Budget Crises :(

blessed81 · March 2015

I just discoverd this board! I need major help with my budget. My hubby and I don't make a ton of money so all advice and critiquing is greatly appreciated. here is a glimpse at ot March 2015 budget. no sure what i can move around, cut, etc...

3/6- 920.00

gas me- 50

gas hubby- 50

laundry- 10

toll- 18

groceries- 50

emergency fund- 20

mortgage- 820

toiletries- 30

total - 1048

3/13-760

gas me- 50

gas hubby- 50

laundry - 10

toll- 13

groceries- 50

emergency fund- 50

peronal loan- 332

cable- 90

insurance- 29

portmans music- 30

haircuts- 30

total 734

3/20-920

gas me- 50

gas hubby- 50

laudry- 10

toll- 18

groceries- 50

emergency fund- 80

water- 55

gerber life- 55

car note- 300

cell- 195

home owners association - 112

total 970

3/27/15

gas me- 50

gas hubby- 50

laundry- 10

toll- 13

groceries- 50

emergency fund- 90

electric- 180

geico- 180

haircuts- 30

total - 753

HELP!!!

Xstatic3333 · March 2015

Welcome! A few things you could easily cut stood out to me right away.

-It's great that you're prioritizing your e-fund, but I'd cut that from the mortgage paycheck. There's just not room.
-Cable is easily cut. Switch to Internet only. For us that's $70/month but it's cheaper in many other areas.
-$60/month for haircuts seems a little high. Can at least your H go to a simple barber or Supercuts? Could you learn to cut his hair?
-Unless you have an unusual circumstance, I'd probably cut the secondary insurance (Geico) and just get term life. That's $60/month for H and I, but can be found even cheaper.
-Cell is very high. Look into T-Mobile; ours is cheaper than that by far even with new iPhones. Also look into Republic Wireless. T-Mobile will pay your early termination fees via Visa gift card.
-Gerber life I would probably cancel, whether it's for you or a child. Whole life policies are not good investments. Switch to term life for you, and a 529 or savings account if gifting to a child (once you have some wiggle room).
-Is the water bill monthly or quarterly? It seems high if monthly; maybe cut back on lawn watering and shower length.
-$50 a week is tough for groceries! Power to you if you're making it happen, but make sure it's realistic.
-If you really want more budget room, selling the car is an option to look into.
-What is Portman's Music?

I'm sure others will notice things I missed!

formerlyGDaisy09 · March 2015

I assume the red is income and the last one is $760...so your total income is $3360 and your outgoing is $3505.

The biggest thing I'm seeing is your vehicles....I assume you both have long commutes in opposite directions to be spending $100 a week on gas? if not I recommend carpooling when you can, even if it means you're arriving early or staying late. is public transportation an option? $300 seems like a steap car payment for your budget, how much do you owe on the car and how much is it worth?

What is the personal loan for?

I'm not sure what portman's Music is...if it's a subscription to something, get rid of it.

are you doing laundry at the laundrymat? is there a way you can do fewer loads?

your cell phone bill seems high.

can you cut your H's hair? and reduce how often you're going to the salon?

the biggest issue I see is you've got $145 more going out than you have coming in....so your first goal is to reduce what's going out to under what is coming in. Then I'd focus on reducing your debts...your non-mortgage debt is almost 20% of your take-home. your transportation costs are also high, especially given new lower gas prices.

bcarb · March 2015

All great suggestions. Gas seems pretty high $100 a week? Gas is pretty cheap right now too, unless you guys commute quite a ways. I spend $30 every 2 weeks for myself and $30 for hubby. And I do my budget the same way.. we get paid every week. therefore, I split my bills accordingly. Especially for mortgage, we just divide that into 4's and at the end of the month we have enough money to pay it, same goes with all of our bills..Also, $50 seems a bit too low for groceries, but awesome you can manage that, I actually had to get realistic with our budget, i was over spending by 20-30 a week, so now I just bumped that category up...

blessed81 · March 2015

thanks so much for the gresat ideas!

haircuts is for son and hubby

at & t- cell bill 3 lines

gerberlife is for the four oof us,. me , hubby, son and daughter and its term life. kids obn grow up plan.

gas is alot as we both commue . i live in south carolina and work in georgia.

formerlyGDaisy09 · March 2015

blessed81 said:
thanks so much for the gresat ideas!
haircuts is for son and hubby
at & t- cell bill 3 lines
gerberlife is for the four oof us,. me , hubby, son and daughter and its term life. kids obn grow up plan.
gas is alot as we both commue . i live in south carolina and work in georgia.

$25 or less will get you a trimmer with all the attachments you need for men's cuts...even this month that saves you $30...future months it'll save you $60.

that commute is costing you a lot, does your H work in the opposite direction?

hoffse · March 2015

I agree with all of this.

Look at something other than Gerberlife. The grow-up plan that I see advertised on TV is a huge ripoff. We pay $14/month for H's term life and $12/month for mine. Both policies are for $500K, and we are in our late 20's (and H has a history of smoking). I'm not a huge fan of insuring young children, but if you feel the need to do it then shop around. I would guess you are way overpaying.

Go to Great Clips or buy a trimmer like @GDaisy suggested

Why do you pay for three lines? Who has the third line?

I agree you need to cut out the emergency fund. You don't have room right now.

How much do you owe on the personal loan? What is your interest rate?

Xstatic3333 · March 2015

Knowing there are kids in the mix makes me more prone to recommend drastic action. For one, I'd be actively applying for jobs that are either closer to home or carpool-compatible. Gas is likely to go up again soon. Two, I'd visit AT&T and basically beg to get on a cheaper plan, even if it means dumb phones. Hopefully they'll work with you to keep your business. I'd keep two lines only; if one is for a kid maybe they can work to help pay for it. Definitely cut the Geico. Shop around your term life rates. Whether or not you follow Dave Ramsey, many here have found good rates on Zander Insurance, which he recommends. Personally I'd drop the Grow Up plan. I'd probably sell the car if you aren't underwater, but I've also had the killer commute and know how a car repair can wreck your life in those situations.

Good job for working with your budget and looking for ways to improve! You can definitely do it.

simplyelise · March 2015

Cutting Geico and your e-fund payments would get your cash-flow positive.

But I agree with everyone else, gerberlife is a total ripoff and you can find better term-life deals. And yeah, if you can get out from under that car loan, that would be great. How much do you have left on the loan?

Also agree that if one of those phone lines is for a kid, they should be contributing some $ towards it.

I have no idea how you're able to feed 4 people on $50/week, is that something you stick to strictly?

blessed81 · March 2015

thanks for all of the great feedback.

at & t- the third line is our 12 year old daughter

portmans- daugthter plays the clarinet. this will be eliminated in June

car- just purchased in october of last year. our other car finally died on us. it was old !

personal loan- pay of in december of this year

our community requires us to have a landline and cable with our local provider. believe me we have tried to get out of this so many times.

we almost always go over the grocey budge

formerlyGDaisy09 · March 2015

blessed81 said:
thanks for all of the great feedback.
at & t- the third line is our 12 year old daughter
portmans- daugthter plays the clarinet. this will be eliminated in June
car- just purchased in october of last year. our other car finally died on us. it was old !
personal loan- pay of in december of this year
our community requires us to have a landline and cable with our local provider. believe me we have tried to get out of this so many times.
we almost always go over the grocey budge

ok, keep the music....music is important for kids, there is research shoing kids trained in music are better at science and math.

if you aren't underwater on your car loan (which given your commute and how new the car is you likely are) consider trading it for something less expensive with better gas miledge (I'm thinking like a certified pre-owned (2012 or 2013) small sedan with basic features...like a ford focus or toyota carolla) that $300 monthly payment is killing your budget.

I think the suggestion to look for jobs closer to home is a good one, even if the pay is slightly less, you can drastically reduce your fuel needs. H and I moved 13 miles closer to work 3 years ago...doesn't seem like much, but that eliminated 260 miles a week we were putting on both our cars...that's 1,100 miles a month which brought us from filling both cars every week to filling both cars once or twice a month...seriously saved us hundreds of dollars a month. The other option of couse, if you both work in the same general direction and are both in love with your jobs is to move closer to work...but given that you own your home changing jobs seems like the easier option.

Make sure you're on the most basic cable plan available.

if you're always going over on groceries then your budget needs work, if $50 isn't managable then you need to increase your grocery budget and decrease other things.

I know times are changing, but for the most part I think until a teenager has their drivers license it is not necessary for them to have a cell phone. if they are somewhere and need to call you they could borrow a cell phone or the land line of where ever they are. their friends can call them on the landline you're required to pay for. I'd get rid of the 12 year old's cell phone.

Sisugal · March 2015

I would look at second PT jobs, and selling items you no longer need .
You are also missing some items in your budget - clothing, medical, gifts,
Go with a pay and you go cell phone for your daughter if you really think she needs one (something like a Track phone with no monthly fee - and phone card minutes enough for emergencies and short calls( - she will get used to not spending time on the phone )

hoffse · March 2015

The 12-yr-old doesn't need a phone. It may sound harsh, but seriously - kids these days. If she's not driving, she doesn't need a phone.

Besides, without her phone she will be able to disconnect from the constant stream of information, gossip, news, etc. that's always invading our lives today. Get her to disconnect while she still can. I can't anymore. I received over 100 emails from work yesterday, on a Sunday (in theory, we're only supposed to be open M-F).

You need to go back and see exactly what your grocery budget actually is. There's no way you can get an accurate picture if you don't track your actual spending. Goals are all well and good, but the actual money is what really matters.

Cut the cable and go to Hulu for $8/month. Hulu is fantastic, and you won't miss cable. We re-started cable in the fall, and I'm thinking about cutting it again because I hate it. The commercials are endless.

Try to cut back everywhere you can until the personal loan ends in December. It's great it's ending so soon, and that will add some money back into your budget. Just make it tight for the next few months. It won't be fun, but you can tolerate just about anything if it lasts less than a year.

vlagrl29 · March 2015

if you have no land line your kid needs a phone in case they are home alone and something majorly bad were to happen

Xstatic3333 · March 2015

I would vote the 12 yo gets a phone, but not a smartphone.

Can your HOA really make you get cable? That seems super evil. Just hearing about HOAs makes me stabby.

bmo88 · March 2015

hoffse: Out of curiosity, if you are ok with answering, what is the term on your insurance (10, 20 or 30 years)?

We just bought a 30 year term, are late 20's and very healthy. We are paying $35 a month for me and $42 a month for DH. We shopped around, but didn't find any others cheaper than that.

OP, I agree with others. You could definitely cut back on your cable, cut out the smart phone for your 12 yo and do the hair cuts at home. That will save you quite a bit right there. I cut my DH's hair once a month with a sheer set that we bought 5 years ago for about $40. It's super easy and doesn't take long, saves us in the long run.

formerlyGDaisy09 · March 2015

vlagrl29 said:
if you have no land line your kid needs a phone in case they are home alone and something majorly bad were to happen

OP said her homeowners association requires them to have cable and a landline...I've never heard of this kind of thing, but they do have a land line.

vlagrl29 · March 2015

formerlyGDaisy09 said:

vlagrl29 said:
if you have no land line your kid needs a phone in case they are home alone and something majorly bad were to happen
OP said her homeowners association requires them to have cable and a landline...I've never heard of this kind of thing, but they do have a land line.

Ah, missed that. I've never heard of an HOA that crazy? We have one and I thought they were picky. How could a land line and cable benefit the HOA. I would probably move.

vlagrl29 · March 2015

How would they know she has cable/landline? Unless they see the bill, they have no idea except by calling your home phone.

hoffse · March 2015

bmo88 said:
hoffse: Out of curiosity, if you are ok with answering, what is the term on your insurance (10, 20 or 30 years)?

We just bought a 30 year term, are late 20's and very healthy. We are paying $35 a month for me and $42 a month for DH. We shopped around, but didn't find any others cheaper than that.

OP, I agree with others. You could definitely cut back on your cable, cut out the smart phone for your 12 yo and do the hair cuts at home. That will save you quite a bit right there. I cut my DH's hair once a month with a sheer set that we bought 5 years ago for about $40. It's super easy and doesn't take long, saves us in the long run.

I'm pretty sure ours is 20 years? I might be wrong though - it could be 10. Our financial situation ought to be very different in 10 years, so I might have chosen a shorter term knowing that we'd have no trouble paying for more once the term expires - that sounds like something I would do. I truly can't remember though.

Ours is through the American Bar Association. If there are any professional groups that you are affiliated with, you might be able to get a deal. I shopped a little, but it was so cheap that we really just went with it.

simplyelise · March 2015

hoffse said:

bmo88 said:
hoffse: Out of curiosity, if you are ok with answering, what is the term on your insurance (10, 20 or 30 years)?

We just bought a 30 year term, are late 20's and very healthy. We are paying $35 a month for me and $42 a month for DH. We shopped around, but didn't find any others cheaper than that.

OP, I agree with others. You could definitely cut back on your cable, cut out the smart phone for your 12 yo and do the hair cuts at home. That will save you quite a bit right there. I cut my DH's hair once a month with a sheer set that we bought 5 years ago for about $40. It's super easy and doesn't take long, saves us in the long run.
I'm pretty sure ours is 20 years? I might be wrong though - it could be 10. Our financial situation ought to be very different in 10 years, so I might have chosen a shorter term knowing that we'd have no trouble paying for more once the term expires - that sounds like something I would do. I truly can't remember though.

Ours is through the American Bar Association. If there are any professional groups that you are affiliated with, you might be able to get a deal. I shopped a little, but it was so cheap that we really just went with it.

I've got mine through work, but DH's term in $21 for a ten year (no kids yet, so we'll get another longer term when we TTC). His cholesterol was borderline high, so that's why his was more. I think health history has a big affect on the cost. We did use Zander to price out insurance and it was nice to be able to choose between lots of companies.

blondie42107 · March 2015

vlagrl29 said:

formerlyGDaisy09 said:

vlagrl29 said:
if you have no land line your kid needs a phone in case they are home alone and something majorly bad were to happen
OP said her homeowners association requires them to have cable and a landline...I've never heard of this kind of thing, but they do have a land line.
Ah, missed that. I've never heard of an HOA that crazy? We have one and I thought they were picky. How could a land line and cable benefit the HOA. I would probably move.

I have no idea how it would work for a HOA but I know several rentals (apartment complexes, townhouses, etc) have phone and cable included in the rent fee.

bmo88 · March 2015

simplyelise: We used Zander as well.

hoffse: Thanks for the tip on professional associations. DH is a teacher and I am in school administration, so not sure if there are some, but I will look into it.

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