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Sephiroth_IRA posted:Yeah, right now I've only ate them at home but I figure I can get away with it because the owner consumes tuna on a daily basis. My office is also far away from everyone else and I can always turn on a fan, swig some mouthwash and then blame it on the boss. Anchovies make homemade spaghetti sauce incredible....I use anchovy paste in mine all the time! At least you can use them up that way...
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Apr 30, 2014 18:43
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End of month recap: Goal was to cut food down to $300 eating out and $400 groceries for a total of $700. It ended up being $450 eating out and $230 groceries for a total of $680. So... not bad, but we can definitely do better on the eating out front! I think we end up making out eating out meals last a lot longer - a $7 burrito gives me lunch and dinner. But it's still less healthy. Gotta make more chili for work lunches!! Income: Day job – $6,000 Writing job – $17,336 Going to talk with boss about leaving at the end of this year. I love my coworkers but it's wearing on me to work basically two full-time jobs. I think I can do better on my own. Maybe I'll make a thread about it, since I'm also considering selling the house and downsizing a bit..
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Apr 30, 2014 18:54
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That seems scary and fun all around Moana. I'd love to see a thread.
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Apr 30, 2014 19:01
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April: Ate out exactly six times this month. That's still a lot, but we seriously used to go out for dinner five nights a week, and we'd both eat lunch out at work. We've been brining lunch and making dinners for a few months now, and we're into a solid routine, but there's always room for improvement. We just bought a pizza stone so we can cut out one of those six times, we generally order pizza once a month and now we'll just make our own. My gas/electric bill this month was ~$55, which is astounding to me considering how much power my wife and I used to waste. We've made a conscious effort to use less starting a few months ago, and it's paid off amazingly. 
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Apr 30, 2014 19:15
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My month end was mixed. Made ~$8500 net and spent about ~$6500. The $2000 extra will go to Sallie Mae tomorrow. I also bought a new car pulling $5500 out of savings and financing $16000 @ 2%. I also decided that we have too much emergency savings vs our student loan debt so I am going to pay off Sallie Mae this month ($12335 total). That will leave about $10,000 in emergency money. Our student loans will be under $40k and I will fee up $675 a month to debt snowball the other loans. Found a place for my wife to live in Vail... So we are going to have to shell out about $4000 to secure that. Work is reimbursing her for everything we just have to front the money. I need to sit down and create a Vail budget sheet to go with my regular budget sheet. She basically will get about $3000 a month and we are going to try to make that work so we save money on the other budget... I feel like it might get complicated. If anyone has ever had to budget like that and has some advice that would be great. I probably will do a more detailed write up in the budget thread.
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Apr 30, 2014 19:18
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Did my monthly review today, and the results are very nice. Went on about 10 dates, only ate out five times other than that (including a weekend trip to NYC), paid for accommodations for my May vacation, put about $1,100 towards a potential down payment/rent deposit, and socked away another $1,200 towards retirement. It would feel a lot more meaningful if I wasn't still living with my parents. Next month, the househunting intensifies and my wallet grows thinner. 
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Apr 30, 2014 20:20
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I just asked my wife and I'm not allowed to write smut books  That's some amazing payoff Moana, I'd love to read a thread on your situation if you decide to do one. My sister published a smut ebook but has not had the break-away success, unfortunately. I told her she was going to buy me a pool when she got rich. Shameless PlugMy monthly wrapup was actually pretty good as well, we were good on our budget in all categories this month other than dining out, which we doubled. I took a friend out for his birthday, my wife for her b-day, and some other occasions. My wife is pregnant too so there is some increased comfort food spending. We also had $350 in health-related expenses (ultrasound, blood tests, eye exam and contacts) so overall we did pretty good with our spending. We were still +$1100 for the month, so I consider that successful though it does remind me that I haven't been doing jack poo poo with our home renovations. I need to do some more
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May 1, 2014 13:53
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I'm proud of myself because just about every shred of overtime I made in the last couple months went to savings.
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May 1, 2014 14:13
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Didn't spend over my monthly earnings, hooray. Still need to cut spending down, and Mint has helped with that. I like seeing all my money in one place. My mother also gave me some cash for my birthday so I could purchase YNAB. Going to deposit it along with my last paycheck today so I can grab it. New job starts on Monday; going from 7.40/hr to 11/hr is going to be great. Not to mention I will also actually be having an honest to god real internship that isn't just me sitting around all day doing practically nothing because my bosses know nothing.  Sadly this means my gas budget will have to go up, but I've combated that by refusing to let my siblings (we all live together) use the car since they never put gas in it. I've also been drastically cutting out unnecessary items.Made a spare 300 dollars (with another 200-300 on the way possibly) selling some things, which will go towards my savings/student loan debt, which needs to be consolidated. If I can just kick myself in the rear end to do commission work, I'd be making a little more on the side for discretionary spending. Need motivation!
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May 1, 2014 14:25
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It's nice enough outside to start biking to work, so once I figure out how to most efficently transport 5 sets of work clothes/5 packed lunches, I'll be set. $40/month saved on bus fares for 4 months (any later than September would be pushing it). Now I just need to decide if I want to spend some of that on fenders for my bike.
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May 1, 2014 15:07
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dreesemonkey posted:I just asked my wife and I'm not allowed to write smut books 
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May 1, 2014 15:46
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I finally setup my new 401k today. I meant to do this in January. I am about 4 months behind schedule, but I think I can still make the contribution goal by the end of the year. My wife is being converted from a contractor to a regular employee. She gets a 10% annual raise in straight salary, and about 9% per year in additional benefits (mostly from matching 401k contributions).  On the downside, I drove in ($8) and paid to park ($5) today because my company is dismissing early due to a parade and my normal street parking is on the other side of the parade route. Meh.
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May 1, 2014 15:46
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Just saw another person on facebook get both a new phone and a new number. I'm confused, do people get new numbers because they don't know they can port their number or can't be bothered to do it, or is it because they're in financial trouble with their current cell company and they can't get their number released?moana posted:The real money's in romance (what Sundae and I both write), but you have to write pretty well to make money there. It's kind of nice, no IMer competition
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May 1, 2014 17:44
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My wife gets a phone from work so she got a new phone and number and be canceled the old one that we were paying for. My work just pays me for my personal. Did I mention I love having free phones?
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May 1, 2014 18:06
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spwrozek posted:My wife gets a phone from work so she got a new phone and number and be canceled the old one that we were paying for. My work just pays me for my personal. Did I mention I love having free phones? I used to get free cell and internet from my company, but those benefits were taken away in 2008 and will probably never come back.
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May 1, 2014 18:25
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I complained my way into a smartphone through my employer a few years ago and it's sweet. Our contract with verizon allows unlimited data and renewals every 12 months. It's nice being able to save that ~$50/mo.
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May 1, 2014 18:27
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Cicero posted:Is there some male equivalent to this? Cheesy sci-fi/fantasy maybe? Gay romance? Inverse Icarus posted:I used to get free cell and internet from my company, but those benefits were taken away in 2008 and will probably never come back. I feel your pain. I lost my company cell phone and internet in 2012. But that also means that I don't have to carry a Blackberry anymore, so it's a fair trade.
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May 1, 2014 18:45
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Folly posted:Gay romance? That's still an almost strictly female audience. 
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May 1, 2014 18:48
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Transmogrifier posted:That's still an almost strictly female audience. Oh, we're going by audience. I gotcha. Then the male equivalent would be streaming online porn. I'm pretty sure there's an SA thread on how to make money with that, too. But the goon's role would be more about distribution that production, thankfully.
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May 1, 2014 18:54
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Cicero posted:Is there some male equivalent to this? Cheesy sci-fi/fantasy maybe?
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May 1, 2014 21:05
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I've been saving ~65-70% of my net income for the past 6 months for an emergency fund/student loan debt repayment, and I just spent 2hrs hemming and hawing over whether I should buy tickets too a music festival in July and a comedy show in September. Hell, I might even take my Dad to the comedy show since it's one if his favourite comedians. Now I have to spend the entire month staring at YNAB and my unusually large "Luxuries" outflow  At least I'm spending money on experiences, not things... right? Grouco fucked around with this message at 05:58 on May 2, 2014 |
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May 2, 2014 05:50
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It's ok to spend money, if you're feeling that much anxiety over it you might want to see a professional.
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May 2, 2014 06:47
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If you're meeting your obligations and otherwise happy with your savings schedule, spend your money if there is something you want to do. Bonus points for spending time with family and surprising your dad. It's a win all around
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May 2, 2014 13:01
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Haha, I'm in a similar situation. I'm debt free except for my mortgage, which I could pay off in about 2 years. I sold my car since I got a company car, and I was thinking of buying a roadster with some of the money from that. I'm still looking at the costs associated with keeping an extra car around, but I think the pleasure of an open top fun car will be worth it. If not, I could always sell it and recoup some money. First world problems all up in here.
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May 2, 2014 13:35
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I really need to start a food budget; it seems like it'd be really helpful. I'm spending something like $225-250 each month (covering both groceries and eating out) and want to drop it down to 200 at most, hopefully closer to 150. As it is now, it's eating my savings.
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May 2, 2014 13:54
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Zerstorung posted:I really need to start a food budget; it seems like it'd be really helpful. I'm spending something like $225-250 each month (covering both groceries and eating out) and want to drop it down to 200 at most, hopefully closer to 150. As it is now, it's eating my savings. First thing is to definitely curb the eating out habit. A lot of people will say it's hard, but I don't necessarily think it is. It's a money saver and it's healthier to avoid too. Just pack your lunches, only eat out if it's unavoidable. I was a little self conscious about the whole packed lunch thing then I realized I don't give a poo poo and I'd rather save money than spend 30 dollars a week on lovely deli sandwiches. Someone shared this ebook on cooking on a budget; the author tries to keep everything down to $4 or less. http://www.leannebrown.ca/cookbooks/
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May 2, 2014 14:01
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I'm an idiot and didn't realize that I'd get a refund on my state income tax. Now I have $300 more than I budgeted for. The first thing that flashed through my mind when I saw the deposit on Mint was "Yesss now I finally have an excuse to buy a 3ds." I'm already set to meet my savings goals for this month, someone convince me that I should stop myself from blowing this windfall on video games.
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May 2, 2014 14:19
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Transmogrifier posted:First thing is to definitely curb the eating out habit. A lot of people will say it's hard, but I don't necessarily think it is. It's a money saver and it's healthier to avoid too. Just pack your lunches, only eat out if it's unavoidable. I was a little self conscious about the whole packed lunch thing then I realized I don't give a poo poo and I'd rather save money than spend 30 dollars a week on lovely deli sandwiches. Thankfully I'm not really in the habit of it. I eat out something like 3-4 times a year. It's more my grocery spending that needs work. Just trying to math out the feasibility of going from $8/day on food to $5-6/day.
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May 2, 2014 14:19
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I hear ya. Definitely give that book a try (I'm looking through it right now) and visit the "Help! I'm poor and want to make good food!" thread. A lot of great information there for cooking on a budget.
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May 2, 2014 14:48
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Not a Children posted:I'm an idiot and didn't realize that I'd get a refund on my state income tax. Now I have $300 more than I budgeted for. The first thing that flashed through my mind when I saw the deposit on Mint was "Yesss now I finally have an excuse to buy a 3ds." I'm already set to meet my savings goals for this month, someone convince me that I should stop myself from blowing this windfall on video games. I have a used 3ds that I'm not using and some games and could stretch your money further than buying new 
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May 2, 2014 14:52
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The great thing about eating out is that you have 100% control over whether or not you do it. You can survive if you miss lunch once in awhile, people have starved themselves to death for causes before, I know you can endure some slight discomfort for your finances.
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May 2, 2014 14:57
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Nocheez posted:Haha, I'm in a similar situation. I'm debt free except for my mortgage, which I could pay off in about 2 years. I sold my car since I got a company car, and I was thinking of buying a roadster with some of the money from that. I'm still looking at the costs associated with keeping an extra car around, but I think the pleasure of an open top fun car will be worth it. If not, I could always sell it and recoup some money. I could probably argue that a motorcycle might be a good option assuming this is strictly for pleasure (and you're not adverse to motorcycling) + Motorcycle insurance is dirt cheap + Motorcycles hold their value very well if you buy used + Performance per dollar can't be beat + Storage/parking much easier + Cool motorcycle guy wave + Having owned both motorcycles and a miata, the motorcycle is a better pleasure vehicle in my opinion. - Upfront cost of gear - Consumables (tires especially) are proportionally more than a car. But if you're only riding a few thousand miles a year this is negligeable
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May 2, 2014 14:59
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tuyop posted:The great thing about eating out is that you have 100% control over whether or not you do it. You can survive if you miss lunch once in awhile, people have starved themselves to death for causes before, I know you can endure some slight discomfort for your finances.
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May 2, 2014 15:23
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Not a Children posted:I'm an idiot and didn't realize that I'd get a refund on my state income tax. Now I have $300 more than I budgeted for. The first thing that flashed through my mind when I saw the deposit on Mint was "Yesss now I finally have an excuse to buy a 3ds." I'm already set to meet my savings goals for this month, someone convince me that I should stop myself from blowing this windfall on video games. Getting in the habit of only blowing some fixed percentage of windfalls (50 or less) and allocating the rest to savings or loan repayment will work best for you long-term.
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May 2, 2014 15:23
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Nocheez posted:I have a used 3ds that I'm not using and some games and could stretch your money further than buying new If you have rune factory 4 come talk with me. Also on the real the 3ds is probably the most money efficient of all the current gaming systems. Hands down (excluding computers).
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May 2, 2014 16:57
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dreesemonkey posted:I could probably argue that a motorcycle might be a good option assuming this is strictly for pleasure (and you're not adverse to motorcycling) 
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May 2, 2014 18:39
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Grouco posted:I've been saving ~65-70% of my net income for the past 6 months for an emergency fund/student loan debt repayment, and I just spent 2hrs hemming and hawing over whether I should buy tickets too a music festival in July and a comedy show in September. Hell, I might even take my Dad to the comedy show since it's one if his favourite comedians. Dude it sounds like you're working hard and saving like a champ, it's okay to live your life a little bit lol. Paying down debt and saving boatloads of cash for the future is a great feeling but you can't completely forget about living your life and experiencing things right now. I like to do things by the book so I always save at least 20% of my paychecks, carry no debt except for my mortgage, and throw the rest in index funds. However, I'm also a bit of a gambling man and enjoy hitting a casino a couple of times a year with throwaway money to blow off steam and live a little. Otherwise what the gently caress are you working so hard for? If you're worrying that much I'll be the first to tell you that you won't even live long enough to see that retirement money if you don't take care of yourself today.
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May 2, 2014 18:49
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fruition posted:Otherwise what the gently caress are you working so hard for? I used to think like this. And to some extent, I still do, because I still like "things", but it's very possible to live a life where you simply work hard and save money to pay for the things that really matter, and they aren't "things" at all. The financial independence-seeking folks on this forum know what I'm talking about.
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May 2, 2014 22:27
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Nocheez posted:Haha, I'm in a similar situation. I'm debt free except for my mortgage, which I could pay off in about 2 years. I sold my car since I got a company car, and I was thinking of buying a roadster with some of the money from that. I'm still looking at the costs associated with keeping an extra car around, but I think the pleasure of an open top fun car will be worth it. If not, I could always sell it and recoup some money. SiGmA_X fucked around with this message at 23:40 on May 2, 2014 |
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May 2, 2014 23:37
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SiGmA_X posted:M coupe > M roadster. Just sayin. Get a clownshoe! (Or an M3, they have better suspension. Do it!) Not quite what I was thinking. I want a Miata
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May 3, 2014 04:40
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