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If you want to get grumpy, get grumpy over two people spending $500/month on groceries and $500 on 'discretionary' spending. This is while they are in debt rather significantly and expecting a child.
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Sep 26, 2014 07:27
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Everybody's different, but I've broken my budget down to the following categories. I've found it to be helpful when doing analyses to help me feel better about where my money is going. Monthly Bills - This is where fixed recurring bills go. Any adjustments here tend to be long-term. I don't roll these over, because they're always the same. Monthly Consumables - Groceries, home maintenance, pets, medical, transportation, etc. Stuff that could vary month to month, and that can be trimmed back if need be. These roll over if I can. Quality of Life - Restaurants, clothing, home improvement, furniture, hobbies, and allowances. These roll over. Many of them are padded funds for when a bigger ticket comes along. Travel & Activities - Both monthly budget and savings for big trips. These definitely roll over. I've been saving for snowboarding lessons all year. Savings & Large Expenses - Emergency, retirement, baby, immigration, etc. Long term goals and big one-time expenses. Definitely roll over. Giving - Monthly charity contributions, and also $20/month for gifts so that when I realize oh poo poo it's my nephew's birthday in a few weeks, I can go buy some LEGO and not sweat it. These are roll overs. This is how I live to a budget and not to a bank account. It doesn't matter where "baby savings" is physically located, because it's a number on a spreadsheet. My on-budget bank accounts add up to the amount the budget says I have available, but the individual accounts don't matter. Does that make sense? It's also how I can (finally) use a credit card and not worry about going insane about it like I used to do. When I spend on the credit card, it's put to a budget category, same as if I spent with debit or cash. I pay the balance the day I get the statement, because I have the money to do so. If I didn't, then it wouldn't have been budgeted (I budget a month ahead, so I already have the money I allocate). A credit card, I've finally learned, is a tool to use the money I already have, not a crutch to borrow from my future. The biggest advantage to my breakdown for me is that when I feel like I'm working for my bills and have nothing to show for it, I can go to the spending analysis and see how much went to Quality of Life and Travel. Quite a bit as it turns out. So I don't need to sacrifice savings or vet bills in order to re-prioritize the subcategories within Quality of Life, or be more efficient with my travel. Another huge advantage is that I don't feel so bad taking from subcategories to beef up others within the same master category. Overall I feel comfortable with the long-term percentages of total income, so I don't sweat the small stuff. I really want some new furniture and haven't saved enough? Well, the restaurant fund has been growing, so let's take it from there. The master category allocations don't change too much, but the numbers within them might. Note: easier said than done. I've been getting sloppy about it and also borrowing from my future months. That's coming to an end soon, gonna get back on track. Old Fart fucked around with this message at 09:17 on Sep 26, 2014 |
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Sep 26, 2014 09:14
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The best budget is a budget you can stick to. It looks fine on paper, so if you can stick to this budget then this is the budget for you. I would really recommend putting your discretionary into cash, because that way you cannot go over. When it's gone, it's gone. But I would like to bring your attention back to this: LoreOfSerpents posted:Please look into selling/donating some of your clutter. Don't raise your kid to think it's normal for him to keep everything he owns. I was in a similar situation a few years back; we had a small house (800-ish square feet, 2 bedrooms) and it was mostly filled with sentimental items from our youth. My mom never did garage sales, so I still had most of my childhood toys, lots of Christmas ornaments, heirlooms from our grandparents, etc. Then we got a job offer in another city. We packed up all of our things, drove halfway across the country in the middle of winter... and someone stole our moving truck. Do this. Take fifteen minutes a day for you and Janus Owl to go through your clutter room and be utterly ruthless in getting rid of things. Don't take MORE than 15 minutes--use a timer and time it. That way you won't burn out. Believe me, I know how it can get. My mom and my husband's mom are constantly trying to unload their clutter on us, and for a long time we took it. However in the past few years we have reduced a clutter-filled room to one medium-sized box of mementos for each of us. If you do not LOVE something, don't keep it. And feeling sentimental about something is not loving it. DO NOT let your kid grow up thinking clutter/hoarding is a part of life. No judgment, that's how I finally got my butt in gear about it: my kid was on the way and I couldn't let him be born into a clutter-filled house. Everything about your kid's brain is enormously plastic for the first five years, and making an ordered environment for him is incredibly important. And... are you still drying your stuff in front of fans? Have you thought about drying them on a line on the porch? You live in Reno, it should be dry enough/warm enough to suck the water from your clothes fairly easily. Ugh. I don't want you to be Zaurg. Please don't be Zaurg. If you haven't read his threads all the way through, you should do it.
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Sep 26, 2014 13:53
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Quantum Finger posted:Do this. Take fifteen minutes a day for you and Janus Owl to go through your clutter room and be utterly ruthless in getting rid of things. Don't take MORE than 15 minutes--use a timer and time it. That way you won't burn out. Believe me, I know how it can get. My mom and my husband's mom are constantly trying to unload their clutter on us, and for a long time we took it. However in the past few years we have reduced a clutter-filled room to one medium-sized box of mementos for each of us. If you do not LOVE something, don't keep it. And feeling sentimental about something is not loving it. DO NOT let your kid grow up thinking clutter/hoarding is a part of life. No judgment, that's how I finally got my butt in gear about it: my kid was on the way and I couldn't let him be born into a clutter-filled house. Everything about your kid's brain is enormously plastic for the first five years, and making an ordered environment for him is incredibly important. quote:And... are you still drying your stuff in front of fans? Have you thought about drying them on a line on the porch? You live in Reno, it should be dry enough/warm enough to suck the water from your clothes fairly easily. Haifisch fucked around with this message at 16:24 on Sep 26, 2014 |
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Sep 26, 2014 16:22
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Haifisch posted:
I do currently use a drying rack for our pants and such and I hang all of our shirts on hangers along the shower curtain rod. I've only recently started using a fan in front of the drying rack because most of the time the pants wouldn't dry over night and I was trying to speed along the process. I like the drying rack because it doesn't take up too much room and the clothes don't get wrinkled.
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Sep 26, 2014 16:41
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Wife and I are currently sitting on knocking down the discretionary a little bit, will address that after we've given it more thought. 4 days left to finalize the budget so no big hurry. I'm definitely interested in getting rid of some clutter, and I'm going to read those websites linked. Many of the things in the room is stuff that may ever only be useful as clutter, even if there are many items of sentimental value. Just a couple things I'd like some input on if anyone has any: 1) Should we sell our bikes? They're really nice bikes (wife's is a Giant, mine is a Specialized), and we just put some work/money into replacing the tires, brake pads, tubes, grips, chain lube, etc. They don't get use much unfortunately, at least not at the moment. If we move I'll pretty much 100% be using mine to commute, however. 2) Freezer we bought last winter (featured in this thread) went out due to the summer heat. Have to toss that, unless anyone has a better idea? Would this be worth a donation? It outlived its usefulness for us anyway since we no longer have a roommate who needs freezer space too (so not worth a repair). 3) Got a spare TV. We may want a second tv in our house sometime, and it's a nice 3D plasma 51" 1080p. Thoughts on whether to sell or keep for later? The bikes at least make it difficult to organize the clutter room, due to awkward shaping. They're too nice to leave outside to rust. Would be really cool to be able to turn the second bedroom into either a nursery, or an office/quiet room. Pet free of course. I'm willing to try harder to make what we have work. Side note is for the last day (or two?) our master bedroom smells like something... damp and I'm a little worried about mold. The place is spotless in every nook since there's not a lot to it, so it's not coming from a thing. It smells kind of like wet paint? Anyone have experience with such a thing? I can ask in another forum if it might fit better there. I'm going to pick up a mold tester kit tonight, and if it's positive for anything dangerous all bets are off. Again I'm positive it isn't due to our housekeeping, or the animals, or anything like that. Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 19:46 on Sep 26, 2014 |
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Sep 26, 2014 19:42
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Anybody else surprised there's suddenly an immediate and serious reason to move? Nobody? Ok that's what I thought.
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Sep 26, 2014 19:50
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Josh Wow posted:Anybody else surprised there's suddenly an immediate and serious reason to move? Nobody? Ok that's what I thought. You're looking for motivations where there aren't any. Look at the post I just wrote as a whole: I'm not looking for a way to get out of this place - I'm looking for a way to stay in it. Edit: did a little more research and it looks like the most like culprit is dirty air ducts. I'll call apartment maintenance and see if they'll clean them. If the smell goes away we're probably good. Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 20:08 on Sep 26, 2014 |
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Sep 26, 2014 19:54
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Knyteguy posted:1) Should we sell our bikes? They're really nice bikes (wife's is a Giant, mine is a Specialized), and we just put some work/money into replacing the tires, brake pads, tubes, grips, chain lube, etc. They don't get use much unfortunately, at least not at the moment. If we move I'll pretty much 100% be using mine to commute, however.  Looking at Reno's climate, looks like depending on your heat tolerance you should be able to bike 8-10 months out of the year during the day, and any month in the morning/evening, is that right? quote:3) Got a spare TV. We may want a second tv in our house sometime, and it's a nice 3D plasma 51" 1080p. Thoughts on whether to sell or keep for later? quote:The bikes at least make it difficult to organize the clutter room, due to awkward shaping. They're too nice to leave outside to rust.
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Sep 26, 2014 20:08
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Cicero posted:Just start using them? Biking is good for your health, it's energizing, and it's frugal. I also think it's a great activity with a toddler, but we can talk about that later. 1) Yes I'd say that's probably about right on the climate. Good point we should make an effort to ride them rather than sell them. 2) Agreed - definitely don't need to be watching more television. Might get $300 out of it, that'd be nice. 3) Hah I didn't even know such a thing existed. I probably wouldn't mind finding a place for the bikes in our living room if they didn't have to take up ~4 cubic feet a piece. I'll keep an eye out on Craigslist. Thanks. Clutter wise then I just gotta figure out what to do with my telescope(s). I didn't get a single bite when I tried selling my bigger one last time. I might just donate it to free up room. That could make some kid's year if they were interested in such a thing. Probably will keep the smaller one for my own kid to learn/explorer with.
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Sep 26, 2014 20:29
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The fact that you have an EXTRA 51" 3D 1080P TV speaks volumes of your life/lifestyle/and current situation. What size is your "primary" TV? Also "bad smell" -> "black mold" -> "we might have to move" in the span of one thought process also speaks volumes of your life/lifestyle/and current situation.
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Sep 26, 2014 20:42
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You have a huge TV that you're not using? Jesus. You know what to do! On the other hand, keep the bikes unless you can't stand it. There are a lot of possible things going on with the AC before you start looking for mold in the ducts. You maybe just need to replace the filter. See if the condensate drain is blocked, too. Maybe the coils need to be cleaned.
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Sep 26, 2014 21:09
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Knyteguy posted:1) Should we sell our bikes? You should already know what MMM would say to this. Sell your spare TV.
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Sep 26, 2014 21:11
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Knyteguy posted:3) Hah I didn't even know such a thing existed. I probably wouldn't mind finding a place for the bikes in our living room if they didn't have to take up ~4 cubic feet a piece. I'll keep an eye out on Craigslist.
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Sep 26, 2014 21:32
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Sell tv, keep the bikes. Pop quiz, what will you do with the money you make on the TV? e: Is your porch not covered? I can hardly imagine your bikes getting rusty in Reno between now and when you move (when your lease is up).
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Sep 26, 2014 21:42
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You currently have a second room that you're not using as an office?
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Sep 26, 2014 22:19
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Bugamol posted:The fact that you have an EXTRA 51" 3D 1080P TV speaks volumes of your life/lifestyle/and current situation. What size is your "primary" TV? I'm a lot more nervous with my wife being pregnant. I forced her to take my spot near the open window in the bedroom last night just in case there was some sort of danger. It was kind of funny waking up and just seeing a nose sticking out from the blankets (it gets pretty cold here at night). Quantum Finger posted:Sell tv, keep the bikes. Pop quiz, what will you do with the money you make on the TV? It's not covered enough to keep the snow off unfortunately. Alright so we'll sell the TV, I'll trash the freezer, and I'll donate the telescope. I'll add that bike rack to our 30-day list we've been keeping on our fridge. Money... well maybe we can use some of it to rent a truck and haul some of the other stuff away to the dump/donation (that we've been planning on trashing even before thinking of taking on the clutter room), and as for the rest... maybe I'll open that joint house down payment savings account with Gma and that can be our initial deposit. Just saw this tip on Facebook of all places, and I think I'm going to start doing this: I'm going to stop paying for all premade beverages*. Not only will this allow me to increase my water intake, but we'll save money in the process. Just good all around. * Only exception here is beer. I like beer, and I try to drink cheap beer. edit: dump and donation, not just dump Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 22:39 on Sep 26, 2014 |
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Sep 26, 2014 22:28
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Knyteguy posted:Wife and I are currently sitting on knocking down the discretionary a little bit, will address that after we've given it more thought. 4 days left to finalize the budget so no big hurry. Knyte: Hey thread, I want to say screw budgeting and rent a bigger place. Thread: No, Knyte, you need to learn to make a budget and stick to it before you take on more than you can handle. Knyte: Oh no, thread, there's a funny smell in a small apartment with 2 people and 5 animals. EJECT!! EJECT!! EJECT!!!
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Sep 26, 2014 23:05
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Wait. You have a two-bedroom apartment, and one room is just filled with random poo poo. And you are unsure about whether you should clear out said room so that your child can have a nursery? Get rid of your poo poo.
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Sep 26, 2014 23:21
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Knyteguy posted:* Only exception here is beer. I like beer, and I try to drink cheap beer. For your own health, maybe stop drinking beer for a while, Mr. Button Popper. It's honestly one of the worst things for you from a calorie/overall health standpoint. Inept fucked around with this message at 23:38 on Sep 26, 2014 |
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Sep 26, 2014 23:36
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Knyteguy posted:Money... well maybe we can use some of it to rent a truck and haul some of the other stuff away to the dump/donation (that we've been planning on trashing even before thinking of taking on the clutter room) Don't tent a truck. Post whatever you don't want on Craigslist or whatever is popular around you, and people will show up to your house and take it away. Even a broken freezer. There are people who will take pretty much anything if you're giving it away, and for the nicer stuff you can make some quick cash.
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Sep 26, 2014 23:40
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Inept posted:For your own health, maybe stop drinking beer for a while, Mr. Button Popper. It's honestly one of the worst things for you from a calorie/overall health standpoint. Drinking calories if the quickest way to get fat, and it's the hardest part about staying healthy for me personally. I used to drink way too much soda and beer. It was cleaning out my wallet and filling up my pants.
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Sep 26, 2014 23:42
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facey fred posted:Wait. You have a two-bedroom apartment, and one room is just filled with random poo poo. And you are unsure about whether you should clear out said room so that your child can have a nursery?
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Sep 26, 2014 23:53
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Knyteguy posted:It's not covered enough to keep the snow off unfortunately. How much of the year is it snowing? Tarp + bike stand will keep the worst of it off.
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Sep 27, 2014 00:33
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Cicero posted:Having a room filled with random crap is dumb, but a baby having an entire room of its own is also dumb (unless you have tons of space). Roomful of baby is better than a roomful of random crap. Babies also tend to come with a lot of their own poo poo so it'd be good to have a room to put it in. Get rid of your useless poo poo, KG.
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Sep 27, 2014 00:40
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slap me silly posted:There are a lot of possible things going on with the AC before you start looking for mold in the ducts. You maybe just need to replace the filter. See if the condensate drain is blocked, too. Maybe the coils need to be cleaned. Hm not too sure what this stuff is except for the filter. Research time this weekend. Engineer Lenk posted:How much of the year is it snowing? Tarp + bike stand will keep the worst of it off. Well first snow happened last night up in the mountains, and I've seen it snow as last as June here, so it's hard to say. Generally I'd say about 4-6 months of the season are prone to snow. Inept posted:For your own health, maybe stop drinking beer for a while, Mr. Button Popper. It's honestly one of the worst things for you from a calorie/overall health standpoint. Haha it took me a second to figure out what button popper meant, dammit. But yea good point. Not quite ready to commit to going beer free for social reasons. Maybe I'll take a 3 month break when the baby is born to get rid of all the empty calories. Hell maybe even longer as like I said before fitness is definitely my next step after financials. Don't want to to die a preventable early death. Quantum Finger posted:Roomful of baby is better than a roomful of random crap. Babies also tend to come with a lot of their own poo poo so it'd be good to have a room to put it in. Yep I agree. I'm gonna talk it over with the wife and hopefully we can get started this weekend.
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Sep 27, 2014 00:55
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Some babies sleep much better in their own room after a month or so. And baby has "stuff" of its own. The idea that you already have a 2-bedroom and that's not enough is mind-boggling. Even if the kid doesn't get its own room --- how was that room not already your "business" office? For reference, I'm 5 months pregnant and we just moved this week into a two bedroom. But, even in my one bedroom in NYC, it's myself, my husband and an 80 lb. dog (who gets walked three times a day). I work full-time and have a side hustle business. He teaches and is a phd candidate with all the books and research papers that that entails. How are we able to do that with our space and you can't?
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Sep 27, 2014 04:15
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Knyteguy posted:Yep I agree. I'm gonna talk it over with the wife and hopefully we can get started this weekend. Take pictures and show us your progress. Don't be that goon who had his kids taken away because his hoarder trailer was one wrong step away from falling through the floor. (He got his act together, but you should probably not reach that point in the first place.)
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Sep 27, 2014 14:14
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Knyteguy posted:Well first snow happened last night up in the mountains, and I've seen it snow as last as June here, so it's hard to say. Generally I'd say about 4-6 months of the season are prone to snow. What about accumulation? It looks like there are plenty of days where it might snow, but it also looks like it will melt in rather short order. So don't rule it out entirely. People in Winnipeg manage to ride their bikes to work all winter long and while I wouldn't recommend doing it, it is indeed something that is possible. And if you want to argue that snow where you are is somehow worse than it is in Winnipeg, I humbly invite you to gently caress yourself sideways with a chainsaw. But only if you already own one, don't go and buy one.
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Sep 27, 2014 15:41
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Quantum Finger posted:Take pictures and show us your progress. Don't be that goon who had his kids taken away because his hoarder trailer was one wrong step away from falling through the floor. (He got his act together, but you should probably not reach that point in the first place.) We're not THAT bad - outside of our clutter room which sucks. The areas we live in are very clean, and I would be comfortable with my baby around it no problem. But yea I took a couple before pictures that I'd probably be OK posting (as long as everyone understands our whole house isn't like that). Haifisch that UnFuckYourHabitat.com link you posted is pretty golden. Although we keep up on the housework, there's definitely some really good tips to keep everything spotless and making sure we hit some items that may not normally get hit (like the coffee maker reservoir). I really like the 20/10 rule too. That's good for me. Antifreeze Head posted:What about accumulation? It looks like there are plenty of days where it might snow, but it also looks like it will melt in rather short order. So don't rule it out entirely. Accumulation isn't too bad. There're definitely times where it's impossible to even get a car out of the driveway because it has snowed so much, but that's pretty rare. I'm not too worried about it though. By the time I'll actually need my bike for commuting I'll be able to walk to work as a worst case scenario, or just have my wife drop me off before she heads out.
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Sep 27, 2014 19:05
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The worst bad-with-money stories I ever heard were from when my husband used to work in self-storage. People hoard things for years, and pay thousands to store them, then end up getting their stuff sold because they can't afford the storage payments. Don't be that guy. I can't believe you're not making a nursery because you can't stand to get rid of your poo poo. How about this: move all of your poo poo into your main living spaces, then you'll get so sick of working around it you'll sell it or throw it away. "Our clutter room"?!?! JFC.
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Sep 27, 2014 19:47
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moana posted:The worst bad-with-money stories I ever heard were from when my husband used to work in self-storage. People hoard things for years, and pay thousands to store them, then end up getting their stuff sold because they can't afford the storage payments. Don't be that guy. ? We're getting rid of it right now. Got a car full of stuff we're taking to Goodwill after this post. Here's the "Before" picture:  Square things wrapped in blankets are paintings my wife has done throughout the years.
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Sep 27, 2014 20:03
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Okay, cool. What kinda cymbals you got there?
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Sep 27, 2014 20:13
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So, once your stuff is out of clutter room, would that be enough of an office for you to really have your side business?
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Sep 27, 2014 20:18
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moana posted:Okay, cool. What kinda cymbals you got there? Yea it's not too bad getting rid of a lot of it. Cymbals are Sabian XS20 series high hat, ride, crash, and 1 additional ride (Meinl HCS) for a little different sound.  Eris posted:So, once your stuff is out of clutter room, would that be enough of an office for you to really have your side business? Yep that's the plan: going to move my desk into the side room, get a little side table for non computer work, put one of our recliners in there for a reading room, and just have that be the quiet escape spot/business spot for both of us. Baby's crib can stay in our room until we have more room. Our master bedroom doesn't have much so it won't be a problem. As far as his stuff, our master closet is actually absurdly big for the size of this place. We have a bookshelf roughly 6 ft wide x 8 ft high that is already filled with clothes, toys, etc. If our baby does need his own room to sleep better then we'll figure something out when the time comes.
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Sep 27, 2014 21:47
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Great job!
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Sep 27, 2014 22:17
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Knyteguy posted:Yea it's not too bad getting rid of a lot of it. Cymbals are Sabian XS20 series high hat, ride, crash, and 1 additional ride (Meinl HCS) for a little different sound. Having a baby maintenance area is a big help, some kind of changing/storage/clean up station. Baby in your room for a little while is probably a good idea anyway, but you're gonna wanna move baby after a while so YOU sleep better.
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Sep 27, 2014 22:56
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Uncle Jam posted:Having a baby maintenance area is a big help, some kind of changing/storage/clean up station. Agree 100%. Also good job, KG.
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Sep 27, 2014 23:01
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Hey thanks for the support everyone. Before (again): After:  Got rid of at least 20 boxes worth of stuff today. A couple big items too. Thanks for the idea Goons. This will go a long way towards helping make this place more comfortable. e: and more importantly I think, we learned a lesson here that will be a good reminder for the future about accumulating too much stuff. e2: grammar Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Sep 29, 2014 |
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Sep 29, 2014 03:07
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There's definitely enough space in there now for a sweet pool table. Just kidding, good job. Looks a lot better and I'm glad you are taking responsibility for improving your situation.
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Sep 29, 2014 14:13
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