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I have noticed that there have been several posts in the recent past about people who are so in debt that they end up posting about it here for financial help... just out of curiosity, do any of you others have a budget, or working budget that you follow each and every paycheck to make sur eyou are right on track? I was just curious to know.

Before I met my wife, I basically took all my money, shoved it in the bank, waited till I got my bills, then paid them. I knew what was due, and when, but I basically lived from bill to bill, not paycheck to paycheck After I met my wife, she taught me how to set up a budget worksheet and make my money work for me. I was able to pay off all my debt, find out where and when I had extra money and figure out how to stop spending nonsense money and save.

If any of you are actually one paycheck away from bankruptcy, maybe you need some advice, or better yet, need to learn how to set up a budget. I would be more than willing to pass out tips, but seriously, I worry sometimes that my generation forgot how to spend sensibly! Just curious.

im just a fucking retard when it comes to money.

TNK wrote:im just a fucking retard when it comes to money.

Seriously, some people are just good with this stuff... I wasn't, and my wife was, so she taught me, and now we do it together. I literally just took my average paycheck every two weeks, wrote down all my monthly bills and figured out how much I have to pay, and how much I make. It worked out really nice because I found out I actually made like $400 more a month than I had to pay in bills!!! That meant I was spending on average $100 a week on non-sense crap. That is $5200 a year! I was able to pay off over $4000 in debt in less than a year. Sure, I didn't get lots of toys, etc, but I was able to find places to save and then get this stuff I wanted.

Not all situations are the same, but I know if one sits and puts it on paper, you will begin to see the light.

I'm not all that great with money either, so I kinda do what you did. I make my car payment and insurance payment both at the same time (the 15th of the month) and whatever I have leftover is mine to play with. I'm staying far away from credit cards though, I know if I had one I'd be in big trouble. I'm joining the military here shortly and hopefully I'll learn to get my money management under control.

*shrugs* I'm a jew when it comes to money.

When I say I'm broke, i mean I only have about $500 in my checking account after my bills are paid.

Yes, that to me, is broke.

glad someone said it, I will be 21 on the 28th and im probably the only 21 year old i know with a 750 credit score.... people need to wise up on how they spend money.. and put the damn credit card away if they cant control them selves.

Opi wrote:*shrugs* I'm a jew when it comes to money.

When I say I'm broke, i mean I only have about $500 in my checking account after my bills are paid.

Yes, that to me, is broke.

:werd: I cant remember the last time I had less than $2500 in the bank at any one time.

*shrugs*

I honestly don't know why people air their dirty laundry on the internet.

And for those who are bragging about having money in the bank, does it make you feel better than you have more than others?

I just don't get it. Everyone has to be better than everyone else.

^^^:lol:

this wasn't the point of the thread, actually I was just hoping that someone could learn something from someone else. I am a firm believer in passing on experience to someone else. I would hope someone wold read this post and find something helpful and learn something and get out of trouble before it happened. Oh well... really, this is not a pissing contest.

I understand that this is not a pissing contest...but telling people how much money you have in the bank is just ludicrous, it like compairing penis sizes.

^^^Dude, that is awesome... sig worthy, really is...

I want some account numbers and routing numbers, please.

03sxt wrote:I want some account numbers and routing numbers, please.

I would give you mine..but I have a small penis.

kc2002acr wrote:I have noticed that there have been several posts in the recent past about people who are so in debt that they end up posting about it here for financial help... just out of curiosity, do any of you others have a budget, or working budget that you follow each and every paycheck to make sur eyou are right on track? I was just curious to know.

I've got all our bills and expected expenses (food & gas) on a excel spreadsheet that lets me know approx what the payments should be. I can check them off as I pay them (usually weeks early) and keep track of what should be left in our account. It may have a tiny balance at the end of the month but at least I know where all the money went (never on anything fun). The only debt we have is the loan on his truck and his school loans; we've kept away from credit cards. It helps that only one person takes care of the bills (me) but that Ben can look at the spreadsheet and know at any time what has been paid, is still owed and what will be left over.

my credit should be pretty good ive been payin for the neon under my name for a year and a half now. im gonna get a gas card and shit too. anyone know what my score might look like with the car payments and shit as of right now? thats my only credit btw.

I am pretty organized...so when i get my checks everyweek i always know how much ill need to take out and i dont take out any extra. the only thing i really spend extra on that i dont take out is gas and food. im bad about spending alot on that sometimes, because its so easy to spend it because im on the go alot...but ive gotten better lately. its a waste of mpney and i dont get headaches like i used to when im hungry so i can wait to get home at night to find something.

and coupons ftw

Money is VERY organized right now. When I want a material item like a car... I WILL get it. All about patience and spending your money right.. Keeping track of every cent too.. You would be surprised on how much the average person spends on food and gas alone each month. I am glad I am not a glutton and have a car that gets good gas mileage.

sphipps70 wrote:I understand that this is not a pissing contest...but telling people how much money you have in the bank is just ludicrous, it like compairing penis sizes.

Ummm.... yea, I wasn't bragging or anything. I was just saying what I consider broke. In no way did I say "Oh, I have xxx amount of money in my account right now."

I was stating that if I have around 500 or less, I feel like I'm broke.

I keep all of my fianances in an excel file, keep track, and like to have at least a $500 cushion to set on at all times.

When I have income I try to plan for everything to know when my bills will hit my account and what other expenses I'll have like food and whatnot. I can stress a lot over money if it's going to be tight making everything work but as long as I work over the numbers in my head to think okay this is going to hit that day, that is going to hit this day... approx this much for food this week, ect... this is what I'll have left. I don't like to be in debt by owing money on my CC, it scares me so if I have something on my CC like when I bought my white car I'll throw as much money as I possibly can at it to pay it off as fast as possible. At the time I also had 6 months interest free so that was a big incentive to pay off as fast as possible before my insane interest rate sent my payment sky high and take even longer to pay off.

Right now with no income other than misc car parts that I'll sell my spending is as low as I possibly can where even if I'm thirsty I'd rather wait until I get home to grab a drink than stop at a fast food place or a vending machine. Never know, may need that $1 the next day for something else more important than a drink. What savings I had is dwindling away month by month so a few bucks here and there can go a long way.

Doing that for these 8-9 months now once I find work it'll be hard to shake and first priority is to build my savings back up just in case something should happen, I won't be hurting for money while I find yet another job. Even after that though it's going to be about saving still and now throwing whats left of my check at modding my car. Gotta start saving for my future for school, housing, whatever... Yah, I'll mod my car but like I said, it won't be like I used to do and spend pay checks at a time doing it. Just gotta keep telling myself to put money aside and not buy stuff

I just keep my account in positive numbers. As I was always told, never spend money you don't have so I'm not one to even use a CC. If I can't buy it with cash I'm not going to buy it, no matter how much I want it. The only reason I use one though is to help build credit, thats pretty much it.