Two months post discharge I have some new information about myself.
Firstly, we both did what we've always done when things go from super tight to having breathing room. We spent. We went out to eat more, bought some of the things we'd been wanting, and generally took that month's non-essential funds and went wild. Splurged. Binged.
That lasted for about a month in the acute stage and then over the last 3-4 weeks tapered off. Now we're able to look at the budget more and start getting on track.
It is SO very nice not to have to worry about whether a flat of blackberries is going to put us over for the week. It is so very nice to be able to get all our Christmas shopping out of the way over a month early and take advantage of sales. It's so very nice to not freak out when the pantry runs low. It's just so very nice.
I wish I had filed bankruptcy sooner.
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Post-Discharge
So I'm officially off the hook for all my dis-chargeable debt. Which is all of it, aside from a $12,000 student loan.
How does that feel?
Pretty darn good. I have to say, however, that once the initial filing and 341 meeting was done, I somewhat put it out of my mind. I knew there was a chance that an issue would crop up, but I didn't dwell on it. After the first 30 days post-341 I mostly didn't think of it at all. The last 30 days flew by.
What would I have done differently?
Well... I would have filed a lot earlier. It was a fairly painless process that mostly required the ability to fill out a ton of worksheets for the lawyer and then wait. And wait. And wait. It definitely stretched my patience. Other than that, it was easy. This seems to be the general answer that everyone on the bkforum website give as well. They wish they'd have done it sooner.
What are my next steps?
Well, for one, I've got a reminder note to check my credit in about 75 days, including paying to see my credit score. They said to check it after 60 days, but I'm going to give it an extra couple of weeks, just in case something takes a bit longer. At the end of the week I'm going to call Tampa to get some certified copies of the discharge mailed to me. I had thought I'd receive one via the mail, but the only notification thus far has been an email with an attached pdf from my lawyer's office.
After everything has been straightened out I need to figure out which cards still work. I'm not sure if any survived the fallout. If one did, then I'm going to use it for something like gas or groceries and billpay a check to pay it off as soon as I return home. I figure if I get a monthly "pay as agreed" going on, then that's the best way to start. Next I'll start paying my student loans as soon as my deferment has expired next summer.
Job Update?
We're both working. It's a huge, huge change. The kiddo is in daycare and she loves to go to "school". We're both working full time.
Our expenses have increased. We're spending more on gas, food, and childcare than we were before, simply due to the change in circumstances. However, with adding that additional amount into the budget, we still have about $1000 left over to split between our FSA and savings. (FSA is for all the things we need that are random or scheduled but not monthly, such as the car breaking down, replacing a water heater, or car insurance.) After the FSA is funded we don't have a lot for savings, but it keeps things that are going to happen from becoming emergencies.
How does that feel?
Pretty darn good. I have to say, however, that once the initial filing and 341 meeting was done, I somewhat put it out of my mind. I knew there was a chance that an issue would crop up, but I didn't dwell on it. After the first 30 days post-341 I mostly didn't think of it at all. The last 30 days flew by.
What would I have done differently?
Well... I would have filed a lot earlier. It was a fairly painless process that mostly required the ability to fill out a ton of worksheets for the lawyer and then wait. And wait. And wait. It definitely stretched my patience. Other than that, it was easy. This seems to be the general answer that everyone on the bkforum website give as well. They wish they'd have done it sooner.
What are my next steps?
Well, for one, I've got a reminder note to check my credit in about 75 days, including paying to see my credit score. They said to check it after 60 days, but I'm going to give it an extra couple of weeks, just in case something takes a bit longer. At the end of the week I'm going to call Tampa to get some certified copies of the discharge mailed to me. I had thought I'd receive one via the mail, but the only notification thus far has been an email with an attached pdf from my lawyer's office.
After everything has been straightened out I need to figure out which cards still work. I'm not sure if any survived the fallout. If one did, then I'm going to use it for something like gas or groceries and billpay a check to pay it off as soon as I return home. I figure if I get a monthly "pay as agreed" going on, then that's the best way to start. Next I'll start paying my student loans as soon as my deferment has expired next summer.
Job Update?
We're both working. It's a huge, huge change. The kiddo is in daycare and she loves to go to "school". We're both working full time.
Our expenses have increased. We're spending more on gas, food, and childcare than we were before, simply due to the change in circumstances. However, with adding that additional amount into the budget, we still have about $1000 left over to split between our FSA and savings. (FSA is for all the things we need that are random or scheduled but not monthly, such as the car breaking down, replacing a water heater, or car insurance.) After the FSA is funded we don't have a lot for savings, but it keeps things that are going to happen from becoming emergencies.
Friday, September 17, 2010
New Job
Hubby started his new job this week. It was yet another pay cut, but so very welcome for the steady income and opportunity.
He interviewed early this week and started on Thursday.
It's a load off my shoulders; with our income there is not a penny extra outside the budget, but there is enough. Enough for the house, enough for food, enough for health insurance and gas and utilities. Enough.
I have a potential job that I've been working on getting. Two interviews so far, one test, and one more test this weekend. I hope to find out soon.
In all the craziness of the past few weeks of interviewing and such, we checked out several local day cares. The little one is all signed up and ready to go as soon as I get word that I'm hired.
Cross your fingers for me?
He interviewed early this week and started on Thursday.
It's a load off my shoulders; with our income there is not a penny extra outside the budget, but there is enough. Enough for the house, enough for food, enough for health insurance and gas and utilities. Enough.
I have a potential job that I've been working on getting. Two interviews so far, one test, and one more test this weekend. I hope to find out soon.
In all the craziness of the past few weeks of interviewing and such, we checked out several local day cares. The little one is all signed up and ready to go as soon as I get word that I'm hired.
Cross your fingers for me?
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Financial Details
This is what I figured out.
"Gift" Income: $500
Disability Income: $644
Total = $1144
This will cover our mortgage with about $50 left over.
Unemployment @ $275 x 4 = $1100 + $50
Insurance:
Health Insurance $475
Life Insurance $55
Car Insurance (Paid for six months)
_______________________________
$620 remaining
Averaged FPL bill ("Budget Billing") $160
Water/Sewer $130
Phone/Internet/Cable $155
Medicine $40
________________________________
$135 remaining
(Sidenote: I realize that the internet and cable are both luxuries and that we can drop them if need be; I have a feeling my mom will pay this bill if we have to drop it. I called and got another $10 customer retention credit per month over the next 12 months by telling them about our situation.)
EDITED: A/C Payment $133
That gives us a whopping $2.00 a month left over for gas and food.
I know that doesn't seem like a whole lot, but figure that since he got 2 weeks of severance we won't "need" to touch the unemployment and can roll what would be "extra" in our normal budget to go towards food and gas.
It helps to know that we won't be losing the house or having the lights shut off.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Budgeting Experiment
I know that most people who visit my blog are looking for bankruptcy-specific things, so if you're not interested in my own experiments in budgeting, please feel free to skip this one. I'm trying to keep us out of debt again in the future so it's relevant to me.
I recently switched my way of budgeting as an experiment. Instead of spending $140 a week for the three of us (including all household items, food, and eating out) I spent $20 a day. Yes - $20 x 7 = $140, so it's not a difference in amount, rather in timing.
The first thing that changed was that I was shopping almost every day. Now, I'm out and about town and the grocery store and fruit stand are pretty much on my way home from everywhere, so this wasn't a big deal in regards to time or gas. (Though I did notice the kid expected a cookie at Publix every time we went. There were some tears involved.)
One of the rules that I made was that I could buy two days worth of food if I was some place like Whole Foods and did not want to make two trips as it's out of the way. So I might spend $40 on Monday, but it would cover Monday and Tuesday. Three days at a time was my max, and I tried really hard to buy for each day.
The second rule was that I could not borrow ahead. If I wanted a super special meal or to eat out or something like that I had to wait until the money was available. I couldn't use Tuesday's money to pay for Monday's food.
One of the things that I noticed was that I got a lot less food. I've changed my eating habits some recently, so this didn't affect me a huge amount, but it did make me feel a little pantry-paranoid. I've been a big fan of thegrocerygame.com and using coupons and stockpiling. Suddenly I wasn't coming home with $60 worth of free food after spending $100. I was spending $20 and getting $20 worth of food.
The reason for this is two-fold. One, it's harder to use some of the coupons I've gotten used to. The Albertson's ad comes in the mail and often has a $5/$50 coupon. Publix takes competitors coupons. Two, the things I'm buying are much more whole-food and don't usually have as many coupons.
I should add another reason. I'm not getting the best price per ounce. If I only have $3 left to buy salsa, for example, I'm not going to get the big jug that will last us for weeks and weeks. I'm going to get the small jar that only lasts a few uses. (We love salsa and went through the stuff I made really fast, so we're back to buying it until next tomato season at the local farm.) Another example is when buying training diapers, I'm not buying the giant pack and saving $0.05/each. I'm buying the smaller pack which costs $10.99 or $8.99 if on sale.
I was, however, eating much healthier and I was excited about all the different things that I could get. Instead of making a menu for several days, I would figure out what I wanted for supper and plan on leftovers for lunch the next day. I'd get a few different snacks. We made the switch to grass-fed organic meats. They taste better and are healthier for us. We switched over to only organic dairy and local grass-fed organic milk. Both these things are more expensive. (Though the milk is only $0.70/gallon more at the fruit stand than regular Publix milk is at Publix.)
I'm not eating grain right now (that's a whole other topic, not one that's really relevant, I don't think) so I didn't stock up on things like spaghetti and crackers and bread and rice and popcorn like I normally do. My pantry is a little bare right now. That makes me a little nervous.
The experiment was exciting for a few days. More like a week, actually. But then things like cat litter and diapers needed to be purchased. Suddenly I had to figure out how to eat on only a few dollars a day and do it on my new diet guidelines.
I decided to keep my budget at the $140/week but to go twice a week, roughly $70 every three days. This is somewhat where I'm at now, though I'm not as strict about it. I was getting pretty anal about the $20/day. We compromised on the grass-fed beef and decided that whenever possible, we'll go that route. However, if we're not able to get enough other nutrient-rich foods with our budget, we'll get regular meat. (We've looked at buying 1/4 to 1/2 a grass-fed local cow, but we don't have the money saved up right now.)
I recently switched my way of budgeting as an experiment. Instead of spending $140 a week for the three of us (including all household items, food, and eating out) I spent $20 a day. Yes - $20 x 7 = $140, so it's not a difference in amount, rather in timing.
The first thing that changed was that I was shopping almost every day. Now, I'm out and about town and the grocery store and fruit stand are pretty much on my way home from everywhere, so this wasn't a big deal in regards to time or gas. (Though I did notice the kid expected a cookie at Publix every time we went. There were some tears involved.)
One of the rules that I made was that I could buy two days worth of food if I was some place like Whole Foods and did not want to make two trips as it's out of the way. So I might spend $40 on Monday, but it would cover Monday and Tuesday. Three days at a time was my max, and I tried really hard to buy for each day.
The second rule was that I could not borrow ahead. If I wanted a super special meal or to eat out or something like that I had to wait until the money was available. I couldn't use Tuesday's money to pay for Monday's food.
One of the things that I noticed was that I got a lot less food. I've changed my eating habits some recently, so this didn't affect me a huge amount, but it did make me feel a little pantry-paranoid. I've been a big fan of thegrocerygame.com and using coupons and stockpiling. Suddenly I wasn't coming home with $60 worth of free food after spending $100. I was spending $20 and getting $20 worth of food.
The reason for this is two-fold. One, it's harder to use some of the coupons I've gotten used to. The Albertson's ad comes in the mail and often has a $5/$50 coupon. Publix takes competitors coupons. Two, the things I'm buying are much more whole-food and don't usually have as many coupons.
I should add another reason. I'm not getting the best price per ounce. If I only have $3 left to buy salsa, for example, I'm not going to get the big jug that will last us for weeks and weeks. I'm going to get the small jar that only lasts a few uses. (We love salsa and went through the stuff I made really fast, so we're back to buying it until next tomato season at the local farm.) Another example is when buying training diapers, I'm not buying the giant pack and saving $0.05/each. I'm buying the smaller pack which costs $10.99 or $8.99 if on sale.
I was, however, eating much healthier and I was excited about all the different things that I could get. Instead of making a menu for several days, I would figure out what I wanted for supper and plan on leftovers for lunch the next day. I'd get a few different snacks. We made the switch to grass-fed organic meats. They taste better and are healthier for us. We switched over to only organic dairy and local grass-fed organic milk. Both these things are more expensive. (Though the milk is only $0.70/gallon more at the fruit stand than regular Publix milk is at Publix.)
I'm not eating grain right now (that's a whole other topic, not one that's really relevant, I don't think) so I didn't stock up on things like spaghetti and crackers and bread and rice and popcorn like I normally do. My pantry is a little bare right now. That makes me a little nervous.
The experiment was exciting for a few days. More like a week, actually. But then things like cat litter and diapers needed to be purchased. Suddenly I had to figure out how to eat on only a few dollars a day and do it on my new diet guidelines.
I decided to keep my budget at the $140/week but to go twice a week, roughly $70 every three days. This is somewhat where I'm at now, though I'm not as strict about it. I was getting pretty anal about the $20/day. We compromised on the grass-fed beef and decided that whenever possible, we'll go that route. However, if we're not able to get enough other nutrient-rich foods with our budget, we'll get regular meat. (We've looked at buying 1/4 to 1/2 a grass-fed local cow, but we don't have the money saved up right now.)
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Decisions - April First(ish)
I've decided that I'm going to split April's funds (those that I'm not using for paying off credit cards but can't save as well as the premium for my auto insurance as I paid the rest of the six months off in March) in the following manner:
$200 to retain the lawyer so we can start reviewing the paperwork I've completed
$400 to buy a package at the chiropractor (I'm double-checking that this is okay with my attorney first) as I get 12 treatments for the price of 10
$45 to get oil changes for both our cars (I have coupons for $17.95 + tax each)
$45 for my lady's wellness visit
In May I'm going to get my teeth cleaned, examined, and the three cavities that I've been ignoring filled (hopefully I won't need any more).
Ideally we'll be able to actually file by the second paycheck in May which means we can start saving money in June. *crosses fingers*
$200 to retain the lawyer so we can start reviewing the paperwork I've completed
$400 to buy a package at the chiropractor (I'm double-checking that this is okay with my attorney first) as I get 12 treatments for the price of 10
$45 to get oil changes for both our cars (I have coupons for $17.95 + tax each)
$45 for my lady's wellness visit
In May I'm going to get my teeth cleaned, examined, and the three cavities that I've been ignoring filled (hopefully I won't need any more).
Ideally we'll be able to actually file by the second paycheck in May which means we can start saving money in June. *crosses fingers*
Friday, March 19, 2010
Priorities
This post is more personal and has more details about decisions I need to make. It's not really relevant to bankruptcy or filing bankruptcy, but it is relevant to making choices that will affect our finances in the future.
Hubby cleaned out the A/C handler as best he could. The evaporator coils are free of dust and mildew, which is a huge improvement. It wasn't nearly as efficient or effective as the $350 cleaning would have been, but it's made a huge difference. The a/c actually sucks in air now and seems to work better.
There are still a few things that are demanding money right now, though.
One is that we've been putting off getting our teeth cleaned and cavities filled. We both have three or four cavities that, while small, do need to be taken care of. I estimate about $400 each. (We don't have dental insurance.)
The other is that I've been having horrible back and neck pain and finally decided to do something about it. I've had great success at the chiropractor. Each visit is $40. My insurance covers chiro, but the copay is $45.
I need to see the doctor soon as well. I'm due for my yearly well-woman check up. I also want to visit my husband's rheumatologist. The more I learn about fibromyalgia, the more I think it's a strong contender as an explanation for the symptoms I've been fighting with for half my life.
My GYN says that she thinks I have endometriosis but cannot diagnose me without laproscopic surgery. That's $2500 (the amount of my deductible). I think fibro explains my symptoms better.
I'm tired of being sick and tired. You know?
I need to be healthful. I need a healthy body, a healthy financial summary, and a healthy home.
Which is the priority? How do my goals need to change to fit this?
Hubby cleaned out the A/C handler as best he could. The evaporator coils are free of dust and mildew, which is a huge improvement. It wasn't nearly as efficient or effective as the $350 cleaning would have been, but it's made a huge difference. The a/c actually sucks in air now and seems to work better.
There are still a few things that are demanding money right now, though.
One is that we've been putting off getting our teeth cleaned and cavities filled. We both have three or four cavities that, while small, do need to be taken care of. I estimate about $400 each. (We don't have dental insurance.)
The other is that I've been having horrible back and neck pain and finally decided to do something about it. I've had great success at the chiropractor. Each visit is $40. My insurance covers chiro, but the copay is $45.
I need to see the doctor soon as well. I'm due for my yearly well-woman check up. I also want to visit my husband's rheumatologist. The more I learn about fibromyalgia, the more I think it's a strong contender as an explanation for the symptoms I've been fighting with for half my life.
My GYN says that she thinks I have endometriosis but cannot diagnose me without laproscopic surgery. That's $2500 (the amount of my deductible). I think fibro explains my symptoms better.
I'm tired of being sick and tired. You know?
I need to be healthful. I need a healthy body, a healthy financial summary, and a healthy home.
Which is the priority? How do my goals need to change to fit this?
Friday, February 26, 2010
Regrets: Not Planning
I didn't find out about various ways of budgeting until a few years ago. When it was too late. I used to just say, "these are the bills that happen every month, we'll pray for windfalls to cover the rest." Okay, I didn't actually say that, but my actions did.
I currently like two theories of budgeting:
Zero-Based Budgeting and FSA Budgeting
Zero-Based is the kind of budgeting that would have kept us out of debt. We used to look at our account at the end of the month and say, "Hey, all our bills are paid, we have an extra $40, let's go out to eat again."
With Z-B you figure out all your income, all your expenses, and then make the total 0 at the end of the month. EVERY dollar is earmarked for something. And if you find your electric bill was $20 under what you had budgeted, that $20 immediately gets allocated to something else.
For years we would spend the "extra" without really thinking of it. Even though we had big expenses coming up, things we needed to plan for, debt to pay off, we'd spend it. I can't tell you how many $20 Target items we've added onto our household good shopping trips because "we could afford it".
FSA Budgeting--probably not the correct technical name, but it's what I call it--means taking all your non-monthly/irregular expenses and breaking them down over 12 months.
Let's say my normal bills total $2000 a month. But then I pay my car insurance every 6 months ($600) so that I get a bigger discount, get my teeth cleaned twice a year ($80 each time) plus an exam (another $50, let's say). I also need three oil changes a year ($30 each) and new windshield wipers ($20).
Car Insurance ($1200) plus ($160) plus ($50) plus ($90) plus ($20) = 1520.
1520 over the course of 12 months is about $127.00.
So my expenses aren't really $2000 a month or $2127 a month, but the latter gives me a chance at making sure all my occasional expenses don't fall through the crack.
Some of my actual FSA categories are:
HOA Fees
Dentist Appts
Car Maintenance (oil changes, wiper blades, etc.)
Car Repairs
Car Replacement
Doctor's Visits
Christmas/Birthdays/Holidays/Gifts
License Renewal
AC and Large Appliance Replacement
Now... have I been putting anything into my FSA account? No. I'm falling far, far, short of what I need. That's part of the reason I'm having to file. Not only are we living paycheck-to-paycheck, we're only paying our basic expenses and minimum payments.
If I had the same combination of Z-B and FSA budgeting that I use now, things would have been really different.
Can I consider this a very expensive financial education? I guess.
Do I wish I had done many things differently? Hell yes. I would have less clutter, less stress, and far less debt.
So my regret is not planning beyond my immediate comfort and needs.
I currently like two theories of budgeting:
Zero-Based Budgeting and FSA Budgeting
Zero-Based is the kind of budgeting that would have kept us out of debt. We used to look at our account at the end of the month and say, "Hey, all our bills are paid, we have an extra $40, let's go out to eat again."
With Z-B you figure out all your income, all your expenses, and then make the total 0 at the end of the month. EVERY dollar is earmarked for something. And if you find your electric bill was $20 under what you had budgeted, that $20 immediately gets allocated to something else.
For years we would spend the "extra" without really thinking of it. Even though we had big expenses coming up, things we needed to plan for, debt to pay off, we'd spend it. I can't tell you how many $20 Target items we've added onto our household good shopping trips because "we could afford it".
FSA Budgeting--probably not the correct technical name, but it's what I call it--means taking all your non-monthly/irregular expenses and breaking them down over 12 months.
Let's say my normal bills total $2000 a month. But then I pay my car insurance every 6 months ($600) so that I get a bigger discount, get my teeth cleaned twice a year ($80 each time) plus an exam (another $50, let's say). I also need three oil changes a year ($30 each) and new windshield wipers ($20).
Car Insurance ($1200) plus ($160) plus ($50) plus ($90) plus ($20) = 1520.
1520 over the course of 12 months is about $127.00.
So my expenses aren't really $2000 a month or $2127 a month, but the latter gives me a chance at making sure all my occasional expenses don't fall through the crack.
Some of my actual FSA categories are:
HOA Fees
Dentist Appts
Car Maintenance (oil changes, wiper blades, etc.)
Car Repairs
Car Replacement
Doctor's Visits
Christmas/Birthdays/Holidays/Gifts
License Renewal
AC and Large Appliance Replacement
Now... have I been putting anything into my FSA account? No. I'm falling far, far, short of what I need. That's part of the reason I'm having to file. Not only are we living paycheck-to-paycheck, we're only paying our basic expenses and minimum payments.
If I had the same combination of Z-B and FSA budgeting that I use now, things would have been really different.
Can I consider this a very expensive financial education? I guess.
Do I wish I had done many things differently? Hell yes. I would have less clutter, less stress, and far less debt.
So my regret is not planning beyond my immediate comfort and needs.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Feeling Overwhelmed
There has to be a good way to figure out switching over bank accounts.
My fear is that I'm going to set up a payment in the account before my husband's source of income switches over.
Also, because I can no longer simply transfer mortgage money from our joint account to BOA, I'm going to have to set up a whole new bill pay regime. I guess that's true for all of our utilities and such. I hope our new bank has an easy bill pay. BOA really did a great job with that feature... I paid everything on the 2nd or 16th and it worked out great.
I'm feeling overwhelmed. I think my dry-erase board and I are going to have to have some brainstorming time this afternoon.
My fear is that I'm going to set up a payment in the account before my husband's source of income switches over.
Also, because I can no longer simply transfer mortgage money from our joint account to BOA, I'm going to have to set up a whole new bill pay regime. I guess that's true for all of our utilities and such. I hope our new bank has an easy bill pay. BOA really did a great job with that feature... I paid everything on the 2nd or 16th and it worked out great.
I'm feeling overwhelmed. I think my dry-erase board and I are going to have to have some brainstorming time this afternoon.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Coming to conclusions
In June my husband's student loans will no longer be in forbearance. We have one more year that we can put them off if necessary. He owes $60,000 and his payment will be about $320.00.
In October my student loans (about $10,000) will also come out of deferment. I can also defer another year. Payment will be around $100.
Right now we're making it. Just. I can pay every bill we have on time. I can make minimum payments on my credit cards.
We're making it. We can go out to eat about once a month and afford Netflix. We each have $20.00 a month we can use to buy little things for ourselves or maybe visit a Starbucks.
We're making it. Because we're ignoring a lot of things we need.
I have a spreadsheet with our budget. It has tabs for each month. I have month-specific expenses and income in one section and then regular expenses and income in another. This allows me to mark what's been paid, what's been scheduled to be paid (we use BOA's Bill Pay feature), how much is budgeted vs. how much is spent, and so forth.
One category is FSA. That stands for "Freedom Savings Account". In this account I (need to) put money for all the things that are occasional expenses. An example would be our yearly HOA fee, renewing my license, getting our teeth cleaned, car repairs, etc.
I need to put at least $236.00 in a month just to cover the bare basics of "we're SOL if we don't pay this". In order to hit all the necessities I need $475. In order to meet other goals, such as vacations, I need even more.
I've been putting in exactly $0. There's no room.
And it's frustrating. I've cut down my expenses tremendously but something always comes up. When business slowed and I decided to be a mostly stay at home mom I canceled my disability insurance. We canceled AT&T and went with Net10. I found a much cheaper web host for my business website. We used our tax credit to pay off the car loan. I started using coupons. And on, and on. And still we're not doing better than making it.
What happens with the water heater (original with the 1987 house) gives up the ghost? Or when the A/C (10 years old, horrible efficiency rating, and no longer serviceable) stops working? We're screwed.
And when the student loans can't be put off anymore?
I can make all of $75 more room in the budget by cutting out every nonessential we have.
We'll be making hard choices. Hard, hard choices.
We talked a lot and decided that it's silly to spend the next year struggling and stressed when we're going to end up filing bankruptcy at that point anyway.
If we file bankruptcy now we'll have a year to get caught up and put some money in the bank. We'll be able to pay off hubby's student loans in the next ten years. We'll be able to get our teeth cleaned and cavities filled and replace the water heater.
In October my student loans (about $10,000) will also come out of deferment. I can also defer another year. Payment will be around $100.
Right now we're making it. Just. I can pay every bill we have on time. I can make minimum payments on my credit cards.
We're making it. We can go out to eat about once a month and afford Netflix. We each have $20.00 a month we can use to buy little things for ourselves or maybe visit a Starbucks.
We're making it. Because we're ignoring a lot of things we need.
I have a spreadsheet with our budget. It has tabs for each month. I have month-specific expenses and income in one section and then regular expenses and income in another. This allows me to mark what's been paid, what's been scheduled to be paid (we use BOA's Bill Pay feature), how much is budgeted vs. how much is spent, and so forth.
One category is FSA. That stands for "Freedom Savings Account". In this account I (need to) put money for all the things that are occasional expenses. An example would be our yearly HOA fee, renewing my license, getting our teeth cleaned, car repairs, etc.
I need to put at least $236.00 in a month just to cover the bare basics of "we're SOL if we don't pay this". In order to hit all the necessities I need $475. In order to meet other goals, such as vacations, I need even more.
I've been putting in exactly $0. There's no room.
And it's frustrating. I've cut down my expenses tremendously but something always comes up. When business slowed and I decided to be a mostly stay at home mom I canceled my disability insurance. We canceled AT&T and went with Net10. I found a much cheaper web host for my business website. We used our tax credit to pay off the car loan. I started using coupons. And on, and on. And still we're not doing better than making it.
What happens with the water heater (original with the 1987 house) gives up the ghost? Or when the A/C (10 years old, horrible efficiency rating, and no longer serviceable) stops working? We're screwed.
And when the student loans can't be put off anymore?
I can make all of $75 more room in the budget by cutting out every nonessential we have.
We'll be making hard choices. Hard, hard choices.
We talked a lot and decided that it's silly to spend the next year struggling and stressed when we're going to end up filing bankruptcy at that point anyway.
If we file bankruptcy now we'll have a year to get caught up and put some money in the bank. We'll be able to pay off hubby's student loans in the next ten years. We'll be able to get our teeth cleaned and cavities filled and replace the water heater.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
