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pomme posted:You're crazy. Who doesn't like tacos? Tacos != taco soup. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/taco-soup-recipe/index.html Given the choice, I'd much rather have chili. It seems to be basically the same thing anyway, except this one you add a packet of ranch dressing mix for some reason.
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Dec 9, 2013 00:51
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Is the $30 misc expenses something random you know you're doing, or a catchall for unknown quantities? Optional expenses at $55 is REALLY low. It is awesome that you are determined to spend wisely, and you have done a good job this month too. BUT your average spending in that category is like $800, right? And this month you spent $200 in optional expenses. Now, $800 is obviously too much, but reducing it to $200 I feel is pretty cool, and I doubt there would be many people in the thread complaining about a two-person family spending $200 total in restaurants/fun stuff in a month. In my experience, when I cut my fun money that severely, I do okay for a weekend, maybe two. But heading towards the middle of the month, I start getting really antsy, maybe a little depressed even, because I feel so restricted. That makes me start looking at my leftover money - in your case, $646 - and start rationalizing why it's okay to spend that money. I mean, it's not even assigned to a category, right? Anyhow, basically what happens to me is I end up spending way more than if I had just reserved myself $200 (or $100/person, whatever) to spend on what I wanted in the first place. That said, if you have a plan for the month where you know exactly what you're going to do for fun, and it fits into $55, go for it. Like maybe you're going to go hiking or camping or something else cheap but fulfilling and time-consuming (so that you're not sitting at home bored looking at things you could buy off the internet). But if you don't, I would seriously recommend raising your discretionary cap to $200 just so that you don't feel choked.
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Jul 23, 2014 02:24
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Knyteguy posted:C'mon this is stupid. Feel free to gloat if we go over our budgeted balance on this stuff but until then keep it to yourself. It's not helpful. We have $150.00 left in discretionary between everything and that's drat plenty. This post is super worrying because...you don't. $25 of that is for your Netflix and Hulu subscriptions. Another chunk of that ($50ish?) isn't yours to spend at all, it's your wife's. Sure, she might share it with you, but I think it sets you up for failure to count on it. So really, you've got about $75 left for the whole month. And I don't know about you, but I hate 31-day months with a passion. They feel like they're 33 or 34-day months compared to the 30-day ones, financially. Pretty much every time I have a lovely, overbudget month, it was 31 days long.
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Aug 5, 2014 07:59
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Knyteguy posted:One thing I'm really considering is paying my sister to nanny. Things didn't work out with her husband (murky term here) and she's pregnant and has no job. She has about 6 years professional nannying experience. Obviously I'm not going to be able to employ her completely, but I'd bet we could work out $500.00/mo for 3-4 days a week with her. I don't really remember the sister situation that well but it sounds like you trust her, and that you would trust her with your child, and that she is experienced with raising kids. So in one fell swoop you could 1) have a safe place for your baby while you and your wife are busy, at work, or needing time alone, 2) give your baby more time with his/her family, rather than strangers (who I'm sure are competent, but it's not the same, you know?), 3) really help out your sister, and 4) pay less money for a 1 to 1 situation than you were going to for a 6 to 1 situation. Seems clear that you should talk to your sister before researching any more daycares.
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Aug 14, 2014 04:52
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I am glad you're reconsidering the posting moratorium but I think it is definitely progress to hear your new attitude towards maybes and ifs. The thread is kind of like an echo chamber for your thoughts, right? And for a while you were definitely into the maybes and ifs and calculating your savings out several months in advance and so on. So your new goal to focus on what has happened and what is happening is encouraging. And I think the chamber might have a few echoes left in it but as long as you stick to your new policy, they'll fade away pretty fast. How's that for a metaphor 
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Aug 20, 2014 19:03
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It really sounds like things have clicked for you, awesome.
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Aug 23, 2014 01:36
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For me personally your system is too vague, it would cause me to forget things that I have mentally assigned to that very large category and overspend a lot. That said, I think having "blow," "entertainment," AND "restaurants" is a lot of categories. In my budget it's just "blow" and "restaurants" and any activity I do with my husband just goes half to my blow, half to his blow. Restaurants being separate helps me not eat out all the loving time, because that category is only for dining out with my husband, all other non-home food goes to my blow. So I really only have to remember one category when someone asks me to hang out.
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Aug 23, 2014 20:30
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This seems well-thought out to me, you just have to be careful of the trap of thinking that credit on the card = free money to use. As long as spending on the card is tied directly to your budget, you'll be fine. I really think you've got the right attitude now and you just have to start applying it to things.
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Sep 3, 2014 00:44
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I think the suggestions of "get a cheap hobby" are spot on. Right now the hobby/stress relief is all tied up in spending money. If there was something else to redirect to, it would be way easier to resist temptation. Got any old video games you need to replay? Or some f2p game (that you don't sign up your credit card for)? How about just getting a cheap old drum pad and learning some snare rudiments? Believe me, that will keep you occupied for a while, no matter how good you are at drumset. Every time you think, "Oh man, I really need to buy this thing. I NEED it," go play video games or read or drum or whatever. Do that for the week or however long your cool down period is. See if that helps.
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Sep 8, 2014 23:58
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Knyteguy posted:One of the really cool things that this wireless HDMI thing did for us was emulation (XMBC addon). And it's all on the bigscreen and multiplayer so wife and friends can play too. Okay but seriously take your debit/credit card off your Steam account so that you have to enter it EVERY time you want to buy dumb TF2 poo poo. Don't make it easy to go "oh man but it's just $2" (I haven't played TF2 in like 4 years so I have no idea how much anything is, but you get it). Take it from me, I have a Hearthstone addiction  and I could probably break it easily if I just took my credit card off my Battle.net account. But it's just so easy to buy another arena ticket...Anyhow I'm biased because I'm a band teacher but the number one thing that calms me is mindless music making. It makes me really want to go "yeah just buy an expensive drumset and you'll be good" but obviously that's lovely advice. But poo poo, I would buy you a drum pad if you would promise to practice your rudiments. Drumming is so soothing (and I am a truly awful drummer). Vic Firth has an amazing amount of free educational content on their site, too. http://www.vicfirth.com/education/rudiments.php
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Sep 9, 2014 05:44
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It's going to be very tempting on a vacation to go "I am supposed to be relaxing, I really shouldn't be worrying about money. Let's just splurge on this one big [dinner/present/bottle of wine/thing], and we'll figure out how it fits in the budget later." Instead I hope you take a mindset of "It will be so much easier to stay honest with the budget when we do not have the additional stress of working, let's min-max this poo poo." I feel like it isn't useful (and maybe even unhealthy) to give you poo poo about deciding to take a vacation. However, based on the way you presented it to the thread, it really feels like you were trying to hide the information. You knew people's eyes would bug out at $1k in discretionary, but you didn't explain what it was. You still haven't mentioned the "purchase I've been wanting for a while." That makes me think it's another something that you haven't shared with the thread, and that you think people will give you poo poo for. I think that using this thread as a resource correctly means being honest with it. Even if people give you poo poo about the things you buy or plan to get. The thread is kind of like a substitute conscience/inner cheapass while you get yours to develop. It is still up to you to live your life and ultimately decide what gets priority. Trying to avoid divulging information will just make the thread go more into a tizzy once the whole story comes out. Then your feelings are hurt because you felt you made a good judgment and then you don't use the thread as much because it got hostile. Rather than start down that path, just lay everything out. I think it will help you more in the long run. I think it is a good step that this item that "I've been wanting for a while" has been budgeted for October. That means you have at least 9 days to NOT buy this item and really make sure it's important to you.
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Sep 21, 2014 18:30
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Knyteguy posted:This forum drives me crazy sometimes. There's absolutely no consensus on how things should be. Some people advise extreme frugality, others say do what makes you happy, and then others still say "shoot man take it slow". I generally try all of these viewpoints, and I'm kind of tired for catching flack for it. And you know what? We're somewhere in the loving middle. We use a fan to dry our clothes, but I sometimes buy dumb expensive video game stuff. And we save $4,700 one month, but then save $2,500 the next. But you know what? Our bank account is steadily going up, and our debt is going down. We're doing really loving well. Well, it is the internet. The people who give you the most poo poo are probably a wide variety of personalities from people who are legit rich as gently caress and financially independent to in the same (or worse) position as you who see you as a substitute for themselves to yell at. You don't know which one is which so you should weigh each comment with your needs and wants and make the correct call yourself. Try not to be hurt by people giving advice in an rear end in a top hat way, that is just the way of the internet and they may have good points under all the all-caps text. Try not to be hurt by the amount of conflicting advice in the thread, it's not like we have a weekly "what should we tell Knyteguy" meeting and then let you know, we are all just telling you what we think you should do. Ultimately you're the one who has to live with it, so don't follow us blindly. (Including me, for all you know I am the devil leading you down the easy path.  )That said, I don't think this sort of post is helpful at all: Nocheez posted:YOU HAVE A CHILD ON THE WAY. QUIT SPENDING MONEY ON TOYS FOR YOURSELF. HOARD CASH FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT, LIFE-CHANGING EVENT. Obviously he knows that. From where I'm sitting, it looks like spending money is how Knyteguy deals with stress. Buying something big and shiny feels good. It's his default "wanna feel good" button. When this thread devolves into flat out yelling (in text, but still, supposed to be read as yelling), it just ups the stress. It's not like he forgot he's having a kid. That is a huge amount of stress to deal with. He needs to find new ways to deal with the stress, but I don't think making the stress worse is the way to get him to do that. I think AbsenceVsThinAir is right that you will regret your PS4 purchase once baby comes, Knyteguy. My easy stress reliever is eating like poo poo, and I pretty much always regret it. You might even regret it before baby comes, if you run out of games to play and have a moment to reflect. Do lots of drumming in the next week and see how you feel in October. Maybe even try to delay buying that PS4 until riiiiight at the end of October just in case you hit a bad stretch like you did this month. Don't do the Kindle thing again, right? edit: It's been a long time since I read Cornholio's thread but I feel like the moment things started going well for him is the moment he realized BFC is not a source of sagely or even correct advice as much as it is an echo chamber that you should use to see how your actions appear to others. Don't worry so much about doing exactly what someone recommends as much as you read and understand how your behaviors look to other people. The echo chamber is currently very "This is a lot of money to spend on discretionary items, you will regret the PS4, beware or all the work you've done over the past 2 months will be for nothing." That's important to understand, that no matter how important the PS4 appears to you, the people who have no attachment to you or your life see it as an unwise purchase. That should be a hint to you to look at the underlying reasons why you want a PS4 - not "I have a lot of games I want to play" but more "I am really stressed out about the baby coming and unwinding by playing a mindless PS4 game will help me unstress." Then maybe you can think about what else helps you unstress and maybe one of those things is cheaper than a PS4. Maybe you can delay the PS4 for a few weeks or a month by doing another unstress thing. Keep trying to delay it and eventually you might think, "You know what, I think I'm doing okay without a PS4." Or maybe you'll realize that yes, your life is incomplete without that PS4. That's fine too, the PS4 will still be there in all its expensive shininess if you end up discovering that, even if you wait 6 months to buy it. Maybe it'll even be cheaper! Hawkperson fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Sep 21, 2014 |
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Sep 21, 2014 20:42
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Planning ahead vs. not planning ahead: I think the disconnect here is that Knyteguy, when you have brought up the future, you have used the best case scenario ("by February I should have $X saved up!") and when we ask you to plan for the future, we mean the worst case scenario ("even though my wife is likely to have a perfectly normal pregnancy, I should over save for the birth just in case things go sideways"). When people rag on you for looking ahead, it's because your outlook usually does not consider the absolute worst case scenario. No one thinks you're actually going to have the unluckiest life around, but once in a while you ARE going to get hosed in the rear end by life. You just are, and the only choice you have is to be prepared for it or pretend it isn't coming. If you budget and save considering the worst case scenario, then life's little "gently caress you"s will not hurt nearly so bad. That said, part of a worst case scenario consideration is your mental health. Especially since you're having a kid, you being frugal but satisfied with the quality of your life is actually really important. You want to demonstrate for your kid what happy, well-adjusted adults look like. So a worst case scenario budget will still include discretionary spending. In fact, I think it would still include your trip this month. But I don't think it would include TWO major purchases in one month. It's a little gloomy but when I need a worst case scenario to plan around, I think "what if I or my husband were diagnosed with cancer tomorrow? How would my budget change?" I suspect yours would change quite a bit. Mine wouldn't have to change for 6 months at a minimum, and depending on which one of us got hosed by life, possibly would never need to change. Edit: this thread does move fast sometimes...I think your goal of falling under $500 discretionary does sound reasonable. Once you've managed that for a few months you'll be able to see what you can live with and without. Hawkperson fucked around with this message at 19:32 on Sep 22, 2014 |
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Sep 22, 2014 19:23
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So I'm a little late here, but I wanted to note that when planning for the worst case scenario, you should not include planning/overbudgeting for things that you have control over (like how much you spend on restaurants). That will only exacerbate your level of "completely hosed" when something bad happens that is entirely outside of your control.
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Sep 23, 2014 18:31
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Sometimes I think you take things the wrong way. I think the people commenting on the trip cost are hoping you'll hunker down and say, "Well we're not going to loving overspend on this trip so there." Instead you raise the budget for the trip. Similarly, I am tempted to say, "Are you really able to spend only $100 in a whole month? Is this a realistic budget?" and my hope is that you will respond with "poo poo yes, it's realistic and I'm going to loving do it." like a badass.
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Sep 24, 2014 05:54
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This feels like the same exact pattern that threw you into *needing* more spending money and the PS4. It's a cycle - you get excited about the possibilities if you can just get a handle on your finances, so you crash diet, so you get extra stressed, so you splurge without thinking and once again have to reconcile your spending to fit what you make. You also once again changed game plans without running it by the thread first. I think you could save yourself a lot of grief by laying out your thoughts instead of posting "here is the new budget and the new plan" as if there is no more discussion to be had. Honestly (and I think someone else said this too) it feels a little like you subconsciously want to antagonize the thread posters so that when you fail your goals, you can think "if only those assholes were a little more supportive, maybe I'd be out of this mess by now." Or maybe you just have a subconscious desire to stir up drama. I truly don't think you're doing it on purpose, but it's still happening. I loved your last response to me that gently caress yeah you're sticking to that budget...but then you immediately drastically changed your budget. Not just fixing the bills like you said you would, but completely changing your short- and long-term goals. Well, you just failed at what you said you'd do! You said "gently caress yeah I'm sticking to this budget" and then you absolutely did not. That's frustrating to watch.
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Sep 24, 2014 15:42
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I said something like this once and came to regret it a little...but I think the posts you've been making today show signs of developing the right mindset. Realizing that drastically changing the budget in the span of a few hours is stressful and not worth it (it's not even my budget and it was stressing me out looking at all those changes), telling Veskit you're going to consider his advice carefully and think about it for a few days rather than just doing it - that's way better than what was going on yesterday. Good for you. Re: the pets, are they happy in this tiny space either? Some of the posts you've been making make me wonder if the dogs are getting walked enough, especially with the lack of a backyard. I totally get that you want to care for them but it's not fair to give them a subpar life for your happiness. When baby comes, they are going to be even lower on your priority list (and rightfully so). I think if you were willing, you'd be able to find decent homes for them. Tough to make that effort when you want to keep them, but as you've said today you've got to keep your goals and priorities in sight - house, happy wife, happy baby, whatever else there is. Don't let them get clouded.
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Sep 24, 2014 19:10
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After the statement closing date, you should get mailed/emailed a statement. That statement should have a due date on it. As long as you pay before then you're golden. I like to pay right when I get my statement. That way I don't forget about it and it's done.
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Oct 2, 2014 00:56
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Knyteguy posted:Do never modify budget, but forgetting laundry was a big mistake. I would have let the excess rollover on car insurance and internet if I hadn't missed that. Not expecting further changes. You're doing it right and you've got the right attitude about what you're doing. Keep it up 
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Oct 8, 2014 19:29
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I'm sure you'll get a few people who think you should commit to your budget but...gently caress it. You've only got one mom. There's definitely a danger here of always finding emergencies that justify you breaking your budget, but I feel like if they're all as serious as this one, you just weren't meant to be financially solvent. From now on, poo poo like this is exactly why you plan for the worst case scenario.
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Oct 14, 2014 04:47
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Knyteguy posted:Yea... I know Christmas is an unnecessary expense, but my wife's family is coming down and her whole family is huge on Christmas. I grew up Jehova's Witness (not anymore) so I don't feel much attachment to holidays myself. We'll keep it as frugal as possible though. We're going to buy some folding tables for example for our "dining room table" and just drape a cheap tablecloth over it. All of that should be taken care of in the Holiday/Giving savings category. Is this why you said Christmas was an "unexpected expense"? Because that was the comment that worried me the most out of everything you've said today. But even if they just dropped their visit on you, you probably should have been able to see this one coming. I mean, your wife is pregnant, I'm sure they want to see her, and as you just said, they're huge on Christmas. I seriously feel like you should have a notepad or a spreadsheet or something of stuff that has taken you by surprise this year, that you might forget about next year. (edit: Actually, you can add notes to categories in YNAB - maybe do that!) Not even just financial stuff, it could be poo poo like "time for doctor appointment" and "car needs oil change" as well as "wife's parents likely to visit again for Christmas." Call this another "plan for the worst case scenario" thing. Like, I would seriously lay it out like this: November Need to winterize lawn December Christmas presents In-laws likely to visit January Clean out house and donate excess stuff to charity February Baby due In-laws likely to visit - food? March Get taxes done etc. and whenever you check on your budget, you can check through the notes too and see what's likely to come up. When you have a new surprise, add it, even if you feel like it probably won't come up again. Who knows, you might get unlucky.
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Nov 26, 2014 06:42
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I feel like most of the negative stuff in this thread is intended as motivation, but it doesn't seem like you're the kind of guy that gets motivated by being poo poo on. Some people really blossom under that sort of thing, but here it just seems to be a negative feedback loop: You get a lot of poo poo, so you lay out why you don't deserve all that poo poo, and then people give you poo poo for that because it looks like you're defending your behavior, then you defend yourself again, etc. I don't have kids but it's obviously one of those things that you can't wrap your head around until you have kids. There's not much sense in explaining to you or me what having kids is like, because it's just too life-changing. I don't know if you're ever going to get a straight answer on why baby-having is loving crazy, and I don't think it's because people are trying to be all smug about being expert kid-havers and not sharing their experience. It's like explaining to someone what playing an instrument is like, it's like just go and try out an instrument then you'll get it. Totally senseless to try explaining it. I think the "smug"ness is in your somewhat overconfident language. Like a page or two ago you said something like "we have the right attitude" when defending something. That's a red flag to me. It should be more like "we have the right attitude right now" or maybe even "do we have the right attitude? Maybe I should sit down and reflect on how I'm doing." A good financial attitude is not something that you earn and keep forever, it's something that you have to constantly re-evaluate and revise to keep on the right track. I bet that seems really really tiny and petty but I feel it is not. I don't feel like you should feel obliged to reply to everything everyone posts. I think every post in this thread is useful in some way, so I'm not recommending ignoring things. But if you read a post and all it feels like is an attack, why respond? It only feeds that loop I mentioned earlier. You might find that if you revisit posts you didn't respond to at first, some of them might be less of an attack than they seemed at first.
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Dec 9, 2014 08:45
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The whole issue the thread (and you, Knyteguy) are having right now really reminds me of stories like this: http://www.citylab.com/work/2013/08/how-poverty-taxes-brain/6716/ Or this: http://www.npr.org/2014/01/02/259082836/how-scarcity-mentaly-affects-our-thinking-behavior Like, it really seems like you're not able to put things in perspective - for example, people are constantly going "You are having a baby in 5 weeks, holy poo poo!" because to them it seems like you don't fully acknowledge it. Which sounds like this scarcity problem, where people who are poor really do literally have trouble getting perspective and making long term plans. And it's not because they are dumb, but because their circumstances tax their brain so much that they don't have any processing power left for looking long-term. I guess I'm kind of hoping seeing that your current situation is not necessarily a result of you being stupid, or dumb, helps you acknowledge that this lack of foresight is an issue and you can use the thread as the resource it is to help you long-term plan and think ahead. There will be another situation like the lease break where the situation is very clear in hindsight. That sort of thing happens to everyone. BUT you have a resource here that can help you predict those things and save you time, stress, and money.
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Jan 7, 2015 06:35
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I agree with Veskit. I am not trying to be hurtful asking these questions, although I'm sure it will come across that way: When you stated your reasons for the move, you said a major reason was to be close to your mother and support her. If you move to Florida, do you think she will continue her previous behavior? If you uproot your wife for the literal 3rd time in one (maybe two?) years, how will she feel? If you end up leaving her alone in Nevada to care for the pets, house, and a new baby...dear god. Do you think a temp contract all the way in Florida is a good enough offer to convince your boss to pay you more? If I were your boss I might be tempted to call your bluff. Don't know your relationship with your boss, but think it over carefully before trying to use this offer as leverage. Do you think your boss would fire you on the spot if you got up after an 8-9 hour day and said, "I have to go home to my pregnant wife. I'll continue work on this tomorrow"? Would they be upset at all?
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Jan 16, 2015 19:26
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Knyteguy posted:Thanks - I hadn't heard of that. I'll definitely look at those links more closely after work. The prices look good (but I also wouldn't want to take resources from the needy, is this subsidized?). :/ Dude you kind of are the needy. What kind of living situation do you think would be able to take advantage of buying in bulk online, but be poorer than you? That said, from a glance it looks like it's probably at or near cost and not subsidized. Even if it was it's the Mormon church, they've got some spare cash lying around. edit: That said, I wouldn't buy anything in bulk that you're not certain you'll use. It's not really saving money if you buy a bunch of flour and then never bake anything. Hawkperson fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Jan 19, 2015 |
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Jan 19, 2015 20:40
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My Rhythmic Crotch posted:I'm going to go ahead and call shenanigans on this. They earn well above the poverty line and national average (about $20k and $43k last time I checked). They are not "needy" in the traditional sense of the word. They are in a lovely situation due to decisions they have made. I guess I don't really see the difference, yes there are people in shittier situations that are less a result of their own decisions, no I don't see those people being able to solve their problems buying Mormon food. So in the context of "if I buy Mormon food online, am I loving someone more in need?" I think the answer is no, you are the poorest person considering this. The bigger concern with buying food in bulk is I don't feel like they'd use it, so it would be money wasted anyway. And that's not intended to be insulting, looking at it, I would not use it either. It would sit in my pantry for 30 years or until a natural disaster, which is the point of it for Mormons anyway.
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Jan 19, 2015 22:05
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So what really helped me lower my grocery bill was separating my purchases into protein, carbs, fats, and treats. It was a pain to split my receipts in ynab but it really spelled out how some chips and candy can really blow up your monthly grocery budget. If you have the time, consider doing the split like that. If not, maybe at least post your grocery receipts in the thread and I bet someone will separate it out for you.
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Jan 22, 2015 02:36
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I'm biased since I'm a musician too, but that was an incredibly cheap purchase, and should more than pay for itself in "Knyteguy is drumming so he isn't out buying new poo poo" time. Also, if it's new drumsticks like I'm guessing, when the kiddo is old enough to grip he can learn to be a drummer too. 
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Jan 27, 2015 03:40
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Quantum Finger posted:Yes, you would. You still haven't shown that you learned anything from your previous painful financial lessons, and hence have not changed your approach or habits. I agree. I don't doubt that you regret your choices and are starting to fully comprehend how they have screwed up your life Knyteguy, but you haven't really had a chance to put that to practice. Without practice you're that much more likely to fall into old habits when stress hits. I think it's worth considering bankruptcy, but not until at least 6 months after the birth of the baby. There's been several things lately that people have said "don't do it until the baby is at least 6 months old." I think you would do well to put ALL major life decisions (like bankruptcy, vacations, or whatever else that may come up) at least 6 months after the baby comes. Keep your head clear and your attention on that little ball of life.
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Jan 29, 2015 03:45
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Nice job on the pet costs, that was smartly done. I guess scooping the litter is your job, right? (Considering the toxoplasmosis risk to pregnant women) Have you purchased any groceries yet this month? Post a receipt pic or tally it up yourself into staples and treats (or however you want to divide it). I solemnly swear I am not trying to set you up for people to nag you about a bag of chips or whatever. I just remember doing this myself and being totally shocked at just how much of my grocery bill went to poo poo that wasn't for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. "It's just two dollars for this 8oz bag of junk" I would think, until I compared it to the cost of poo poo that was actually good for me, like snacky vegetables.
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Feb 6, 2015 20:55
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First thing that catches my eye is you bought a LOT of fresh produce. Are you really going to be eating it all before it starts to bad or get gross? If not, you've just wasted a bunch of money. Second thing that caught my eye is Knyteguy posted:Try not to get offended if I don't reply for awhile or something since I may not have an answer at the moment. This is an odd return to that almost-antagonistic tone you were taking a few months ago. Is that baby stress getting to you? I don't think there's any shame in that, but I think it's worth noting that your tone is drifting back towards "we've got this all under control guys." Try to be patient before you declare yourself a budgeting success. edit: Also there is no upper limit to the attention span of BFC denizens anyhow.
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Mar 11, 2015 05:53
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To be fair to Knyteguy, someone did recommend he put aside some discretionary and buy a printer.
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Mar 12, 2015 23:23
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It really sucks to see you say things like your discretionary SHOULD cover it. If it doesn't, who cares I guess? What is the point of the budget if not to help you control your spending? Even your spending on a special event like a bachelor party. When is the wedding? What kind of gift will you buy?
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Apr 7, 2015 18:31
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Veskit posted:Is nobody else concerned that we're 11 days into the month and the budget still isn't complete? Anyone? Sure, I'm concerned. At this point I wish he'd just take money out of his e fund/savings numbers and put it into groceries. At least be honest about where that money is coming from. Crazy that discretionary was filled in before grocery budget.
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Apr 11, 2015 23:00
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 Nice work man.
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Apr 18, 2015 22:09
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"Closer to family in LA" is not a pro. LA is really loving far away from San Diego and if you have to work 50 hour+ weeks to make things work, you are not going to want to drive 3 hours one way to see them all the time.
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May 25, 2015 21:44
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Sorry, it's super bothering me - it's "wary," not "weary." http://grammarist.com/usage/wary-weary/ I really feel like the newness of this opportunity is making you have trouble seeing the downsides. I recently applied for a job that at first blush is way better than my current job, but my husband and I had a discussion about it today, and at the end of it I realized that though I would interview for it in a second, there's actually no situation where I would be willing to take this new job over my current job. The pros are all "not my current job, so more fun and exciting," and the cons are all things that will have long-term effects - moving, insignificant increase in salary that would probably be eaten up by moving and my husband finding a new job, etc. But when I first applied for the position it seemed like it would be way better than what I was currently doing. I don't think anyone will disagree that for 1-3 months, maybe more, this new job you're thinking about will be super exciting and fulfilling and moving will be fresh and fun. Try to imagine what it will be like beyond that though. That's when all the flaws will show up. I mean that's what happened with that original apartment far away from your family, right? I think you should update your pros/cons list based on the feedback you've gotten. If your family is in fuckin' Ventura, for example, and you consider the insane amount of traffic in Orange County and LA County, you're only shaving about 2 hours off your current drive to visit CA family from Reno. It's not next door like you're thinking. That's driving through some of the literal worst traffic in California, even on a weekend. edit: If we're just theorycrafting this move, I would at least go for $10,000 relocation. Especially with the amount of pets you have. You're either going to have to rehome almost all of them, or pay way more than usual to find a place that will accept them. That plus paying for a moving truck will easily eat up $10k. Hawkperson fucked around with this message at 05:18 on May 26, 2015 |
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May 26, 2015 05:14
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I vote keep the budget EXACTLY the same. Changing the budget every month is part of the issue the challenge is trying to address. When your budget changes too often, it won't feel real and binding. I think I kind of get your mindset. It's fun to think of what could be and it's fun (and possibly even useful) to think out loud in this thread and get feedback. The problem is the same it's always been - your past behavior makes us think this isn't an idle daydream but a real possibility that you will take if given the slightest encouragement. The solution is pretty easy though. When you get the offer, unless it is ridiculously better (120k base+ salary, I would say), don't take it. And don't post the offer in the thread and then ask for opinions unless it is ridiculously better. Otherwise it will sound like you're trying to justify taking it. Just post the offer and that you're telling them no.
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May 29, 2015 19:19
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Huh. Okay.
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May 30, 2015 01:52
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n8r posted:Just to go back to the YNAB thing as a whole. You've got a bunch of people looking at this who are confused as hell. I'm going to guess that a number of these people manage their money much better than you. YNAB should go in the garbage. It is not working well. I'd rather see him stick with it for the duration of the challenge, otherwise, it creates the same issue of clouding his spending history. At this point in the thread we really should be able to say "ok historically Knyteguy spends X dollars per month on this or that" and it's really hard to actually do that since we've gone through so many budget styles. Sticking with something subpar is better than flailing around trying to find the perfect way to present the budget. (For the record I like YNAB just fine and my finances are also fine. My husband is an accountant and the layout drives him a little batty, but he agrees that we have a better view of our finances than we would without the program.)
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Jun 1, 2015 20:05
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