Townsendfamily5
First Time Poster
Cash: $ 0.25
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Joined: 21 Dec 2005
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| Stressful Budgeting |
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I am going to seem as if I am so stupid, but I am having huge problems taking care of the finances. I came from a family where my mom did all the budgeting, balancing and saving, however she never taught me how to balance a checkbook. In fact until I got married to my husband three years ago I had never even had a checking account. My husband is a welder who works on the road and is only home on weekends. He never took care of his finances. It was all done by his mother. The finances, balancing and books were all handed over to me the moment we got married. I have done nothing but mess up the accounts since. A few months ago I swore to myself, after his mother had gone through and fixed our books for the 6th time, that I would do this and do it right. I have been keeping perfect records of all spending. I have been very organized with bills and yet I go to balance the checkbook again and I am off. I am so stressed out to the point of tears. I don't want to do this anymore! I am an intelligent person. I went to college (although math was never my strong point), why can't I balance a simple checkbook???? My husband cannot take over the finances because he is not home and works a lot of hours. What do I do?
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Wed Dec 21, 2005 5:42 pm |
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Rolo
Yo' Daddy
Cash: $ 309.70
Posts: 1551
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
Location: Colorado/Florida
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| Re: Stressful Budgeting |
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quote:
Originally posted by Townsendfamily5
I have done nothing but mess up the accounts since.
Mess up how? What does that mean?
quote:
Originally posted by Townsendfamily5
...his mother had gone through and fixed our books
Fixed what exactly?
I get the impression that 'record-keeping' is where the problem is and not necessarily the actual money part..?
Keeping good records does NOT mean you have a good handle on your finances. I've seen plenty of people (incidentally, all of them women) proud of their filing, documenting, record-keeping, labelling--but, really, all they do is pay their bills without bouncing a check; they have no financial PLAN.
quote:
Originally posted by Townsendfamily5
I have been keeping perfect records of all spending. I have been very organized with bills and yet I go to balance the checkbook again and I am off.
Ah! I see. The focus has become record-keeping rather than money.
What do you use to balance your checkbook? Do you have online banking? Does it work with personal finance software (Quicken or Money)?
I can't remember when the last time I balanced a checkbook. Heck, I don't even have a checkbook! Why? Everything is electronic and automated. I don't "balance" anything; the computer does it for me and I can concentrate on the actual MONEY. I recommend you do the same and nothing will get away from you.
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Originally posted by Townsendfamily5
I am an intelligent person.
No doubt. Work smarter, not harder.
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Originally posted by Townsendfamily5
...math was never my strong point
Ditto. All the more reason to have your computer do the math for you. Besides, it is TEDIOUS.
quote:
Originally posted by Townsendfamily5
What do I do?
Get Quicken or Micro$oft Money (I use Quicken, have been for...forever).
Get accounts that automatically update in Quicken (NetBank and citiBank do).
Go through all of the Quicken questions/interviews and take the time to set it up properly. Once/week over Saturday morning coffee, take the time to run the auto-update and have your spending documented. This will make tax-time soooooo much easier. (Turbo-Tax imports everything, pretty much fills it out for you.)
Make a financial plan. Do you have retirement accounts? Focus on where you are going/where you want to be financially rather than meticulous documentation of penny-ante stuff. You can start your plan with a simple spreadsheet (that is what I use, PM me for a copy).
Questions?
"Expect me when you see me."
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Thu Dec 22, 2005 3:06 pm |
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stonegatherer
Contributing Member
Cash: $ 7.10
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Joined: 25 Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
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Could your bank account be going below the minimum account balance on any day during a month?
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Fri Dec 23, 2005 3:43 am |
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efflandt
Senior Member
Cash: $ 80.45
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Joined: 25 Apr 2005
Location: Elgin, IL USA
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Balancing a checkbook is just a matter of addition and subtraction. Take the monthly statement ending balance, subtract any checks or other payments that have not shown up on the statement (unpaid) yet, and that should be (or agree with) your checkbook balance. You may need to initially check a previous statement or two to make sure all older checks have cleared.
What can throw you off is automatic payments, on-line bill pay, monthly fee or interest if any, direct deposits, ATM withdrawls, or debit card purchases, if those are not promptly entered in your check registry.
Apparently the wife of the boss that hired me had never balanced our office checkbook. When he was transferred to our home office, the new girl did not have a clue how to sort it out. But once I showed her how to initially balance it, she was able to keep it that way. Instructions about how to balance it were actually on the back of the statement.
As far as budget, I have never done that. I just stop eating if my pants get too tight, and stop spending if cash gets too light. But I have reserve in another account (split direct deposit) for home payment, taxes, insurance, and my retirement investments are on track. I keep spreadsheets for both checking accounts where reoccuring or on-line payments are entered long before they are due to avoid running short.
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Sat Dec 24, 2005 9:11 pm |
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DanielB88
Contributing Member
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Joined: 20 Nov 2005
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interesting
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Wed Jan 04, 2006 9:13 pm |
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Stoney
Member
Cash: $ 2.65
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Joined: 28 Jan 2005
Location: Chicago, IL
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| budgetting |
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I think this is a very big problem in society this day and age. People point fingers to many different reasons for bankruptcies and poor money management. I think besides people that are just bad with managing money there is a lack of education out there.
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Wed Jan 18, 2006 10:34 am |
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Rolo
Yo' Daddy
Cash: $ 309.70
Posts: 1551
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
Location: Colorado/Florida
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Hey Townsend, how ya doin'? Ya have words with the MIL yet? ehehe
"Expect me when you see me."
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Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:15 am |
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houseofcards03
New Poster
Cash: $ 0.45
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Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Location: east WI
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Hi Townsend,
Is it more that you think you're spending too much money or that you're unable to keep accurate records of what you are spending? Neither problem is good but the second one is a lot easier to solve. I would try Quicken for the ease of having all your records in one place. The budgeting and savings tools are also very good. And if you absolutely, cannot, not even with a few nights of study figure out how to use the program efficiently, chuck it -- no use beating yourself up for trying, right? Then you still have this site as a resource. I have only recently started posting, but I have found some of the discussions about saving for retirement, budgets, etc. to be extremely helpful for even the casual reader.
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Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:33 am |
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rockhound
Preferred Member
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Joined: 03 Feb 2006
Location: West Virginia
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| Re: Stressful Budgeting |
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Townsend,
First, don't panic! I think I can relate to what you're saying, in that the numbers don't match up when you think they should at any given time. The hard part is knowing where to "start" and I wonder if part of the confusion is that with money coming in and going out, you aren't certain what your starting balance is. I would suggest that you get your last bank statement and find your ending balance for the month. That is what you will use as a starting point for what was in your account at a known time. Then gather your bills, and your cancelled checks, and compare them to your bank statement. As you go down the list of checks on the statement, check off each item and compare it to your checkbook entries. You should make an entry in your checkbook every time you write a check for a bill, and at the end of the month, you will compare the check number and amount in your check book to the bank statement, ensuring that they have gone through. Also record ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases in your checkbook, and compare them to your bank statement. If you do this diligently, the end-of-month balances in your checkbook and your bank statement should match. Your checkbook gives you a record of the running balance of incoming and outgoing money when you write down each item.
Here's the source of confusion, though. You will have more money in the bank than your checkbook says until the check clears to the payee. This is why you have a hard time figuring out why the numbers in your checkbook don't match what your ATM statement might say at any given time. You just have to treat that check as money that is gone, so you don't write a check for money that is already going somewhere else. The numbers between your checkbook and ATM account balance may not match at any given time, but that's why you compare the end-of-month balances. It's like the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principal for money. Until you get comfortable with it, it's always a good policy to leave yourself a big cushion to make sure you don't bounce a check. Good luck!
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Fri Feb 03, 2006 11:14 pm |
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traversecityorbust
First Time Poster
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Posts: 1
Joined: 25 Feb 2006
Location: Michigan
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| De-stressing your personal finance |
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See attached website. You may find the attached software helpful.
http://www.traversecityorbust.com/
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Sat Feb 25, 2006 4:48 pm |
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speedlock
New Member
Cash: $ 1.50
Posts: 5
Joined: 26 Feb 2006
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Hello to everyone,
I can understand the things that are being said in this thread because I'm on the verge of trying to to manage funds, while working at a dead-end job and paying rent at the same time.
I'm not married or anything, but I'm trying to put it where I make more money working a better job or just trying to find a good legitamite, money-making plan in which I can utilize and life myself out of the rat race and out of this neverending cycle of having no money for myself in any way.
I don't want to deal with any kind of scams, hyips or anything that would be considered phony. I want real product. Well, not products. But a financial structure that I can use for passive income so I don't have to worry about being over my spending budget. 
Please let me know how to get out of this struggle.
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Mon Feb 27, 2006 9:14 am |
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eyeontheprize
Member
Cash: $ 2.55
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Joined: 09 Feb 2006
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speedlock & townsendfamily5
Our family is finding lots of help through Dave Ramsey's website and his book "Total Money Makeover." We got the book at the library. It has sample budget sheets in the back as well as motivational and practical advice from one who's "been there."
I use other sources, but have found this to be by far the most practical. He also has a radio show you might be able to find in your area.
Web link:
www.daveramsey.com
Hope this helps you
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Sat Mar 11, 2006 1:48 pm |
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