My NEW New Year’s Resolution
So I’m already thinking of editing one of my New Year’s Resolutions, namely the creating and sticking to a budget every month. It’s just no good. Rather, I’m no good at it. There are certain areas where I know exactly how much I’m going to spend, but others where I have zero clue.
I have to do SOMETHING, though, so I’m going to document everything that I spend. I did this in May and November and I think that I went under budget both months (or if I didn’t in November it’s because of buying in bulk at Costco). I tend to spend more when I’m not paying attention everyday, so the end result of the resolution will be the same: to control my spending.
Since I received a $100 Visa gift card for Christmas, I’m going to start using it on a regular basis for everyday expenses (I know that’s not the point of the gift, but saving money will help me more than a new pair of shoes will) like when I go to Panera every other Tuesday. This way my spending won’t count too much against me, either.
So along with accounting for my expenses, I’m going to keep a list somewhere (maybe a new page to this blog?) where I keep track of what exactly should be in my Gift Fund, Emergency Fund, Car (maintenance/insurance/etc.) Fund, and Regular Savings each month. Here’s my initial plan:
Savings- $100/month
Gift Fund- $50/month
Car Fund- $200 + $50/month
Emergency Fund- $1000
I need to put a lot in the car fund right away because in just a few months I’m going to have to get a new timing belt and that’s going to cost somewhere between $600-700. So, by 31 January, I’d like to see these at:
Savings- $100
Gift Fund- $50 (minus what I spend on B’s birthday gift)
Car Fund- $250
Emergency Fund- $1000 (HA! That won’t happen. The E fund will be funded with what’s leftover or from the Regular Savings until it’s full. Luckily this is a three paycheck month, so it’s a good time to get started on each of these accounts).
My Christmas Spending
I’m back, pals! Back from nowhere, really, but I’m ready to start posting again. I don’t know why I felt like I needed the break, but I’m ready for things to get back to normal. I’m also (for now) ditching my weekly to-do lists. I wasn’t getting anything done anyway.
So Christmas is coming! I’m in the holiday spirit and my biggest problem (if you can call it that) is that B won’t let me listen to Christmas music around him. I understand–this is the first year since my senior year of high school that I got into the Christmas spirit more than two days before Christmas. I’ve been listening to 97.1 for the 24/7 Christmas music and loving it!
So I’ve done something silly…or rather I haven’t done something. I never made a Christmas budget. And I’m not going to, either. I was getting so stressed out trying to budget that I just gave up (that sounds healthy, right?). January is a three-paycheck month for me, so I’ll let that soak up some of the overflow…if there is overflow. Because even without a budget, I’ve been getting great deals on things.
My younger brother’s gift is taken care of (or will be when I receive things in the mail). I got him three c.d.’s that he wanted. I have to say that the Amazon wishlist thing is quite helpful. One c.d. is an old one that I was able to order for about $4 off of an Amazon seller. The other two are new, but were $10.99 and $9.99 respectively and I got free shipping. So his gift was right at $25.
My cousin has two sons, 2 and 4 months old. I’m just going to give them two coloring books and some markers. Obviously the baby can’t play with those, but my cousin won’t care. Approximate cost for this is $13.
My dad told me that he wanted some dry sacks (or wet sacks?), these bags that keep everything in them completely dry if a person tosses the bag into a river while fishing. I’ve used them before when tubing on a river, to hold keys, wallets, clothes, etc. I just tie it to a rope and let it float on the water. Anyway, my dad gets this Sportsman’s Guide catalogue thing and told me that it was a 3-pack for about $17. When I went to the website, it was $15-something. I found a $5 off coupon code, so my final price (with tax and shipping) was $15.46, I believe. I’m going to find him something else to go along with this; maybe a shirt from Kohl’s where I still have about $20 on a gift card.
I picked out two books for my mom and used ebates to get a good price. I’m getting 8% cash back by going through Borders.com and I got 30% off one item. The two books were originally $13.95, so I didn’t have the $25 to qualify for the free shipping until I added the two coloring books that I got for my cousin’s sons. My final price was $33.20, without the 8% cashback. With it, it’ll be something like $30.54. I think that I’ll get my mom gloves and a scarf to finish up her gift.
So I’ve spent just under $75 so far. I’m planning on baking cookies or making candy for gifts for other people mostly. Other gifts that I need to buy:
For B: I have a few ideas…I want to keep this under $50
For RC: A couple years ago R and I went halfsies on a boxed set of Friends with the intention to buy a new boxed set someday. At the time, we paid around $172. I’ve seen it online for as little as $80. I’m thinking that if I buy it, their gift really only costs $40…and less if you count C’s birthday in a couple weeks and R’s birthday that I never really finished getting a gift for a few months ago.
For B’s parents: wine and a framed picture of B and I.
For my grandparents: framed picture of B and I, and some cookies.
For my cousin and her husband: wine and cookies. I’d like to make some cookies that her older son can eat because he has tons of food allergies.
Another cousin: bottle of wine or cookies. He and I always exchange one bottle so I might keep this up.
Otherwise, that should be it for me. I’m estimating my costs to be around $175 for the things that I haven’t bought yet, not including the cookie ingredients and all the wrapping and things. Estimating that that will be an additional $75 (I hope that that’s a steep estimate) and adding that to the $75 that I’ve already spent, I’m hoping that I don’t go over $325. Man. That’s even lower than I expected. I’d even be okay with $400.
So, budget or no, I’m still doing pretty well. As long as my friends and family love baked goods (which reminds me that I might have to buy a couple extra cookie sheets or this will take forever).
My BF Hearts Fast Food
I had a great weekend with B, getting to meet his new roommate and hanging out with all the guys that live there on Friday night. On Saturday we just hung out and spent an hour or so at the pool next to my apartment (part of the complex). Yesterday we went to Mass and then hung out all day again. He wanted us to go to Maryland and find something to do, to which I said, “All we’ll do is drive to your house and watch TV THERE.” He denied this, so we stopped in Bethesda for about fifteen minutes and walked around, but there was nothing to do there except eat or drink (bunch of restaurants, no shops like we’d hoped). So we went on to his house and watched Scrubs. How’d I guess?
Now that I’ve started paying close attention to what food costs, I’m relating everything I eat in a day to dollars. Like on Saturday, B and I ate two bags of popcorn ($2) and had three Lean Cuisine meals ($6). We also had beer that he’d bought and I had a couple glasses of boxed wine (less than a dollar, I’m sure). I was starting to resent him being so hungry, though! Thinking to myself, “Oh, so you want ANOTHER meal, huh? TWO DOLLARS!!” Obviously (I hope), I didn’t say anything like this to him. And he did pay for the beer, and bought ice cream and some bananas for me, as well as paying for Friday nights’ dinner/beer and last night’s Wendy’s chicken nuggets meal. At my slight nagging he even waited in line and got me a free refill of my Diet Coke. So he spent way more on me than I did on him.
I guess what bothers me is that he isn’t frugal when it comes to grocery purchases. He doesn’t even keep food at his house! He just buys fast food all of the time! Sometimes he’ll buy cans of soup or packages of ramen, but not often. I’ve offered to go grocery shopping with him, but he knows that it will take forever with me because I like to browse or compare unit prices until he’s crazy.
If we were married, I would simply do all the grocery shopping and pack his lunch everyday to make sure that money wasn’t being wasted, but we’re not there yet. If I thought it would save him money, I think that I would help him shop and then make all his lunches for an entire week, every week. Then I’d just make sure that he had big bags of frozen chicken nuggets and cans of soup and ramen for dinner. Not terribly healthy, but a lot cheaper than what he’s doing now. I doubt he’d go for it.
The name of this blog is Living Paycheck to Paycheck because that’s sorta what I’m doing, but I’m also saving money. I wouldn’t be in great shape if I were to lose my job suddenly, but I could deal with a major expense if an emergency arose (like a major car repair). Right now, B is actually living paycheck to paycheck. He gets paid on the fifteenth every month (and the 30th? I forget.) and told me yesterday that he has $23 until then. That’s it. He has no savings to hold him over. It’s because all of his utilities, rent, and credit card payments are all due at the beginning of the month, but still. This isn’t a criticism of him, though; he’s still paying his parents back for some things and won’t be done until around December. After that he’ll be able to start saving (or that’s his plan anyway). So he’s really someone who’s paycheck to paycheck. Because of that, I’d like to help him save money. I point out to him all these things I do to save money, but I don’t want to ask him what HE’S doing. I already sometimes think that I sound obsessed with finances, so I don’t want to rub him the wrong way or freak him out (more than I already do). Argh.
In good news, I was at 137.5 lbs. when I stepped on the scale this morning. It quickly went to 138 (on a digital scale), but that was the first time I saw 137 in probably a year and a half, so I’m kind of excited.
My New Budget
Okay, new budget!
1. Rent/Utilities/Phone/Internet/Food – $1380
2. Savings – $175
3. Loans – $262.72
4. Gas/Tolls/Car Insurance/Car Maintenance – $500
5. Entertainment/Gifts/Clothing/Donations/Miscellaneous – $182
I changed my savings goal to reflect a few things. Three percent of my pre-tax salary already goes into retirement (with a 50% company match), and $250 on top of that was just too much. I always went over budget on other things. Also, even though I’m trying to keep my budget under $2500/month, I earn about $2670/month. So, theoretically, I’ll already sock away $170 in addition.
I think my estimate for the car stuff is okay, but I’m not sure. We’ll see how that one goes.
The first catergory should be okay, assuming that I don’t go nuts with my cell phone again and if I can make a concentrated effort to stay under budget with groceries. I just received several pounds of mahi mahi (that I helped catch!!) from my parents with some ground venison as well, so I need to look for ways to cook/fry/grill all that and have it stretch for a while. I need to make a diet plan complete with costs of food. I also should hit up Costco, which I’ve never done though I have a membership (paid for by my parents). I’m also paying attention to weekly deals at Giant and CVS (and maybe Shoppers Food Warehouse).
I’m curious to see how this will go and what will need adjusting. My food budget will be smaller this month since I’ll be at the beach for 5 1/2 days (my parents will pay for my food). My auto expenses will rise, though, due to two beach trips (about 750 miles total for both trips).
Here goes nothin’!
My BFF’s Budget
I wish that I could take control of my best friends’ finances. My best friend, R and her husband, C, are teachers who make a fair amount of money and have great county benefits. They don’t have much in assets, but with the school year coming up they’ll be back to making money and paying off their debt.
They’re in great shape and don’t NEED (or want) any help with what to do, honestly. I see them spending too much money on things that they don’t need and it bothers me, though it shouldn’t. What people choose to spend their money on is up to them and RC can afford to throw down a couple hundred bucks here and there when they want. I just know how I would spend that kind of money if I had it, and how I would save it, and it’s different from them.
From what I can tell, they pay lots of money each month for memberships to things, they overspend on groceries, beer, and liquor, and they just generally don’t look for ways to save money. If R buys a new dress (even if it’s on sale), she’ll feel like C should be able to spend money on something for himself. This encourages them both to spend, rather than save. I know that if I could change how they spent money, they’d be out of debt completely (they don’t have much to begin with) and saving more money each year.
I’d love it if they tried to take over MY budget, too. I have such trouble sticking to one because of all the unexpected expenses that arise each month. Maybe if RC made specific allotments for me, I’d find more money for fun things (since they put a higher value on that). If I had to hold myself accountable for every purchase to them, I might stop spending the few bucks here and there that add up to too much.
It’s not going to happen, switching household budgeting…which is probably for the best. The Sims 2: Apartment Life expansion pack comes out on August 27th (I think) and I’m going to want to buy it immediately!
My Party, Part III
I didn’t keep it below $60, but I gave myself some great excuses as to why not.
I didn’t thaw the shrimp correctly and had to trash the entire bag. I was counting on it being a substantial part of the food that I was offering, so I decided to get more food. I also had to run out and get more things for the gin bucket. One of these gin buckets costs almost exactly $10.00 and it was almost gone with only four or five of the guests there, so I went and got more. My grand total came to $78, rounded to the nearest dollar. Since the shrimp cost $10-12 to begin with, I added that to the original $60, so I came quite close. I also had almost a full case of beer left over, a fair amount of boxed wine, and I received three bottles of wine as presents which I was not expecting, so I feel like I came out ahead.
Soon I will come out with a list of goals to help me to avoid spending more money. One of my goals is to post each day on how much money I spend so that I can see what I’m buying. I think that I will start this on 1 May, so that I can look at it as a month-by-month thing.
Today I will finish my taxes; when I started them last week, TurboTax showed me how much I could contribute to an IRA and what my tax refund would turn out to be. I need to enter some new documents that I found first to see how it’s changed, but last week it looked like I could contribute over $1000 and still get $1500 back. I can’t wait to get this money back, especially since it should bump up my net worth.
My Party, Part II
My party is tomorrow and I’m trying to combat my natural tendency to freak out. I’m a fairly lazy person, but an obsessive list-maker, so I have a grocery list, a party grocery list, a “things to do” list (organized by rooms in my apartment), and not a thing crossed off of any of them.
On Tuesday (my actual birthday), I went out to dinner with my parents and took home leftovers. I ate some for dinner last night and I had one of the rolls for breakfast this morning. Anytime I’m eating something I didn’t pay for versus something I did, I’m saving money! My parents are on a diet, so I was able to bring home four bags of potato chips, a jar of salsa, and a jar of cocktail sauce, which will save me more than $15. One of the bags is already gone, though, because two of my best friends were over last night and I had to feed them something; I chose the smallest of the bags.
My best friend asked what I’d like as a birthday present, if she could get me anything for the party. I asked for a case of beer. I told her that it didn’t even have to be “good” beer.
I have about 18 confirmed people and 3 or 4 people that are probably coming, too, so it won’t be a crazy party or anything. The guests are going to range in age from 23-26, so there WILL be beer pong, more than half of a box of wine, part of a bottle of wine, and a gin bucket. I’m going with the cheapest gin available, no matter the brand. I’m getting generic ginger ale and a generic can of lemonade to go with it.
I’m worried about keeping the purchases to under $60.
This is where I find myself unable to budget effectively. I received a $100 check from my grandparents so in my mind I’m thinking, “Well, it’s okay if I go over $60 because I have that other money to fall back on.” I know that the extra money should be put into savings to pay for necessities, but it’s difficult to hold myself back. I’m not good at setting limits on myself and it amazes me how well other people accomplish it.
Because one of my goals in life is to be a good hostess (i.e., welcoming to guests, making sure they have everything they need to have a good time), I hate asking people to bring anything; if they volunteer, I’ll suggest something, but I feel like a bad hostess if I invite someone to my home and am unable to cater to their needs. I’m going to try to combat that feeling and ask one friend to supply the gin and my boyfriend to get a case of beer. I hate doing that because he’s as bad off as me financially for this month. Many of my friends will call tomorrow afternoon to ask if they can bring anything and I’ll use that time to request more 12 packs. Hopefully I can keep these costs down!
