Today was payday, and the level of out of controled-ness that our budget has taken on since we put an offer on this house in February, then spent months in survival mode, dealing with mortgage loans, moving, fixing up and selling another house has finally hit home.
It was payday today, and our credit card bill alone equalled the entire paycheck. We haven't managed to save a dime since Feb. (although I replaced $2500 we had taken out for misc once we sold the house). Seriously. This is out of control.
Granted, the credit card included one-time expenses such as plane tickets for three to grandma's house. But still. Those kinds of things happen more often than we'd like to admit.
After the kids went to bed, I took a walk/run around the park and couldn't stop thinking about money. Wondering how we are going to meet all of our goals with this huge new mortgage (I'm including the extra we send in hopes of sticking to our 5 year payoff plan). I couldn't come up with any answers, I just realize I need to seriously comb over what we have been spending our money on and while I'm figuring this all out commit to only buying essentials.
A No Spend Month may also be on our horizon, maybe in September? And, I think I should get back on track with savings by starting our biweekly transfer to savings again, albeit for a very small $50 each time (down from $400 when we had no mortgage. Sigh.). And, maybe back to an envelope system for weekly expenses so we don't have any more giant shocking bills.
I knew we were going to take a hit when we moved, even though in the long term it's more economical. But still!!!
I was thinking one solution would be for me to bring in more money every month, but I'm exhausted at the thought of staying up later on yet another night to work when the kids are in bed. Ugh.
Any sage advice?
Complete Budget FAIL
July 23rd, 2011 at 02:45 am
July 23rd, 2011 at 04:06 am 1311390411
July 23rd, 2011 at 02:10 pm 1311426614
July 23rd, 2011 at 02:12 pm 1311426758
Save the heroic sleep loss and third jobs for true emergencies.
July 23rd, 2011 at 04:04 pm 1311433462
And, I'm back to couponing. I organized my binder last night and got back on the wagon today. I'm also committed to seeing where we spend and seeking ways to reduce that.
Hopefully I will have some time to sit down this weekend and do some hard math about how much we're bringing in and how much is going out. WHat we can and can't control, and how we will meet our goals-- which have always been ambitious.
Baby steps. Sorry I seemed so stressed out. It was hard sending a whole check to the CC company!!
July 23rd, 2011 at 05:03 pm 1311437006
Silly question: is biweekly every 2 weeks or twice a week? I'd love to send £100 to savings every month
July 23rd, 2011 at 05:22 pm 1311438172
July 23rd, 2011 at 05:27 pm 1311438435
Though it's a noble goal - I don't agree that it is a worthwhile goal. Not a worthy goal, while considering the potential costs to your health and sanity.
July 23rd, 2011 at 06:01 pm 1311440506
July 24th, 2011 at 04:17 am 1311477452
I insist on having our home paid for ASAP as a result of this. I need to know that I own my family's home, not a bank who can change the rules, sell me to another bank, etc. It's important to us. And considering we just came from a house that was paid for, I know how much more flexibility and peace having a paid-for house gives you.
I think we can make the 5 year plan work.
July 24th, 2011 at 05:22 pm 1311524549
My own home loan was from a non-bank lender, and to tell the truth, I don't know if those bank lending laws even apply to them. Probably not. But I know there was nothing in the contract that would have allowed them to call in the note at their whim. Of course, we know that doesn't stop a poorly run or devious business. Look at the number of stories of banks trying to foreclose on people who already had paid off the mortgage or in fact never even had a mortgage.