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A reward for saving money is spending money  The reward for saving money is having it for your kids expenses and your wife not working. Or it is used to pay that debt away. If you want to spend money on the shitastic Detroit lions just call it what it is. As a lions fan my whole life there was nothing better than moving out of market and only having to watch them on thanksgiving.
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Aug 15, 2014 16:43
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spwrozek posted:A reward for saving money is spending money I feel like everyone harping on the football here is like recommending the living out of a van using a power inverter to cook hot dogs on an electric grill type of thing. I'm sorry if there aren't many football fans here, but hobbies and entertainment are generally things that other people think aren't worth it if they don't share the hobby. Plus Lions are going to the playoffs this year  (no seriously they have the talent and a new Superbowl experienced coach).
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Aug 15, 2014 16:51
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Knyteguy posted:I feel like everyone harping on the football here is like recommending the living out of a van using a power inverter to cook hot dogs on an electric grill type of thing. I'm sorry if there aren't many football fans here, but hobbies and entertainment are generally things that other people think aren't worth it if they don't share the hobby. We all have hobbies. Those of us not eyeballs deep in debt and without a child on the way have a little more leeway in spending on hobbies. The right thing to do would to be to save your fun-money for a couple months to pay for this completely unnecessary spending. Also, check out this graphic: http://i.imgur.com/nyizpSX.png You're spending roughly $10 a game for 11 minutes of action. I'm originally from Ohio and while I wish I could watch the Browns lose every week, I settle for watching the local games with an antenna and catch the highlights during halftimes. I can watch 6 games of NFL easily every week, plus another 10-12 college games. Getting your finances in order requires sacrifices. You have free options, why not use them?
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Aug 15, 2014 17:00
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My point is that you shouldn't reward yourself for saving. Plan expenses and call them what they are. Buying the package impacts your saving, only you can decide if that is OK. I honestly don't have an issue with the purchase. I just don't want you to think every month, 'hey we saved $3000, let's get a new _____!'. All of a sudden you saved $2000 and had a 10x increase in blow money. How I approach that $3000 saved is I look out a year and stash what I need to away for car insurance, ski passes, etc. Then I put the rest into debt repayment (student loans....). Also I hope the lions make the playoffs, we always find a way to blow it though man.... Always
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Aug 15, 2014 17:04
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Knyteguy posted:What should we do with this savings we have at the end of this month? Siphon it to the car to help get us out of being underwater on it? Dave Ramsey recommends having a $1k emergency fund, then paying off all debt, then saving up a fat 3-6mo expense emergency fund. The hospital/doctors will take interest free payments. I'd leave it all in savings. I thought you had a goal of like $18,000 in savings by the time the baby was born? When you say "savings" do you mean "money that is in my savings account in liquid cash form" or "money that I didn't spend that I threw at debt"? EDIT: I'm still on your side about the football package. I think not getting it will make you run the risk of spending more money trying to watch games. However if you do get it you should absolutely be watching every game from home and not spending money going out to catch a game. Don't double dip on it.
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Aug 15, 2014 17:10
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I'm with you on the football package Knyteguy but I honestly don't have any contributions based off facts, or my experience with having kids or anything like that. That said, I'd eat the interest on your car to have the security of savings because it seems really loving difficult to plan for a baby and how much said baby would cost, so keep the money in your savings for a bit and eat some interest. If everything goes super well, and you have leftover money then talk about dumping some of your savings into the car.
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Aug 15, 2014 17:28
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Doesn't the NFL let radio stations keep their streams broadcasting the games? If you really need to experience the game live, do it that way. Good enough for Grandpa, good enough for you.
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Aug 15, 2014 17:38
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Antifreeze Head posted:Doesn't the NFL let radio stations keep their streams broadcasting the games? If you really need to experience the game live, do it that way. The lions radio guys are pretty good too. I know they stream it through Sirius. I believe the NFL hasn't blocked online like mlb has because of mlb radio.
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Aug 15, 2014 18:17
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Nocheez posted:... Well because I did make a sacrifice here really. Instead of going with the Sunday Ticket app for ~$250.00 I'm using a VPN and cutting the expense down by 1/2. That means that I have to watch games on the computer or bother with running a long HDMI cord to the receiver. I almost got cable in July and this was my compromise like Bugamol was saying. Antenna: Since we use a projector television that takes a raw HDMI signal, we need an antenna -and- a digital converter box. It's still about $60.00 or so doing that. I didn't realize the average NFL game is structured like that image though, that's absurd. Still worth it! spwrozek posted:I honestly don't have an issue with the purchase. I just don't want you to think every month, 'hey we saved $3000, let's get a new _____!'. All of a sudden you saved $2000 and had a 10x increase in blow money. I won't do that. It's not so much as a reward as it has been an exercise in delayed gratification. Also I'm spending my time learning how to create Windows 8 mobile applications right now, so I'm going to try to release 1-2 small utility applications a month. It's a niche market with few developers so there is room to make money, and Microsoft also has some good incentive programs (so does Amazon for their new Fire phone). I'm going to try to pay for the football with that. Try is the keyword here though. Couple last points: 1) OK we will hold onto the money in case of kid stuff, thanks. Bugamol when I say savings right now I mean completely liquid assets. I figure it is pointless to have any real savings until we're debt free or all of it is very low interest. 2) I will also consider the radio. We don't have satellite radio, but when we did I liked listening to games pretty much just as much. NFL has a radio package for fairly cheap, or apparently you guys are saying there's a free alternative agreement or something. I will look into that. Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 18:48 on Aug 15, 2014 |
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Aug 15, 2014 18:43
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If I recall you can just go to 97.1 the ticket and listen.
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Aug 15, 2014 18:54
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Knyteguy posted:Well because I did make a sacrifice here really. Instead of going with the Sunday Ticket app for ~$250.00 I'm using a VPN and cutting the expense down by 1/2. That means that I have to watch games on the computer or bother with running a long HDMI cord to the receiver. I almost got cable in July and this was my compromise like Bugamol was saying. Sacrifice usually means going without. I have no issues with you spending your fun money on what you want, but maybe instead of buying a Kindle you could have taken that money and saved it towards the expense of your hobby?
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Aug 15, 2014 18:55
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Jesus Christ. You're treating the guy like he's $200,000 in debt and making $10/hr. Is his situation perfect? Absolutely not. Does he need to reign in his superfluous spending? Absolutely. Does he need to be thinking about the future with a baby coming and a possible change in income dynamic? Absolutely. Should he be savings more towards retirement? Depends on when he wants to retire. But we're talking about $130 for a guy whose currently taking home ~$63,600/yr. I'm assuming you never spend any money on anything that isn't an absolute necessity right Nocheez?
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Aug 15, 2014 19:02
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spwrozek posted:If I recall you can just go to 97.1 the ticket and listen. Hm OK I found their website. I'll give this a try for the first game of the season thanks for the tip. Nocheez posted:Sacrifice usually means going without. I have no issues with you spending your fun money on what you want, but maybe instead of buying a Kindle you could have taken that money and saved it towards the expense of your hobby? Well the problem I have with this logic is how far does one sacrifice? I sacrificed 1,400 square feet of home by moving into a smaller apartment, which is plagued with (harmless) spiders, air conditioning that has already broken twice, out of home laundry facilities, it's more unsafe, I have to worry about our things getting stolen because the neighborhood sucks a little more. I sacrified a 10 minute one way commute for a commute that takes me at least 30 minutes one way now, and usually it's longer than that. We sacrificed one of our vehicles. I sacrificed my cool new video game system. Those are sacrificial steps we've taken since May to better our financial situation. It's why I'm being so hardheaded about a couple things. There's almost always room to sacrifice, but everyone has their limits. ^^ Thanks Bugamol.
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Aug 15, 2014 19:04
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Further to football on the radio, you can take a crack at paper scorekeeping (if it is something you don't already do). It isn't quite as easy to get everything down on paper as it is with baseball, but you end up with a pretty deep understanding of the game. If I'm not physically at a game, I tend to remember it much better and even get considerably more entertainment out it for the cost of a couple sheets of paper and a pencil. There are plenty of guides online and here's a sample sheet to get you started: http://www.donwadewitz.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Football-Stat-Sheet.pdf
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Aug 15, 2014 19:19
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Bugamol posted:
Of course I do, but I have zero debt (except an above-water mortgage) and am not expecting children any time soon. What I'm talking about is changing the way Knyte looks at his finances. It's OK to spend $130 on your fun stuff, but it should be part of your fun money budget. It's better than blowing $250 or whatever the higher amount was, but he's got a very important life-changing event about to hit. It's going to wreck havoc on his marriage, his personal life, his sleep, and his finances. With just a few months left before the wee baby arrives, I would be in emergency saving mode. I would be putting every penny towards knocking out debt or saving for the eventual costs that are going to be incurred. But that's just me, I'm a person who plans for the worst and hopes for the best. Knyteguy posted:Well the problem I have with this logic is how far does one sacrifice? You keep sacrificing until your head is above water. You keep sacrificing until you are out of debt, and you have a good retirement and emergency savings. You keep sacrificing until your child's needs are met. When you are in debt, it means that you spent more than you could made. With that comes increased interest payments, and that means less money in the future. You're going to have to make tough decisions and cut out unnecessary expenses until you pay back for the lifestyle you enjoyed previously. Yes, you've had to make some tough cuts already but you still have room to go. Do it for your family's future. Nocheez fucked around with this message at 19:38 on Aug 15, 2014 |
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Aug 15, 2014 19:23
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Knyteguy posted:Well because I did make a sacrifice here really. Instead of going with the Sunday Ticket app for ~$250.00 I'm using a VPN and cutting the expense down by 1/2. However, I want to point out that your attitude is ridiculous. This is the way people are seeing your insistence on what is absolutely a luxury expense: "Instead of buying a Ferrari, I bought a 2-year old Porche and cut the expense by half!" You don't get to say you want X expensive thing and then any sort of substitute is a "sacrifice" you made because you don't get X. Even if you reaaaaaaaally really want it. That's not how this works. Budget for it in your blow, and realize that the bigger your blow category, the less you'll be putting away for debt and for your child. And yes, Bugamol, if I had less than 10k in savings and a child on the way, I would be getting rid of every single hobby that costs me money, and adopting hobbies that pay me money. No question about it.
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Aug 15, 2014 20:00
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Knyteguy posted:There's almost always room to sacrifice, but everyone has their limits. I'm in the camp of "pay to watch football if it keeps you sane," but what a lot of people are saying in various ways is that you should seriously consider every purchase you make, if you really need it, and if there are cheaper (or free) alternatives. I know you know this, but sometimes when you post you give off a vibe that makes us think you're ignoring the idea and justifying purchases by simply thinking, "I was good and didn't buy the most expensive thing." There are certainly completely free ways to keep up with football. I know listening to the radio isn't as good as watching a stream, which isn't as good as having cable, which isn't as good as paying for the premium packages. There's an entire gamut there that runs from paying almost nothing to paying hundreds of dollars a month. This is true for most things in life, and where you fit along the gamut if completely up to you. Maybe eating that one-time-per-season $150 fee is what works best for you, but try to imagine the future where you don't buy it. Will you be truly unhappy? How much of your happiness actually hinges on watching football live on television or the computer? Maybe it's a lot, and that's okay. Everybody needs a form of catharsis, and maybe this is yours. But consider that every dollar you save, every single one, betters the future of your family.
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Aug 15, 2014 20:38
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moana posted:And yes, Bugamol, if I had less than 10k in savings and a child on the way, I would be getting rid of every single hobby that costs me money, and adopting hobbies that pay me money. No question about it. Have you ever had to do this? Did you do it? Did you stick to it? For the majority of people the "Cold Turkey" approach is probably going to fail. I fully 100% agree that Knyteguy justifies too many "1 time expenses" and it's why he ends up spending all of his money. However I don't believe CUT ALL SPENDING LIVE IN BOX is the right solution either. I think he's in a comfortable enough place income wise that just making smart choices with his spending will get him back on track. I was under the impression the nfl package was coming out of the entertainment or blow budget. Maybe I read that incorrectly. You definitely shouldn't be adding a line item to your budget to pay for it.
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Aug 15, 2014 20:40
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Bugamol posted:Have you ever had to do this? Did you do it? Did you stick to it? For the majority of people the "Cold Turkey" approach is probably going to fail. I fully 100% agree that Knyteguy justifies too many "1 time expenses" and it's why he ends up spending all of his money. However I don't believe CUT ALL SPENDING LIVE IN BOX is the right solution either. I think he's in a comfortable enough place income wise that just making smart choices with his spending will get him back on track. The thing that jumps out to me, though, is that his stated goal is to retire by 40, but his actions don't reflect that. Also, my wife and I did cut fun money spending cold-turkey until we were out of CC debt at least, and I think doing the drastic cuts helps minimize the small rationalizations that can occur if you try to scale back slowly. I do fully acknowledge that it may not work for everyone.
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Aug 15, 2014 21:21
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Bugamol posted:Have you ever had to do this? Did you do it? Did you stick to it?
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Aug 15, 2014 21:40
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moana posted:You're talking to the wrong person, my last hobby (writing) turned into a six-figure career. Most of the stuff I do for fun I end up teaching for profit. I just hate to spend money on things due to growing up poor. But then again, I love cheap stuff like reading and gardening. Knyteguy isn't naturally frugal, and if he wants to get out of debt and retire early he needs to change his underlying attitude more than he needs to cut specific items imo. Then, with no experience, why are you telling someone who clearly has a spending problem to "just get over it bro"?
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Aug 15, 2014 22:53
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Bugamol posted:Then, with no experience, why are you telling someone who clearly has a spending problem to "just get over it bro"? It's like a class. If you dick around the first half of the semester, you're going to have to work harder than even the A+ students in the second half to pull out a decent grade. Being in big debt for a car with little savings means you've done the dicking around bit, so now if you want to catch up in time* you have to try unusually hard, moreso than even superfrügs. Keep in mind we're talking about the savings targets that KnyteGuy has set for himself here, not ones we're trying to unilaterally impose on him. He's trying to save $15,000 in 7 months. That's a very aggressive goal! * in this case, the deadline is the birth, and maybe whatever his grandma said about the extra money she was gonna give them Cicero fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Aug 15, 2014 |
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Aug 15, 2014 23:47
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KG, didn't you just cut your rent literally in half? Most of this other poo poo is small potatoes in comparison. Just keep being honest about your spending here so you get some perspective on when you might be crossing the line.
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Aug 15, 2014 23:58
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Cicero posted:...are you suggesting KnyteGuy is so addicted to spending he just can't stop himself? From his spending habits when he made a thread 3 years ago and so far in this thread that's exactly what I'm saying. The PS4, Kindle, etc are all prime examples of it. I think he's getting better, but still has a major problem with GIVE ME NOW. Like trying to be a washing machine for his apartment after doing 1 load of laundry and the laundromat and decided it was too much.
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Aug 16, 2014 00:36
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Inverse Icarus posted:Maybe it's a lot, and that's okay. Everybody needs a form of catharsis, and maybe this is yours. But consider that every dollar you save, every single one, betters the future of your family. Noted thank you. You're right that every dollar matters. slap me silly posted:KG, didn't you just cut your rent literally in half? Most of this other poo poo is small potatoes in comparison. Just keep being honest about your spending here so you get some perspective on when you might be crossing the line. I/we did yes. We're paying 47% of the rent we used to (~$800/1560). Definitely will keep posting the Monday spending updates and the monthly budget plans. Bugamol posted:From his spending habits when he made a thread 3 years ago and so far in this thread that's exactly what I'm saying. The PS4, Kindle, etc are all prime examples of it. I think he's getting better, but still has a major problem with GIVE ME NOW. Like trying to be a washing machine for his apartment after doing 1 load of laundry and the laundromat and decided it was too much. Er I was waiting to chip in until I got off work (which I'll still do), but my wife does laundry not me, and a chunk of that consideration was financial. We got a drying rack at Target for like $10 and an iron for $10 so it was win-win. I do have a problem with impulse purchases, but yes I am also getting much better at saying no to random poo poo that I suddenly think would be fun to have or whatever. I don't necessarily think that I'm ready to drop almost all excess spending yet either. I think I can do that and achieve that very soon, though. I'll put the football stuff on hold until we meet our goal of $4,500 total saved by the end of this month, and when I'm ready to draw up the next budget. Until then (~September 1) it's not even certain that the goal will be met, so no point in wasting all of your time and energy  . Cicero I like the class analogy. I definitely lean more to the side of procrastination.Edit: and just to make it clear, Bugamol I think you're right to an extent. I make impulsive decisions like you say, but I can also control them if I want to like Cicero says. Except for the Kindle because that wasn't a bad decision.  Still black on the budget categories.
Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 00:59 on Aug 16, 2014 |
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Aug 16, 2014 00:53
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I know the footbaww thing has been beaten over and over, but I just wanted to point out two things: 1 - I got NFL gamepass and it was $80 (IIRC) and that includes the playoffs. Is that what you're getting KG and why the different price?  2 - This graph is bullshit. Gamepass lets you watch games in a "fast forward" mode that includes almost entirely action and each game usually lasts 20-30 minutes. I'd love to see where their claim of 11 minutes comes from (I suspect they cherry-picked one especially horrible game). Those are mostly minor niggles. The people emphasizing to make sure that these sorts of things come out of your blow category - and not some special reward category - are spot on. We're not saying don't buy it, we're saying buy it using your blow cash and stop adding on extras.
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Aug 16, 2014 01:51
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My Rhythmic Crotch posted:I know the footbaww thing has been beaten over and over, but I just wanted to point out two things: Erm not sure I tried an array of VPNs and that was the cheapest I could find w/ playoffs. Did you go without playoffs? I could go with the team only plan without playoffs and save maybe $30.00. Problem is I would have to get an antenna and digi converter box to watch anything else but my team, which I'd enjoy. Category: What I mean is I'm going to categorize as probably entertainment, but I'm still going to make some room for other entertainment in the month. A little buzzed business talk: I've decided that I'm going to start a business in September. Beyond Millionaire Fastlane and the concise business plan moana posted does anyone have a resource I should consider? I want to go legit and get a business license. I've had this on my mind for awhile now I just haven't talked about it with Goons yet. The only business I've lost money on was my first, and that's only because I quit an hourly job that would have paid more than I ended up making/week. I still made money. One business had a weekly ROI of about 1000%, another segued me into my current job from poo poo $12/hr warehouse jobs. I expect it to cost about $200.00 to get a business license and open a business checking (go legit), which is something I should have now, even without expanding horizons further. Anyway a lot of you guys are right regarding my impulse purchases. It's really stupid, but all I could think about was buying poo poo on the way home tonight. However I'm making progress, because I never considered actually going and buying it. I would have thrown caution to the wind and bought something tonight before. 
Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 16:02 on Aug 16, 2014 |
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Aug 16, 2014 06:59
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It's fine to think about buying (dumb) stuff, I do it all the time. I kind of use it as a filter; if the idea of buying a particular thing pops up repeatedly, then it's probably worth thinking more seriously about getting it. If it pops up once or twice and I never think about it again, well, guess I didn't really need/want it. I don't really know anything about running a business but $200 to 'go legit' sounds fine if you're really confident your business can generate serious money.
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Aug 16, 2014 07:05
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Knyteguy posted:A little buzzed business talk:
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Aug 16, 2014 07:33
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Cicero posted:I don't really know anything about running a business but $200 to 'go legit' sounds fine if you're really confident your business can generate serious money. Can't you wait and see if you get 200-300 bucks from it first, and if you do (which, as you pointed out, shouldn't be a problem), and then buy the business license with the proceeds? Though I don't really understand how you'll have the time once the baby comes.
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Aug 16, 2014 07:42
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Yeah, wait until after you have the baby before deciding on anything like that.
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Aug 16, 2014 12:29
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So I guess the problem I have is that the budget where you've broken everything down to a ton of categories is great to look at how you are spending money, but looking forward it's a terrible way to *save* money. I think for people that have spending issues doing a bunch of categories just gives them the opportunity to waste money on a wide range of things they don't really need. Here is my perspective on a more rational budget. Using made up numbers because it's a PITA to look at yours specifically. Income: $4k/month Rent: $1000 - no choice you gotta live somewhere Food / Household Goods: $400 Insurance / Phone / Internet: $300 Debt: $300 Ok so that's $2000 in fixed costs you have to pay every month to exist. Now, what is your savings goal? $1000/month? Ok that comes out next. This leaves you with $1000 to do whatever with. In your situation ideally you're saving that as well. With this perspective there is no question whether or not you make whatever your savings goal is. Fixed costs, then savings, then everything else. I think this forum can be great for figuring out what your fixed expenses should be and what your savings/debt payoff strategies should be. It's terrible when it comes to purchases that are not fixed costs and not savings. I think it's ironic that in the Cornholio thread he fought and fought to keep the drat car, and you've barely fought at all yet nobody seems to mind a $26,000 loan at 10% interest. Come up with a way to own a $5000 car with no debt and you'll have lifted a huge burden off yourself financially. Your business for the next few months should be: how do I sell this car and get a $5,000 car.
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Aug 16, 2014 14:33
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moana posted:What license are you talking about? Like, getting an LLC established? Yeah if you have a d.b.a. you don't need some expensive license unless there is some local regulation that I haven't heard of- I run my own business(used to be just personal training but now also livery car service). That sounds silly. What you need is a product or service and to be able to sell it to three customers. One or two can be a fluke but three will get you there. May I suggest some of Ramit Sethis stuff on starting a business(he wrote I will teach you to be rich)- it is excellent.
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Aug 16, 2014 16:01
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Knyteguy posted:Past behavior isn't always a sign of future behavior. I would probably be dead right now if life always followed that logic. I just wanted to point out that this is a terribly bratty thing for an adult man to say. C'mon man, don't make excuses with flimsy logic like this, reacting all defensively when you yourself have admitted you are bad at this stuff. Sure, you have the capacity for change, but the only barometer we have right now is your past behavior regarding spending, which has not been stellar. Just suck it up and admit you have not been very disciplined, that it'll take some work to improve and accept that some people may be skeptical due to your track record - it's your behavior that made them skeptical in the first place!
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Aug 16, 2014 16:10
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Cicero posted:It's fine to think about buying (dumb) stuff, I do it all the time. I kind of use it as a filter; if the idea of buying a particular thing pops up repeatedly, then it's probably worth thinking more seriously about getting it. If it pops up once or twice and I never think about it again, well, guess I didn't really need/want it. Well that's reassuring that I'm not the only one. Consumerism is annoying when I become cognizant of it. moana posted:What license are you talking about? Like, getting an LLC established? Yes, but maybe a sole proprietorship since it is cheaper. Horking Delight posted:Can't you wait and see if you get 200-300 bucks from it first, and if you do (which, as you pointed out, shouldn't be a problem), and then buy the business license with the proceeds? Edit: That said? Sure I think that waiting to make a little money is a great idea. I'll do that. White Chocolate: Thanks I will try to find that book. D.b.a. is what I generally rely on, but again I think it could have me at risk from the city who still wants a license. I'll throw my own resource out there for SAAS which can turn into passive income: http://businessofsoftware.org/2013/02/gail-goodman-constant-contact-how-to-negotiate-the-long-slow-saas-ramp-of-death/ (scroll down for video) Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 16:42 on Aug 16, 2014 |
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Aug 16, 2014 16:19
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n8r posted:So I guess the problem I have is that the budget where you've broken everything down to a ton of categories is great to look at how you are spending money, but looking forward it's a terrible way to *save* money. I think for people that have spending issues doing a bunch of categories just gives them the opportunity to waste money on a wide range of things they don't really need. Here is my perspective on a more rational budget. Using made up numbers because it's a PITA to look at yours specifically. If you think a summary like that would make it easier to see what is going on then I can do that in the thread. Would have to add pets in there though, since I consider them a cost that can't be avoided. Car talk: well one route here would be to get the car out from underwater ASAP, and then follow the car advice from earlier in the thread - post high and slowly lower the price of the car every month or so. I would be happy to take x% of the business profits and put it solely towards the car to help with that goal. I'd like to reiterate that I'm not in anyway attached to this thing. With that said I also think it would be unwise to use liquid cash from our income to help further this goal because of what everyone else was saying - mainly there is a baby on the way and eating the interest is something we'll need to deal with right now.
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Aug 16, 2014 16:26
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StrangersInTheNight posted:I just wanted to point out that this is a terribly bratty thing for an adult man to say. C'mon man, don't make excuses with flimsy logic like this, reacting all defensively when you yourself have admitted you are bad at this stuff. Sure, you have the capacity for change, but the only barometer we have right now is your past behavior regarding spending, which has not been stellar. Just suck it up and admit you have not been very disciplined, that it'll take some work to improve and accept that some people may be skeptical due to your track record - it's your behavior that made them skeptical in the first place! Totally am aware of those things and I will readily admit them. If I put out an impression other than, then that was not my intention. I feel that Antifreeze was being a little hyperbolic there though. It discounts that we have changed our situation drastically in the past two months, and that all of the money that we have saved right now is from the past two months at a savings rate of $126.00/day this month, and $83.00/day for the past 2 months. Last month our rent was more than twice as much. If we could have saved that then we're at $96.00/day. Am I a disciplined bad rear end saving machine right now? No. Can I be? Absolutely. Have we been doing really well with our savings goals this month and last? Yes. Before that? No. Do I get defensive easily? I can yes. I don't know if anything I say is ever "bratty" though. Based off our previous history will we be successful? No. Does that mean we're doomed to fail? Of course not. The situation is a lot more complicated than "Well looking at your past history you should have $4k saved up when the baby gets here. Welp hope that's enough!". I thought my one phrase conveyed that complication well enough, and it's a phrase I like. I'm not writing off what s/he's saying either though. JanusOwl my wife wants to start posting in the thread again, so if anyone has any questions for her please feel free to ask. Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 16:46 on Aug 16, 2014 |
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Aug 16, 2014 16:39
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Knyteguy posted:If you think a summary like that would make it easier to see what is going on then I can do that in the thread. Would have to add pets in there though, since I consider them a cost that can't be avoided. I think it will help you budget in a much more reasonable fashion because it will prioritize your budget items. Making sure you have enough money for rent and food is far more important than having money for your $100 entertainment budget. The way you are budgeting now has very little in the way of prioritization. I think if you want to include dog food in your fixed costs line that'd be fine. You should have enough left over to cover most dog related expenses out of your left over non-saved non-budgeted items. The way for this to really work is that you try like hell to underspend your non-fixed/non-saved money. This should help you prioritize what is important to spend money on in a per month basis. Let's just say you've got $1000 of left over money, you will still want to budget and prioritize that money. If you go spending $900 of it the first day this methodology will do you no good. I think you should look into refinancing your car loan with a local credit union. You should also look into refinancing your credit card debt as well.
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Aug 16, 2014 17:02
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Knyteguy posted:Yes, but maybe a sole proprietorship since it is cheaper. You probably have already, but be sure to read up on the different times of corporations you can start. There's a reason it's cheaper. Sole proprietorships have virtually no liability protection, and you are personally on the hook for any legal action, claims, and debts against the business. If poo poo goes sideways and you don't have the liability shielding of an LLC or corporation, they'll come right after you and your family's money. I know it seems stupid, especially if your business is writing apps or something like that, but poo poo happens, and Americans love to sue.
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Aug 16, 2014 17:36
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n8r posted:I think it will help you budget in a much more reasonable fashion because it will prioritize your budget items. Making sure you have enough money for rent and food is far more important than having money for your $100 entertainment budget. The way you are budgeting now has very little in the way of prioritization. I get what you're saying with the leftover money. To do this with YNAB we just used to put optional spending at 0 for psychological effect. A credit union may refinance; my score has gone up quite a bit. Gonna try to get the thing paid off ASAP though. Inverse Icarus posted:You probably have already, but be sure to read up on the different times of corporations you can start. There's a reason it's cheaper. Sole proprietorships have virtually no liability protection, and you are personally on the hook for any legal action, claims, and debts against the business. Funny you mention that: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2803713&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=634#post433488558 (A guy came after me trying to sue me while I was operating a business as a sole proprietor).
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Aug 16, 2014 19:10
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