If you currently have an emergency fund, how large is it? What do you consider an emergency? Food, shelter and medical attention are important. What about a gift for a wedding or a shower? How about school fundraisers? All of these things should be closely monitored and considered when you are building up your emergency fund. Do your kids need lessons after school every season?
What about your summer plans? Can you do a stay cation? How many animals does your family have or need?
One year we bought a generator, It was the last one in stock and we did not have any electricity. Did we sit down and say how much will this cost us per day? Or did we snap it up feeling that if we would be without electricity too long we would need to pay for a hotel.
So many things come up that will prevent you from saving for your future. Outgrown clothes, a new shirt to take a yearbook photo, an expensive school field trip, a broken down car or a replacement water pump.
Let us break these items down into the necessities vs wants.
Necessities are similar to satisfiers and dissatifiers. When you are satisfied with something you don't necessarily appreciate it but when you are dissatified you might complain.
My son needs a new dress shirt for his 8th grade photos. True. Is it a necessity, no. Does he have a suitable dress shirt? No because he outgrew it. What happens when you go to the store? Do you only buy a dress shirt or do you buy a matching tie and a suit. How did a suit even come into the picture? I would like to call it bargain shopping. A suit is on the radar for May and June events. If the previous dress shirt purchased last year is too small chances are the previous suit is going to be on the smaller side also.
My oldest son is not too familiar with hammy downs while my youngest children often get hammy down toys and clothes. This year one even got a hammy down back pack when theirs broke less than half way thru the year.
School trips might not always be expensive but some can definitely be on the pricier side. A bus trip out of state with theater tickets, lunch and dinner is certainly on the more expensive side.
A school trip and a new shirt might be very small expenses compared to a broken down car, a generator or a water pump. Some of these items can be saved up for so that you do not need to touch your emergency fund. Chances are when your older car is inspected you will need certain things such as new tires, brakes, windshield wipers and various lights. A generator might be needed only every few years for a short amount off time. Can you make do without one? For some a generator may be a necessity while for others it might just be a want. Most things beyond food, shelter and medical treatment could be considered wants. A third car may be a necessity for three drivers in a family and other families find ways to share the two or one cars that they own.
Good luck in determining your needs and wants in the upcoming months.
Showing posts with label financial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label financial. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Spending More Than You Make?
Is the reason that you like a certain day of the week because it is payday? Our payday is twice a week on Friday. Today I plan to stay home and not spend any money. Why because tomorrow I can pay cash for things. Today I can pay cash for items but it would be from savings and not from a new paycheck.
What percentage of what you make goes to each category? What is the normal amount? Are you higher or lower than you would like? Are there things you care less about that you can chip away at from a particular category.
Our pending decision is whether to take the company offered medical plan or to pick up coverage on our own. This was our first year with an HMO. In prior years PPOs were the selections for the companies that employed my husband. PPOs enable you to go to in network providers without having a referral. Referrals now tend to be on a central database and take limited amount of time to set up. Referrals were not as much of an inconvenience as they could have been.
Do you tighten your wallet when you have less money and tend to be more free with money when you more of it in your possession? Last October we needed a new dishwasher. We did not have the money saved up for it but went ahead and put it on credit. This past month we wanted new chairs for the living room. We had the money and paid cash for them. We paid cash for them is key but did we budget to get them or were the chairs an unbudgeted item? I would say they were an unbudgeted item. When we first bought a house we had a goal of getting a dining room set. We had a picture of the set on the refrigerator waiting for the day when we could afford the dining room set.
When I look towards tomorrow do I run right out and shop for more chairs? Probably not. We do want to get seating for 7 and currently we have three new chairs. We plan on buying two more adult chairs and two
additional chairs for teenagers. I have an idea of what I want or could use. The teenagers have an idea of what they want. Their chairs cost about 60 apiece while the adult chairs will be about 250 a piece.
Since it is December we will have added expenses related to Christmas presents and additional food for the holidays. We have extended family that we can buy presents to mail away. This is always optional. We are hit or miss whether we do it or not. Last year we did not have gifts for everyone that we visited on Christmas. It worked out okay but I wished I did have something available to give to them especially since we received unexpected presents from them. This year we can be prepared but I am really thinking of tokens of appreciation in the form of artwork or cookies rather than a retail type gift.
We also need to keep our eye on the prize. No debt in January is one. Four more seats for the living room is another. Food in the refrigerator is a good one. Gas in the car and oil in the furnace are good choices also. Everyday we are faced with choices on how to spend our money. Do we pack a lunch the night before or do we write a check for our child's lunch account? Today I wrote two checks for lunch accounts. The other day I handed over $20 in cash to fund another lunch account. My oldest son says he would need about $5 or 6 dollars a day to eat in the cafeteria. My youngest sons are capped at about $3 per day and they can get a good amount of food. One problem with bringing the extra food into the house is that it does not get saved for lunch but random snacking. While reviewing the school calendar there are 15 school days in December. The students that need $5 a day for lunch would be spending $75 for December. Considering we have 5 children that number is going to add up fast.
Do you participate in all the holiday gift giving? We do every year. In the past I have thought it would be good to celebrate Christmas every two years. This year I have watched so many Christmas movies that it is looking like visiting friends and family is what should be taking advantage of during the holiday season. It is not so much the present that is important but being present to share your time with others.
When we bought the chairs with cash we might have used unbudgeted dollars but we did not use credit. The problem came later in the month when rather than use the existing paycheck to pay for the lunch accounts we used savings. While it could be argued that funding the lunch accounts were necessary they were still unbudgeted. It is fairly easy to make up a budget. The hard part is sticking to the budget and saying no to the things or events that are not in the budget.
We have a goal of not using credit for this holiday season. Done. We shredded the credit already. The next goal is to live within our means.
What percentage of what you make goes to each category? What is the normal amount? Are you higher or lower than you would like? Are there things you care less about that you can chip away at from a particular category.
Our pending decision is whether to take the company offered medical plan or to pick up coverage on our own. This was our first year with an HMO. In prior years PPOs were the selections for the companies that employed my husband. PPOs enable you to go to in network providers without having a referral. Referrals now tend to be on a central database and take limited amount of time to set up. Referrals were not as much of an inconvenience as they could have been.
Do you tighten your wallet when you have less money and tend to be more free with money when you more of it in your possession? Last October we needed a new dishwasher. We did not have the money saved up for it but went ahead and put it on credit. This past month we wanted new chairs for the living room. We had the money and paid cash for them. We paid cash for them is key but did we budget to get them or were the chairs an unbudgeted item? I would say they were an unbudgeted item. When we first bought a house we had a goal of getting a dining room set. We had a picture of the set on the refrigerator waiting for the day when we could afford the dining room set.
When I look towards tomorrow do I run right out and shop for more chairs? Probably not. We do want to get seating for 7 and currently we have three new chairs. We plan on buying two more adult chairs and two
additional chairs for teenagers. I have an idea of what I want or could use. The teenagers have an idea of what they want. Their chairs cost about 60 apiece while the adult chairs will be about 250 a piece.
Since it is December we will have added expenses related to Christmas presents and additional food for the holidays. We have extended family that we can buy presents to mail away. This is always optional. We are hit or miss whether we do it or not. Last year we did not have gifts for everyone that we visited on Christmas. It worked out okay but I wished I did have something available to give to them especially since we received unexpected presents from them. This year we can be prepared but I am really thinking of tokens of appreciation in the form of artwork or cookies rather than a retail type gift.
We also need to keep our eye on the prize. No debt in January is one. Four more seats for the living room is another. Food in the refrigerator is a good one. Gas in the car and oil in the furnace are good choices also. Everyday we are faced with choices on how to spend our money. Do we pack a lunch the night before or do we write a check for our child's lunch account? Today I wrote two checks for lunch accounts. The other day I handed over $20 in cash to fund another lunch account. My oldest son says he would need about $5 or 6 dollars a day to eat in the cafeteria. My youngest sons are capped at about $3 per day and they can get a good amount of food. One problem with bringing the extra food into the house is that it does not get saved for lunch but random snacking. While reviewing the school calendar there are 15 school days in December. The students that need $5 a day for lunch would be spending $75 for December. Considering we have 5 children that number is going to add up fast.
Do you participate in all the holiday gift giving? We do every year. In the past I have thought it would be good to celebrate Christmas every two years. This year I have watched so many Christmas movies that it is looking like visiting friends and family is what should be taking advantage of during the holiday season. It is not so much the present that is important but being present to share your time with others.
When we bought the chairs with cash we might have used unbudgeted dollars but we did not use credit. The problem came later in the month when rather than use the existing paycheck to pay for the lunch accounts we used savings. While it could be argued that funding the lunch accounts were necessary they were still unbudgeted. It is fairly easy to make up a budget. The hard part is sticking to the budget and saying no to the things or events that are not in the budget.
We have a goal of not using credit for this holiday season. Done. We shredded the credit already. The next goal is to live within our means.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Stay at Home Parents Denied Credit Cards
I am afraid it is a sad day when a stay at home parent is denied a credit card. I realize the best way to get a credit card is to have your own personal income source. When this is not available the next criteria can be to look at the household income.
Many years ago I saw a television program where a woman was having trouble establishing her own personal credit. I knew early on that good credit was important. It surprises me that a stay at home parent would not be able to use the household income to obtain a credit card.
If you are not the main account holder of the credit card you will not be able to make certain changes to the credit card account but you will be able to make all the purchases and pay the bills. The main account holder needs to make the request for a higher credit limit or raise the question about lowering the interest rate.
I hope that household income is considered in offering credit cards but I doubt that a stay at home parent will have the same issues with obtaining debit cards. In the past many people have forgone using their credit card and opted to use their debit card instead. Maybe the wave of the future will be to utilize cash more often.
Many years ago I saw a television program where a woman was having trouble establishing her own personal credit. I knew early on that good credit was important. It surprises me that a stay at home parent would not be able to use the household income to obtain a credit card.
If you are not the main account holder of the credit card you will not be able to make certain changes to the credit card account but you will be able to make all the purchases and pay the bills. The main account holder needs to make the request for a higher credit limit or raise the question about lowering the interest rate.
I hope that household income is considered in offering credit cards but I doubt that a stay at home parent will have the same issues with obtaining debit cards. In the past many people have forgone using their credit card and opted to use their debit card instead. Maybe the wave of the future will be to utilize cash more often.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Put Out the Closed Sign
A friend and her husband are starting their own business. Getting out of the 9 to 5 grind can be appealing but in reality the hours become more than 9 to 5 because you are the owner. Another family took over a restaurant. They realize that the business could take over their lives and they closed the business two of the seven days per week, one for family time and one to get ready for the next week.
In our own lives, wouldn't it be good to be able to put up the closed sign once in a while. Some people make appointments with themselves. We also need to make time for the financial parts of our lives. Whether you are a teacher, an architect, or a financial planner; money is important and we need to take the time to manage it.
Do you have unnecessary atm fees, bank overdrafts or other banking charges? Do you have time set aside to review your bank statements or do a bank reconciliation? Try spending some time to plug the holes that are draining your bank accounts and investments. In my case, my 529 accounts are costing me money because I am not investing currently and fees are being taken out.
Put out the closed sign for your family, friends and work. Say hello to your financial side.
In our own lives, wouldn't it be good to be able to put up the closed sign once in a while. Some people make appointments with themselves. We also need to make time for the financial parts of our lives. Whether you are a teacher, an architect, or a financial planner; money is important and we need to take the time to manage it.
Do you have unnecessary atm fees, bank overdrafts or other banking charges? Do you have time set aside to review your bank statements or do a bank reconciliation? Try spending some time to plug the holes that are draining your bank accounts and investments. In my case, my 529 accounts are costing me money because I am not investing currently and fees are being taken out.
Put out the closed sign for your family, friends and work. Say hello to your financial side.
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