Finances, finances, finances

amother

Silver

Fri, Jul 21 2017, 10:48 am

Ok,

So I am the type that budgets and likes to have a sense of the money we bring in and where it is going. I constantly update our budget to best reflect what our expenditures are monthly and we try our best to stick to our budget as much as possible. Our problem: Something always comes up!!!!!!!!

So unfortunately, we have not had much luck with saving- try as we might to make an emergency fund- what little we have- always gets used up in a pinch and we are again left with nothing and just davening that we get a breather so we can put a little bit of money away again.

So this just happened. We had some unexpected expenditures with our house and we had to suddenly replace one of our cars with a new one and just wiped out our account. Now- a family member is being kind enough to loan the car money interest free so we will put that money back into the account and repay said family member on a monthly basis til it is paid off- but still- that monthly amount really throws us for a loop because that is the "extra" I was counting on for when we have our third child- to budget for babysitting, formula (I cannot nurse exclusively), diapers etc. now I feel like we do not have much leeway if something were to happen. It just scares me so much.

It seems like try as we might, we are always tithering on the brink. I know I should be grateful- its not the worst place to be. I just wish it were easier to plan for the unexpected and I wish I didn't feel so anxious and stressed out about it. I just don't get how people do it!!!!!! Or don't stress or just roll with it....

Cmon be nice

Fri, Jul 21 2017, 11:21 am

I know the feeling. How can a family with several kids figure out how much theyll eat in a given month, unless you just starve when you reach your limit? For example, my utility bills are always changing, theres always something that comes up. Like this month I need to pay my car registration, next month school uniforms etc. I really think budgets are meant for big companies or government agencies. Like the current NY city budget is 85.2 billion, so if they go over by 1 billion, its a drop in the bucket, but for a household, even being $100 over can mess things up. And oh yeah, camps, and registration fee and yom tov, and and and the list never ends kh.

gp2.0

Fri, Jul 21 2017, 11:35 am

amother wrote:

You need three or four different types of savings funds. One is long-term savings, meant to be used in a decade or more and you don't touch it unless you're desperate. If possible you lock it away so you CAN'T touch it. Two is short-term savings, which is where you save for things that you know are coming up, like a new baby, new appliance, even yom tov and school uniforms. Three is where you save for things that may or may not come up but probably will at some point. This includes things like house repairs, car repairs etc. Four is an emergency fund of $1,000. Its exactly what it sounds like, to be used in case of emergency or if you have insufficient funds in other savings categories because you haven't yet built up your other funds.

Now, all these funds except the long term funds can be in one account or split up, as long as you split them up in your head or an excel sheet.

So if you have $2000 saved up, instead of thinking that all of it is for the new baby and panicking when most of it gets spent, think that $1000 is emergency money, $500 is for house and car repairs and $500 for the new baby. This way you won't panic if $1500 gets spent on house and car, because that money was already budgeted for house, car and emergency.

Of course the exact numbers vary. $1000 is the minimum to have in an emergency fund and if you can't even build that up it's possible you have a problem of insufficient income, rather than a budgeting problem.

LittleDucky

Fri, Jul 21 2017, 12:15 pm

While you budget based on what you use up monthly you likely need to cut down each variable category by a little so you can have a cushion. There is always something but you need to make a cushion that you can't touch unless there is something unaccounted for and rare that happens. If something unaccountable happens monthly, it means you aren't creating enough categories in your budget. You need a "new car/car repair" line item, as well as "house repairs", "medical emergencies", and chagim. You Might need to save for pesach starting in November and September holidays starting in May. But you will have almost monthly some sort of chag that has its expenses- Shavuous, Purim, Channukah, hey even Tisha Baav and/or Yom Kippur if you don't have canvas sneakers! (Thinking of that now since I just got a pair and hope I don't have to use them until YK from now on!!). It's basically every other month. So in the non chag month put it towards the next "big one".

I also stress that saving a little here and there helps. Shopping at multiple stores for the best deals is amazing. Try the dollar store for things that aren't meant to last long like sponges or disposables. School supplies add up but shop the loss leaders every week from now until September. I am a big couponer and rarely grocery shop without a few of them (I don't do the 400 coupon transaction to get it all free like you hear about, that is quite rare and sometimes involves fraudulently using coupons... But I do often save 40-50% between sales and coupons on pantry staples that aren't heimish like Cheerios.) groceries are always going to be expensive but this makes it more manageable and gives us a cushion. I also do other cost saving measures like shutting blinds on hot days to keep the heat out especially when no breeze, setting thermostat a degree or two "cheaper" (depending on season higher or lower), and turning off unneeded lights. Not crazy, we are still comfortable and feel the benefit in our wallets!

amother

Natural

Sat, Jul 22 2017, 2:58 pm

Really sympathize. I only reccomend the following if your very disciplined and you sound like you are. Use a credit card as emergency. We have 2 cards between them up to 20k can be spent. One is empty. Occasionally I put in 20$and pay it so its used. The other we use if and when we run out of money at end of mth or for an emergency or one off. So example this month we had to renew car insurance. We paid half and the other half went on c.c...we will always pay it off in a few mths. I tell myself 2k is the most I will let on c.c add any one time so mthly statement never goes above. We have a low rate so interest isnt bad
I know it's not ideal and we should be saving but right now it isn't happening so at least this way I don't panic too much.when something unexpected crops up .

amother

Silver

Sat, Jul 22 2017, 8:01 pm

We are relatively within our budget ( but now no wiggle room because of this home repair and car issue) except for when those emergency or unexpected expenses slap us in the face and I really can't cut anything out in order to maximize savings right now to build up our emergency fund. We need 2 cars for work. I would love to get away with having only one car but it is not reality for us. Truthfully, we could move to a bad neighborhood and pay a lower mortgage but I am not willing to put our lives at risk. When we bought our house a few years ago- we got a fantastic deal in a great neighborhood and the value of our house actually went up a lot ( that's one good thing that happened to us).... but like the rest of the hardworking middle class - it is impossible to get ahead and I feel like we are just holding our head above water at all times. I also don't spoil myself but I feel like certain things are necessity that I won't compromise on- like making sure to budget so my kids get swim lessons or can join a soccer team etc).A while ago we were in credit card debt ( on top of student loan debt and car loan debt which we are still paying off) with no savings and we managed to pull ourselves out of the credit card debt and somehow put money away... I know we will someday be able to save a little ( little by little)and build up a little more savings I am just frustrated because we worked so hard to put almost 10k away for those emergencies or home repairs or whatever and it just got used up for the unexpected - just didn't expect it to happen yet and so fast but I guess that's life. It's just the reality of where we are in life I guess and I can't plan or anticipate everything that happens as much as I wish too...

MagentaYenta

Sat, Jul 22 2017, 9:44 pm

Cmon be nice wrote:

First thing you need to do is a monthly budget. Make weekly menus so you can find your average food budget. If you have annual or seasonal expenses break them down to monthly costs and sock the money away. Keep a spread sheet. There is no reason to be surprised about a vehicle registration renewal. Same with camps and estimated clothing expenses. Your estimates may not be exact but it's better than using a credit card. At least you will have most of the cash on hand for when you need it.

Your utility companies may have online tools you can use to average your charges. If not give them a call about equal pay plans and help the may have for budgeting costs.

Budgets aren'tjust for businesses or municipalities. That's a poor excuse.

amother

Silver

Tue, Jul 25 2017, 5:18 pm

OP here- I know we are doing what we are suppose to do in terms of budgeting (hey- I even budgeted for this baby I am currently pregnant with!)- However, it all just comes down to the fact that we cannot calculate all the risks or predict what is to happen and things do come up... so that's where we are. We planned and things happened and now we don't have much of a savings as a result of things happening. I know we will be ok and will adjust it is just anxiety provoking to me at the moment. The only thing I think we can do is perhaps increase our earnings---by one of us taking on extra work... So I guess we will see how things go and play it by ear. Who knows- maybe my husband will get a big fat raise this coming year we have been davening for and then I can breath Smile

33055

Tue, Jul 25 2017, 6:27 pm

amother wrote:

Your main issue seems to be not budgeting for for "things happening". Things happen to everyone. Your reasoning is these things are causing the budget problem rather than the budget not accounting for these things.

I suggest you contact Mesilla for a budget workbook. Their workbook is superior for budget planning for a frum lifestyle.

amother

Silver

Tue, Jul 25 2017, 7:04 pm

What I am likely not being clear about is that WE ARE budgeting for these "things happening." We were socking away as much money as we could- but savings only go so deep until "things happen" and you have to start all over again with saving for "things happening"!!!!! It is a struggle if you go into marriage without inheritances or whatever and you are trying to build yourselves up from scratch. We thought we had time until our car suddenly fizzled out. It fizzled prematurely. Those types of expenses kill us- we saved but we needed more time to save for these types of expenses and just didn't get it. But like the last poster said- we are being responsible, H-shem is in charge and we are doing our hishtadlus and not being irresponsible. It's just hard. We just can't seem to get ahead and it is going to take us a little longer until I feel like we have a bit of a safety net in our savings- that's all. Yes, I have been in touch with Mesilla in the past and plan on being in touch again in case there is something I am missing- but my budget worksheet does include the things needed for a frum lifestyle that they use. That's poster above, you hit it on the dot. Just trying to be patient here and believe Hash-m has our best interests in mind. Things always work out- I just get scared occasionally- I am only human! Smile