Budget

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Claire

Master Chef
Joined
Sep 4, 2004
Messages
7,967
Location
Galena, IL
Right now my husband and I are doing well, but I'm wondering, who has a set budget and how do you stick to it? Is it on paper and strict? When husband first retired, he was amazed that I can't (OK, don't want to) live by the numbers but that he could say, "Claire, we need to spend $XX.XX less next month," and I'd beat that number every time .... without paper, pen, anything. In other words, if he asked me to spend $50 less, I'd spend $100 less. Part of this is keeping a full pantry (including freezer and fridge), part of it is just not buying any clothes at all. A big part of it is, as my mom says, I'm just not a high maintenance woman. But how do you do it? I'm curious because I have friends who are struggling.
 
I have never stayed in a budget. But, making lists I stick to while shopping has helped. I do make sure the bills are paid first, then what is left is what we use until the next payday.
 
We've never bought anything with borrowed money, make sure we have enough on hand to pay taxes, insurance, and repairs and only splurge on luxury food ingredients once or twice a month. We try to buy quality long lasting items and not having to go to work enables us to stretch our clothing expenses by mending stuff.
We try to use our bicycles to get around town.
 
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We pay off our one credit card every month and make extra payments on our car whenever we can. We do not go into savings for usual expenses, but do use some of the savings when we need a huge repair or renovating job around the house. We re both retired and living on a fixed income, so we are very careful about expenditures, I can't remember the last time I paid retail for personal clothing, shoes, etc.
 
We are currently living with a strict budget, which makes me accutly aware of how much is in the bank. DH just gave up his debit card to me, which makes it easier to manage our cash flow issues. We are still working out the kinks {i need to do a freezer and pantry stock up} and figure on 15-20 per dinner menus. Wish me luck!
 
no budget here. i just outwork whatever dw and i spend.

i'm not sure if i should consider myself lucky to be able to work so much overtime. :neutral:
 
I spend several hours planning the menu for the week, checking the sale fliers, clipping coupons and making a detailed list. I also try to keep the basics stocked and if I see a really good sale I'll try and find a way to take advantage if it. Like last week the local market had chicken leg quarters marked down to 49-cents a lb because they were at their sell by date. So I grabbed a bunch of packages to toss in the freezer.
 
When I was in college, like Dave, I would coupon and look at flyers to see what was on-sale, then I would plan my menus for a week. Money was extremely tight, so I had to be eextremely careful.

Now days, we do pay attention to the budget, but we have some wiggle room. We do a lot of things like buy meats while they are on-sale to use in different things. We do not have a large freezer, so we will generally use what is bought in a timely manner.

Frank is good about sticking to a list, which helps. I'm better in stocking up on items we use often when they are on-sale. Of the two of us, he probably does better with money as he buys nothing extra. It's great until you really want a glass of milk or a cookie. :ermm:
 
I use a budget and I usually come out OK on an annual basis. I sometimes mess up on a short term basis. One thing that helps me is to set the budget and then try to live on 80% of that, I make it some months and mess up others but in the end it all comes in on target or slightly under. I use a credit card and pay in full monthly. I also roughly budget for repairs and unusual expenses by keeping a small cash reserve. Another thing that helps me a great deal is to keep an expense ledger that contains a list of daily expenses. It allows me to see in black and white where the money goes. I think everyone should treat themselves as a small business owner and consider life to be the small business.

Like Mr. Micawber said in David Copperfield "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."
 
no paper budget but no credit cards either. my son owns the house i live on so major repairs are his thing. always i find a bargain whether for food or clothing , etc. i plan way ahead for bday gifts, christmas, etc. i think only shopping once a month saves me money on groceries. no running to the store for stuff and spending more than i intended. i don't buy much clothing. i do spend money on my hobbies, but they keep me interested in life. don't go for entertainment outside of the home, very often. somehow i make it month to month on the income i have. saving money for me is a game and i almost always win.
 
I'm an old hippie, and relentlessly thrifty. I murder money. LOL. Consider going here: HotCouponWorld We don't eat much processed food, but I save a lot on paper goods, (tissues, tp, towels,) and and health, beauty and toiletries.

And no, you don't get stuff for free, but when I'm careful, matching coupons to sales, I can save 60 - 78%. I also stock up, and can, freeze and dehydrate.
 
Staying on a budget for me is easier if you deal all in cash. Dave Ramsey (I have heard his radio show) writes a book about using an envalope system with cash. We have just done our own system, but we used cash. We also payed off our debts (except the house) before buying anything else. It is hard at times, but I am happy to say that we now can watch TV on a 37 inch TV instead of the 19 inch we watched for years. We also bought our first new car (for cash). It is hard to keep to a budget, but it is worth it in the end. The house is our last debt to pay off, but that will be in another three years I think!
Coupons are also a great way to save. And we have also watched for sales for food. We didn't buy hardly anything unless it was on sale.
 
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Staying on a budget for me is easier if you deal all in cash. Dave Ramsey (I have heard his radio show) writes a book about using an envalope system with cash. We have just done our own system, but we used cash. We also payed off our debts (except the house) before buying anything else. It is hard at times, but I am happy to say that we now can watch TV on a 37 inch TV instead of the 19 inch we watched for years. We also bought our first new car (for cash). It is hard to keep to a budget, but it is worth it in the end. The house is our last debt to pay off, but that will be in another three years I think!
Coupons are also a great way to save. And we have also watched for sales for food. We didn't buy hardly anything unless it was on sale.

The hotcouponworld site has a "Dave Ramsay support thread." That site is about couponing, but also about best deals, sales, frugal living.

We don't owe anthing, including a mortgage; paid it off last year.
 
Keeping out of debt -- yes, I under stand, not only difficult, but for some, impossible -- is a big part of it. I've always considered home and auto to be acceptable debts, but a decade or so ago we managed to even get out from under those. I've even known friends who won incredible (to me) amounts of money ... and wound up back in debt in no time flat.
 
The hotcouponworld site has a "Dave Ramsay support thread." That site is about couponing, but also about best deals, sales, frugal living.

We don't owe anthing, including a mortgage; paid it off last year.
Jars also work. The Canadian show, "Til Debt do Us Part" has people using the jar system. And, cutting up the credit cards. Cash or nothing. Acceptable debts are mortgage, car, insurance, heat, electricity. Food budget goes in a jar, as does money for gas, etc.
 
CWS4322 said:
Jars also work. The Canadian show, "Til Debt do Us Part" has people using the jar system. And, cutting up the credit cards. Cash or nothing. Acceptable debts are mortgage, car, insurance, heat, electricity. Food budget goes in a jar, as does money for gas, etc.

And...now that everything is under control (most importantly me), I am using my credit card for almost everything and paying it off each and every month. It is a money maker because I don't pay interest, and I get rewards back on it. A win-win for me!
 
And...now that everything is under control (most importantly me), I am using my credit card for almost everything and paying it off each and every month. It is a money maker because I don't pay interest, and I get rewards back on it. A win-win for me!

I do this too, Chopper. Additionally, it gives me an itemized statement of what I spend each month. :)
 
We were able to get out from under when my MIL died. Now it's just finishing off my student loans, everything else is paid for. Now I can make triple payments each month on the student loans and I'm finally seeing the light of day past them.
 
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