budget help

baldwinamy · February 2014

Hi

I need help budgeting and tips for getting my H on board with actually staying on the budget.

Income after taxes $2100/ month

Expenses:

Rent: $400

Cell: $150 for 2

Car Loan: $335 fully paid off in Aug

Car Loan: $300 3 years left

Car Insurance: $480/monthly

Dogs: $100

Baby: $225

Gas: $300

Eating out: $200

Groceries/Household items $600

Debts:

CC 1: $900 min monthly= $45

CC 2: $7100 $150

CC 3: $540 $30

CC 4: $90 $10

CC 5: $600 $45

CC 7: $700 $45

smbenevides1989 · February 2014

Adding everything together gets you a negative balance every month - about $1315 in the hole.

I would drastically reduce your eating out budget. Also, what is it that you spend on for the dogs? You may be able to reduce your groceries/household items if you meal plan/make your own cleaning supplies, cut coupons, search sales.

Is anyone able to work a second job?

baldwinamy · February 2014

the dogs are $65 food and the rest is going to the vet to pay off getting our dog spayed.

We are not able to get a second job currently since my H works out of town and I have no care for my daughter.

I know we ar win the hole every month and we just keep adding to the debt/paying off each credit card with the other credit card.

I am thinking of going to school so I can get a career and make decent money and we would have to get a bank loan to do so. This wouldn't be able to happen anyways until my daughter is in school.

mana8503 · February 2014

Can you call around on car insurance? $480 seems a lot for two car. We're in a pretty high cost of living area, and ours is $180 for 2009 Jeep and 2012 Cruze. I think it was $220 when I still have 2 incidences (deer hit me and I ran off the road in ice totalling my car).

Erikan73 · February 2014

Try shopping around for car insurance, that seems a bit high. At the very least, if you don't find a better rate, you've only invested time into it. Also look into going for renters insurance along with auto insurance, you might save even more money.

I'm guilty too of eating out too much. I have found that planning my meals a week out in advance is really helping. We are eating out less, eating better and I can plan the meals around what is on sale so we save money on food bill too. I'll admit, I don't like sitting down and doing the planning, but as I see how much it's making our lives easier by planning head and the money we are saving, it makes it easier to do. The next step is to also go to a few local stores and write down the prices of items we use a lot of to figure out who has the best prices on what we use. It's work, but saving money is work and in the end it's worth it.

Good luck!!!

emily1004 · February 2014

Why is your car insurance so high? We live in Michigan and pay some of the highest premiums in the country and we don't even pay close to that amount.

Your cars are way too expensive for your income.

You need to reduce your monthly household items and groceries. Buy generic, cut coupons, and no more eating out.

The biggest thing is you need is to be bringing in more income. Can you or H get a part time job?

Erikan73 · February 2014

Oh in regards to getting your husband on board, it's not an easy thing to do, I've been trying to do it for the last several months and he is just now finally starting to get on board. I haven't read all of Dave Ramsey's stuff but I did read the first step of his program which I have incorporated. We are paying for things in cash now & when the money for going out to eat is gone, guess what, no more eating out for the month. Hubby doesn't like the plan but I just keep telling him that we have to do this so that way we can clean up the debt that we've created in the past and if we keep living withing our means, we'll get bills paid off & once those bills are paid off then we'll have a lot more disposable income for fun things like vacations down the road, but for now we have to sacrifice.

baldwinamy · February 2014

Our car insurance went up last year because of my H driving without a valid license and getting in an accident My insurance is $70/month without him.

But that is the cheapest we could get after that fiasco.

Yes our vehicle cost is astronomical but I can't do much to change that one until our car loans are done. I already got the interest rates lowered on my credit cards and I am looking into combining cards onto one to save money that way.

I feel like our budget is so hopeless right now

I know once my car loan is done in a few months it will be a bit better but still not that great.

I am trying to find a job where I can bring my daughter but there is not many like that near where I live.

maple2 · February 2014

Honestly, it does not look like there is an easy solution for you. If pp is correct and you are spending >$1,300 more than you bring in each month, then you need to make major changes. If you lowered your insurance premiums, sold both cars and bought beaters to get rid of those payments (don't know if this is realistic given how much you own and how much the cars are worth), completely stopped eating out, reduced the grocery budget with meal planning and coupons, and cut the cell phone bill (though I don't know what the penalties for that would be) you might or might not be able to save $1,300 a month. You would need to be that drastic to keep your spending in line with your income, and I don't know how realistic it is for you to sell the cars or cut the cell phone.

Bottom line, you need to bring in more income. It seems like an extra job might be difficult, but it may be worth looking around the house for things to sell so you could get rid of some of that debt. I don't have any experience with this, but maybe you could do some sort of debt consolidation to reduce your monthly payments? Good luck!

baldwinamy · February 2014

TY @maple2

That is what I was kind of thinking that it really is a crap situation.

We used to have a good income between the two of us and I was the primary breadwinner but then I lost my job when I was pregnant and haven't been able to find much since.

It wouldn't be worth it for us to sell our cars currently, we would still owe quite a bit of money on my husbands car and we would just break even with mine.

We live pretty frugally at home, we dont even have a TV or much furniture since I have sold some of ours to put on credit cards. Eating out is our only thing we do and we need to cut it out.

I am trying to see if I can get approved for a debt consolidation and hopefully will be able to bring in some more money at some point.

thank you for the tips everyone. I guess its just a crap situation until we make more money.

Xstatic3333 · February 2014

I hate to be the bad guy, but if I were in your situation I would sell a car. Ideally the one with three years left, if you could break even. I know it's drastic, but being in the negative each month is such a bad feeling (I have been there). I'd use any profit to just get a cheap used car. If you must get something with payments, maybe 100 range payments. I'd even take a small loss if you could make it up with savings.

When you say your H works out of town, does he come home daily or just weekends? If he's home weekends or evenings, I'd add a small retail job in that time frame.

For jobs you can do with your LO, how about an etsy shop if you're crafty, or babysitting if you're not? Many families don't mind if you bring your own child.

I would not go out to eat. Maybe once every couple of months to wean yourself off of it. As for getting your H on board, I've been there too! I think yours needs to see the numbers. I'd try to get him on board with TMM-a lot of guys can seem to get behind that plan. Normally I'd say to give him a little fun money, but until you can lose a car payment I'd keep it to maybe $25 a month. My H is slowly coming around as he connects budgeting (which he hates) with goals he wants (namely buying a home). I try not to stay on him too much about it, but do remind him when he's going over budget.

Good luck!

Erikan73 · February 2014

Well sounds like trying to save money on going out & groceries will be your best bet right now. Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you currently a stay at home mom? If so, do you know anyone, say a friend or relative that you can offer to watch their kids for them to help them save on day care costs? Even if it's school aged kids for afterschool & during spring/winter breaks? It would give you something extra while working at home & still taking care of your own daughter. Just an idea because it sounds like something where you can work from home is your best option currently if you can find it. Also some day cares will allow you to bring your child there for free if you are an employee. Probably not the type of job you are looking for, but it would be an income plus free child care for your daughter.

mana8503 · February 2014

I know a few of my Coworkers' wifes finding nannying jobs from care.com. As PP said, some are ok with bringing your baby/kid with you.

VadersValkyrie · February 2014

Are you eating out a lot because your husband isn't home and you don't feel like cooking? I get into this rut sometimes, because my husband works an off-shift and is fed at work. If you buy some pre-packaged meals, you'll probably cut down on your dining out budget. Also, buying generic will save you money on groceries/household goods.

Also, if you are getting a tax return, I would consider paying off any of those credit cards you can and cutting them up.

hoffse · February 2014

Looking at this, the car insurance is obviously insanely high, but it sounds like you can't get out of that right now. I hope you had a serious come to Jesus talk with your H when all that happened...

Food is very high. You're currently spending $800/month on food (between groceries and eating out) for three people, one of whom is a small child. Given that baby gets her own budget (which seems reasonable to me, though I'm not a parent), I think you guys need to look into cutting groceries/eating out in half. H and I have a $400/month budget for food, and we live in separate cities right now so we have to stock two kitchens. If we didn't have to buy doubles of everything, we would be able to cut that back even more.

I suggest meal-planning, but also doing it around coupons available for the week. If tortillas are buy 1 get 1, then you guys will have Mexican that week. And so forth. If you have a Target near you, also check their store coupons and cartwheel. They often do double-dipping discounts on their own generic brands. That saves a LOT of money.

Cell phone is also really high relative to the rest of your budget. If you can get out of your contract, please do. If you can't, get out as soon as possible. Go to talk-only or one of the low-cost data plans. Presumably you have internet, so you could buy an ooma and have a cheap landline for $3/month in taxes that runs off of internet. That would probably let you get away with owning one cell phone between the two of you.

Finally, this is an extreme idea... but you have to find a way to either increase your income or cut your expenses by $1300/month. Could you sell one of the cars and then drive your H to work each day? Is that possible? He does not need to be driving a car he's not insured on, but you mentioned your insurance is $70/month and his is basically $400. If you did that, it would save you about $700/month between the insurance and the car payment savings. If you were able to cut your eating budget down to a reasonable amount and also minimize the cell phone usage, you would be at about $1200/month saved. That's much much closer to where you need to be than what you're facing right now. It obviously wouldn't be easy, but it's the single fastest way to cut your over-budgeting in half. At the very least, it's something to consider for the short-term while you are getting some of this credit card debt paid off.

strickland8052 · February 2014

Bravo to you for wanting to get financially savvy! I'll be honest, your numbers are not looking good, but if you don't start soon it will be even worse. I've got some ways, you can save about $900 a month. You aren't going to like some of the suggestions.. they will be tough, but you HAVE to cut back. First, by your cell bill I am assuming you have smart phones. You cannot afford to have smart phones. Sell your smart phones and use that money to pay off some debt. Then get a very basic cell bill for about $60 to $75 a month. Make sure you check around with different service providers and see if your employer gets a discount at any. Even if you have to go to pre-paid phones, you must cut that bill down by about half! Next, your car payments are way too high for your income. You either have a really high interest rate or a car that is too expensive for you. Sell the car that has 3 years left on it and use that money to buy a cheap used car outright. If possible, cut back to being a one car family. Then you'll have $300 extra that you can put towards debt. If you have a cheaper car or just one car, your car insurance will also be lower. I agree with the PPs that your car insurance is way too high. Shop around to lower it and raise your deductibles if you have to... whatever you need to do to get that down! Next you are spending way too much on eating out and groceries. With your income, you might be eligible for food stamps so I'd check into that. Even with out them, I think you could cut food down to $50 for eating out and $400 for groceries. Once you cut all of these expenses, you should have a little bit more to put towards the CC debt. Put everything extra into paying off the highest interest rate CC first. Then move on to paying off the second highest interest rate, and so on and so forth. Good luck! You can do it! Just remember how good it will feel to get out of debt and start building up some savings!

moonprincessd · February 2014

This might seem mean, but I suggest maybe giving the dogs to someone else? You can barely afford to take care of yourself, it would be so much easier to not have the pets around until you can afford them without a problem.

I'd also just stop eating out, it's not necessary and it's a lot healthier to make your own food. If your husband needs a lunch, make one, I make my husband a lunch everyday (not saying you have to make it, he can make his own, I just do it because I love him and I make myself a sandwich for lunch so might as well do both at the same time, lol!)

For the cell phone, could you switch to a cheaper plan? The amount your paying looks like it's for data, do you really need smart phones?

Also, if your husband works out of town, is it possible to move closer to where he works, so you can save on gas? I also second maybe selling one of the cars. You could also work nights if he's home in the evening. A lot of retail stores need evening workers.

The last piece of advice I can give is to try using coupons, go on double coupon days, or shop at Aldi's which is generally a lot cheaper, but you have to use your own bags. Also what are buying at the grocery store that = $600 a month? We only spend around $300-$400 a month on our groceries and we're not in a tight money situation, so I spend a little more freely... granted we don't have kids, but you have $225 going toward baby, so I'm assuming that's not included in the $600... it looks like you could save a lot by changing what foods you eat/buy.

CuriousKiddosMama · February 2014

I don't really have much to add to what others have said, although I am going to suggest cutting from your baby budget too. Formula and diapers only, and that shouldn't be $225 a month. If you have a CVS near you buy your diapers there (3 packages this week after printing a couple coupons off the internet will run you $4 or so each) That should last until they have the next sale in a bout 2 more weeks. If you can't get to a CVS buy generic and on sale.

Formula is a great thing to buy generic as well. We got a Sams membership just for that reason, but even Target/Walmart generics are great, and they are all regulated by the FDA so essentially the same thing. They can save you a lot of money. My son drinks 30-36 ounces each day (he's a big baby) and we spend less than $100 on formula a month (I go through like 4 or 5 of the big Sams things a month, which are like $20). The big canisters we buy can last us a while. Buying the small canisters is the most expensive way to go there.

Clothing can be minimal for a baby, they won't remember that they wore the same 6 outfits, it just gets to be an inconvenience for you because you have to wash all the time. Garage sale- that is where most of my kids clothes come from (like 90%) It's amazing to me that people sell baby clothes for 25 cents at a garage sale, and since babys grow so quickly, they often are in like new condition.

I will reiterate what others said, do not eat out, drastically cut your grocery budget, and get a second job even if it is child care or something like that where you can bring your baby with you. You need the extra money a job can bring or you will never get out of this mess. Also, continue looking for a job again. You can't afford schooling until you get out of this mess.

formerlyGDaisy09 · February 2014

baldwinamy said:

Hi
I need help budgeting and tips for getting my H on board with actually staying on the budget.

Income after taxes $2100/ month
Expenses:

Rent: $400
Cell: $150 for 2 *Does this include 2 data plans? ditch the smart phones*
Car Loan: $335 fully paid off in Aug
Car Loan: $300 3 years left
Car Insurance: $480/monthly *definitely see if there is anything you can do about this*

*Also do you need two cars? I know lots of people who both work and get by with one car. these car payements seem high, could you trade car #2 that you owe more on for more of a clunker?*

Dogs: $100
Baby: $225
Gas: $300 *minimize driving when you can, are there any public transportation options?*
Eating out: $200 *definitely do away with this, yes date night is important for sanity, but when you're $1000+ in the hole each month unfortunately it's a luxury*
Groceries/Household items $600 *Cut where you can, head to the store with a list and a plan, but generic when you can*

Debts:
CC 1: $900 min monthly= $45
CC 2: $7100 $150
CC 3: $540 $30
CC 4: $90 $10
CC 5: $600 $45
CC 7: $700 $45

Definitely look into a second Job for H or find a weekend job for yourself when H isn't working, this debt is going to hold you back for years, even after you get your monthly budget balanced.

If you are at all comfortable with Excel try to use that to keep track of your monthly budget. It looks to me like you need to be saving every penny you can. My overall impression is that you're paying WAY too much for your vehicles and insurance (if you're driving older cars your insurance will go down slightly) Better yet if you can down size to one car you'll save $300 a month there and your insurance will drop because you're insuring 2 drivers on one car.

H and I have managed to cut our monthly grocery budget to about $350, we don't have kids, so we're not buying diapers and household oods for that, but you could probably trim $100-200 there.

so if you can ditch a car (~$400) nix the eating out (~$200) and trim the grocery bill (~$100) then get a weekend job that'll bring in ~$150-$200 ($10-$13/hour for 15-20 hours) a weekend ($600-$800/month) you'll be breaking even or having a little extra to throw at that debt each month.

It's hard, but that debt is going to snow ball, your cars will get reposessed, and you could get evicted if you're not able to keep-up with monthly expenses. Eventually you'll be denied more credit.

SmrBrd2012 · February 2014

I don't really have much else to add, PP's covered basically everything. Only question I have is what exactly you mean by your husband working out of town? Is he still home for dinner every night? How long is he away from the house? Does he work a normal work week? For example, can you get a PT job on the weekends if he has weekends off? Can you work nights at a retail job, restaurant, or wherever while H takes over child care when he is home? I know this means you won't see much of each other but you really need to get in control of your budget and adding some extra income would really help.

vlagrl29 · February 2014

car insurance is way too high, cut eating out in half, and get a cheaper phone plan. We pay $80/month for 2 smart phones on tmobile. unlimited text, talk, data.

formerlyGDaisy09 · February 2014

Another thing to think about...Once you have your monthly budget balanced (bringing in more money than is going out) and that is STABLE. Think about trying to get your hands on an opportunity to transfer all that credit card debt. When you get one of thoes 0% interest for 18 months (or similar offers) apply for it and transfer as much of your debt there as you can, you will have to pay a transfer fee, but that is ususally 3-4% opposed to 20-25% interest.

This is NOT something you usually want to do and ONLY do this if you can establish a payment plan to pay off ALL of the balance before the 0% offer expires. then STOP using your credit cards until your debt is taken care of. the issue with your cards now is that you're probably going to end up paying thousands of dollars in interest.

The catch here, and why this is risky (but you've got yourself into a risky situation anyways), is that some companies will charge you back-interest if you carry a balance beyond the time of the 0% promotional offer, therefore if you've worked really hard and gotten the balance down to even a few hundred dollars over the 12 or 18 months suddenly that offer expires and you owe another few hundred of thousand dollars. so BE VERY CAREFUL and seek advice from a financial advisor before you persue an option like that.

strickland8052 · February 2014

Completely agree about consolidating debt, working out payments, etc. etc., but also be careful about who you go to for advice/help consolidating. Make sure you go to a non-profit that is designed to help people like you and not a company that is there to make money off your situation.

bparkhur · February 2014

If he works out of town, what's preventing you from moving?

You can cut back in the ways others have recommended, but really what you need is more income. Do you have any family support? A friend to exchange babysitting services with so you can get some sort of part-time work. Can your husband work weekends? Could you find employment as a babysitter?

You mentioned you were working before you had your child; what line of work? If you found a full-time position, would it bring in more income than daycare? If the answer is yes, start sending out your resume.

KatieCutie05 · February 2014

Honestly you are paying 60% of your income on transportation. Thats just crazy. Your husband is literally working just to pay to be able to drive to work. Downgrade both vehicles or get rid of one or better yet do both. One of you must have a lot of tickets on your history to have car insurance be more then rent. That baffles my mind. You need to get so sick and tired of living that way to change it because the change takes a lot of sacrifice and it may seem hard now but the feel ing of peace and security you will get is far worth it. Cut up the credit cards and force yourself to live on less then you make. If you keep borrow ing money every month and then still plan on borrow ing more fore student loans, your going to turn around in 2 years and be 100k in debt and it won't matter if you make more because your monthly payments will be higher too. Make a change now! Take out Total Money Makeover from the library. It would really help you two.

hoffse · February 2014

OPs insurance is high because of her husband. He was driving on an invalid license and had a wreck. She has mentioned that insurance just for her would be $70/month. So he effectively adds $400/month to her insurance.

I'm liking the idea of moving closer to your H's job, selling one car, and then driving him to work each day so that you do not need to insure him as a driver on your vehicle.

You will save a ton of money doing that. Your H will also learn to renew his license on time (assuming it was expired and not suspended....).

Mrsveinotte · February 2014

baldwinamy · February 2014

So do I sell the car that is about to be paid off since I could make 2-3 grand off of it?

Hs car, we would owe on if we sold it.

He works in a HCOL area and even very basic 1 bdrms are more then our income. We live in a small town with very cheap rent.

I like the idea of trying care.com and babysitting since I could bring my daughter.

She is on specialty formula and that is almost her entire budget. She will be weaning in a few months and that cost will significantly go down.

I am meeting with my bank to try and consolidate the credit cards and hopefully will have a smaller min monthly payment for now.

I called for cells today and they want $300 each to cancel which we just don't have currently. Our cell is really our only entertainment/internet since we don't have a tv

. If I can come up with the funds I will cancel and see about getting a house phone.

I will be going back to work full time once my daughter is in school, Ive been looking for part time care cost and part time jobs but they dont seem like they will get us ahead.

Hopefully I can get some babysitting jobs that will help bring in some cash.

Thank you everyone for all the advice and suggestions! I really appreciate it and I am really hoping to apply it all and get our budget back in check since being this poor is horrible.

hoffse · February 2014

If you can make $2K-$3K on one car then yes that's the car I would sell. It has the slightly higher monthly payment anyway.

I would then try to pay off CC's 1, 6, and 7. Then probably CC 4 and 3 if you have enough left over.

Just doing that saves you $335 in a car payment each month and $135-$175 per month in credit card payments.

If you start budgeting for food (and baby) better, you really ought to be able to shave off another $400 or so. Or more. It sounds hard, but it's easier than you might think. Meal plan around the coupons available for that week (check out coupons.com to get started). Make shopping lists and do NOT diverge from your list. If it's not on there, don't buy it. Don't go to the grocery store when you're hungry. Sounds silly, but impulse buys go up when you're hungry. Buy generic. Buy produce in season. Make your own salads instead of buying the pre-packaged kind. Check out recipekey.com. They have a thing on their website where you enter the stuff in your pantry, and they give you a recipe that you can make with it.

Dogs: If you have a friend who is a Costco member, ask them if you can tag along to pick up some dog food instead of buying it at the grocery store. Costco sells very high quality pet food for a small fraction of the cost. In fact, if there is a costco or sam's club nearby, consider a membership. Costco's membership is $55 per year, and it saves H and me a small fortune. You do have to be cognizant of how much you are spending at those places during any given trip - it's really easy to drop $100 - but on the other hand, it's probably the single biggest way that H and I stock two kitchens for $400/month. Costco even has a monthly coupon book that alerts you to the items on sale that month (all categories). And actually, what we save on gas there usually pays for our annual membership. If you want suggestions of what you can buy at Costco or Sams for cheap, let us know.

And finally.... drive your husband to work so you can stop insuring him until you are able to increase your income by $400/month to pay for that.

If you do all of this you will just about be breaking even. At that point, throw any ANY extra money each month toward your final CC payment. And then to the car once the CC is paid off. You will then be cash positive and can start to consider your options.

KatieCutie05 · February 2014

You can't CANCEL your cell phones without violating the contract but you can downgrade. What I would do is get 2 "stupid" phones - that will get the data plan off and they should even let you change your plan in general to get less minutes or something like that. Just call up and say you need to get your bill down. You should be able to atleast save 50 a month that way.

get a babysitting job to bring in extra money but do not increase your lifestyle untill you get ALL your debt paid off (including the car). You may even be able to babysit in your home. A nanny service basically. Those pay pretty good.

Rent: $400

Cell: $100 for 2 after downgrading and dumping the data plans

Car Loan: Sell the car! And drive your husband to work and use the profit to pay down credit cards. Once you start making more you can save for a few months and buy a 1k beater car.

Car Loan: $300 - How much do you owe? Would it help to just downgrade and find a slightly cheaper car.

Car Insurance: $480/monthly - call around and get this lower. But by taking your car off it will go down on its own as well. I would dump him driving and take insurance off of him alltogether for just a few months until you get more income. Then register the 1k beater in his name so you arent paying collision on his driving record.

Dogs: $100

Baby: $225

Gas: $300 - is his car fuel efficient at least?

Eating out: $0 - Just don't go out to eat. You cant afford it.

Groceries/Household items: You can easily get this down to 500 with buying in bulk, shopping sales and couponing.

Debts:

CC 1: $900 min monthly= $45

CC 2: $7100 $150

CC 3: $540 $30 - paid off with money from car.

CC 4: $90 $10- paid off with money from car

CC 5: $600 $45 - paid off with money from car

CC 7: $700 $45 - paid off with money from car

You still might be over or barely breaking even so you need to get your income up.

But until then just stop borrowing. Cut up the cards and don't use them period. Pay rent, put gas in the car and feed your family off the top. Everything else waits.

If that means you call the credit card company and say sorry can't pay you this month then so be it. But a 25 dollar late fee is a whole lot better then putting money on the credit card to just pay the credit card. A few months worth of missed payments wont ding your credit too much so don't worry about that. Just stop borrowing money. Period.

You really arent in too bad of shape - with a little work you can get yourself ahead in a year. Get on a budget and once you have extra get atleast 500-1k in an emergency fund and put the rest to pay off the credit cards and car. then you can save to buy better cars in cash. Just don't go into debt. Its too risky.

HarryCanary · February 2014

Check out T-Mobile for your cell phones. They have been running ads lately saying they'll pay your early termination fees if you switch to them. Their plans are very reasonable, even when you include data.

Good luck!

budget help

Re: budget help

Choose Another Board

Search Boards