PLEASE HELP!!! how do you budget?

Question

i bring home $1000.00ish CDN every two weeks, and i am broke all the time, how do i budget?
i would like to save about 5k by jan 07. for a down payment on a house, but i am having a hard time to save,
i pay about $600.00 on bills a month, total, and i am broke, and have to bum coffee money from my mom,
i dont smoke
drink
or do drugs,
i gamble a bit, about $100.00 every two weeks
the rest i eat out, and shop with,

please help

Answer 1

Set up a savings account and start putting $100 every month into it direct from your pay packet.
Cut down the gambling to $50 until Christmas, then cut it further.
Try and take your own sandwiches and drinks to lunch at work, make up your own meals and leave eating out until Friday or Saturday.
When shopping don't use your credit card and limit the amount of money in your purse, ask yourself if you really need the item or just "want" it.
Tell family you are saving for a deposit on a house and if they mind giving you money for your savings account at Christmas.
Hold a garage sale for unwanted items and put the cash in the savings account
Do you have family you could babysit for on Fridays or Saturdays?
all these extra few dollars saved and earnt will soon add up.

Answer 2

It's not just a matter of making the budget but sticking to the budget. First you are going to have to write down the EXACT amount of money you bring home every month. Then start listing expences. Be as presice as possible. This will be your rough draft of your budget. Make several copies and keep track of all your spending from now on. Put up a big picture of a house and use that as motivation. DO NOT CARRY CASH! You really don't need it this day in age plus it will help to begin noting your spending habits. According to your budget put the money you plan to save in a bank account right away. YOU CAN NOT WITHDRAW FROM THIS ACCOUNT UNLESS FOR A HOUSE! If you are short on money you will have to wait until next pay period. Be creative, make coffee at home, see where you can limit spending or stop all together; stop eating out and shop for only what you need not what you want! Look for ways to make more money. Overtime or an extra side job. If you are working more you will not spend. Turn this into a game and see how much you can save. Granted $5,000 is a lot to save in three months but doable. My wife and I started our budget right after marriage and now save about $3,000 on a good month. We own our house and two rental properties and are only 26 years old. It can be done! It takes time so don't get frustrated. You have goal and use that goal to get this done. Good luck...

Answer 3

Hmmm, your leaving out a good $1300 from this story if your bringing home 2k a month,and your bills are only $600. Your also starting pretty big, and out of your budget as far as expectation.

Idealistically you would like save 5k by Jan 2007, which means you would have to saving about $1500 a month, thus leaving you with only $500 a month, making you short for your monthly expences, and not to mention your gambling.

Realistically, you could save about $625 a month, leaving you with a lil over $1300 to take care of bills, and $600 left do whatever else you need to do with preparation for the house.
It would take you about 8 months to save that, but time flies, when you got big plans.

Lastly, if your not bringing home profit from the gambling thing, then you could really keep that $100 in your pocket.

Look into getting a CD. To lock up funds for some months,.

Answer 4

First start by writing down your fixed costs (these are the bills you have that you know you have to pay every month - rent, utilities, etc.)

You mention you want to save $5,000 by January 7 - that means $5000 in 3 months. Break that down, and you need to save $1,666.67 a month. Since you only bring in $2,000 a month and you spend $600 a month on bills - you don't have enough to do that.

When you figure your budget, putting a certain amount of money aside every paycheck should be as automatic as paying your rent and utilities. If your employer offers automatic deposit, I suggest you take advantage of that, and choose a reasonable amount to be deposited into your savings account every month.

If that's not an option you don't trust yourself, and think you'll take the money back out, then open up a 6 month certificate of deposit (CD) or Christmas account - something that requires you to keep your savings account for a fixed period of time. Another option is to ask someone else (that you really trust) to open up a savings account for you and write them a check for that amount every paycheck.

Make sure that what you're saving for is something you really want. Pay yourself first by depositing the money in the savings account before you spend it. Once it's "gone" you wont be able to spend it.

Add into your budget the things you're spending money on now - eating out, shopping and gambling - but recognize that once you've reached your budgeted amount, you're done until the next paycheck.

When you get paid the next time, get a little notebook and keep track of every dime you spend - don't look at it, don't agonize over it, just track it.

In two weeks, take a look at the "data" and see if you feel like any of what you spent was wasted. If so, decide what you're going to do about it - either keep wasting the money, or start saving it for things that are more important to you.

You can raise the amount that you're saving, or be more conscious of where you choose to spend the money the next time.

You have the power to manage your money and control your spending so that you can save towards those things you really want. But, like everything else in life, it's a choice. If you don't decide to make and keep to a budget, that's a choice too...and whatever you decide is okay, as long as you're conscious and okay with the choice you're making.

Good luck!

Answer 5

To save money, you have to spend less. I would do the following:
-Stop gambling save the $200 a month
- make my own coffee ($2 * 21 days) = $42 a month - 5 dollars to buy coffee from grocery store = $37
- eat out less often. Cook your own food. If you save a net of 3 dollars a day it would amount to $90 a month
- Curtail your shopping. Save money by buying used (craig's list) save $50 a month atleaset.
if you add those up you are going to save (200+37+90+50)*12 = 4500 bucks.

Answer 6

Please visit daveramsey.com today.
You are not ready to buy a house - money or mindset wise. you be out of the house in no time. you need to learn to harvest your money and manage it.
visit daveramsey.com . Stop gambling it's a tax on poor people who are poor at math. Wealthy people don't play Lotteries or gamble .
Write down every bill you have, record where every dime you spend in the next two week goes.
You're not Broke you're irresponsible.

Answer 7

If you're really serious you need to get a grip because really buying a house is a big responsibility you need to discipline your self. I'm not tiring to be mean but you don't want to foreclose once you get in there. If you get 2,000 a month you blow 1,400 a month that's a lot. As soon as you get paid (As soon) you need to put at least 400.00 in the bank that still leaves you 600.00 every pay period witch is still to much. Look at the big picture.

Answer 8

trying to eat less put side take some thing from home,shop a bit less buy some thing you really need,and stop the gambling that way you will have a extra 200 bucks that then you shop with and get what you really like

Answer 9

In addition to the others you can also dry daveramsey.com. Write down what you spend, and what you spend it on, you will be amazed at how much you blow on stuff you don't actually need.

Answer 10

Spend!Spend!Spend!