How do you budget?

I admit for years I had no budget. I really had no idea. I was a typical college student, overextending multiple lines of credit (therefore trashing it for years) and generally not understanding how to get things to work. When I moved back home a few years ago, I sat down, got my credit report, read through all 20 pages, read all the debt I had accrued, and went “well, this is a fine mess I’ve gotten into.”…. okay, it was more me running around freaking out for a while.

I had 2 part time jobs when I lived at home (I was a waitress at a local place, and then I either worked at a grocery store, or at a greenhouse) for over 12 months. 14 I think? I was let go from both jobs right around Thanksgiving in 2009, then after looking around for jobs I finally just went back to school in Fall 2010. In that time frame, even on 2 part time jobs, I managed to learn to budget very efficiently – enough I could still even take trips while managing to pay off at least one bill a month or pay down. (I paid off something like almost $15k worth of debt including some student loan in the time frame.)

Now, here’s the rub. right now, I have very little savings. It is something that right now I don’t have the luxury on, and it makes me very nervous. Which is why even with a full time job I’m working to get back to working on eBay in extra time. I lived for 3 years doing nothing but reselling, and that was really, really tiring and I hope to never have to do that again But it would be extra money, that can be used.

So now, my budget is (roughly) ~$1600/month after taxes.

When it comes to budgeting, I actually have mine in a couple areas. I have a whiteboard calendar that is dated 31 days, and on this calendar, I have the bill and usual price of bill (ie: my water/sewer/trash bill is variant between $50-70).

When you sit down to make a budget, go throughout the month, and write down what day you have what bill due, and how much it is. That’s always the first step in a budget. Make it on a piece of paper you can add/subtract to. Get a pile of all your bills. Write this all down on paper, as well as wherever else you need to remember. It’s easiest for me in multiple places as I always have a notebook with me.

So my budget reads something like:
1st: Rent – $873+60 (rent + covered parking + water/sewer/trash avg)
13th-18th: Credit card $100 (minimum is $68), Cable $50 (usually $40-45), Verizon $94 ($91-94)
13th-21st: Car Insurance – $125 ($110-125), Life Insurance – $17, Student Loan – $100 (minimum $86)

Things I don’t have on my calendar yet: Electricity – because I haven’t yet gotten a bill since it just got turned into my name. Cat expenditures, Car gas, my food. I use my credit card for car gas every month, which keeps a small active balance on it that I can pay a month. (I have some remaining balance from not being paid for work I did that involved travel that had to be paid via CC. long story)

So.. if you’re good with adding, you can see roughly I have less than $200 a month for the rest. Which is why I rarely go out – I quite honestly don’t have the money, because I PAY MY BILLS FIRST. I did have a roommate, whom I charged not quite half of even rent and utilities, etc, but I have since went back to living by myself because when I rely on people to pay bills and they choose not to – for whatever reason – it’s not a help, it’s a hindrance that almost made me lose the apartment. (can’t wait to get the money I am owed remaining from that, for savings.)

When I went back to living by myself, I decided to ditch my storage unit every month. I resigned my lease recently, and my rent went up from $789 to $848/mo for a 2/2. So I have a 2nd room that at the time was empty. I looked into moving into a 1 bedroom apartment, but the ‘cheapest’ option at the time was $750/mo, and I’d have to keep my storage unit at $60/mo.

So, $848 and move my storage stuff into my 2nd room, and set up the 2nd room to work on eBay, writing, stuff like that – or move into a 1 bedroom at $750/mo, keep the storage unit at $60 = $38 difference. I kept my slightly larger apartment – plus, my storage here is climate controlled Also, if it comes that I do eventually need to have a roommate, then I can go ahead and get a storage unit again and find someone. I have options at this rate – I do not with a one bedroom.

But, my budget can take it. Just barely, but it can take it. And I didn’t resign that lease until I knew for certain.

I hope this makes sense for people, if not, I can share more information.

Here’s some rules:

Rule A: Don’t budget on money that is not steady. I sell stuff on half.com, craiglist, etc – I’ve made an extra $60 this month alone from both those. That is extra money for me – either to buy extras or put in the bank. Overtime money? never budgeted. It’s never steady.

Rule B: Rewarding yourself is important but don’t use it as justification for overspending. My reward for working a ton of overtime? I stocked up on things I *needed* (such as cat food/litter on a great sale, stuff like toilet paper on sale) for things like peace of mind (plus, I don’t have to buy TP until like May or June at this rate), and then bought a new hairbrush and nail polish ($10). Yep, big spender. But it IS important to reward yourself now and again. Keep a wishlist.. or several. Ever seen my amazon wishlists? Full of everything from $1 books to $300 cat litter boxes. But it’s always a way to remember things I like or would like to save for!

Rule C: If you have a variant bill, either average it over the course of 12 months, or just figure high. My Car Insurance usually has ranged between $110 a month and $125. I always figure on $125/mo. If it’s lower? A little left over is a good thing. Never a bad thing. Also, round up your cents. $93.79 = $94.

Rule D: Any bill that just has a “minimum”, like a credit card or student loan? budget over it. Make yourself pay more. My student loan is $86/minimum a month, and I pay usually $100-125/mo. Not only do you get your bills down faster, you pay less in interest. Pay more for the high interest things, but always pay over your minimum. In the course of a year, even if I only pay $14 more on my loan a month, that’s $14×12 = $168. What’s $86×2? $172. So.. basically, I’m paying 14 months of minimum payments in a year by simply increasing every month by $14. When you are paying over the course of 7 years… well, you can see where I’m going. I can cut almost an entire YEAR off the time of the life of the loan…with an extra $14/month. Pretty simple if you break it down that way.

Rule E(xtreme): PAY YOUR BILLS FIRST EVERY MONTH. When I get paid, I immediately come home and pay the bills. Then, after that, I decide whether or not I can go do something fun or just go get milk, butter, and fruit at the store.

Rule F: If you’re in over your head, contact the companies you owe money to. Talk to them. Many companies will take a lower payment every month as long as you are paying. I remember paying one $2100 bill in $50 increments for a number of years – because that’s all I could afford. But they took it! And they were very happy about it!

Rule G: DO. NOT. LIVE. ON. CREDIT. CARDS. I have one. ONE. it’s cute. And it has a ladybug on it – most importantly, a good interest rate. I don’t need multiple ones. For me, that’s temptation – and I can admit it. I do not need the temptation. Living beyond your means will only get you burned in the end.

Here’s some good hints on budgeting:

Hint 1: If you want to budget in putting money into savings, DO IT. If that’s the only way to get yourself to be able to save, set up a separate savings account that the only way you can get money in and out is to go to the bank and drop off a check – and pay yourself every month. (Credit Unions are -great- for this.)

Hint 2: There isn’t a “maybe I can afford this or not”. Numbers are steady. You know how much money you have and how many bills you have. Sometimes there’s a bit of wiggle room – maybe you worked a couple extra hours overtime, but there’s an item that costs more money than that that you want? Save up for it. You can’t afford it. Learn how to tell yourself no.

Hint 3: Living paycheck to paycheck sucks. And I hate it. But it’s possible if you stick to your budget. If you go off budget, get back on board immediately!

Hint 4: Watch sales. I managed to save on my budget this month – I usually spend $40 month on cat litter, and because of sales, I bought the same amount pound wise for $30. Coupon sites are great, but only clip what you NEED. Don’t go extreme couponing just because you can – great way to throw your budget and make you spend money on things you don’t need just because you’re shopping. If you are saving up for a large purchase that you don’t need omg right away when you get the money, wait for a sale. Use sites like mrrebates.com, ebates.com – I don’t buy much online, but I’ve made over $100 back in a few years from these sites. I also use swagbucks.com – I use it strictly to buy Amazon gift cards. even 1 $5 Amazon GC every month = $60 a year I can use for laundry soap (which I can only find on Amazon, not locally) or books or whatever I’d like

Every little bit helps.

Hint 5: Remove temptation. I don’t go to malls.. or to stores.. when I’m broke and can’t afford things. There’s tons of free things to do around here, there’s always a great outdoors to go walk in, sit under a tree and read a book. I have a big weakness for books, and i never go to a bookstore unless I’m going in for a specific reason, because well….. temptation.

Hint 6: Ways to cut budgets: FOOD PRICES. Make lunches at home, take to work. Buy a french press, make better coffee at home instead of an overpriced Starbucks. Seriously – food is usually a huuuuuuuge expenditure. Add up what you spend in one week by eating out. Go budget what you can do at home… you’ll be shocked. Shop used items – I rarely buy any clothing new, or if I do, I will buy off a clearance rack. Goodwills are awesome, Craiglist is always AYOR, eBay can be great – or a temptation.

Hint 7: Make yourself do it. The rewards are enormous. I’ve never been able to have my own place, like I do now, before having a budget.

Read Full Post »

NaBloPoMo Day 9: Sinking…

Antibiotics are working. I do not have all the symptoms that I have been suffering from (most of my cold/cough/congestion is gone, unless I lie down).

However, it means that my mono has come out in full force. I ache all over, I have severe cramps in muscles, my headache is almost like a migraine by the end of the day. I can be sitting here and before I know it a couple hours have passed. I force myself to eat 2 meals a day and even then I am not hungry at all. For me, to take a bath is about the most exhausting thing I can do.

My homework is still sitting here. I have kept up on reading, but I am finding I don’t retain it. This is scary for me. I can’t tell you about at least half of the past week since I’ve been at home. I space out more than normal. I wish I could sleep more.

Anything that is rough material physically hurts me. My comforter is of flannel material, and I have a Linus approved fleece security blanket. I have other blankets around me, and those are mostly fleece/super soft. I’ve found out a lot of my tshirts are too painful to wear, and fuzzy pants are the awesomest thing ever. My cat tries to walk on me and I bust out crying because he weighs too much. (Fortunately, I can pet him and he is very happy.)

Laundry piles up. Recyclable bottles pile up. I feel terrible because I can’t physically do anything without the world spinning, turning white, and causing immense pain.

Thankfully I can watch movies (some even for homework) and a lot of footy.

I’m going to get worse before I get better. I’ve felt worse with every passing day. Never doubt that I’ll end up fine on the other side, however.

Read Full Post »

NaBloPoMo Day 6: sleep

who knew that even with mono i still have my stupid insomnia coming into play?

I get up usually 2-3x a day for bathroom breaks + food + getting water. I won’t get up to just do one thing. Last night when i was coming downstairs from eating, I almost passed out.

the nights get longer and worse for me. I hope tomorrow I can have more help, somehow. I feel like a freak in my own body.

I’ve been napping for 10-20 minute stretches. My cat Nicky keeps cuddling up to me – he knows I feel bad. I have a king size bed and half of it is covered in schoolbooks, pill bottles, I keep snacks within range – I have had no appetite since like Wednesday, but I find that sometimes I unconsciously munch on a cookie if it’s near, for example.

I sleep for a few hours a night, wake up in bone crushing pain, then manage to get back to sleep after crying into whatever stuffed animals I can reach.

all the clothes i wear are non scratchy and all the blankets are super soft. I’m hypersensitive to everything.

this is just me writing to get it out. Not complaining (okay, a little), but it’s more.. having it written, for posterity’s sake. I will hopefully have these days run in a row later on, in a haze. i can’t believe I’ve been on bedrest for 5 days now.

Read Full Post »

NaBloPoMo Day 1: Negatives, Positives, and Helping a Food Bank

NaBloPoMo: why am I doing it when I have 11+ papers due before the end of the year? I keep doing it every year – or try to – and it’s something that maybe will help me in not getting writer’s block again (which I had for most of October).

First things first: I didn’t make it into UT-Austin. Which just saves me a semester of out of state tuition. And I know now, so I can start looking for a job (as I’m planning to move sometime in the nebulous area of after December 8). I didn’t make it, and so I just need to spend the $100 or so and apply again next semester. It also means I can start looking for a full time job now.

Positive? I don’t have to pay out of state tuition. And there’s always next semester.

~

Yesterday was my favorite holiday of the year. And I loved it. We ran a Trunk or Treat with proceeds going to the local County Food Bank. My car was filled with cans and we also had a lot of monetary donations.

However, I kept feeling worse and worse throughout the day, and today I woke up with no voice, with terrible horrible breathing issues, and an overall feeling of “yep, I’m sick”. So I didn’t go into work and I am going to try to get some things accomplished here today. I really want to clean but I have no energy to do so. Most of my energy is spent on breathing right now. So I will hopefully work on my research paper due Friday between naps.

Something I cannot understand is that some people last night got irate that we charged admission for our Trunk or Treat. Hello. It’s a can of food to benefit people that have none, or a dollar per costumed child – also to help those that have no food. Our press release said it, the advertising said it. (if the paper changed our press release, we have no control over that).

If you can’t afford that, then why does your child have a new costume, why do you have a nicer car than mine, etc? I could list a litany of things, but I’ll just sum it up like this:

If you really have such a hard life that you felt calling a 31 year old dressed as Luna Lovegood with no voice, obviously not feeling well, a “dumb slut” over being asked to donate $1 for someone else so they can have food when they might not have it otherwise, I really hope your life becomes better and you are never in a predicament like many people are.

Also: People that try to sneak around the admission line, roadblocks, etc and just go in and grab candy? Same applies. There’s no reason you can’t spend $1 or go buy a can of soup, Spagetti-Os, etc, and go in and collect your candy and go on your merry way. If you don’t want to? That’s not my problem. Go trick or treat in neighborhoods then. If you don’t agree with what we were doing, you can go somewhere else. Being rude to us and threatening to sue for “false advertisement” will only make me get out my wand and say “Reality Comeonus!”

We did a great thing last night and many people will be able to eat because of what we did. That’s what’s important. Not the negativity.

If people are looking for a good thing to do this year, call your local food bank and ask what they need. Instead of going out and eating a meal with the family, go to the grocery store and spend that $20-30 on food and drop it off at the food bank instead.

If people are going to start harping on it being Christmas season already, let’s extend the season of giving to other people instead of “this is what I want for x holiday” or “oh my god this is on sale for 4% off the price, I MUST BUY IT FOR EVERYONE”.

the more you give, the more you get. This is true of so much.

Read Full Post »

Fan Day 22: Fruit.

I love food. Not even a remote chance of hating it. However, one thing I really, really love is fruit.

Fruit is just so fun to eat. There are so many wide varieties, it plays across your tongue differently, different fruits evoke different emotions.

For example, I can’t think of eating a strawberry without thinking of Kaylee from Firefly eating one.
I can’t eat a banana without thinking of Curious George. (I wish I was kidding. The two are inescapably tied together)

I can’t eat an apple, because I’m allergic to them. >:|

But there’s just something about fruit that makes me happy. And I’m odd – I like most canned fruits better than raw. Peaches and Pears to me are better out of a can. Pineapple? Much better fresh. Mandarin Oranges? better canned.

One thing I really wish I could find? Starfruit. I never see them anymore. I used to buy them and eat them all the time for snacks.

Anyone have any starfruit? Seriously. Can haz?

Read Full Post »

Fan Day 8: Iron Chef

Yep. I LOVE Iron Chef. Not because I’d eat a lot of what they make. On the contrary, I wouldn’t be able to eat 99% of what they make.

I love their technique. The crazy prices on the food items they use. The way they make things. The way Chen holds his knife. The way Kobe would make pasta. The way Morimoto makes an insane face. That kind of love. Just the way they make, decorate, serve the food. I’ve learned a lot just by watching!

I watch the reruns over and over and over. I wish it would come out on DVD. (has it? idfk).

I’m not a huge fan of Iron Chef America because the fucking egos on that show are too huge. I adore Alton though, oh so much.

Read Full Post »

FAN Day 3 – Cooking

Yep. That’s right. I’m going to talk about food. Namely, cooking. I love to cook. Now, granted, I have no qualms making things out of boxes, and I do it quite often. However, there’s one thing in particular that I really really love to make from scratch.

Pasta sauce.

Roma tomatoes – Roma are low in acid, therefore easier on the stomach and other internal organs, at least for me – cooked down… Either flash frozen or fresh. Or both. Acceptable!

low heat, stirring often, with a variety of spices, and usually I’ll add a can of them to recook down – most of the time I prefer using home canned tomatoes but since I don’t have a lot of those unfortunately I’ll use store bought ones.

Best part is that it can have meat – or not. Depends on your preference. I’ve cooked it both ways.

Pasta of your choice.. this is one thing for me that always comes out of a bag or package. I seemingly don’t have patience / goodness to be able to make it. Sadly.

I like to serve it individually – pasta, then sauce, then meat. Garlic bread on the side and you have a lovely meal. It’s one that I absolutely LOVE to eat, and I LOVE making it for my friends… I really hope they haven’t been lying, but I’ve been told it’s pretty damned good.

I can cook a lot of things, but that’s something I’m a definite FAN of.

Read Full Post »

NaBloPoMo for June – FAN!

This came across my email a few days ago, and I think this has a lot of potential to me. Not that I don’t have a ton to write about already, but sometimes I need to not feel pressured to make something “absolutely amazing and stellar.”

~

A message to all members of NaBloPoMo

Hi bloggers,

June’s theme for daily blogging: FAN. There are the physical ones, the symbol of summer in the northern hemisphere. I’m sitting across from one right now, and it’s cooling down the room. There are the handheld ones that women demurely shake in front of their face. There are the human ones — the fans we see at sporting events or the fans we see in our comment section. There are the times it comes tucked into a word… such as “fantastic.”

~

So, 30 days of things I’m a fan of. You ready for this? Some of them will startle you.

Read Full Post »

@AllegiantAir, @NABShow, @BallysVegas, and me. (T-minus 6 days!)

Well, it’s that time again – I start making crazy, off the wall, almost constant blog posts that either ramble, make no sense, or look like they come straight out of a magazine. Yes, it’s NAB Show time.

What’s NAB? National Association of Broadcasters trade show, where almost 100,000 people – mostly geeks, techies, and a few celebrities (it’s where I met Chris Hardwick and saw Stan Lee last year, among others… saw Giovanni Ribisi I believe it was?) descend on the Las Vegas Convention Center and surrounding hotels. Basically, it’s a week where I get to geek out, do my social media thing, look for a job, and at night, attempt to be a social butterfly and see what happens. So far quite literally I have things going every night I’m out there, and I still haven’t called another friend that I need to yet. Woops. :3

My packing list is rather long and needs to be culled, and I have quite a bit of homework left this week. Unfortunately it looks like I’ll have to do some homework when I’m in Vegas, but there I can quite literally turn off everything and be alone in a huge city with no one to bug me, barely anyone know where I am. (Almost. A few people will…) But sometimes I relish the thought of being set loose in Vegas. I am an adult, and I can do whatever I’d like to do – safely and responsibly, of course. Most of the time I just love to people watch.

Being on a budget is never fun, and my budget this year will be terribly tight. Pretty sure I won’t be doing any shopping aside from food this year, except to buy another nifty NAB Show pen (I lurve mine from last year) if it’s the same style. Oh well. I’ll toss $5 at the giant Bally’s machine because it’s fun to watch the giant dials spin. But I try to plan where I’m going to eat my way through Vegas, so if anyone has suggestions on great Fish and Chips.. or just good fries… let me know, and I’ll give it the treatment! Bonus if it’s not terribly expensive. Or, if anyone reading this (I never know) is someone that works at a place that’d LIKE me to review em, feel free to contact me!

But last year’s NAB is really when I started abusing Twitter, and this year I will be quite a bit more. I’m hoping I can do everything I’ve planned – as honestly there is tons of space I have absolutely nothing planned – and more. But we’ll see. I still haven’t gotten any more bites on interviews or anything, and while this bums me out, it lights a torch under my skirt. I really need a job, and I have a good feeling about this year.

And as Allegiant Air gave me a very great deal – no, quite literally, nonstop flight at decent times out of Wichita + prepaid bags round trip + 6 nights at Bally’s for $620 after all taxes and fees? – and Bally’s still is my favorite hotel on the strip – yeah, it’s not as flashy as Aria was, and it’s not quite as loud, or fancy, but for this mostly countrified city mouse, I know that Bally’s will feel pretty close to home. And their bathtubs are nice and comfy! I am, at heart, someone who’s done enough marketing to know that even a mention here and there could help them make a sale, so I have no problems giving that. (And, if Bally’s sees this and decides to upgrade me, I would write an even more glowing review! Wink wink, nudge nudge.)

So for the next week or so, most of my posts will be about NAB, interspersed with my normal stuff. And usually I wouldn’t feel like I had to list this, but as I realize it more and more, I’m best at being “randomgirl”, which is my old old OLD Xbox gamertag. So, I’d say forgive me for being random, but I revel in being random.

But 6 days, and I’ve barely started packing. Oh dear, I feel like I’m behind already…. and I think I need a bigger suitcase. But at least I’ve got the comfy shoes or a few, my list is made, I’ve got new friends to meet and old ones to reacquaint with this year… and that doesn’t include the people I don’t even know yet.

So welcome to the random and insane world of my blog, if you’re new (which, apparently a few people are). Stay around and talk awhile.

Read Full Post »

When you can’t sleep…

one might watch TV. Like I’m doing now.

Repeats of Iron Chef Japan. Possibly one of my favorite shows ever.

I don’t think I would be able to eat 95% of what they make… but I’ve learned to emulate many techniques of cooking of theirs. And learned SO many terms it’s disgusting.

And I may or may not have run around one night singing “momo momo momo momo” after a bit too much of a Peach Daiquiri. (Momo = peach. It’s really fun to say. Try it. Mo-mo.)

Tonight is a tuna match, wondering why my cats aren’t looking. Probably because we don’t have scratch and sniff TV.

Oh wait, one’s hiding under the table. And watching the TV.

I’m tired, probably overtired. I leave for Vegas in less than 3 days. But I know that if I tried to lie down, I wouldn’t be able to sleep and would probably have more flipping panic attacks over and over again, and I don’t want those.

SO instead I will sit up and watch Iron Chef and just babble a bit here.

Tomorrow (well, today, when this gets published) is Thanksgiving. Two years ago I was working on Thanksgiving. In a grocery store bakery.

Last year at this time, I was in Yucca Valley, CA with my boyfriend and family. I heard coyotes singing, I saw them outside the window and realized that yeah.. I wasn’t walking outside at night out there.

Now, I’m not really a “foodie.” I love food. I love to eat. However, I have SO many different allergies to different foods (apple, pork, lamb, caramel color) so I’ve learned just to read every single label.

But man.. the one thing I think I could make every month and eat every month – TURKEY. deep fried. baked. sliced. DO. NOT. CARE.

I’ve always loved Turkey, but oh man, the one that’s in my fridge right now is going to look soooooo good on my plate tomorrow. I really should have just not eaten today to be more hungry tomorrow. :3

Thanksgiving with my Dad’s side of the family is here tomorrow. We have traditional type things…

but turkey. I could sit down with a giant sheet sized napkin, the roaster, and a carcass for HOURS. picking every single lovely piece of meat I can find out of it.

unf. Just so hungry THINKING about the food tomorrow… mm. food.

Probably a good thing I’m watching Iron Chef now.

And I’ll have visions of dancing turkeys tonight in my dreams.

Happy thanksgiving American friends.

Read Full Post »