I spent a couple of days figuring out my budget for the next several pay periods. Even though things are pretty tight (in fact more than tight) right now, according to my projections they will get much better come mid-summer. Right in time for me to prepare for my sister's wedding (yikes).
Here it goes:
5/28 Starting Balance = 1220
- 690 Rent
- 255 Payday Loan Balance (paid off!)
- 100 Capital One (still owe $455, $55 = minimum payment due)
- 100 Pay off balance of Student Loan payment (overdue as of 5/17)
Remaining = $75 for other expenses
6/11 Starting Balance = 1220
- 600 Student Loans (will still owe 200 from last month + 400)
- 125 Paid to Nice Collection Agency
- 200 Paid to overdue Utilities
- 75 Cell Phone
- 15 Prescription co-pay
- 60 Pay back Friend C
Remaining = 145 (most of which will be spent on Boyfriend's Birthday Weekend)
6/25 Starting Balance = 1220
- 690 Rent
- 100 Capital One (still owe $355, minimum payment = $55)
- 100 overdue Utilities
Remaining = 330 (coincides with Sister's Bachellorette Weekend $$$)
7/9 Starting Balance = 1220
- $125 Scheduled payment to Nice Collection Agency
- $400 Student Loan
- $355 Payoff Capital One (yay!)
- $100 Start Paying Back Boyfriend (Still owe $200)
- $75 Cell Phone
Remaining = $165 - allot $50 to Sister's Wedding Gift
Okay, so I was hesitant to transfer that from the piece of paper I've been carrying arround in my pocket and meticulously consulting but here's where I'm hoping I will be in 2 months.
8 comments:
You're at least moving in the right direction in writing it down to get it figured out. The red flag to me is you're paying debts and credit cards before things with higher priority, with exception to rent. I've always followed the food, house, utilities, transportation, and after that debt is tackled. The payday loan places take the money from you when they come for it, so you don't have much of a choice there. On the bright side it looks like you'll get back on track come July. I don't doubt you being nervous posting a budget, I've never done it myself. Hope your plan works out though.
That sounds like a really good plan to pay down some debt. I always find the hardest thing is to put it out there, but once it is out there I'm always motivated to stick to my goals.
You're right, it's a good motivation tool to put it out there. I don't have much of a food budget and transportation costs are nil (I walk everywhere!) and I can occasionally count on my parents to lend a hand so I want to be as aggressive as possible in the coming months in tackling my debt.
It is great you are making projections, budget however; I agree with some points Jim is making. There is no room in your budget for living expenses. You dont have a car but you do use some kind of transportation right? What about food? Do you always eat your bf's house? How do you think your bf feel about this? I am sure he notices that you eat most of your dinners at his home and you dont contribute grocery. When I was in pay loan cycle, I made the same mistake of not putting money on the side for necessary expenses and thats why at the end of every month I had no money. :( Also for Sprint service you pay too much. Tmobile has a plan for 100 min, nights and weekends for $39.99.
I meant to say 1000 minutes not 100 :) big difference huh? :)
You're right, I should probably be budgeting for living expenses as well but right now I am so stuck with all the things I promised to pay at the same time that I'm hoping I can just ride it out until the next pay cycle.
As for Boyfriend, he actually travels four days a week now and expects me to look after his cat while he's gone. He stocks the fridge up once a week with things I like to make sure I do it too. I don't want to be a mooch forever, believe me, but this arrangement has been working for us for a while.
Thanks everyone for your input!
I agree with Chicky on relying on the BF for food. While you state that he is cool with it since his cat needs you while he's gone, it's not really financial independence. At the same time you're bouncing between your place, work, and his place. That alone must be a complex cycle, but if it works it works.
Without getting to personal, do you guys see reducing things down to one place at some point?
Oh man, THAT'S a great question Jim! We really wanted to but after much deliberation decided against it because:
1. When we started looking for places we both realized that it was nearly impossible to find a two bedroom apartment that was nice enough that would save us any money. A one bedroom is out of the question - we have too much stuff and I need my own space.
2. Moving is time intensive and expensive. I don't expect to get anything back from my landlord as far as the deposit I paid 4 years ago because of my smoking habit which would leave us to come up with a new deposit of at least 600 bucks each.
3. My parents feel VERY strongly against it. It hurt me at first when they let me know this, but they do have a point. I've never lived with a boyfriend and we've only been together for about 8 months.
AND
4. It's really not that bad shuffling back and forth. He lives four blocks away from me and in between both of our places is my office so it's just a short walk down the block. We both live in a relatively cool area of town where rents can get pricy and once you find a good apartment it's best to stay put.
So that's sort of a long-winded explanation but it all translates to no, we're not shacking up at least until August 09 but maybe someday....
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