Someone tell me how long it will take for my body to adjust to getting up earlier with the kids? No one should be out of bed when it is dark outside!
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As disappointed as I am that I didn't "finish" my weekend to-do list, I did ALOT. My Saturday was errands and such. If I had done more on Saturday, I think I could have finished. But I didn't. So there ya go.
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The bill for the stove came. Yip. Pee. Gotta go to the emergency fund at the credit union and take the hit. Boo. Not happy. I really wish we had a home repair/maintenance fund. But in the regular budget....not gonna happen.
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I did not get to the budget work over the weekend. I think I avoided it because I am not sure how I am going to find the money for new expenses. I will be working a few more hours per week now that the kids leave earlier, but because they also go in late one day a month....I will see if it all even out or if I actually come out ahead. Hoping it is the latter.
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I realized that September is a 3-paycheck month for G-man. YAY! I thought it was October, but was happily surprised it was this month. I am using most of the "extra" toward the CC that we have been using here and there. Bad us. I have decided I really don't like bi-weekly checks, even though I have been paid that way for most of my life.
IF you can build up a cushion, then it really isn't a big deal. But if you don't have that cushion, you end up in a bad cycle. Either relying on that extra for something you should have in your plans/budget (which is what we used to do).....or what is happening to us.....
Stuff that normally comes from paycheck 2 comes from paycheck 1 because of how the dates fall. Then you end up with "extra" at the end of the month, and alot of the time it is gone by then!
My next 3-paycheck month is January (if I am still at this job), and I want to just "bank" it for the above reasons. We will see. January is a rough month to do this, as we are coming off of holidays, new insurance and such will change paychecks, etc. \
Really the bottom line is I suck at budgeting. I know how much it all costs, and other than food and gas, pretty much I know what it will cost per month (or paycheck). I suck at meal planning mostly because my uber picky kids won't eat so much.
They are excuses. I just suck at this.
I suck at it, and some things pay the price. Like our food bill. And not having extra available for anything else. Or putting some bills to bed for good.
In reality, our income just will stretch so far....and I WANT it to go further. But it won't.
This isn't about cutting back. It is about having certain bills that are set, and they suck up all the money. And because they will all get paid off within 6 months of each other....we really won't see the effects until then.
So.....until I get better at this, we make more money, or some major expense goes away....it is what it is.
Getting out of debt sucks.
I agree! Getting out of debt 100% sucks! I keep considering getting a part time job to supplement, but it is difficult with so many kiddos.
ReplyDeleteHey, you are doing great look at that # it is $67,something I remember when is was about 72,something and that was not so long ago. You are making great progress.
ReplyDeleteI get paid biweekly too, and what I found works best is to pay at your own schedule vs the due dates, as long as you're ahead. My phone bill is normally not due until the 26th, but it gets paid with paycheck #1 so I don't have to worry about meeting the deadlines.
ReplyDeleteAlso, getting out of debt is sucky, but better than the alternative of letting yourself go deeper and deeper.
I agree with Tanner;
ReplyDeleteAlso, getting out of debt is sucky, but better than the alternative of letting yourself go deeper and deeper
Gill
Yes, getting out (or trying to get out) of debt sucks, it is draining and exhausting - sometimes I, myself, gets very discouraged. However,you are not alone, we are not alone, and we will get out of debt. One step at a time :)
ReplyDeleteI used to get paid biweekly but am bow paid twice a month and I really miss the three paycheck months. Those are awesome.
ReplyDeleteI get paid biweekly too -- I'm pretty used to it, but I don't seem to budget well either.
ReplyDeleteWhen we got paid biweekly, I used to budget in 4 week cycles instead of monthly. It just seemed to make so much more sense. So there was no such thing as an 'extra' paycheck.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I didn't get 'good' at budgeting until we started bringing in more income. When you are right on the edge, like you are, any little upset screws up the whole budget.