Household budgeting tips

[daisy16 0]

That's why they do that, lisaD, is to give us sales on stuff that we don't need but will buy cause it's a good deal. We tend to overbuy if we've had great sales.I'm the budget queen. My mom got me in the habit early with my allowance. $2/week sure went far I'd use envelopes or something to put a percentage of my allowance towards things.

Anyhow, now, I list my bills per month and then by week, so I know exactly how much I have to pay out each week. Online banking is great, except when things don't clear for a few days, but at least it tells you your balance, so you know if that cheque hasn't cleared yet. My hubby is brutal with $, it slips through his fingers like water, so I have the card for our chequing account, and he gets an "allowance" each week. Yes, it's tough, but this way I don't have to know what he's blowing his money on. And he's free to spend whatever he has on whatever he wants.

To save money once, I went to Costco & bought a 5-gallon jar of spicy mustard. Dunno why, but it was cheap!

Anyways, supposedly mustard doesn't have an expiry date, so it started having birthdays then as a matter of principle, when I left my ex years later, I took my mustard with me.

So be careful of the sale things!!!! And good luck! I heard the envelope system works a treat as well...I do it with spending money...& it works just fine for me

[pax 0]

--Balance your checkbook, and do it more than once a month if, like me, you pay for just about everything by electronic transfer or debit card. Especially if you have online banking, it's super-easy.

--Get a check register. And use it. Religiously. For EVERYTHING that goes in and out of your checking account! If you don't want to write it down in your checkbook while you stand in line at the grocery store, put the receipt in your check register and write it down as soon as you get home.

--eBay is your friend (and your enemy). I use eBay for getting clothes, purses, CDs, DVDs, etc. at WAY below retail prices. What I do is, when I find something I like, I watch it for a day or two so I can think about it and compare prices. If I decide it's a good buy and I like it, I bid my maximum bid and stick to it. If I'm outbid, it wasn't meant to be. But eBay can get you in trouble if you get maxed out and you keep bidding! And don't forget to factor in shipping costs.

--www.freecycle.org. See if your city/county/metro area has a Freecycle. I love my Freecycle list serv and have picked up and given away stuff through it.

--Clip coupons, but only for stuff you would buy anyway. It's not cost-effective if you clip coupons for stuff you don't already eat/use. And monitor the expiration dates!

--Sign up for your grocery store's discount card.

--Finally, I budget this way: for every paycheck that comes in, I make a Post-It note starting with the amount of the paycheck. I then write down all the bills that have to come out of that paycheck, and the amount due (if I know it, and an estimate if I don't or if it's flexible). I keep these Post-Its in my check register where they're right in front of me. That way I don't go hog-wild spending money that needs to go for bills or set expenses.

Good luck!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

--Balance your checkbook, and do it more than once a month if, like me, you pay for just about everything by electronic transfer or debit card. Especially if you have online banking, it's super-easy.

--Get a check register. And use it. Religiously. For EVERYTHING that goes in and out of your checking account! If you don't want to write it down in your checkbook while you stand in line at the grocery store, put the receipt in your check register and write it down as soon as you get home.

--eBay is your friend (and your enemy). I use eBay for getting clothes, purses, CDs, DVDs, etc. at WAY below retail prices. What I do is, when I find something I like, I watch it for a day or two so I can think about it and compare prices. If I decide it's a good buy and I like it, I bid my maximum bid and stick to it. If I'm outbid, it wasn't meant to be. But eBay can get you in trouble if you get maxed out and you keep bidding! And don't forget to factor in shipping costs.

--www.freecycle.org. See if your city/county/metro area has a Freecycle. I love my Freecycle list serv and have picked up and given away stuff through it.

--Clip coupons, but only for stuff you would buy anyway. It's not cost-effective if you clip coupons for stuff you don't already eat/use. And monitor the expiration dates!

--Sign up for your grocery store's discount card.

--Finally, I budget this way: for every paycheck that comes in, I make a Post-It note starting with the amount of the paycheck. I then write down all the bills that have to come out of that paycheck, and the amount due (if I know it, and an estimate if I don't or if it's flexible). I keep these Post-Its in my check register where they're right in front of me. That way I don't go hog-wild spending money that needs to go for bills or set expenses.

Good luck!

pax,

I wish I had your disiprin.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

If your bank has online banking... get it. It's a great tool to track your money.

[m_and_m20 0]

Yeah, I definately keep track of everything through online banking! My bank usually gives me two balances, current balance and available balance. The current balance is everything that has cleared and the available balance includes everything that hasent cleared yet, and with my bank at least it updates almost immediately.

BTW, swirl, you said you downloaded budgeting tools, where did you get them from?? Im always looking for a good budget plan!

[Marilyn. 340]

WellsFargo lets you spend money that hasn't cleared yet... like when my hubby's cheque gets deposited it might not clear for a few days but we can still spend the money... and online they give you your ending balance as of the last business day and the available balance..... we are allowed to use the available balance....

Edited February 13, 2006 by MarilynP

[mikeize 0]

Relevant advice from my personal life (today in fact):

Avoid the dentist and mechanic.

-mike

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Relevant advice from my personal life (today in fact):

Avoid the dentist and mechanic.

-mike

I hear ya about the mechanic

[almaty 19]

Relevant advice from my personal life (today in fact):

Avoid the dentist and mechanic.

-mike

great advice....

[de_sjiem 0]

We have duplicate cheques.. its a great way to keep track easily of what you spend.. and when i check our account balance, if a cheque has cleared, I write "cleared" on them, that way i know what is pending and what isn't...