First thing's first: I posted my first YouTube video! I'm so excited. It's crap, but I have a handheld and no software, so it was a one shot take. I'm guineababy everywhere, but that username is taken on youtube, so TheGuineaBaby. Yes, the one and only. The other person is a squatter who will not answer me, nor can I get a real person on youtube to plead my case. Thus is life. It's a one minute video. Nothing major, mainly me looking bad after a day at work.
Next thing's next. I am trying to jazz myself up for this financial hardship coming in January. I am focusing all my energy into making this work (you know, instead of focusing on my fat roll). As I stated, I'm going to try and use YouTube as a way to distract myself from spending money. That said, I am looking to purchase a new camcorder so my sister and I can have better sound. And who knows, I may not end up finding one I am happy with. I've known to forgo the purchase all together because I can't make the decision myself (i.e. digital camera).
I started today by making a list of things I know will be coming up: a doctor visit, at least two dental visits, and car insurance. All by the end of February, I think. March, if I push. I know I need to save for these. So my number one priority is my savings. I read that the first thing you do is pay yourself. I have budgeted to give myself $100.00 per paycheck into my savings account. This will start my safety net and also be there to help pay for the visits as they happen, or at least take the blow out of them. Before doing anything, even before paying bills, I will pay myself. I have learned already that if I do not pay myself first, I will never do it.
Why not give myself an incentive? I am going to give myself a cushion of $50 in case I go over budget. Let's face it, we all make mistakes and it would be nice if it doesn't cost extra. When I pay my truck off, I am going too make that cushion grow to $100. The reward? Peace of mind. The bigger the cushion, the less I fret. Peace of mind is a huge incentive for me, especially because I obsess over my bank balance until every check and swipe of the card has cleared.
The next thing I did was map out my finances for January. I have a very low car payment, which I have paid ahead so I technically owe my next payment in July. I have already budgeted $100 as a payment each month. After my bills are paid, including paying myself, I will have enough to pay my truck off with the two checks I will receive in January. Yes, I will be fairly broke, however, I did come up with an incentive to pay my truck off that fast: my car insurance is due February. If I get the truck paid off, I am able to take my truck off full coverage and save money. Not to mention the extra dough going toward the cushion.
I admit, the hardest thing for me will be to not spend money. But I am hoping that if I focus on my goal, it will be enough to keep me on track. One way I am going to do this is give up my debit cart. I am unsure what the show was called, but on HGTV the other day, there was a lady helping people out of debt. One way she did that was to take all their cards away, including debit. They had money allocated for different things in different jars, and that is all they were allowed to spend. I have gone over it and at least for the month of January, I only need one jar: The eating out jar. I eat out at work a lot and by using cash, I'll be more likely to pay only for myself and go cheap, when I don't bring something in.
The one thing I like to use my card for is gas. So to make up for this, I am going to allow myself to use my debit card to buy gas, but I will be going straight to the gas station and coming straight home. That way I can leave my card at home with no distractions. I gave my credit cards to my mother to hold, but that is not a big deal since I have not used them in a year (more like so I don't misplace them like I did...). I feel I am too old to hand over my debit card, so I am going to hang onto that myself. For eating out at work, I am going to pull $40 and have that for two weeks to start with. I am unsure how much I do spend eating out, so depending how it goes, I may need $40 every two weeks or $60 for the entire month.
After I pay my truck off, I will use the snowball effect to pay off my smallest credit card, which is my goal by the end of the year. My small credit card's payment is only $56 a month. I cannot say which has higher interest, but I call it my small CC because it has the smallest balance. I chose this to pay off next because for me, paying something off is incentive to reach for the bigger goal, instead of starting big and going small. So after my truck is paid off, I will be putting $156 (at least) toward my small CC each month. The balance is low enough that I know I can pay it off by the end of the year. If I am good, much sooner.
My sister made an excellent suggestion of what to do with "leftover" money. At the end of a pay period, when I am get paid again, what do I do with the money I did not spend? She suggested I put it toward my goal of the month: the truck or the CC. I think it's an excellent suggestion, especially so I am not tempted to blow it. I have decided, what is best for me (remember, you may be different), is to put that money into savings, whether it be $5 or $50. That way, it's something extra to set aside for those yearly bills and doctor visits. I am very glad she made that suggestion, or I never would have thought of it.
In order to help me along, I am signed up for BofA's keep the change program. It is great. When you spend an uneven dollar amount, the extra change gets placed into your savings account. Say I spend $1.94. That extra $.06 is put into my savings, making the total taken out of my main account $2. It really helps with budgeting. And yes, I once didn't have enough for keep the change. And you know what? It didn't take it out. That was awesome (not that I plan on putting myself in that position again). It's just a little extra boost that can really add itself up.
What am I going to do for entertainment since I did not budget for it? I have plenty around my house. I have hours of TV shows on DVD I want to catch up on, such as NCIS, CSI, and my new seasons of The Closure. I am also crafty. I have so many supplies, I do not need to go out and find entertainment. It is all right here. And I have four adorable dogs at home with me. Place me under house arrest and I'd be set for months, especially with all my unread books.
I think the hardest thing for me to adjust to will be carrying cash. I never carry cash. When I started this job, it was hard for me to start carrying change for the vending machines. Now I feel naked without it. I know I can adjust and I will find it hard to not be able to pull out my card and tell my co-worker's I'll pay for dinner, but it's best for me. And my wallet.
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I can't wait to watch your YouTube video! How fun. I'll have to do another one now. I haven't done it in a while. (My first couple were one-shot deals, so it's okay--that's how you start!)
ReplyDeleteThat would be awesome if you got your truck paid off in January to lower your insurance. That would definitely help ease some of your financial worries! I know it's not a huge difference, but every little bit counts, especially when you have to pay it every six months, it's a large amount.
You've inspired me to re-focus on paying off my smaller credit card first. I was working on my big one, then used it for Christmas, and now am just groaning looking at it again. I am going back to maintaining it and will work on paying off my small credit card first. I KNOW I can do it by the end of the year! I just have to apply myself.
I need to focus on spending money on Etsy--meaning, paying post things. That way it will eventually be paid back through selling what we make. We need to choose a goal to save for. Do we want to choose a bill to pay off, or choose a doll to save for, or maybe a shopping spree on FireMountainGems? I doubt our Etsy will make much, it will have to build up slowly, so I think we should choose something small.
I need to start carrying more cash, too. I normally don't have more than $1 with me. But it would definitely help curb my spending habits.
I think our goal should be to save the money we earn from etsy sales and get it to pay for itself, so the fees don't come from out of pocket. Then we can worry about what we want to buy.
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