Stop the Bleeding

I've previously mentioned that I'm feeling a little out of control with our new financial situation. 

So in March I decided to do something about it.

I scrapped my current system and went old-school with a manual excel spreadsheet.  Admittedly, this was not my preference, but since Microsoft Money is no longer supported by my online banking, it seemed near impossible to find the time to manually enter every transaction.  

This is March's bottom line. 

                                      Budget $       Actual $

Remaining Funds       $235.22       $(258.32)

Let me explain further...  I entered our expected income and subtracted all of our expenses and got the remaining funds.   As you can see above, all looks great under the budgeted dollars.  However, under actual money spent?  Eek!  We didn't just go over budget, we spent $258.32 more than we made.  In other words, we were over budget by $493.54.

I'm aware that my manual system leaves many opportunities for errors, but I did try to adjust things to compensate.  For example, the February Dingo payment didn't actually clear until March 1st, while the March Badger payment was made on the 27th.  Obviously, having two large credit card payments would throw things off, so I pretended that February's payment was on February's budget.

The benefit of this system is that we were able to clearly see where we were bleeding money.  We were over budget by $10 in gifts.  Okay, no biggie.  Over by $50 in gas.  Well, gas prices did jump recently.  Over by $149.74 in restaurants!  I know we went out a bit more than usual but jeebus.  That's a lot.  And what did we buy at QT that equalled $136.97??

So this month we are cracking down.  We've agreed upon a cash system for personal expenses.  We're committed to going out for dinner only once this month.  And no more debiting at QT!!

And the War on Debt?  It's going famously.  I've actually added the monthly credit card payments to our fixed expenses and there's no negotiating the $1025.48 being applied to our debt repayment every month.  It's hard to see the numbers dropping so slowly, but I'm looking forward to being down to only two cards in a mere three months.

How do you track your finances?

Comments, Questions, Concerns, Dreams for the future...?

It used to be that I dreaded the end of the month.  Because that's when all the bills were due. 

But things are looking up these days and with an increased income from my new full-time position and our tax refund in the bank, I was able to pay all the bills today with plenty to spare.  It was exhilarating... 

But scary, too.  Because for so long I've had to track every dollar and pinch every penny to ensure there would be enough for the mortgage... utilities... food.  And I haven't done that this month.  And I feel a little out of control.  And you know what that does to my OCD.

We are still adjusting to our new "budget."  I say "budget" loosely because we really don't have one.  We were in such a routine with our finances, I haven't really had to follow a budget for awhile.  Our utilities were almost always the same each month.  We knew how much to allow for pharmacy costs.  Everytime I went to the grocery store, I spent about $40.  It was predictable. 

And even though our bills haven't changed, something is different.  We've loosened our belt.  We're buying things we have been putting off for over two years because we couldn't afford them.  And I haven't really sat down and organized those things yet.  So I feel like we're bleeding money.  Especially after spending $100 for Matt and I to go out on a much needed date.  Who knew that dinner and a movie cost so much?

But to combat this spending anxiety, I've just opened up a couple new savings accounts so that I can limit the amount available in checking.  Because I know if I see money, I will spend money.  That's the reason that I don't carry cash.  Because I'm addicted to vending machines and I can't be trusted to just say no to the Hostess cupcakes. 

However, on the positive side, we did manage was make a big dent in our credit cards this past month.  We paid a total of $1471.30 towards the debt, which caught us back up to our 12 month plan.   The best part was that I realized that in two short months, we have already reduced our credit card debt by nearly 16%.  One credit card is already paid off and another is well on it's way.  Bye, bye, Dingo.  Back up off my baby.

	Aardvark	Badger	Chinchilla	Dingo
	8.24%	17.90%	11.15%	23.99%
January	$84.66	$48.00	$47.00	$400.00
February	$79.97	$803.82	$48.00	$539.51
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Balance	$4,774.20	$2,771.05	$2,488.93	$0.00

What are your tips for creating/managing your budget?

Resolutions, Smesolutions

As you may have gathered by now, I'm not so great on follow-through.  So New Year's resolutions are kinda like setting myself up for failure from the start.

But this year...  This year is different.  A new job.  A new routine.  A new lifestyle. 

I may have to break my own rule a bit this year.  I know.  I'm such a rebel.

With this new employment opportunity, I know that I have the power to make some big changes for my family.  And that's a pretty strong motivator to rally against my lazy ways.

So, I'm creating a plan to set myself up for success and I want you all to hold me accountable. 

2011 Goals:

• Pay off credit card debt.  Since being laid off in 2008, we haven't been in much of a position to pay more than the minimum on our credit cards.  While on paper it seemed like there should have been enough money to cover our basic living expenses every month, there were many times we needed credit cards to put food on the table and gas in the car.  And unplanned expenses?  Pull out the Discover.  It makes me sick every time I balance the accounts to know that we are digging ourselves deeper and deeper into the debt hole.  So this is the year that it's going to stop.  According to my rough preliminary calculations, we should be bringing in approximately $1000 more per month.  I figured with that kind of extra income, we could get the plastic paid off in a year, no problem.  Until I realized that we are carrying $11,745 in credit card debt.  And once you add in interest rates ranging from 8.24% to 23.99%, it's actually more like $12,305 (should we pay them off in one year).  And $12,305/12 months = $1025/month.  So that doesn't really leave much for anything else...  But I'm not giving up yet...  If we get another good tax return this year, we should be able to throw another $3000 towards the debt.  And that makes it possible.  So, while I'm scared that I am biting off more than I can chew, the possibility of living credit card free is definitely worth it.
• Take more photos.  On New Year's Eve I was making our 2011 calendar on Shutterfly (I'm so good at planning in advance) and I discovered that I hardly have any good pictures of the kid after 15 months.  Coincidentally, that is when she began running walking.  So most of the pictures I took were blurry.  Or poorly exposed.  Which brings me to part 2 of this goal...  Save for a faster lens.  I've been pining for one since I bought my dSLR, but could never justify the expense.  However, I found a low-end 50mm f/1.8 lens for about $100.  And I think I will just have to find a way to purchase it.  So, if you see me on the corner with a coffee cup, please throw me some change!
• Spend more time on my marriage.  Since our daughter joined the family, I have this overwhelming need to put her first.  And honestly, I don't think there is anything wrong with that.  But I do recognize that perhaps my husband and I need some "non-parenting" time, both alone and together.  However, I feel like my time with her is so limited now that I'm working, that I don't want to leave her for a selfish desire to get out of the house.  But I want to work on that.  Because I know that we need that as a couple and as individuals.

I know it's only three goals, but I need to start small.  So, please keep me in line and if you see me straying, feel free to give me a little nudge (or a big shove).  And feel free to link up your 2011 resolutions/goals!

Next Post in the War on Debt Series: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back