Anyone Crazy Obsessed w/Budgeting/Planning Years Ahead?

[lisaross]

I have the next 7 years planned out..not to a t ofcourse but for example

my older son will be having a bar mitzvah in 2013 and i have an ING savings account for the last 2 years already - putting some of my tax refund in and now have a savings plan for the next 2 years to save..

Also have in my head when our mortgage will be paid off and then how much i can contribute to my kids college at that time in additon to what i have saved.

Vacations funds as well - how much each month i have to contribute etc etc.

Any crazy ones like me??

 

[AmongMadPeople]

Well, not quite 7 years, but I do have goals for 2013 Sometimes it's nice to think about how our sacrifices in the short term help our long term goals.

I think it's applaudable to plan for major expenses years in advance

 

[elcodfish]

crazy here too!!! I am planning on moving to FL within 5 years so I have been budgeting as best as possible.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

I just finished planning out our general budget once our mortgage is paid off in March, 2012 to the year 2028 when our youngest will finish college. Fortunately we'll only have 3 years where we'll have 2 in college at the same time, so we wanted to figure out how lean those years will/may be. It helps to have everything written down with approximate years, like planned improvements to our home, replacement vehicle purchase, vacations, etc. Of course, things don't always go according plan but just having it written down helps to plan and keep us on target.

 

[lisaross]

two will be in college together for 2 years...

glad to hear their are others out their like me! I actually enjoy all the budget planning - its fun - love to be in control - i know things might not go as planned,

I just finished planning out our general budget once our mortgage is paid off in March, 2012 to the year 2028 when our youngest will finish college. Fortunately we'll only have 3 years where we'll have 2 in college at the same time, so we wanted to figure out how lean those years will/may be.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

I think my head just exploded.

 

[HS3kids]

I'm not organized enough to plan that far ahead, but I do obsess over my monthly budget and proposed Disney budget for 2012, along with long term savings goals. Glad I am not the only one

 

[lady_bug_888]

I'm a major planner and I start to stress out if I don't have something planned.

I would say I have a general idea of how I want the next 5 years to go. For instance in the next 3 years I want all of our debts with the exception of car loan and mortgage to be paid in full. I know how much I will contribute to DD and DS's education funds. I know we will be moving (not sure when or where...depends on DH's job) and have a list of what we will be looking for in a house and have thought about budget and I know approximately how much we will have for a down payment.

I also plan the next 6 months pretty carefully. I know which days I will do my monthly shopping trip, I have sleepovers planned for DS in MARCH, I already have plans for DD's 1st bday at the end of next month, I know what we're getting the kids for easter, I know where we're going for vacation in June (Disney World in AUGUST!!!) and I have camping trips planned.

DS's bday is at the end of August and I already have a pre-party planned and I know what we are doing with his two BFF's for his bday when we get home from WDW.

I also count down days to important things and I have to have some sort of countdown or I feel depressed. The biggest hurdle in my life is that NO ONE around me is a planner. DH is very laid back and just goes with my plans because they are important to me but I HATE, HATE, HATE going camping with his family (or even visiting) because they never plan anything and when they do they don't stick to any type of schedule and it drives me NUTS! That said, I visit them often and deal with my issues because they are important in our lives but it is still frustrating for me and I feel like I do the scheduling for 20 people whenever I'm there!

My family is the same way but i'm used to it and don't feel bad stepping up and taking over. If they are offended or anything they will tell me so I don't worry about it!

 

[Jeff_G]

No I don’t think this is crazy at all… The DW and I have always lived frugally, we never carried a lot of debt, just sort of paid the bills as they came along for many years, but never really had a lot to show for it…
Then one day I started listening to Dave Ramsey and I finally put our budget down on paper dollar for dollar that month. With the written budget we were then able to allocate left over money to goals, one of which was paying off the mortgage early. Using excel I calculated out the mortgage payment, interest and principal what not, then calculated it out to where it was paid off. I was then able to figure out how much I could pay each month and have it calculate the additional payment and what that would do to the principal balance. I did the same sort of charting with the kids college funds and general savings accounts… Hmmmm the spread sheet currently goes out to 2030, of course I know it’s going to change between now and then but it was a good way to see the kids college funds through their college years and see what we can save beyond that…

I think having a plan is a good thing, just need to remember life will not always happen as you have planed, roll with the punches and be sure to stop and smell the roses along the way…

 

[FINFAN]

Kind of...I have our big ticket things budgeted for...like DD's college graduation in 2012. Normally we would drive to that (from IL to Sarasota) add 2-3 days vacation and drive her stuff back, but since DS graduates 2 weeks later and will have finals the week right after, now we have to fly and do a quick weekend graduation/move out. I am really bummed because it will probabaly cost us almost the same, but we won't get the mini vaca part of it. Then it is DS start of college, and our van is 15 years old. Need a roof, windows and carpet in the house..uggghhhhh. I have soecific amounts I set aside for travel/household/college..never is enough tho.

 

[Marionnette]

I have the next 7 years planned out..not to a t ofcourse but for example

my older son will be having a bar mitzvah in 2013 and i have an ING savings account for the last 2 years already - putting some of my tax refund in and now have a savings plan for the next 2 years to save..

Also have in my head when our mortgage will be paid off and then how much i can contribute to my kids college at that time in additon to what i have saved.

Vacations funds as well - how much each month i have to contribute etc etc.

Any crazy ones like me??

I never thought that having a handle on your financial life was crazy.

You sound a lot like me except that I would never have a tax refund.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

No I don’t think this is crazy at all… The DW and I have always lived frugally, we never carried a lot of debt, just sort of paid the bills as they came along for many years, but never really had a lot to show for it…

I think having a plan is a good thing, just need to remember life will not always happen as you have planed, roll with the punches and be sure to stop and smell the roses along the way…

That's how we feel too. One year we made the most we've ever made, and struggled to put our finger on what we'd purchased or done with the $$. It was pretty unsettling. After that we drafted a pretty specific budget for the next year and a general budget for the years after that, making sure to include any home improvements we were hoping to make, a replacement vehicle fund, and future places we wanted to travel to along with an approximate timeframe. It has helped to give us a general idea of where we want to be/what we want to do/when we want to do it. Of course, we've had to make changes to it from time to time, but not having any plan would not work for us either.

 

[bettymae1121]

Just through the end of 2012. We're trying to pay off some debt by mid 2012 so I wanted to plan out at least that far. Obviously you can't forsee all expenses that may come up, but at least there is a plan with a goal in place to help direct our efforts.

 

[*Seanaci*]

Lol. Way to go!

I have things semi-planned out through the end of next year. DH and I are currently about a year away from having our CC's settled out via debt settlement (currently paying $309 a month toward that). We are also a little over a year away from his car being paid off (currently paying $340 a month on that). Also working on paying down/off our current CC with our credit union ($5k balance...currently paying $100 a month toward that which doesn't help much because of the finance charges they take out every month >_< However, planning on putting our tax refund as a hefty payment on the CC).

Planning on a vacation account starting next June (once the car and CC's are paid off...that's $640 a month).

We'll see how things go. I currently make $400 a month babysitting for my neighbor. January went fabulous as far as putting all that money on the CC. However, this month as really been rough...and I can't put my finger on why. Oh well. Win some, lose some, right?

 

[disneyofcourse]

I used to plan like you for years! I wish I could get back into that state of mind. Honestly you set these goals and you know when you can get x or x . Its very fulfilling! I plan on going back to that once my paychecks get back to normal but its been about 4 years since I last planned.