How do you deal with your finances ?

Question

My husband works he gets paid every other friday..when bills add up it comes out to about 800 leaving us with 200 left after each check which we buy food and stuff for our daughter. I have cut my bills in half just to make it until the next check...it doesnt help when he is the only one working but i have to stay home cause i dont have anybody to take care of my daughter. How do you deal with your finances ?

Answer 1

hello -  you are already on the right path -

here are some tips and ideas -

List out how much money you have coming in each month (paycheck, alimony, side jobs, etc.).

List out what your fixed costs are (rent/mortgage, car payment, car insurance, phone, cable, student loans, commute costs etc.) If you have credit card debt look at how much per card and which has the highest interest rates.

Track it by category -

retirement (401K, etc.) (if your company offers this with a match you should do this for sure)

home (rent/mortgage)

car (payment, insurance, etc.)

gas

cable/electric/water

groceries

eating out

clothing

movies/plays (include the popcorn)

books

newspaper (if you already paid your news paper or magazine subscription, figure out the monthly cost and include that)

hanging out with friends (bar, pool etc)

non meal related drinks/snacks (Starbucks, diet coke, snacks)

other

other

(other could be alimony, whatever, things I did not list out but you have to pay)

and you will see quickly where your money is going to go. Then you can see if it is all the right places, or if you want to make a change and not buy so many clothes, see so many movies (or pass on the popcorn) etc. Do you need to have the car you have or is there a way to get a vehicle without a car payment? Do you need HBO?

Consider what is really important to you and what is not and spend accordingly.

Be sure to put all left over money into retirement savings somewhere and not just spend it on something else (or put it towards paying down credit card debt). And keep tracking what you spend for at least 6 months. that will help you get into habits and patterns that are good ones.

Retirement savings are very important, so if you have a 401K or the equivalent, dont stop contributing to that. I see so many questions here about stopping contributing or taking the money already saved out, dont do that. The value of the compound interest is huge.

feel free to email me for more info if you like

good luck

Answer 2

It is difficult to tell someone about their finances but I have been in your husbands shoes. I just ended up working like a dog and eventually working myself into a better job with more money. Have you considered getting a job when he comes home after work? Or him getting a job on the weekends? If you have pared your life down to the bone the only thing left is get more income some way. Have hope, work hard, family first.

Answer 3

If your numbers are correct, your husband makes about $24,000 a year. And that's BEFORE taxes!

It's not a huge amount of money, as I'm sure you're acutely aware. If you can't cut back anywhere, the answer is that someone has to make more money. You should probably shoot to be at LEAST in the 30k/year range (more, if possible!).

Here is a website which offers full episodes of a tv show called Til Debt Do Us Part. Just scroll down until you see the show: http://www.slice.ca/Slice/Watch/Default....

I revieed the above show on my website here:

http://www.btgnow.net/2008/07/btg-useful...

The debt reduction may not apply, but in lots of cases the family has to make more money. This can include the current breadwinner getting a second (or third) job, or the stay at home parent working in some capacity from home (starting a home daycare, bookeeping, dogwalking, tutoring, piano lessons, etc...). For more suggestions, you can check out this post I wrote for people too young to work, many of which will apply because you must work from home.

http://www.btgnow.net/2008/07/how-can-i-...

Good luck!

Answer 4

for one month write down where every penny goes -- i know it sounds childish but most folks who do this say your got to be kidding me at the end of the month!!! example i had a nephew that every morning woulld stop my the store and by a coke to drink on the way to work -- he would pay a dollar -- i ask him why not by a six pack and just take it out of the fridge -- his answer was because he would drink the whole six pack if in the fridge -- but if he went my route he would have save 2.00 a week or 8 dollars a month -- other words it is not the big items that kill folks is it the small purchases!!!

Answer 5

you go through an make a budget. first of all list all that you have to pay bills and then what you have left. then slowly but surely you take one of those bills and pay more on it the one with least interest. of if you can you consolidate them onto one bill credit card? if you can you'd have one bill and it would be alot easier and you can maybe save some and make a better payment and still have more extra money. the thing is you could work if you wanted to it could pay for the child care and help with bills also. you should look into it its hard to use one income.