Money Matters GTKY

[penguin129]

Hi ladies! I know a bunch of us liked the Money Monday thread lo95 posted when she was here (we hope you are well), so I've been searching for something to start it again. I found this post on the NJCD board from ABobLoblawLawBomb and thought we could use this to start out. Below is the post she wrote in the beginning of the year on NJCD. After this post we can restart the Money Monday Check-ins.

Let's start with a few GTKY basics.



Are you a one or two (or more) income household?



Do you feel that your family has a working budget, or are you living paycheck to paycheck and looking to break the cycle?



For those of you who have them, could you describe your budget and money management system?



Are you and your spouse on the same page regarding finances? How do you resolve potential differences?



What are your financial goals for 2016? How realistic are they -- will cutting some spending or reworking a budget be enough to help you achieve those goals, or do you need to start working on the smaller steps this year to set yourself up in a better financial position for 2017?



**Notice** This area is a shame free area. Everyone is as different steps in their journey to financial security, and everyone lives within different means (and the cost of living in different areas varies greatly). Helpful support or criticisms are encouraged (ie 'You should consider cutting cable' or 'Your car payment is too much for your current income, consider trading it in for a less expensive vehicle'), but demeaning comments along the lines of 'Man, I WISH my mortgage payment was only $xxx' or 'How can anyone afford to spend $xxxx on a mortgage payment?!' are not allowed here.

[penguin129]

Are you a one or two (or more) income household?
We are one income. H teaches and does tutoring after school. This year they asked him to do a chess club after school. He brings in extra money when he can.


Do you feel that your family has a working budget, or are you living paycheck to paycheck and looking to break the cycle?
We have a working budget. I use Mint to track things. We have some extra money right now, but won't once the baby comes.

For those of you who have them, could you describe your budget and money management system?
I mainly track the monthly bills and then divide the rest of the money between groceries, gas, and regular extra shopping (wants mostly). Groceries and gas usually have the same amount of money each month and the extras are bigger or smaller depending on what is going on.

Are you and your spouse on the same page regarding finances? How do you resolve potential differences?
We are on the same page for the most part. We talk about what we need to get each month, etc.

What are your financial goals for 2016? How realistic are they -- will cutting some spending or reworking a budget be enough to help you achieve those goals, or do you need to start working on the smaller steps this year to set yourself up in a better financial position for 2017?
I'm trying to be more diligent about putting money in savings every month. I haven't really been good at it and need to improve that.

[namastebiotches]

Are you a one or two (or more) income household?
One

Do you feel that your family has a working budget, or are you living paycheck to paycheck and looking to break the cycle?
Not living paycheck to paycheck, don't really have a specific working budget

For those of you who have them, could you describe your budget and money management system?
We don't have a specific budget management system but the way I approach our money is bills first, then spend as little as possible on everything else/put money in savings or just let it linger until the next bills are due.

Are you and your spouse on the same page regarding finances? How do you resolve potential differences?
Yes. If it were up to him though, he'd probably snack more on weekends with fast food. I usually compromise & make him get cheap stuff lol

What are your financial goals for 2016? How realistic are they -- will cutting some spending or reworking a budget be enough to help you achieve those goals, or do you need to start working on the smaller steps this year to set yourself up in a better financial position for 2017?
We've known since the beginning of the year that we would make the conscious decision to not do any very big vacations this year to accommodate for my surgery. We have a pretty sizeable deductible we'll have to pay so the plan is to get that paid asap & try to recuperate the $ by being financially conscientious for the rest of the year.

[Deleted]

Are you a one or two (or more) income household? 1.5. I get my disability check, but it's not much.

Do you feel that your family has a working budget, or are you living paycheck to paycheck and looking to break the cycle? We're doing okay, but don't really have a budget.

For those of you who have them, could you describe your budget and money management system? n/a

Are you and your spouse on the same page regarding finances? How do you resolve potential differences? He likes to spend way more than I do. To the point that I feel like I can't spend money because we wouldn't have any left if I did. It needs to change, but I'm not sure how to make it happen. He feels that if we have the money why not spend it, and I'm more of the mindset that if we have the money now, why not save some of it. He doesn't seem to agree.

What are your financial goals for 2016? How realistic are they -- will cutting some spending or reworking a budget be enough to help you achieve those goals, or do you need to start working on the smaller steps this year to set yourself up in a better financial position for 2017? I'm hoping to get him to be more responsible with his spending. I think coming up with a budget will help a lot, which I plan to do at some point. Hopefully.

[younglove316]

We are a one income and my husband will pick up side jobs when he can.



We aren't living paycheck to paycheck but I wouldn't really say that I have a specific working budget either.



I just try and stick within our limits. I set a $50-$75 a week budget for grocery and try really hard not to go over it. Once all bills are paid and such I usually grab a little bit of money and put it into savings as well.



For the most part, yes. My husband tends to get an idea in his head and just want to purchase but I think through every decision.



A new goal I have is to get my husband's student loan paid off. It's down to 3K and his payment is less than $100 a month so I think I'm going to start putting a little extra towards that every month.

We are cutting down on non essential purchases and using that money to go into savings. We are planning a Disney trip in February so I want to be in a good place for it.

[tkford216]

We are on my husband's income only. I would consider a limited part time and/or work from home gig when he hits a year, but otherwise this will be our situation for the foreseeable future.

We are actually doing better with the budget than I expected. (Goes to show just how much we were spending when we both worked on the same block and got coffee and ate lunch out all the time.) I keep a very close eye on our accounts and things seem to be keeping steady.

I do all our finances. I'm a spreadsheet nerd and have docs for just about everything in our life (monthly budget, yearly budget, savings, estimates on debt payoffs, big upcoming purchases, etc.) I check our accounts twice weekly to make sure everything is on track and accurate, and monthly I go through and look at our spending, do any necessary accounting, figure out what we could do different the next month, give my H the run down. Seriously, I'm a crazy person. It's the only reason being on one income is working so well for us. (If you ever need helping putting together financial spreadsheets or the like, I'm your gal. lol)

My H and I make all decisions together, but I basically do all the prep/plan process and lay out options for him and explain what I think is best. He generally agrees, or we find a way to compromise.

The goal for this year is simply to keep going without having to touch our savings, and maybe even start to add to it again? (We funneled half our income into our savings while pregnant, and have since stopped transfers to ensure a proper padding in our checking.) We also need to set up a savings plan for the kid yet.

[mrsmuq]

Are you a one or two (or more) income household?
One

Do you feel that your family has a working budget, or are you living paycheck to paycheck and looking to break the cycle?
We have a semi-working budget; I wish we had a better handle on our "miscellaneous" expenses and a better investment plan.

For those of you who have them, could you describe your budget and money management system?
Live simply with little excess, experience things to the fullest. (Basically, we live "below" our means in that we have a smaller house, older cars, less frills, than our budget actually allows in order to have more experiences and save for retirement.

Are you and your spouse on the same page regarding finances? How do you resolve potential differences?
I "maintain" the budget, but MH is the management wizard. We discuss and work out and research areas of differentiating opinions.

What are your financial goals for 2016? How realistic are they -- will cutting some spending or reworking a budget be enough to help you achieve those goals, or do you need to start working on the smaller steps this year to set yourself up in a better financial position for 2017?
Honestly? Break even. We had (expected) high medical costs for DS2's delivery earlier this year, and it ate a good chunk away at our savings.

[Deleted]

Currently a 2 family income. H is looking for a new job, so it might drop down to one income while he stays at home depending on timing.

We definitely have a budget. We have an excel spreadsheet and we also use Money Dance. When H was laid off about a year ago, we cut a lot of expenses and he was hired with a higher salary, so that helped. So we were able to put some money into savings and pay off credit cards and new roof. We went through a cut insurance costs, and my BC went from $60 a month to $10 a month. DS did camp instead of daycare, so that saved some money, and he will be starting K which will save some money.

We are on the same page, but H is definitely the spender. However, he understands that right now we need to be frugal. Its those times when he thinks he can spend money but then goes overboard.

Goals: We have a little left over from the new roof to pay off. Then mostly saving for an emergency fund and other funds. Possibly with DS going to K the goals might be easier to attain, but we also will have some major medical expenditures.

[sanibel21]

Let's start with a few GTKY basics.



Are you a one or two (or more) income household?
Mostly my husband's income. I work some Friday afternoons or pick up a holiday or few hours on a weekend.


Do you feel that your family has a working budget, or are you living paycheck to paycheck and looking to break the cycle?
What we are doing is working. We are not living paycheck to paycheck. But we purposefully are living within our means, so we're not doing anything luxurious, haha.


For those of you who have them, could you describe your budget and money management system?
Go about our business, using shopping sales, buying some generic, run big purchases by each other, and then check the accounts every couple monthsand, adjust as needed.


Are you and your spouse on the same page regarding finances? How do you resolve potential differences?
Same page.


What are your financial goals for 2016? How realistic are they -- will cutting some spending or reworking a budget be enough to help you achieve those goals, or do you need to start working on the smaller steps this year to set yourself up in a better financial position for 2017?
Just keep making it. I'll go back to work when both kids are in school and hopefully we can make up some savings then.