So a little over a month into using YNAB and I decided to start playing with some reports...so far this year I have spent almost $400 on food (55% of my spending money). That is completely out of control. The worst part of this is that my job supplies many of my meals, I have absolutely no excuse for this and plan on really focusing on cutting this number down significantly.
Not all of this is restaurants...actually restaurants are 'only' about 1/3 of it. Clearly I need to cut back on my grocery shopping because I really don't even cook that much (I'd love to but between the time needed and using a shared kitchen...I just don't bother.)
I'm also a big fan of treating myself so I think I'm going to wait until after my vacation to really crack down on this. So starting the 22nd I'm putting a severe watch on my food budget.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Obsessive YNABing
I love playing with my budget. I've tried to budget before... I even worked for several years in high school doing budgeting work and billing for different departments in my town hall (yup...I wasn't even 18 and I was getting paid minimum wage to handle tens of thousands of dollars, everyone's water and sewer billing, etc.). I "knew" how to budget, knew how to make the numbers work but I could never focus on doing it for myself.
I've been oddly obsessed with my budget since I started...much more than I've EVER been interested in my money before. I'm a little worried about burning out or losing interest...but then I see everyone on here and many who have been here for a long time and you guys give me hope that I can make this a real change in my life.
Thanks for being here and staying active!!
I've been oddly obsessed with my budget since I started...much more than I've EVER been interested in my money before. I'm a little worried about burning out or losing interest...but then I see everyone on here and many who have been here for a long time and you guys give me hope that I can make this a real change in my life.
Thanks for being here and staying active!!
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Discovering Credit
As I've mentioned my family doesn't really handle finances well. My mom's only advice on credit cards was "don't get one they're dangerous". I've heard this echoed in many different ways through my life and so I never got a credit card.
Two amazing friends of mine pushed me to get one...their hearts were in the right place and their reasons were off but it was the first time I bothered to actually look to see what credit cards were about. For years I said "I have student loans and I've had utilities in my name, it'll be enough for my credit." How very very wrong I was. I had no idea how much your credit was based on revolving credit.
Shortly after our conversation I signed up for my first credit card. I was too afraid to get refused so it was loaded with fees and such but I got approved and that's all that mattered. A year later I canceled that card and got one without all the baggage, then got a second one about a year after that to cover expenses while I wasn't working for a few weeks.
Overall I've racked up almost $4,000 in debt in about a year and a half. It was at this point at the very end of December that I said I need a budget...I stumbled onto YNAB that night and about 4 hours after finding it, the program went on sale for $15 and I bought it without a moment of hesitation. By the end of this month I'll be at about $3,000 in debt. That'll be 2 months after purchasing the software (and one fresh start). A large chunk of that is come from my taxes BUT I'm also not adding on anymore which I had been doing up to this point. The shrinking is going to slow down a lot after this, but I'm not getting further into debt.
Two amazing friends of mine pushed me to get one...their hearts were in the right place and their reasons were off but it was the first time I bothered to actually look to see what credit cards were about. For years I said "I have student loans and I've had utilities in my name, it'll be enough for my credit." How very very wrong I was. I had no idea how much your credit was based on revolving credit.
Shortly after our conversation I signed up for my first credit card. I was too afraid to get refused so it was loaded with fees and such but I got approved and that's all that mattered. A year later I canceled that card and got one without all the baggage, then got a second one about a year after that to cover expenses while I wasn't working for a few weeks.
Overall I've racked up almost $4,000 in debt in about a year and a half. It was at this point at the very end of December that I said I need a budget...I stumbled onto YNAB that night and about 4 hours after finding it, the program went on sale for $15 and I bought it without a moment of hesitation. By the end of this month I'll be at about $3,000 in debt. That'll be 2 months after purchasing the software (and one fresh start). A large chunk of that is come from my taxes BUT I'm also not adding on anymore which I had been doing up to this point. The shrinking is going to slow down a lot after this, but I'm not getting further into debt.
Adventures in Budgeting
So I had gotten myself into a...less than ideal financial situation. Then I found this program called YNAB, I've got a journal on their forums and I'm just mirroring it here because some of my posts went "out for moderation" and never came back.
This is the Broken Pieces of my financial life/future.
I started college in 2004 and signed whatever I was told to so I could get in...included tens of thousands of dollars worth of loans. My parents signed most of the same papers because they are financially illiterate so we were on this sinking ship together. Jump ahead 10 years and I had taken a long break from school, gone back and finished, gone to South Korea for a year, and eventually found myself at a job where they provide housing (dorm style) provide almost all my meals BUT I don't get paid 6 weeks a year.
Having just started the job last spring I decided the smartest move was to get a credit card with 0% intro financing to cover these 6 weeks. Now that in itself wasn't a bad idea, all my bills were paid on time and life was lovely, the problem came when I didn't stop using it after my first paycheck came in and I slowly added an extra $1,500 or so onto the credit card. OH and when I got the job I was driving a 1994 Honda Civic, the thing still runs and passes inspection but it wouldn't survive regular trips between by job and my family/friends 2 hours away: add on a car loan.
So I'm fighting my way out of Credit Cards, a car loan, and student loans. My family is completely financially illiterate, and the only one not drowning in debt is my brother who just happens to make enough to live comfortably without needing to worry about debt (but he also rarely splurges on things...but also makes like triple what I make)
I stumbled onto YNAB at the end of December 2014 (so about a month ago from when I wrote this) So far it has really changed the way I look at my money and I already feel like I've broken the credit card cycle and I'm on my way to a little more freedom.
I started college in 2004 and signed whatever I was told to so I could get in...included tens of thousands of dollars worth of loans. My parents signed most of the same papers because they are financially illiterate so we were on this sinking ship together. Jump ahead 10 years and I had taken a long break from school, gone back and finished, gone to South Korea for a year, and eventually found myself at a job where they provide housing (dorm style) provide almost all my meals BUT I don't get paid 6 weeks a year.
Having just started the job last spring I decided the smartest move was to get a credit card with 0% intro financing to cover these 6 weeks. Now that in itself wasn't a bad idea, all my bills were paid on time and life was lovely, the problem came when I didn't stop using it after my first paycheck came in and I slowly added an extra $1,500 or so onto the credit card. OH and when I got the job I was driving a 1994 Honda Civic, the thing still runs and passes inspection but it wouldn't survive regular trips between by job and my family/friends 2 hours away: add on a car loan.
So I'm fighting my way out of Credit Cards, a car loan, and student loans. My family is completely financially illiterate, and the only one not drowning in debt is my brother who just happens to make enough to live comfortably without needing to worry about debt (but he also rarely splurges on things...but also makes like triple what I make)
I stumbled onto YNAB at the end of December 2014 (so about a month ago from when I wrote this) So far it has really changed the way I look at my money and I already feel like I've broken the credit card cycle and I'm on my way to a little more freedom.
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