What did you do to improve your finances today?
This was one of my favourite threads on the old forum, and since there doesn't seem to be one here yet, I thought I'd create one :-)
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Ordered my new camera gear while all the large items are on sale (some significantly), and bought through B&H using their Payboo card to save all that sales tax.
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Bought groceries yesterday at the store that offers 5 packs of meat for $20. Already batch cooked 3 of the packs. Eating out avoidance!
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It's getting hot this summer, starting to test our first floor apartment's naturally cool state. I closed the blinds a little, took the tower fan out of the storage room, cleaned off the dust, and plugged it in. So far no need for A/C yet! The electric bills have been very reasonable.
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I pulled my head out of my arse today! We started this year with my hubby's knee replacement surgery and were buffered and all set to kick our 2nd mortgage debt to the curb once he returned to work, then COVID hit. Thankfully we had our buffer to help through his lack of hours and eventual layoff. Unemployment has been messed up and we had to use some of our savings to make ends meet, plus the extra spending we've been doing because our budget (and diets) went out the window with the Pandemic. But no more! Hubby is back to work and I got everything posted and caught up in YNAB, just sent an extra $621 to the 2nd mortgage and adjusted our goal to have it paid off by year end (instead of May, which of course didn't happen). Simply acknowledging that we have to "roll with the punches" instead of giving up will help us to succeed at this next goal. Now to work on our diets, LOL!
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Moved some money into my M1 account while the market is still a bit iffy to get it where I want it for now and hopefully get some of those buys at decent prices before things get back to normal.
While cleaning and reorganizing things I found a nice chunk of money I'd overbudgeted in a category, so I was able to hit the B&H sale for a few things from my list (yay!) and have a nice bit left over to allocate elsewhere.
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Hi,
My most recent wheeze to help with my YNAB budgeting is fiddly, but gets the job done.
I was really fed up with going over-budget on my weekly shopping allowances, but I realised I was stocking up a little (Covid-19 related), and also sometimes the stuff you are buying is not just for this week, but weeks or even months into the future.
So we have reduced the weekly food budget a little and put those savings into a Meat for Freezer Category and also a Longer Term Produce Category, so that way I can reduce the drain on my weekly budget.
So far, the early indications are that it might work.
Stay well everyone,
Nev -
I am a newby here, but I found a good trick to prevent "emotional comfort" shopping. I used to go to the big shopping centers and buy clothes, stuff I don't have to and don't need to. But shopping feels good.
So instead, when the urge comes, I take a long walk /ride my bycicle or run, till I get so tired that I don't have the energy to go shopping.
It is free and good for the health also, and I always realize I didn't need to go shopping on the first place.
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Tan Hammer Excellent idea! I realized after reading The Latte Factor, that my weakness is adding things to my cart when I'm shopping that are not on my list. Now I'm more mindful. Knowledge is power! :)
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Tan Hammer Yes, that's the habit cycle hacked! Keep the reward but replace the action.
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I realized $200 per month is not enough for gas. I made next months budget $250.
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TerbaTron I'm guessing this is car gas and not home heating gas. If car gas, have you tried switching gas brands. My cars do so much better on BP or Marathon vs Speedway, Shell, Citgo, etc. That I don't even consider the other brands, even if they are 20% cheaper!
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1) Reinstated my renters insurance after (🙈) not carrying any for two years, and
2) Let them quote my car insurance - and, to my surprise, shaved $100 off my monthly premium! Savings would've been even greater if I'd been in a position to PIF - but I've set a new savings goal for next year.
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Summer began to get too hot and humid to work effectively from home. My partner and I discussed the possibility of buying a $400-500 standing portable A/C...then we remembered the landlord said he had a spare sitting around. We asked to rent it for $25/month for the next 2 months—done! Everybody wins.
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As of yesterday, I am now a month ahead on my finances! It's only taken me a year and a half to get here. 😂
I also contacted VGLI (Veterans Group Life Insurance) and reinstated my policy after letting it relapse two years ago. 🙈 Thankfully, they'll suspend it for up to five years before canceling it outright. Also changed my beneficiaries to my children only since my ex-husband was still on there as a primary beneficiary from before our divorce.
In the last week, I've put a lot of my bills on Autopay since I'm finally at the place where I feel comfortable doing that. Last month I totally missed a payment, and the month before that I thought I'd paid a bill when I actually hadn't. I've been sick for a few months and even though I'm recovering, I'm also dealing with some major brain fog and cognitive issues and probably will be for awhile, so this is one less thing for my poor brain to remember. 😅
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Violet Rain Autopay will really help you and with YNAB, you know you have the money there to pay your bills. Win/win. No more late fees. :)
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Purple Foal Violet Rain And if you put them in as scheduled transactions, it's even easier, because you'll see it come through and then see the matching transaction come through. This can also serve as a reminder if the matching transaction DOESN'T come through, you can research what went wrong before it's too late.
And if you have your register view enabled, you can see what your balance will be based on the scheduled transactions, which will help in your decision of whether you need to pull more from savings to cover a particularly large transaction, etc.
Great job getting this far! It's just one more step towards lower and lower money stress, and more power.
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Bruce Thank you! Yep, I have also put everything that's on Autopay as a scheduled transaction! So much easier! And I love the "running balance" feature on the register view.
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Bruce Definitely a game changer!! I love seeing what is coming up in each account & for how much. Then when I get the email notification, I can edit as necessary but at least the ballpark amount is budgeted for if the bill fluctuates. :)
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