Budgeting

[Gilly]

Have you used forbearance time on your student loans? That's helped me big time while my wife is in law school. Some places only give you so much of it but some let you keep doing if you pay them a little bit. I've also set up automatic payment plans so I know I have to have money in the bank on a certain day. Student loan companies are evil but in my case they do really work with you if you are stuck. You don't get anything paid off but you can live without worry until you find a job that gets you moving forward.

[Bryan]

I just took a look at Mint, the site Eric mentioned, and it looks as great as he says. I'd sign up myself, but they don't support Canadian banks.

A video that shows how it works:

http://www.mint.com/product/videos/mint-demo/

[iAmBaronVonTito]

i can only tell you what works for me; i see where all my money is going in a very broad sense.  i looked at a one month statement from my bank and noticed where all my money was going and put the kabosh on it.

as for budgeting, i rounded my income down and rounded my expenses up.  if rent was $575, i rounded that expense up to $600.  water bill was $165, i rounded it to $200.  if i made $1560 a month, i rounded it down to $1500.  this allowed me some breathing room.  i got paid bi-weekly so i paid half my bills every paycheck- half the rent, half utilities, etc. came out of every paycheck.  the rest of the money i used for wants and my savings account (the cornertstone of my budgeting and works great when finances get tight).



i know it doesnt work for everybody, but it seems to work for me. 

[Julie]

It's just adding and subtracting. You can even use paper instead of a computer, but that's a hassle. If you use excel, just write a macro to make happy sound effects when you have money in your account and you'll never be disappointed.

[Julie]

i can only tell you what works for me; i see where all my money is going in a very broad sense.  i looked at a one month statement from my bank and noticed where all my money was going and put the kabosh on it.

as for budgeting, i rounded my income down and rounded my expenses up.  if rent was $575, i rounded that expense up to $600.  water bill was $165, i rounded it to $200.  if i made $1560 a month, i rounded it down to $1500.  this allowed me some breathing room.  i got paid bi-weekly so i paid half my bills every paycheck- half the rent, half utilities, etc. came out of every paycheck.  the rest of the money i used for wants and my savings account (the cornertstone of my budgeting and works great when finances get tight).



i know it doesnt work for everybody, but it seems to work for me. 

I have the same rounding method! It's like setting your clock 23 minutes ahead so that you get to work on time.

[Gilly]

My wife does that and I had to buy a new clock because getting to work 20 minutes early is a pretty depressing way to start a day.

[Fido]

Wow, there is some great financial advice on this thread. FOTs are pretty smart!

No shame in asking friends for financial advice, I don't think. Especially because we're basically friends but aren't exactly face to face with one another. The same is true of asking creditors whether they can help work something out for you -- Lord knows lots of other people are doing it, even more should be, and it may yield some very helpful results that if nothing else, might help put your mind at ease just a little bit. The worst they can do is say no, and if they do, you get to express righteous indignation and scream curses at them! Take it from me, even that can be a little bit satisfying. For a minute or two.

[Emerson]

My position is a little different, but I've taken the "live simply" thing a little bit differently than most (I think).  When it comes to STUFF, I try to live simply.  When it comes to not stuff (volunteering, learning, hobbies, work, etc...)  I've been trying to load up.  I find that doing stuff like volunteering my time keeps me from spending money to fill up free time and it makes me feel better (it also makes me crazy)

Right there with you. When I'm bored, I spend money. So I cultivate obsessions that don't cost anything. When I'm balls-deep in a writing project, the PB&Js just make themselves. You gotta have PASSION, bro.

Sorry you're having a hard time, John. Seems to be going around. One of my stay-busy-at-all-costs projects has been volunteering at an orphaned-cat shelter in LA. A lot of the newer cats were abandoned because of foreclosures, and no one has the money to adopt them. Things suck right now. We'll ride it out.

[John Junk 2.0]

thanks for all the help guys.

I'm a little bit wary of putting a hold on my student loan payments, just cause paying them off is one of the few things I consider responsible financial behavior on my part.  And I'm not sure if it might bite me in the ass worse later.  I'll research this option.

I'll contact my credit card company as well.

I'm working on this budget in excel.  It's good to have something pre-done for me, so I at least can remember what to include in all these costs.  And it'll help me figure out if I'm elligible for forbearance or not if I want to use it (looks like I might be).