Tips on budgeting after you file bk?

[runnersdelig]

Now that we've stopped paying our unsecured bills, I'm trying to budget successfully so I'm never back in this position again. Can you share your tips?

Do you budget on paper, use excel or use quicken? How long do you get used to being cash only?

Thanks!

[AngelinaCatHub]

It is hard to get used to cash only, but OH SO rewarding. If you can't pay for it, you can't afford it.

I have used all the above. I like excel as I can do "what if's" with it.

However, my best advice is to stockpile a little fund aside and forget about it. Accumulate a $100 bill and fold it small into a wallet or purse for an emergency and FORGET IT.

You have a little extra now, so use it wisely in saving for emergency. Stockpile storeable foods if you can. Good insurance and a hedge on rising prices.

We have never done better nor been happier than after our bk. We had big money at one time, we had an enemy that caused legal bleeding then health problems. We could spend a $100 bill and never miss it. Now, we are pleased to just have one in the wallet. You must have SELF CONTROL, that is no secret. 'Hub

[momofthree]

Dave Ramsey is great for budgeting tips, IMO. His debt payoff plans are a bit unrealistic, but his budgeting advice is spot on...

[coolmom04]

Dave Ramsey is great for budgeting tips, IMO. His debt payoff plans are a bit unrealistic, but his budgeting advice is spot on...

I couldn't agree more!!!!!

[Exployer1234]

Never buy anything unless you have the cash to pay for it. That is the first rule of thumb. Dave Ramsey does have some great advice. He even gives advice on how to never have a car payment. For example if you start off buying a beater car, then sell it for a little more then you paid for it, turn around and buy a car that is a little nicer with the money, then resale it, you will always be ahead of the game.

I also make sure that the bills are always paid before I buy anything else. I also have gotten into the habit of keeping all change and extra dollar bills. This is my extra money that can be used for emergencies. I really do not know how much I have in that box. I just keep putting the change in and lock the safe box.

[SeattleBK]

I use an excel work sheet.

I have a master budget excel work sheet with my estimated monthly expenses and my estimated monthly income.

Although my income and expenses vary, this worksheet gives me an idea of the maximum amount of income I need to pay my bills.

I also have a monthly excel work sheet that I fill in when i pay the actual bills and when I receive the actual income.

This has worked out well for me.

[BobMango]

I use excel. I tried using sites like Mint.com but found the effort to keep it up to date too time consuming. There were also other limitations that made it impossible to budget the way I wanted to. Excel offers much more flexibility.

In terms of actual budget planning, it's definitely all about prioritizing my expenses. My priority order: Rent/mortgage, insurance, utilities (phone, gas, electric, water and garbage) , groceries, charitable giving, emergency savings, general savings, cell phones, cable, then special savings accounts for luxury items.

[liz417]

I've always used Quicken and that really helps me stay on track, I am able to account for every penny going out and see graphs daily/weekly/monthly of my expenses. For me, seeing something like a graph and/or a list really helps me stay focused on staying on budget, sometimes I've over extended a catagory within my budget (unexpected expenses and/or birthdays, parties, etc), so I am able to take a hard look and see where I can cut the budget from another catagory.
It's funny, now that I've been on a cash only basis for a few years now (I actually do have 2 credit cards for emergencies), it really makes me take a hard look and question every purchase. For the 1st time in a REALLY LONG time, I have an actual savings account with emergency money in it! LOL!

[LSUTiger32]

I use Excel as well, but the emerency fund is key. It's coming up on a year since we filed (August) and right now we have a little over $3,000 in different places for an emergency. That was after paying $3,000 cash for a new car for me. Love not having a note! Some is in a savings account and some is the safe incase it's an immediate emergency. Bottom line is that you have to start to stockpile some cash for a rainy day when you go cash only. By the way, I will NEVER do it any other way.

[iv65536]

A few additional thoughts: If you have online banking, USE IT!

Also, I have maxed out the employer match on my 401K account. My employer also offers a commuter benefit that allows you to pay parking or transit costs with pretax money - it comes directly out of your paycheck, and you don't have to pay federal, state, FICA, or Medicare taxes on it.

I also have a health reimbursement account that currently has funds from my employer; I used that to get reimbursed for an eye exam and glasses in May.

Another hint: Always make sure you get a receipt. At a gas pump, if you can't get a receipt, I would simply use my phone to take a picture of the display on the pump.

[ryan]

Use Quicken and use a debit card for EVERYTHING...I like being able to go online and my bank has a record of every expense I've incurred that month. If I buy a Coke at Burger King, its on there. Then I can download results and import into Quicken for more thorough analysis. 9 months now without CC and so far, so good. Also agree you need to stockplie an emergency fund, even if you have to sell a few things to help in building it up.

[nomoneynomore]

Our savings tips

I use excel also. I have a 3 ring binder w/ clear slip sheets in it. The front has my master copy of bill information, Company, phone number, acct number, amount, due date etc (on ones that aren't set, I round up to the next $10 just in case) If something like electric ends up being higher, I can always pull from savings and not worry about it not being covered. I have this arranged by due dates so I know how much is needed from each paycheck to cover bills. Behind the master sheet, I have a slip for each bill. When it is paid, I write the date, amount etc on that bill. This way, I have them available if I ever need to look back. (this has been very useful on a couple of occasions, no searching for when it was paid when on the phone with customer service!)

We have two seperate checking accounts plus a savings account w/ Bank of America. One is our "spending money", the second is our "bills" account. Each payday I transfer the needed amount into our bills account so I know all bills are covered.

I have as many bills signed up on auto draft as offer it. This saves the hassle of remembering to pay them a few days ahead of time and maybe forgetting one. We use our debit card for this because we are set up to have our purchases rounded up to the next dollar and that extra change put into our savings account. This may not seem like much, but the extra change has added up to $56.02 since November 2009.

The remainding balance in our spending account is what we use for grocery, gas, etc. We use our debit card for this also because of the savings feature. Our savings on this account has added up to $376.04 since November 2009.

Just from signing up for the rounding up savings account thing, we have saved $432.06. I know it isn't much, but it could help out a lot in a cruch.

When the next payday comes, I take whatever is left in our "spending money" account and transfer it to savings and start the process over. This has added $2602.16 to our savings since November 2009.

We also don't purchase items unless we have the cash to buy them outright. The feeling of knowing we OWN everything we have is awesome.

We do have a vehicle loan, but that is the only "credit" we have & will be paid off in August. We were able to buy a nice vehicle for $10k and have it paid off in less than a year!

[runnersdelig]

My sister got me a copy of quicken 2010 through her work and I'm downloading as we speak.

I'm very nervous because the past few years have been so hard and I'm scared to mess up again. My wallet is completely tattered from being so old and my clothes are hanging off of me because I lost so much weight from stressing out and not having an appetite. Yet, I'm too scared to buy anything because buying stuff was what got us into this mess

[StartingOver08]

This is slightly off topic for the OP, but have you considered www.freecycle.org?

I mention this because you mention you need a wallet and clothes. If you are uncomfortable with 'gently used' clothing, then at least consider freecycle.org for things like a new wallet. You can put out requests for anything. I've even seen people ask for a running car! As the name states: its free.

Good luck to you. Budgeting is much easier when it is on paper AND when you pay yourself first (savings). All the tips above are great - I especially like Dave Ramsay and the savings methods.

[SMinGA]

For groceries - we make a menu, then a shopping list. Random grocery shopping is wasteful - we end up buying things we don't need, having to make trips back for things we forgot, and end up with more waste. (Not too good with using up leftovers in my house...)

If you have school age kids and qualify - don't be embarrassed to apply for reduced price lunches. I think for a family of 5, gross income must be under $48k. For me, that means weekly school lunches for 3 = $6 instead of $24.75.

Get budget billing for utilities. Its easier to pay a set amount each month than handle highs & lows. And if your usage changes enough to make the payment amount change, it will still be a slight change on your total payment rather than anything drastic.

Check auto insurance policies, cable tv packages, cell phone plans, etc. - are you paying for things you don't need or use? I am not saying to cut auto insurance to the bare bones, but some things are wasteful. Like paying for gap insurance if your loan is almost paid off, or having rental reimbursement on every vehicle if you could manage on one car while another is in the shop.

For entertainment - look for low cost/no cost options. Netflix = $9.53 a month after tax for us. Access to movies, tv shows, comedy, and more. Variety to entertain everyone in the family. And then there are local parks & such which are free - and here there are plenty of hiking trails and some historical areas to explore as well.

Avoid using 'grace periods' if you don't have to. Mortgage due on the 1st, late after the 15th. Car payment due on the 10th late after the 20th scenarios... You pay more interest in the long run to pay at the end of the grace period, and if something comes up and you're late - you incur late fees. Be in the habit of paying on time or a little ahead.