If so, what are some good tips. I'm trying to pay for my wedding and I still want some freedom without feeling strapped for money.
2006-08-31 08:26:27 · 9 answers · asked by smalltownangel 4 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
My Girlfriend, who i recently moved in with is amazing at budgeting, I however am not! But I am getting better! The first thing we did to just start the feeling of order was to buy files! I know this sounds really fun! :( However it has been great! We split up everything bank accounts, dell payments, direct tv, phones you name it we have a file for it! We take what earn each month and immediately cancel $200 to $300 off that as savings, we don't even think we have it! Now this is hard, really hard when you want to order in or go buy that new shirt! However it works! we pay our bills in the 2nd week of the month all together from our joint account and work out what we have each week for food, and stuff!
What will also help would be to set a goal! How much do you need for the wedding? write it down! put it by your bed and in your bag! Now you know why your saving and budgetting for! Now every time you reach for that Visa you will have a reminder saying "WEDDING" When you reach your goal - celebrate! It will work out fine and you'll do great!
Only spend what you allow yourself to and remember all you really need in a short period is food, warmth and sleep! the rest is a luxury!!
hope that helps
2006-08-31 08:36:33 · answer #1 · answered by Mathew 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Hi. My husband and I make it nicely on a very strict budget. If you want, I will email you a document I made that can help you.
It is an excel document that takes into account how much you make and every thing you spend money on.
You will just need to know where you spend the most money.
There are some tips though to get you started.
Figure out things that never change and list them.
ie rent, cell phone, electricity, food consumption, cable or satellite tv... etc
Go through your bank statement and write down where all you spent money. You will probably be surprised at how all of those little things add up (a cup of coffe here, a meal out with friends there)
If you can, stop spending cash and go debit card instead. Cash is very easy to spend and any purchase less than 10 dollars feels like nothing. This also will give you a record of every purchase, so you can see your weak spots.
Allow yourself extra money for fun or going out to eat if that's what your into. Being on a budget doesn't mean eating ramen noodles and PB&J every day.
If you get paid every 2 weeks, and can live off of the 2 paychecks a month; that will give you 2 extra paychecks a year to either save or put towards something extra that you normally wouldn't do. (Like a mini-vacation in Tampa! At least that's what we are doing in a few weeks)
2006-08-31 08:39:57 · answer #2 · answered by Katie N 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
for your wedding first make a list of things you need to buy and then add this up and decide how much you want to spend and don't go over the amount.
after the marriage I use a notebook and write down all of the bills for the month and add them up and get a total and add up what each check will be and total this and then I would subtract the total from check to total of bills and to see how much i have left for such things like gas for car and groc.and etc. stick to this and you will always know where all the money does. It works very well for us
2006-08-31 09:42:06 · answer #3 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Adopt a "minimalist" lifestyle- only purchase what you need that day or will consume within two. When I did this, I was suprized by how much money I ended up saving. Turns out I had a habit of buying crap I didn't even need.
Best of luck and congrats on the wedding!
2006-08-31 08:32:34 · answer #4 · answered by emilystartsfires 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes and no. Depends on the budget? Lay a side as much as you can because drops of water make up a sea!
2006-08-31 09:27:44 · answer #5 · answered by KCD 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It was not easy, but it is worth it to tray to live debt free though.
spending less than you make, control the urge of spending fansy stuffs like cars,fansy cloth,latte, eat out often.Have to be consistent
set aside 10-15% of your pay to Roth IRA or 401k
go to
http://www.daveramsey.com
http://www.clarkhoward.com
2006-08-31 18:17:40 · answer #6 · answered by Hoa N 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nope. Tried living off a budget for 27 1/2 yrs.. then I realized what I was doing wrong and changed my ways.
"If you want something you've never had before (lots of moolah), then you must do something you've never done before" Norman Vincent Peale
PS Just got married last year, so I know what you're going through.
check out our wedding shot.. www.totalfreedomfromhome.com
2006-08-31 08:32:36 · answer #7 · answered by Alexander S 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋
It is very difficult!!!! No budgets for me!!!!! Just Debt! More Debt and More Debt!!! Much easier to live that way and when you die it all get's left behind anyway! So Why Care?
2006-08-31 08:32:13 · answer #8 · answered by ChicaLoca 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You can save money for 3years!
2006-08-31 08:32:31 · answer #9 · answered by dancequeennana 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋