Vent... I don't understand how people do it!

[rockundergirl]

I'm sitting down looking at my budget and shaking my head because every penny i earn goes right back out of my checking account to bills! I have a modest home, a modest car. I watch what i spend, but it just seems pointless! My house taxes will always e 4500 my mortgage is always going to 1300 a month.. I have everything at the min.. cell phone , groceries, cable, internet... etc.. and I'm barely getting by!! grrr I feel like unless I magically start making 6 figures I'm never going to be able to have some extra cash! Sorry i just had to vent. thank for reading

 

[Belle0101]

Believe me I feel your pain!

We have 1 cell phone and it's $15/mo.

No cable, DISH, DirectTV, etc.

We only ever get the Sunday paper.

I shop at "bent and dent" stores for groceries.

And yet here we are - penniless!

And while this is more for another thread, it adds to my frustration - DS has some new medical issues which means more debt. However, at the same time x has decided he is no longer paying child support or his portion of the medical bills.

Maybe things will turn around soon!

 

[SandrA9810]

Don't know how other people do it... but we're in the same boat as you.
Each month I set up the bill payments and tell kari how much she has to make each week to make sure the bills get paid on time. Anything after that goes to gas then food.

 

[rockundergirl]

Believe me I feel your pain!



And while this is more for another thread, it adds to my frustration - DS has some new medical issues which means more debt. However, at the same time x has decided he is no longer paying child support or his portion of the medical bills.

Maybe things will turn around soon!

oh boy, that's awful, I'm divorce from my sons father... i haven't gotten child support in 3 months.. now i have to take off of work to try to get it from the courts! its amazing what dad's get away with .. if i decided to stop paying for my sons expenses, i would get charged with child abuse and get him taken away.... its such a double standard!

 

[P.I. Squirrel]

I have everything at the min.. cell phone , groceries, cable, internet... etc.. and I'm barely getting by!! grrr I feel like unless I magically start making 6 figures I'm never going to be able to have some extra cash!

I completely understand what you are saying, and I don't want to sound offensive, but cell phone, cable, and internet are still within your control, i.e. you could cut them to zero anytime you make up your mind to do so.

For years, DW and I have been in the same situation as you. In the last year, we finally decided to change it ourselves. Here are some things we've done:

• Cut cell phone to phone only, no data plan or internet.
• Gave up our home phone, went to low speed DSL only plan.
• Cut down to one car, and when it's paid off, we will drive it until the wheels fall off.

We still eat out too much, and could save in other areas, but by implementing just those three items, we will be saving about $600 monthly. when our car is finally paid off, we will be almost $1100 better than we were a year ago. But only if we are strong enough to stick to it.

Don't fret. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it may take sacrifice.

 

[tiggspring]

We are in the same boat here. We hadn't been on a family vaction in 3+ years and never for 7 days. Mostly tent camping w/e. It had been 15 years (the day he proposed) since we had been to WDW. Last fall we found the 40% off deal and said we have to try and put down the deposit. our oldest is ten now and we figured if we kept waiting for a "good time" she'd be 20 before we would go. My husband took his part time job and got more hours, basicly full time. He has 1 full time 1 part time and three Jobs that are whenever the work comes in. I'm on disability so I was no help I'm afraid except that all my planning/dreaming for the past 3 years saved us alot! He was gone alot but we got the vacation he always wanted by bringing our own water (saved us $250!) geting the 40% off and watching these boards to maximise our dining plan which we would have paid 2x more if we had paid with cash instead of points..we ate WELL always looked at most expensive stuff first for a change!!.
Hang in there keep dreaming and watching you never know when your dream will come true. But if you are waiting for all the bills to be paid I found they never are. I used to work in hospice and I never heard anyone say they wished they had paid all their bills but they did say they wished they had spent more time with their family. I always seem to put everone before myself even the bill collectors so I tried to remember that as we went on our trip. The bills would be there when we got back..and they were but the trip will fill my lifetime with smiles as I remember my DD10 DS7 and DD4 at WDW! Now I'm trying to keep the dream alive for another magical vaction.
Wishing you a dream vaction too....

 

[Disneyliscious]

I agree with the above poster....I feel your pain but there are things you can cut back on.

In my household....

Cable, internet and cell phone = $9.95 a month.

No cable, no cell phone, and dial up internet for $9.95 a month. Sometimes we think we cant live without those things....but when you start seeing the $$ you are saving....it makes it worth it.

I still wish there were ways I could save more. Im sure it is....I just havent figured it out yet.

 

[rockundergirl]

I completely understand what you are saying, and I don't want to sound offensive, but cell phone, cable, and internet are still within your control, i.e. you could cut them to zero anytime you make up your mind to do so.

For years, DW and I have been in the same situation as you. In the last year, we finally decided to change it ourselves. Here are some things we've done:

• Cut cell phone to phone only, no data plan or internet.
• Gave up our home phone, went to low speed DSL only plan.
• Cut down to one car, and when it's paid off, we will drive it until the wheels fall off.

We still eat out too much, and could save in other areas, but by implementing just those three items, we will be saving about $600 monthly. when our car is finally paid off, we will be almost $1100 better than we were a year ago. But only if we are strong enough to stick to it.

Don't fret. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it may take sacrifice.

Your kinda right about the cell /internet/cable, but as one way to make money i rent a room in my house, the internet/cable is part of what my renter is entitled to in the lease. it doesn't cost me any more to have it for the whole house so why not have my son and myself enjoy it too. thanks for the kind words, it helps to know people understand!

 

[wall*e2008]

I completely understand what you are saying, and I don't want to sound offensive, but cell phone, cable, and internet are still within your control, i.e. you could cut them to zero anytime you make up your mind to do so.
For years, DW and I have been in the same situation as you. In the last year, we finally decided to change it ourselves. Here are some things we've done:

• Cut cell phone to phone only, no data plan or internet.
• Gave up our home phone, went to low speed DSL only plan.
• Cut down to one car, and when it's paid off, we will drive it until the wheels fall off.

We still eat out too much, and could save in other areas, but by implementing just those three items, we will be saving about $600 monthly. when our car is finally paid off, we will be almost $1100 better than we were a year ago. But only if we are strong enough to stick to it.

Don't fret. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it may take sacrifice.

ITA

There is also a deluxe Disney trip in the OP's signature. That money has to be coming from somewhere.

For many Americans any vacation is not possible after paying all their bills.

It truely sucks when fathers or mothers do not pay their child support. I wish more states would make this a priority to get the kids the money they need and deserve.

 

[sharonmickey]

I agree totally. The only way I've been on vacation the past few years is using my IRS refund but it's not that much any more. I've cut back to basic internet, basic cable, and basic phone. I qualify for help with heating fortunately but it is a one time payment - which definitely helps when it came in January. I keep my furnace at 62 in the winter and freeze. I can't tell you the last time I ate a meal at a restaurant.

On the positive side, I got a second job this year so hopefully I won't have to worry about insurance and taxes this year; I can use the money I am making this summer to pay them. If it weren't for this job I'd be sunk!

Good luck to all. Hopefully it will get better soon!

 

[threecrazykids]

I completely understand what you are saying, and I don't want to sound offensive, but cell phone, cable, and internet are still within your control, i.e. you could cut them to zero anytime you make up your mind to do so.

For years, DW and I have been in the same situation as you. In the last year, we finally decided to change it ourselves. Here are some things we've done:

• Cut cell phone to phone only, no data plan or internet.
• Gave up our home phone, went to low speed DSL only plan.
• Cut down to one car, and when it's paid off, we will drive it until the wheels fall off.

We still eat out too much, and could save in other areas, but by implementing just those three items, we will be saving about $600 monthly. when our car is finally paid off, we will be almost $1100 better than we were a year ago. But only if we are strong enough to stick to it.

Don't fret. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it may take sacrifice.

I know people are going to think I'm crazy, but I just can't fathom only having one vehicle...especially if you are both working day (or night) hours at the same time. What are the odds that you'd have the same work schedule?I guess maybe if I was looking at it ONLY for cost savings I can understand.

But what happens if you're both working and one of the kids gets sick at school...or one of you needs to leave work early for an appt...then you're making several trips back and forth to go get the other person who was left at work. I live 15 miles from our the city and our kids go to school in the town where we live so if I have to go get one of the kids I'd have to find a way to get the car to me (because my husbands hours are later than mine)...then go get the child...then come BACK into town to get my hubby when he got off work...what a PITA.

 

[AristocatFan]

Same boat here as well. DH got paid yesterday and after paying bills, putting a little and in savings and going to the grocery, we have $99 left for the next two weeks. Ugh! We're looking into Dave Ramsey again, we tried before but I can't stand the man. But that's another thread. Cutting cell phones is not an option for us since we have teenagers. It's our direct link to them!

ETA: And we've been trying to get back to DW for a long time now. But something else always comes up!

 

[dvcgirl]

I'm sitting down looking at my budget and shaking my head because every penny i earn goes right back out of my checking account to bills! I have a modest home, a modest car. I watch what i spend, but it just seems pointless! My house taxes will always e 4500 my mortgage is always going to 1300 a month.. I have everything at the min.. cell phone , groceries, cable, internet... etc.. and I'm barely getting by!! grrr I feel like unless I magically start making 6 figures I'm never going to be able to have some extra cash! Sorry i just had to vent. thank for reading

I really think that you hit the nail on the head.....very often income is the issue. I live in NJ, where in many parts of the state if you're not making six figures, you're having a tough go of it.

My DH and I each make six figures....well, I'll be a little under this year, but his salary a little over twice what I make, and so we live a comfortable life, in fact we live very frugally for our income allowing us to save over half of net income. I say this not to brag, but only to say that we're *average* around here....in fact, compared to a couple of towns over....we're *way* average.

It blows me away how much money some people around here make, and I'm sure *our* salary would blow many here away. But it boggles my mind how much some of my clients earn. I own and operate a pet sitting/dog walking business here in our part of NJ. Much of the local population commutes to Manhattan either by train or high speed ferry (for the big earners). I have several clients who routinely spend $1,000 a month with me on pet care. They don't even blink....I'm an afterthought. Who are these people....mostly Wall Street types, traders, hedge fund guys, high end attorneys are another theme, a few are in advertising. Even my younger clients are likely making 150K or more combined and can afford to pay me $400 a month for a daily dog walk. And they do.

You'd think that my business would suffer due to the meltdown in the markets, but I'm actually up 35% for the first half of this year.

So, sometimes it just comes down to income. People like my clients couldn't even relate to this thread.

 

[crisi]

Been there and it was no fun. I did it then by keeping the tempurature of my house in the 50s in a Minnesota winter. Eating a lot of rice and beans and noodles. Taking in a renter (then I had to turn up the heat). Didn't have cable, this was before cell phones...I didn't have a stereo - my ex took it in the divorce and it was three years before I had $70 for a boom box with a CD player! Vacations would have been a joke - and dinner out was pizza with friends about once a month. Had half a Minnesota winter without a winter coat. I did manage to pay off my car early by using every extra scrap of cash - that freed up a lot of 'extra' money a month and the next winter was a lot better.

But I "did it." It wasn't fun.

 

[crisi]

Income is the issue - a lot of people make a lot of money. The other thing you have going for you DVCgirl is no kids. While kids are wonderful, they are little money sinks. I didn't have kids through my rough patch - I'd have had to pack it in and move back with my folks.

 

[gracie1]

I totally understand what you are saying about scraping by. I am the same way. I did the suze orman thing and the dave ramsey thing and there is nothing I could possibly cut more out of my budget. I have a cell phone as my one luxury (no house phone) and that's it. I just make it with my money by paying the mortgage and cell phone and my one credit card. That's it!

 

[HighClass]

I really think that you hit the nail on the head.....very often income is the issue. I live in NJ, where in many parts of the state if you're not making six figures, you're having a tough go of it.

My DH and I each make six figures.....

Two questions:

1-You make $100 grand as a DOG WAlker???

2-If your family income is $300 grand-why are you on the Budget Board?

 

[mrsklamc]

Three thoughts come to mind-

One is that in one of the personal finance books I have read (don't remember which) it said not to be discouraged in your 20s when you are being frugal and your friends the same age are living it up. The difference will show in time.

Two is that many people simply have mortgages and/or car payments that seemed doable at the time but were never truly realistic.

Three is that many people do not realize how much all those 'little' expenditures add up..I think it's David Bach that calls it the 'latte factor' One $4 drink a day times 30 days in a month is $120.

Don't know if these apply to anyone here but just some thoughts.

 

[RachaelA]

OP, has your income decreased? (Forgive me if I missed where you mentioned it) If not, why did you buy a house that was more than you could afford comfortably (with money left to save).

 

[nuke]

My DH and I each make six figures....well, I'll be a little under this year, but his salary a little over twice what I make, and so we live a comfortable life, ........
So, sometimes it just comes down to income. People like my clients couldn't even relate to this thread.

So your advice is to marry someone with a 6 figure income. Got it.

Hang in there OP. Plenty of people are in your shoes or worse.