Have you ever felt like

[STLDisney_Freak]

you have lost total control of all of your bills? I have to say I feel like that and I really don't like the feeling. I just got done paying off 4 credit cards. They were low balances, but none the less they are gone. Now we are down to 3 credit cards with fair amounts on them ($1200, $2400, and $5000), a student loan that I feel like will never be paid, our mortgage, and our HELOC which I should have never got in the first place. I'm trying to find a new way to do our bills because we do our bills threw the month and at the end of the month we barely have enough to even make ends meet. I'm currently doing some mystery shopping in addition to my full time job plus attending college (and don't forget the kids, ). My husband attends college and work full time also. I've been looking for another part time job, but I really honestly don't know how many more jobs I can take on already. I've recently put my quicken software on my desktop computer and tried to set my filing cabinet up for my bills. I know one of our problems is plastic which I hate to use, but I don't know of anything other way than using our debit card to allow DH and I to have enough money with us at all times. I guess I'm looking for options on how you all figures your bills in the month. Do you have any systems that you do that you feel keep you in a straight line and know what you paid, what you didn't pay, and everything is in order? We currently pay our bills online threw our credit union which I like....I guess I just don't know how to stay organized and stretch our money.

 

[Tosie]

Dave Ramsey saved my finances! Read "The Total Money Makeover" - it will change your life! There are many of us here on the DIS who follow his plan. I am currently debt free except for my house and I've been doing his plan for a year. We paid off almost $17,000 last year.

See if your local library has the book!

 

[jnorth1007]

The best thing I ever did was get myself set up to pay everything due from 1st-15th on the 1st and everything due from 15th-end of month on the 15th. I also use an excel spreadsheet the has all of my bills listed, the amount due for the month, the due date. I do this for the whole year on one spreadsheet. Example:
January February March Due Date ... December Total Debt
Bellsouth Paid Paid 100.00 3/19/07 100.00

Any bills that are recurring and don't change (mortgage payment) I fill in the amount due for each month for the whole year. When a bill gets paid I mark that box for the month paid. At the end of the month all of the March boxes should be marked paid. I have a running total (sum) at the bottom of each months column so that as bills come in I know how much I owe in total for all bills for the month. I also keep a total of all debt for each debtor. For a credit card I would put the minimum payment in each months box and the total balance on the card under the total debt column. I found that this way I can always see what is due and what I have left to pay for the month and I don't miss any payments because I missplaced statements. As soon as the statement comes in (or for those I do online (almost all) I look online) I enter the information in. HTH!

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

I actually have his book, but I do not see how it would work when you don't even break even at the end of the month, plus most our finances are paid with online bills so I guess just don't understand how it would even work for us. I have money that is set aside out of my check biweekly that is deposited into our ING Savings account into different funds (for example home repair, clothing, vacation, savings, kids savings, medical, family time,etc). Granted it isn't a whole lot....$20 dollars here, $40 dollars here, Etc, but I figure that is better than nothing.

 

[jnorth1007]

I agree that I love his concepts but that they don't translate well for me because I can't picture actually using an envelope system. I found a book called "Money stopped by the house the other day" much more useful. It teaches about using Quicken to track expenses and make a budget, balance sheet and income statement. I will try to find it and let you know the name of the person who wrote it. My biggest help was to set up savings accounts (many of them) for everything. I have childrens college funds, disney fund, emergency fund, christmas fund etc. I started off like you did by only putting 20-30 a month in them. Raise these amounts as you get some of your debts paid off and free up some cash flow. I think that you are SO far on your way to gaining control. You have paid off some cards, you are trying to set up a system and you are becoming aware of where your money is going. Hang in there, it will get better.

 

[Mom-to-2-Princesses]

I think you should give yourself a pat on the back first! You have four credit cards paid off and you are on the right track. Keep up the good work!

That said - I know how you feel! You feel on top of the world one month because you are so "planned" in your spending and then the next month money is flying out the window on repairs!

So keep a good attitude and keep up the good work and soon we will see another message from you saying another credit card has been paid off

 

[luv2nascar]

I have Dave Ramsey's book. We have paid off a ton of debt in the last year. We are trying to pay off the last 3 credit cards this year to be debt free except mortgage. Cars are paid off, no student loans.

I heard you say you are not breaking even at end of the month. If that is the case you either need to make more income or cut down on the debt. Simple theory a little harder to do. Maybe dump a car with a payment and buy a junker for time being that is paid off. Maybe your mortgage is too big. Look at the utilities and see where you can cut back - cell phone plans, land line phone, gas, electric, etc. Don't forget cable and water. Do you have something you can sell - yardsale, craigs list, ebay. Get inventive but get the debt down and don't take on any new debt.

 

[minnie1928]

You've received some great advice so far. The 2 things that I was going to mention was create a list of bills that get paid out of each check (assuming you get paid biweekly) and pay them when you get paid. For example, my DH gets paid monthly on the 26th. Our HE loan is due on the 20th, I pay that loan every month on the 26th (when DH gets paid), approximately 24 days before it's due. I know it's early, but that way I know the money is paid and I figure it saves me a little interest too.

Second, use Quicken. I don't just mean create a checking account and pay your bills from it. USE Quicken...create scheduled payments, reminders, automated transactions, whatever you need to help keep you on track. More importantly, after a few months on Quicken produce a net worth report/graph and you'll be able to see that your debt is decreasing! Run an report/graph on your expenses, they may be going down as well! Those 2 graphs can be HUGE motivators! You may feel like you are going no where, but Quicken will show you that you ARE!

I'm assuming that you are new to Quicken. If you haven't already, put the balances for the cards that you just paid off in Quicken. That way when you do a graph, you'll be able to see that debt paid off too.

It's a slow process, but it will be worth it in the end. Good luck!

 

[KDIPIAZZ]

The best thing I ever did was get myself set up to pay everything due from 1st-15th on the 1st and everything due from 15th-end of month on the 15th. I also use an excel spreadsheet the has all of my bills listed, the amount due for the month, the due date. I do this for the whole year on one spreadsheet.

This is EXACTLY what I do. We set up our budget at the beginning of each year and can quickly highlight any month where things might be tight-ish.

 

[robsmom]

I actually have his book, but I do not see how it would work ... I have money that is set aside out of my check biweekly that is deposited into our ING Savings account into different funds (for example home repair, clothing, vacation, savings, kids savings, medical, family time,etc). Granted it isn't a whole lot....$20 dollars here, $40 dollars here, Etc, but I figure that is better than nothing.

I think where one of the books -(can be dave ramsey or another advisor)could help is in getting you focused. if you have credit card debt and your #1 goal is to pay that off than you don't need vacation savings because you won't be going on one until the debt is paid off and you don't need some of your other categories either. I think having a system is about defining your priorities and only using your money for those defined items. Make a list of your financial priorities -try to include as much detail as possible and put them in order. Be very clear, is the priority to "keep my current home" or "own a home" or "have a roof over our head". Include everything you can think of "feed my family", "cloth by child" "cloth myself, pay of debt etc. When you have your priority list then write down every penney that you spend for a month. At the end of the month, total by category and then compare this to your prioirty list. Does your spending match your priorities?

 

[Stein]

A budget is key to any system.

You mentioned always having enough money with you all the time. For us, we don't have money with us all the time which makes spending more difficult.

Many of the products out today are designed to make spending easy and care free. We try to make spending as painful and inconvenient as possible, which is the cash envelope system.

Good luck.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I am not an especially organized person, but here's what I do. I pay almost all my bills online. When a bill comes in, I look at the "due date" and then make a note in my daytimer three days before that date to pay the bill. Then I put the actual bill in my "bills to be paid" file folder.

When I get a cheque (and my income is erratic and I am not paid on a set schedule) I look in the daytimer and see what bills are coming up, and pay what I can. When they are paid, I indicate the date paid and the reference number on the bill, and also note it in my daytimer. Then I file the paid bills in a monthly folder (I have one for each month) in my filing cabinet.

If it gets to be a day or two before the due date, and I don't have the funds to pay the bill, then I have to strategize a bit. I do have an emergency fund, and sometimes I have to take some money out of that to cover the bill. I then write in the amount I need to replace in the emergency fund as another "bill to be paid." Rarely, I end up using a credit card or overdraft, again with the goal of repaying it as soon as a cheque comes in.

This works okay for me and I have not missed paying a bill on time in 18 years as a single parent.

Teresa

 

[ohiominnie]

Your story is mine a few years ago. My dh makes a decent salary in itself, but he gets bonuses about 2-3 times a year (he cannot keep over a certain amount in his account at work and must pay himself the difference periodically) For years, we'd rack up the credit card debts, then wait for the bonus to pay it off. In the meantime, we bought into DVC, added a $40K sunroom to our house, bought new cars every 3 yrs, etc. We were really really really dumb with money. But we always could pay off our minimums on most things, and then the bonus would bail us out for the cc debt that had built up.

I worried about money a LOT.

I heard about Dave Ramsey's book, and got it from the library, but never got into it. It wasn't until I found his podcast and therefore his radio show, when things clicked. Got the book again (from the library) and after I read through the first part, decided we MUST do this.

The KEY factor was talking to dh about it and JOINTLY setting up a budget. We also nixed the things that were literally nickel and diming us to death (an extra audible.com account, a gamefly account, etc etc) We also set realistic budgets for recreation and eating out. Pre-budget we could easily spend $300-$400 a month in eating out---again, mostly nickel and dimed--$30 here, $40 here, $10 there. We set that at $100 a month...that's it. When we get to $100, we're done eating out. We also set personal fund limits of $50 each to cover anything we want for ourselves that isn't already covered in another category.

Having that budget ON PAPER after nit-picking every category and purchase is SO freeing. In dining savings alone we have an extra $200-$300 a month to throw at at debt. Once one is paid off, we snowball it to the next.

It IS overwhelming. I know, I cried myself to sleep many times not knowing how we'd ever make it. Now I have so much more peace. And while we are still in major debt, I see that our sacrifices now are making an actual difference. I cannot believe how much more money we have available (to pay off debt at this point) now that we're sticking to a budget. I cannot believe how little the kids ask for anything without first saying "is it in the budget to......"

We don't have the option here of really "making" any more money. Dh works long hours as it is. I'm a SAHM, homeschooling, and shuttle the kids to play rehearsals a lot. We have no family in the area that could watch the kids while I worked....so we had to SAVE money somehow to get ahead.

Hugs to you. I know it's tough. I've been there.

 

[ohiominnie]

you have credit card debt and your #1 goal is to pay that off than you don't need vacation savings because you won't be going on one until the debt is paid off and you don't need some of your other categories either.

This may work for some, but it wouldn't work in our family. I know sometimes I look at the finances and think "if we'd just cut out our Disney trips we could pay off this debt a LOT sooner."

Dh has a very stressful job. This time of year the only thing keeping him going is the knowledge that we're going to Disney in early May. Literally, he would probably go off the deep end without having this in site. So for us to cut out the vacation budget would be mental disaster for dh (and in turn for me) I guess either spend the money at Disney or spend it on the psyche hospital bills.

 

[Disney Debbie]

Dave's plan works if you are "gazelle intense" about it. If it doesn't work for you - it's because you aren't working the plan. I'm not saying that judgementally - but you have to decide you truly want to get out of debt and then do everything you can to make it happen - cut your budget to the bone - STICK to your budget - discuss it with your DH and adjust it as necessary. It is hard to get started - but you just do what you can when you can to begin with. Having automatic payments doesn't stop me from following the TMMO plan! That's just an excuse to not sit down and work at figuring out a budget. I've done a spreadsheet where I've spent every cent of our monthly paychecks on paper. I use Quicken as well but the spreadsheet works better for me because I can quickly look at it and see if I have $10 to go out to lunch that day if I want to! If I don't have the $10 - I don't go! I've got the money allocated so that the mortgage is paid with my last day of the month check, the credit cards with my 15th of the month and most everything else is allocated out of my husbands every other Friday paychecks. I also have a savings account where I put my emergency fund and things like household repair, car repair, clothing and yes, vacation! I don't put ANYTHING on the credit card and the only thing I use my debit card for is gas - which I track on my spreadsheet! The only thing I do the cash on is my groceries - and I joined the Grocery Game. I have cut my groceries by 50% in one month just by actually planning, using coupons and following the sales! Before we just bought what ever we wanted and I bet DH went to the grocery store at least 5 times a week! We know we only have x amount of money to spend on lunches if we don't come home and eat. I listen to his show archives every day at work - that way I can pause it if I get interupted. It keeps me pysched and ready to save money!

 

[tinkarooni]

I agree that you have made wonderful strides in getting your finances organized. You will feel so much better when you have everything organized. You just need to find the way that works for you.

Here is what I do. I don't like quicken. I use a notebook and a pencil, not very high tech but at any time I can flip the pages and see where I am. I pay bills the 15th and the 30th. I organize one page per month. At the top I list income to the left and all of the bills I need to pay to the right per pay, the 15th and the 30th. Mortgage, power, food, etc etc. When I pay each bill (or take my cash for the month, I take all food money and allowances in cash ONLY) so when I pay each bill I just check it off. I use pencil so I can erase things easier. I also mark down actual amounts. for example I budget $100 per month for electric. When the real bill comes in I will mark down how much it was, I can flip back almost two years and tell you what any bill was in my notebook.

So during the month when I receive bills I have a folder I drop them right into, then when I sit down to pay bills on the 15th or the 30th I open my folder and pay them. The key is to track when everything is due. Once you've done it most pages of the notebook will look the same. Write in extra expenses such as taxes, quarterly bills you receive on the page for that month so you know they are coming.

Good Luck!

I can also see in writing if I missed a bill.

 

[tinaluis]

You have to figure out exactly where your money is going and try to find a way to cut back on your bills. Cable? Internet? Cell phones? Long distance telephone service? Maincures? Vacations? There has to be some fat in your budget that can be trimmed. It might feel unpleasant, but there has to be some wiggle room.

Example: my DH is a stay at home dad and I worked full-time until 12/31 when I was laid off. I really thought we were living on a lean budget while I was working and often patted myself on the back because we were living on only one salary. The amount I'm receiving from unemployment is about $900 less a month than what my salary was, and we're still managing to make ends meet (with very minimal help from our savings). If you'd told me several months ago that we'd be able to make do with less, I would have challenged you to find the "fat" in our budget. I was sure that we'd have to pull the $900 a month from our savings until DH or I got a job, but we've only had to pull a little bit here and there. Do I want to live on so little $$ forever? No, but we'll do what we have to do for as long as it takes for one of us to find another job. Fortunately, we knew for awhile that I might be laid off, so we were able to beef up our savings and eliminate all credit card debt (even though it was at 0% until 12/07).

If you want to get out of debt, you will have to challenge yourself to make ends meet for less $$ than you're spending now. It won't be forever, but it will take awhile. Your debt didn't happen overnight. Getting out of it won't happen overnight either. You've made a good start by paying off 4 of your credit cards. Concentrate on paying off the rest of the cards (because they usually have the highest interest rates), then the HELOC loan, then the student loans.

 

[tink2dw]

We have No Credit Cards!!!!!!!!! It makes it much easier to pay off the bill.

1. I have a list of bills and the amount and the time of month each comes in the mail. [I do paper bills and online billing to my email.] Then I split the bills between beginning of month and middle of month. I take the Pay Check and subtract.

3. Every pay day is marked a year in advance. Dh paydays rotate some months the 1st pay check is on the 14th of the month. So I need to be aware of these.

4. Priorities - A. Rent, Storage, Electric/heat/cooking, Food, car gas-These keep us alive and healthy. B. Car Insurance, Internet Connection & phone/work from home, C. Directv basic/keeps Dh stress free and happy, and Cell phone bill/Dd is a newly licenced driver/keeps my piece of mind.

5. We buy old cars to reuse, use up and recycle - that we paid for with cash from the newspaper want ads.

6. All purchases are pre-thought out. No buying just because it is cute. I don't even go near stores unless I have Cash for something we must need not just want, wants waste money.

Some months are good, some are not so good then I pay partial payments.

And that how we make it without Plastic

 

[ZPT1022]

My biggest help was to set up savings accounts (many of them) for everything. I have childrens college funds, disney fund, emergency fund, christmas fund etc. I started off like you did by only putting 20-30 a month in them.

For those that do this, do you sit there after every pay check and manually divert the funds or have you managed to split the paycheck so that the funds automatically all go their separate ways? I'm thinking we need the latter so that there's no room for error, it just happens and we never touch it, kind of like the 401K where we never have to manually make a deposit- it just automatically puts a certain amount in from each check.

 

[ohiominnie]

For those that do this, do you sit there after every pay check and manually divert the funds or have you managed to split the paycheck so that the funds automatically all go their separate ways? I'm thinking we need the latter so that there's no room for error, it just happens and we never touch it, kind of like the 401K where we never have to manually make a deposit- it just automatically puts a certain amount in from each check.

I don't have everything separate....
I don't have a college fund yet. Still paying off debt.
My emergency fund is set in ING. $1000
I have a separate ING account in which I stash a certain amount of money each week (I calculated what I'd need for these categories over the course of the year, and then divided by 52 giving me a weekly contribution)

Then, when I spend money in those categories, I transfer the money from ING to my checking account to cover it. I also put a line in the memo section of Quicken saying WHY I transferred that money. Something like "transferred to cover piano lessons spring semester" or "transferred to cover 12/06 Disney trip."

I keep track in excel how much I have in each category saved up. For example, I "dummy deposit" a certain amount per month to pay for yard work, and now it's accumulating b/c we haven't paid anything for months. But once I start paying the landscaped guy, that will go down....but it'll all be there ready for me in ING when I need it.

HTH and isn't confusing as all get out!

(btw, I have an automatic savings plan set up in ING so I don't have to manually do anything each week)