remarks on your credit report? What else is showing on your credit report? If you list the type of account, date of opening, balance, and limit we can help determine if that 570 is accurate and what you can do to improve it. It is possible that your account only recovered 30 points depending on what else is on your report. Given your age, this is actually the most likely scenario, because you have limited credit history.

Though, as I'm sure someone will add: Your credit score only really matters if you are going to apply for new credit somewhere like a car loan or mortgage. Many people obsess over it needlessly when they aren't planning on getting new credit any time soon. If that's the case, you should be focusing that energy toward getting your budget and spending under control, no improving your credit score.

[Payn_it>>>]

I am planning on applying for an appartment this month. There was a single 30 day late more than a year ago....a late payment for a credit card. but no negetives otherwise.

[boosami]

I am planning on applying for an appartment this month.

Not all landlords really care about your credit score. More likely they are checking to see if you have a bunch of unpaid collections or other types of remarks like that on your report. I know I don't even see the score when I run checks on my tenants. I'm more interested in evictions and job verification, which aren't shown on credit reports. Anyway, I would think a 570 would be more than sufficient to rent an apartment. Any landlords who check this want to weigh in?

There was a single 30 day late more than a year ago....a late payment for a credit card. but no negetives otherwise.

30-day late payments hurt your score for 7 years, but the effect lessens over time. A year ago is still pretty recent. If you carry a balance on any accounts, odds are that is hurting your credit as well.

With only two years of history, a recent 30-day late remark, and revolving balances, I think the 570 is right on.

[Justice44]

RE:Restoring My Financial Stability

Cash basis... using envelops. At the beginning of the month... load up the evnelops with the budgeted amounts.

When there is no cash in the dining out envelop... you don't.

That's a good idea.

[Payn_it>>>]

but two years plus of paying down a car loan. i was purchased for 15,556 our the door. and i owe 4,800 left to pay. Never late there. i'm down below 32% of allowed credit limits below 60% on all individual accounts.

[cptacek]

I made it a habit to get receipts for everything. I couldn't remember what I was going for if I left the computer to get a drink in the kitchen right now so I have to write everything down. I'll accumulate a week or two's worth of receipts and then reconcile.

I just use a spreadsheet that is set up like a checkbook register. Nothing too fancy.

It took DH a long time to remember to get receipts...but just last week, we were getting gas and the paper was out of their little printer, and he yelled in the cab "you'll have to write this down because the paper is out". I tell ya, it warmed my heart!

[sandrark]

It comes down to a routine, and enforcing it so it becomes habit. My strategies:

* I use clearcheckbook.com to track all my accounts. One personal checking, one joint checking, one personal savings, one joint savings, and two ING accounts.

* I limit my cash on hand each day. $20 stash, and $6 for daily "blow" ($10 on weekend days). This forces me to make choices and decisions EACH day, which flexes my "no" muscles...It's amazing how much less I spend when I simply don't have the cash.

* All of the funds left in my checking account after paying bills and taking out spending cash is set aside for gas for the month. Everything else is transferred to the billpay account, or savings.

* I get receipts for everything. I typically do the data entry in clearcheckbook every couple of days or so, and then make sure it reconciles with the bank accounts. the actual process of the data entry reinforces what I choose to spend my money on.

* I also have an overall monthly budget plan. Each month is one Excel workbook, and starts with my gross pay, taxes, retirement deductions, health insurance premiums, FSA account, billpay amount, cell phone bill estimate, cash spending money, etc. I tweak it several times each month, to stash as much into savings as possible (for example, if I budget $140 for gas, and I spend $120, I transfer that extra $20 into savings at the end of the month).

This workbook allows me to see the forest (instead of the trees, like with the spending transactions in clearcheckbook) - and I can easily copy it over month to month and accommodate specific costs or expenses for that month - such as a personal property tax bill, or the Costco membership renewal fee.

The focus and plan and attention paid really pays off. Literally. Because I've gotten so disciplined this past year, I was able to absorb a 10% pay cut due to furloughs, and it hasn't affected my retirement contributions except by $200 a month (I still contribute $1500 per month!)

Good luck! Starting now, you'll be way ahead of the game when you're in your 40's.

Sandi

[Payn_it>>>]

Thank you very much....I'm more worried about supprting my family now and later. My family has a kind of a curse. There hasn't been a man born to my family who has lived passed 55 in 6 generations. And we haven't had a girl born to our name in 8 gen. I want to brake that, but if i don't i want to make sure my family is set after i go home.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Thank you very much....I'm more worried about supprting my family now and later. My family has a kind of a curse. There hasn't been a man born to my family who has lived passed 55 in 6 generations. And we haven't had a girl born to our name in 8 gen. I want to brake that, but if i don't i want to make sure my family is set after i go home.

Interesting statement, Payn_it. Could this mean that your family has been teaching each other, "Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you may die?" Sometimes it IS the eating, the drinking, the merriment that causes the death. And it certainly speaks of an attitude of not bothering in the present to take care of tomorrow. That could come out in little things such as not using the small amount of discipline it takes to put a receipt in your pocket and emptying your receipts into a box at the end of every day so that you can record it on the weekend.

Just become a person who records their spending. It isn't a badge of admirable individuality that you "cannot" keep up with your receipts. It's just an excuse. We all have problems with doing what we know we should do. So just use some of the suggestions you've been given here. You are not helpless.

And use your bank's online tools. It is so easy to look at it daily or at least every other day if you have internet at home. Brush your teeth, wash your face, check your debit card activity. If you are afraid of seeing what it will show, do it anyway. Looking at it may be painful sometimes, but maybe it will help you find the determination to not overspend the next day. Each day you log on and see the good news will reinforce you to continue doing better for yourself.

[Justice44]

Restoring My Financial Stability

Thank you very much....I'm more worried about supprting my family now and later. My family has a kind of a curse. There hasn't been a man born to my family who has lived passed 55 in 6 generations. And we haven't had a girl born to our name in 8 gen. I want to brake that, but if i don't i want to make sure my family is set after i go home.

Hi Payn_it,

Did the men in your family have some medical issues????

[Payn_it>>>]

ya...High blood pressure, diabetes, high colestorol, history of stroke, and heart attach...then accidents. My cousin Steve was 54 and a few months, in good health, and was in a car accident.