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We are broke too. We have separate accounts and then a joint "household" account. This is helpful with writing checks because I don't really have to balance my checkbook- I write out a check and dump in the balance- maybe with a little padding.
The account is only used for household bills- maybe you can set up a system like that for your wedding expenses?
What about, selling things you have and don't use, off course in good condition? Online or any other way. Diy proyects can save you a little money too.
What about, selling things you have and don't use, off course in good condition? Online or any other way. Diy proyects can save you a little money too.
Just to be clear - is the problem a lack of funds, or difficulty keeping track of what money has been spent and when?
@sulaii211: that's a good idea, I'll definitely have to take that into account. Luckily, we've only really had 2 or 3 expenses that were wedding related, and shouldn't have more for awhile. But that would have saved me pain here!
@Naiexoxo: we do some of that with books, old DVDs, and clothes, but unfortunately we're running out of things to sell. We honestly don't have that much junk anymore since our apartment is so small we went through a massive throw away/donate/sell clean when we moved in.
Thanks bees... good to know we're not alone. Cannot WAIT until we are able to have full-time jobs.
@teaadntoast: I'd say lack of funds is the biggest. We're usually good about balancing things, but when something slips up (like today) it can set us back for a month. So definitely have to be tighter with the balancing of checking accounts, etc.
Ugh, I feel you. FI and I are both students, pinching pennies and trying to save for our dreams while daily expenses take up almost all our minimal income. We are totally still struggling with this and deal with it all the time. Sigh.
One thing we try to do that helps when we are good about it is to keep a budget spreadsheet. I use the Pearbudget spreadsheet which I downloaded for free...they have an online-hosted version, too, but you have to pay a monthly or annual fee which I was not interested in doing. We save our receipts and plug them in on my laptop. This has helped me rein in my "impulse" grocery spending (I know bananas are on sale, but I really want a mango! type urges) and FI's impulsive download spending (but this song is only one dollar!), since it is easy to see how it adds up.
The Cheaphealthygood blog is also my friend for inexpensive but still healthy dinner ideas, although it sounds like you are already on top of cooking inexpensively at home!
@lilyfaith: I'm with you on that one. I hate it when I miss something. Gas always throws me off, since it takes so long to come in.
I am constantly on my bank's website to make sure I have the right amount of money in there, lol, and that everything I spent has been accounted for. Text banking has saved my life. :P
When I was younger my parents were really tight on money and they went to a cash system which they said really helped them. Basically they CASHED every paycheck and put x amount for food in an envelope, x amount for gas, x amount for rent, etc etc. When you have that visual cue of exactly how much your'e spending it is a little easier to keep track of, ya know?
Have you checked out mint.com? It's a free online way to help you keep track of all your finances and it helps you set up your budget. There's even a way, if you want, to be able to pay all your bills through it so it helps you keep track of how much money you actually have left.
@CorgiTales: That's exactly what I was going to recommend.
I would just be sure that you maintain a minimum balance or a small lump sum in the actual checking account for situations where you have to make an online purchase, a fee is charged, etc.
Do either of you have a credit card? If no, I would say you should both get one to start building a credit history and use it to fill the gap between when you get paid and when you, say, need to buy groceries.
I used to just 'do without'. When I first moved to NYC and decided to live in an apartment more expensive than I could afford (which was ultimately a good decision since it's in a really safe neighborhood and I have as planned grown into it financially) I used to just pay for everything with cash so I knew EXACTLY how much I had left, and after bills if I didn't have the money for something I just didn't buy it. This meant missing out on nights out with friends, not having cable for the first 2 years I lived here (it wasn't that hard actually!) and barely ever buying new clothes.
It's actually a challenge now that DH and I use our credit card for everyday expenses to get points, it's definitely not as visual due to the billing cycle not being immediate, like cash in a checking account. So we have to take the time to analyze our statements and think proactively about how much more we have to spend until the end of the cycle in order to save X amount.
@CorgiTales: This might sound silly, but I feel safer carrying cards around... I always have a little cash, but I walk a few miles in the city alone each day, and while I've never been mugged, it's always a possibility. Maybe we could make that transition part of the way?
@Lillindy: I'll check that out right now, thanks! I had heard good things about it, but forgot the name. I'm glad you brought it up.
@teaadntoast: we both have credit cards with fairly low limits. They have low interest rates, which is good, and we always pay them off on time. Unfortunately since they're only about $500 each, we tend to have only a little "room to play" with them.
@moderndaisy: what suggestions do you have for cutting out beyond what we already have? Like I said, we have no TV (so no cable), no home phone, don't eat out, make coffee at home, don't go out except for once in a great while, only buy clothes when we absolutely need to, etc. In the past, we've spent beyond our means, but we wised up pretty quickly and when I quit my second job (was working 45 hours a week plus full time school, my grades showed it) I made the decision not to spend like that anymore.
Luckily we are long past having that worry, but when for a while I was like that when I was still single and going to grad school (and working full time). And honestly since expenses were already cut I decided that my job didn't make enough money so I went and got one that paid more. I started bartending because it paid more per hour on average and I got to save money by eating there.
Sometimes if you cant cut expenses more, making more is the only option (yes I know easier said than done). Look for a different part time job, take on the occasional survey where they pay you money, respond to the ad hoc jobs online for a once a month job to make and extra $100, baby sit, etc.
okay this may sound desperate but what about (safe) medical studies ? I currently do studies through a nearby big teaching/research hospital. I only do safe ones - I never take any medications! I normally do MRI's or behavorial/psychological ones. I can make an easy $30-120 bucks cash (no taxes).
It's worth finding out about it and signing up on the list - that way when they become available you can just check your schedule and sign up.
@lilyfaith: I don't really know what else you can cut out, but I will say a lot of what I used to do was about saying "no". I didn't give to charities my friends were supporting, didn't go out at all really, Didn't travel home to visit family if I couldn't afford it, etc. It was also a good excuse to get out of doing things I ddin't want to do :) But can obviously be hard if you miss out on fun things. I also asked my parents for things I had to buy anyway for my birthday and Christmas like new work clothes.
We're broke too. For a while, we sold whatever we could, but you mentioned that you already did that.
We actually just signed up to donate plasma. It's not a lot of money, but it's a way to make a little extra cash for when you really need it.
If you're really needing a particular item, you could always look into freecycle.org. It's helped us through some hard times. It's just a pain to get an item before someone else gets to it.
My husband and I don't have our own place yet, but we plan on setting a certain amount aside for the necessities once we do. We plan on putting aside more than we'll probably need and only go shopping for one month at a time, except of course for those items that constantly need to be restocked.
to piggyback off of what @Rgeddy suggested..have you looked into market research companies in your area? i signed up with three and i get called about once every 6-8 weeks for a study. i sit in a room with other people and answer questions for an hour. i've never made less than $75 for doing that! it's not RELIABLE income, but it's nice to have..we usually put it towards a nice dinner out that weekend :)
I would be absolutely LOST without Checkbook Advantage (free download here from download.com)
It's a virtual register and makes it SO much more flexible and easier to work with than a traditional register.
I have so many payments to make per month.. I schedule them online, then just type it in. As soon as it clears, I hit the little check box and it takes it out of our balance. It's amazing, seriously :)
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My fiance and I are super broke, as usual. We're both full-time students, and can only keep up part-time jobs. We're pretty good at keeping down costs (already we don't eat out, don't have a TV or home phone, don't spend excessively, etc) but we're terrible at laying out budgets.
Take today, for instance - I thought I had everything balanced, only to find out that a vendor misplaced a check from August and is going to cash it now. Which throws off my whole system, although I totally don't blame her! I should have balanced my checkbook better, but because I wrote three checks for the same amount over the summer, lost track and thought they had all been cashed.
So for those of you who also live very VERY paycheck to paycheck (I'm talking rent is 1/2 of our income, not including electric, gas, etc) - how do you take control of your finances?