Managing Finances

#1
CanadianVol

CanadianVol

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#1
We've been using Mint.com, and trying to implement some of Dave Ramsey's ideas into our finances, but every month we seem to continue to miss on our budgets. I like Mint in that it helps me see where everything is going, but am curious as to what others do to manage finances on a month to month basis?
 
#2
#2
CanadianVol said:
We've been using Mint.com, and trying to implement some of Dave Ramsey's ideas into our finances, but every month we seem to continue to miss on our budgets. I like Mint in that it helps me see where everything is going, but am curious as to what others do to manage finances on a month to month basis?
Click to expand...

When I retired from the AF, we did the envelope system, and used only cash.
Payed off my truck in 4yrs instead of 6, and payed off our property in 7yrs instead of 20. For it or any other program/system to succeed, everyone has to be on board and disciplined.

It is tough at first, but the results are worth the sacrifice.

Good luck OP!
 
#3
#3
malinoisvol said:
When I retired from the AF, we did the envelope system, and used only cash.
Payed off my truck in 4yrs instead of 6, and payed off our property in 7yrs instead of 20. For it or any other program/system to succeed, everyone has to be on board and disciplined.

It is tough at first, but the results are worth the sacrifice.

Good luck OP!
Click to expand...

We're in a really good debt situation in that we only have our mortgage. We paid off our 4 year car loan in 9 months thanks to the snowball plan, so we do use some of the same ideas. We've thought about employing the envelope system for some of the regular stuff (Groceries, Gas, eating out, etc), but I get really nervous going to strictly just an envelope system. I've grown to rely on billpay and that kind of stuff! Did you guys make any changes for those things?
 
#4
#4
CanadianVol said:
We're in a really good debt situation in that we only have our mortgage. We paid off our 4 year car loan in 9 months thanks to the snowball plan, so we do use some of the same ideas. We've thought about employing the envelope system for some of the regular stuff (Groceries, Gas, eating out, etc), but I get really nervous going to strictly just an envelope system. I've grown to rely on billpay and that kind of stuff! Did you guys make any changes for those things?
Click to expand...

If you have no debt and you are busting your budget that means you need to adjust your budget to reflect reality. Where are you over spending?
 
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#5
#5
YorkVol said:
If you have no debt and you are busting your budget that means you need to adjust your budget to reflect reality. Where are you over spending?
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Wife and I are planning to sit down and talk about that tonight. Seems that we're always a little over in our "ETC" budget. Sometimes it's stuff coming up that we didn't plan for, or that kind of stuff, but we're trying to figure it out soon.
 
#6
#6
What's your goal? Are you looking to save, retire, pay off house...?
 
#7
#7
CanadianVol said:
Wife and I are planning to sit down and talk about that tonight. Seems that we're always a little over in our "ETC" budget. Sometimes it's stuff coming up that we didn't plan for, or that kind of stuff, but we're trying to figure it out soon.
Click to expand...

If won't matter what system you use if the numbers aren't accurate.
 
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#8
#8
CanadianVol said:
Wife and I are planning to sit down and talk about that tonight. Seems that we're always a little over in our "ETC" budget. Sometimes it's stuff coming up that we didn't plan for, or that kind of stuff, but we're trying to figure it out soon.
Click to expand...

It's very easy to do that. You can easily forget to budget in things that you only buy every few months. For us it's stuff like insurance (pay once every 6 months), football tickets, etc that we can forgot to budget for.
 
#9
#9
I keep my monthly budget on a spreadsheet. Have budget for accounts like gas, food, phone, etc. Set goals and it shows what percent I am at as I make entries. Bout all the advice I have.
 
#10
#10
Yorkvol has it right. Never spend more than you make.

Anything you are able to save, invest it wisely.
 
#11
#11
CanadianVol said:
Wife and I are planning to sit down and talk about that tonight. Seems that we're always a little over in our "ETC" budget. Sometimes it's stuff coming up that we didn't plan for, or that kind of stuff, but we're trying to figure it out soon.
Click to expand...

You'll never be able to get that number right no matter how large or small your budget is. Imo, just make sure to pay yourself first each month to force savings and work backwards. That way, the ETC column won't matter as much.
 
#12
#12
CanadianVol said:
We've been using Mint.com, and trying to implement some of Dave Ramsey's ideas into our finances, but every month we seem to continue to miss on our budgets. I like Mint in that it helps me see where everything is going, but am curious as to what others do to manage finances on a month to month basis?
Click to expand...

I like mint. But I really more on a spreadsheet I made to calculate my cash flow (I use my checking and savings minus my credit cards) and long term debt. I track my cash flow so I can see if I'm spending more than I'm bringing in. And I track my long term debt just because I like to know the exact numbers. I have a place in the spread sheet where I put the numbers for my cash flow and long term debt each month. It's also important to look at things on the same day each month. So I only store my cash flow numbers for the 27th of every month (the day before payday).

If you're constantly going over your budget though, the first question to ask is "is your budget reasonable"?

If I said my wife and I were only going to spend 100 dollars a month on groceries, for example, we would constantly go over.

Also are you setting aside for miscellaneous expenses?
 
#13
#13
GAVol said:
You'll never be able to get that number right no matter how large or small your budget is. Imo, just make sure to pay yourself first each month to force savings and work backwards. That way, the ETC column won't matter as much.
Click to expand...

What he said.

Also, you are already more fiscally responsible than most Americans so congratulations - seriously.
 
#15
#15
Personal Capital is an outstanding free app, but it's more geared toward investments rather than household finances. They will call and try to sell their portfolio management service, but they won't pester you if you tell them no thanks.

It can be set up to scrub data off of any account(s) and immediately summarize/categorize spending and investments. Works very well with my credit card account. It categorizes by store, but each purchase can easily be adjusted.
 
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#18
#18
Pretty sure Dave recommends the every dollar app/site. I say that because my wife wants to use it and I know she listens to him at work

One of the best things we did was to make money "disappear" before we ever saw it. Direct deposit into a savings account that requires a bank visit to touch, retirement taken out, bills on autopay out of an account for only that purpose (no cards for it). If it's not accessible you can't spend it
 
#21
#21
I use Mint. It works great with a zero-sum budget.

Basically, you budget so much for each category, plus goals ($200/mo. to credit card, $200/mo. to savings, $200/mo. to investing, etc.) so that you have $0 left over. You treat savings and debt payoff as a bill that you're required to pay each month. Then I set up monthly autodraft for savings and debt payments.

I never even pay attention to my checking account other than auditing it every few months to make sure there wasn't a mix up anywhere and that it's got about the expected balance in it. I just track the spending categories. It's addicting watching that little bar go day by day and trying to stay as far under it as possible. Makes it really easy to save even more than you plan to.

I take any leftovers in a budget category straight to savings as a bonus at the end of each month.
 
#23
#23
We went through last night and created a zero balance budget in excel. We're going to try the envelope system for certain categories tha we struggle to stay under. I think the thing we really missed is updating our budget every month due to changes month to month. We set our budget about 18 months ago and never touched it. Just setting ourselves up to fail. Now we are going to sit down on the last day of the month and set our budget for the next month based on things we know are coming up. We also set up a bunch of sinking funds and opened a new account for those. Trying to take the shock out of the big things that happen every year.
 
#24
#24
CanadianVol said:
We went through last night and created a zero balance budget in excel. We're going to try the envelope system for certain categories tha we struggle to stay under. I think the thing we really missed is updating our budget every month due to changes month to month. We set our budget about 18 months ago and never touched it. Just setting ourselves up to fail. Now we are going to sit down on the last day of the month and set our budget for the next month based on things we know are coming up. We also set up a bunch of sinking funds and opened a new account for those. Trying to take the shock out of the big things that happen every year.
Click to expand...

What you can also do is add a little incentive for each of you. Right now youre doing the budget then sitting down at the end of each month and looking forward to the next month and its budget. There's no reward. First thing you do before you plan this budget is see how much money you have left then give each of you 10% of that amount. Its not couples money - its your money to do what you want. If you want to buy new golf clubs or XBox, its your money. If she wants a mani/pedi day, it her money. No questions. What that does it let you see and feel what its like to save money every single money. Its something tangible. If you want a big ticket item then it might take a month or two but it give you an incentive to save. I did this with the wife when she wanted a new couch for her office area. The day before payday I'd cut her a check for 10% of what's left. It took her a bit to build up the money but once she saw what a little extra skimping would pay, the checks got bigger and bigger. Worked for us.
 
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