He is learning that he can afford the occasional dinner out and some nice things. I have always been a bargain shopper, but I have also always bought too many bargains. These last couple of years have really been a learning experience for me. I never planned out meals or bought large amount of groceries before we started dating. I have really had to teach myself how to do all that and what is a good price on food items, etc.
Yeah, that's exactly how it was with us too.
It is very helpful to work toward getting on the same financial page (each coming to the middle from different directions) before your finances are actually totally together. We did baby steps for that- even before we lived together, I think, we each contributed to a household account that would cover groceries (and then later utilities and rent) and we contributed to it sort of proportionally to our individual incomes. Then we eventually just had the one checking account and one credit card.
I think finding a solution to manage money in a partnership/marriage is one of the most challenging things on the face of the planet.
ING looks very interesting ... I need to check the minumum on my savings accounts where we are now .... I kno wthe interest rate is not as high as that.
butter is good.
dead things in the house are bad.
My theory is that if your debt is less than your savings, you are ok. however 3 kinds of debt, house, education and car , don't count. Car would be the next on the list to pay after CC debt, but I have a zero interest loan. Unless you have something like a house, keep a little debt around. It is better for your credit. keep the credit cards paid off, but let student loan ride.
IOfinancialN, our credit card debt will be greatly reduced at the end of this month. We should have a skimpy 6 months left in savings and an account DH's dad had put together for his sons'. It is less thatn we had before - but seeing a possible end to CC card debt is goooooooood. It should add flexibliity to our money that hasn't been there. I 'd like to get tothe place where If I had to put something like a car repair on the cc, I'd know about how long it would take to pay it off.
I am seconding or thirding the need to see olivia in attack mode.
It's no longer a 401k, it was rolled over 15 years ago into the annuity.
Aha. Sorry, then. I don't know nuthin' about annuities.
Teacup Guy is so very saving money and not being spendy.
Tom was a very good influence on me.
Yeah, I really don't spend a lot of money. I just don't. I even wrote an angsty LJ post about that fact. Mainly, I use the fact that I don't spend very often to justify the times when I splurge.
One thing that helped me start saving was the automatic transfer. I set it up with the bank to put a certain amount in savings every payday.
Admittedly, this is an answer for "I have income and don't know where it all goes" and not for "my income doesn't even cover the necessary bills."
I can actually get my paycheck direct deposited into both my checking and savings account. I really have no idea how to manage my money so I arbitrarily put half into checking and half into savings. I don't see that there's a benefit to having more than a few thousand dollars in my checking account since that money just sits there doing nothing at all. And I can easily transfer from savings into checking if I need to write a large check.
Also, my uncle was suggesting I put money into an IRA now, while I can. What's up with those?
Do you know how it got in?
We reached the lowest temp I've ever seen here - 71 - last night. I opened up all the doors to get the cool air in the house. I think they might have gotten in then. It's hard to believe they were quiet all night, but the 2nd one didn't appear until about an hour after the first and I never heard a thing.
Honestly, worse than cleaning up the dead one and all the feathers was trying to save the 2nd one. The dogs were trying to get it, it kept banging into the window and the ledge was not high enough to protect it from the dogs. I cna't believe the dogs actually obeyed me. I was screaming as loud/authoritatively as I could. Sebastian got a feather or two, but I got him away from the bird and into the back in time. I then opened the front doors and poked the poor bird with a Swiffer until he left.
It is very helpful to work toward getting on the same financial page (each coming to the middle from different directions) before your finances are actually totally together. We did baby steps for that- even before we lived together, I think, we each contributed to a household account that would cover groceries (and then later utilities and rent) and we contributed to it sort of proportionally to our individual incomes. Then we eventually just had the one checking account and one credit card.
Right now we have a joint savings account, but we pay bills separately and reconcile the finances at the end of the month. It is the easiest way right now for us to negotiate about money. We'll merge our finances more eventually.
GF and I are both good about saving. We also both paid off our cars in the last year and plan to drive them into the ground. Of course, we are both fortunate enough to be in good-paying jobs with excellent benefits (including stock bennies, which actually pay out good money). I try to sock as much away as possible so that someday if I don't have this job or want to change jobs (read: make less money), I can do it without too much financial hardship.
I should come in and read this on those frequent occasions when my job is sucking out my soul. It helps to remember that I stay so that I can do what I want in my off-time.
Right now we have a joint savings account, but we pay bills separately and reconcile the finances at the end of the month. It is the easiest way right now for us to negotiate about money. We'll merge our finances more eventually.
Whatever works is awesome. Because- hard.
I am bored and restless today and prone to babbling and storytelling. So, er, don't mean to be preaching or anything.
