How do you learn to budget your money??

Question

My husband and I are trying to learn how to budget our money so we can save up to buy a house, go on a vacation, stuff like that. But at the end of the month it seems like there is nothing left over to save with. Any advice would be great. Thanks

Answer 1

The little cost cutters do make a difference. We are in much better shape today than a year ago. We started by cutting back on the things we could live without (extra cable channels, fast food, Schwan's delivery, dry cleaning, magazine subscriptions etc.) You would be surprised how much you can save. It can be only temporary. Some of these things we've picked up again. But It is great to have that extra cash.

We took that savings though and started hitting our credit card debt. Did you know that if you are late on one credit card bill that your interest rate can go up on ALL of your cards? There are ridiculous charges. We closed several accounts and made arrangements to pay some off early and are slowing getting to the rest. We should be debt free by 2008.

Once you start doing those things, you'll start getting ahead and getting excited about what you can do with what you have left over! It's amazing!

Answer 2

Just remember that by closing your credit card accounts, it causes your credit score to drop. Your best bet is to just pay off the balances and leave the account open, but do not use it. My husband and I recently paid off 4 bills with our tax return and are now using that saved money to put towards our next bill. I make a weekly menu and buy only what I need for those recipes. We pay for everything in cash. We don't eat out hardly at all and if we do, it is around $20. When you first get paid, transfer some immediately into savings so you can build up that amount you'll need for your larger purchases. Instead of spending $35 on movies and snacks, rent one, or join a club like Netflix. Once you get used to the changes, you won't miss anything and you'll be buying that house before you know it. Good luck.

Answer 3

First, You have to cut expenses where you can.
Electric, Food and miscellaneous are the easiest.
Stop getting take out or prepackaged food. Make home made meals. Take lunch to work. Use the low wattage light bulbs (better for the environment anyway). Don't leave the air/heat on when you leave the house. Turn off ALL electric appliances when you leave a room. Stop buying Starbucks, or Lotto tickets.

Answer 4

do you and your husband work?... im stay at home mom.. my hubby works... we paid off all our credit cards and just have house and car payment and of course regular bills like phone lights water etc... but nothing extra.. once we paid off our credit cards we are doing great and saving money for newer house :).. maybe you should consider debt consolitation there are lots of sites on the net for that ! good luck and maybe use your tax return to pay off debt... or go on vacation !!

Answer 5

cut down on the porn sales.. muwhahahahahahahahahahahahaha