Money Matters
3/31/14 - I write a lot about our budget (especially lately) so I thought giving the subject it's own page seemed appropriate. First off, I'm in love with You Need a Budget (YNAB). This program has changed our lives as far as money is concerned. We have the funds available for all those quarterly/annual expenses now. No surprises when something comes due. Love that.
YNAB is a virtual envelope system. Every time we get paid money goes into the categories (envelopes) and you can spend what's there until it's gone. I picked this program a few years ago when our bank was out of state and getting actual cash for envelopes wasn't realistic. Even though we bank at the local Credit Union now, I'm comfortable with the program so no need to get a lot of cash and have actual envelopes. It's a little more safe this way too!
We are still climbing the mountain of debt we've incurred over the years. You know, from our younger and *ahem* maybe not quite so young days. But we are for sure making better decisions with our money since starting YNAB so that's a great feeling.
Stay tuned for updates....
5/20/14 - We are still hanging in there with our budget. Sometimes I make more categories (envelopes) to make it easier for me. My man doesn't always think they make anything easier though =)
So far sticking with the plan. He's been lucky enough to work a few extra hours the past couple months, so that gives us some extra money to send to debt paydown. Of course, this is where I start to falter. "Should I do it this way or that way?" Try a way for a few months and think of a different way. UGH! But finally - I've hit on one that makes me happy. Highest payment each month goes first (excluding mortgage payment). This makes my van front and center for any extra money each month. This was a pretty easy choice, since it was going to be paid off first no matter what other bills we sent extra money to. Might as well get that sucker gone earlier I say!
Wonder how long I'll do this before I change my mind again.....
10/25/14 - Yay me! I made it five months before I started wondering about changing the order of payoff. After pondering it though, I've decided to stick with the plan. Nothing can change unless I make the change, so I'm deciding to keep with the current debt pay down plan. The next bill may or may not change, but that van is my focus right now. My other focus is saving for our trip to DisneyWorld in May. We have our dining plan paid for already, next is park tickets, then spending money. Since we are staying at Bay Lake Towers we used our points for the week stay. Score! We almost had a huge set back when we discovered a water leak (on our side of the meter of course). Thank goodness the plumber I called took too long to call back. Erik went out there and fixed it. We already had all the stuff too!
2/2/15 - Tickets for Disney are paid for and I'm so close to having all the spending money saved. By next month we will be all ready for our trip - just have to wait and go have some worry free fun! After the credit card fiasco I did decide to switch the payoff plan. Might as well get those suckers gone so we can close them and no one can try and screw us over again. Strange how priorities can change in the blink of an eye! We are also needing a new washer. I have enough money set aside (it was meant for other things) but sometimes you have to move the cash to other envelopes. At least we have the cash and won't be needing to accumulate any more debt. I am frustrated with the slowness of it all, but I can't change that. We are definitely the tortoise in this race.
YNAB is a virtual envelope system. Every time we get paid money goes into the categories (envelopes) and you can spend what's there until it's gone. I picked this program a few years ago when our bank was out of state and getting actual cash for envelopes wasn't realistic. Even though we bank at the local Credit Union now, I'm comfortable with the program so no need to get a lot of cash and have actual envelopes. It's a little more safe this way too!
We are still climbing the mountain of debt we've incurred over the years. You know, from our younger and *ahem* maybe not quite so young days. But we are for sure making better decisions with our money since starting YNAB so that's a great feeling.
Stay tuned for updates....
5/20/14 - We are still hanging in there with our budget. Sometimes I make more categories (envelopes) to make it easier for me. My man doesn't always think they make anything easier though =)
So far sticking with the plan. He's been lucky enough to work a few extra hours the past couple months, so that gives us some extra money to send to debt paydown. Of course, this is where I start to falter. "Should I do it this way or that way?" Try a way for a few months and think of a different way. UGH! But finally - I've hit on one that makes me happy. Highest payment each month goes first (excluding mortgage payment). This makes my van front and center for any extra money each month. This was a pretty easy choice, since it was going to be paid off first no matter what other bills we sent extra money to. Might as well get that sucker gone earlier I say!
Wonder how long I'll do this before I change my mind again.....
10/25/14 - Yay me! I made it five months before I started wondering about changing the order of payoff. After pondering it though, I've decided to stick with the plan. Nothing can change unless I make the change, so I'm deciding to keep with the current debt pay down plan. The next bill may or may not change, but that van is my focus right now. My other focus is saving for our trip to DisneyWorld in May. We have our dining plan paid for already, next is park tickets, then spending money. Since we are staying at Bay Lake Towers we used our points for the week stay. Score! We almost had a huge set back when we discovered a water leak (on our side of the meter of course). Thank goodness the plumber I called took too long to call back. Erik went out there and fixed it. We already had all the stuff too!
2/2/15 - Tickets for Disney are paid for and I'm so close to having all the spending money saved. By next month we will be all ready for our trip - just have to wait and go have some worry free fun! After the credit card fiasco I did decide to switch the payoff plan. Might as well get those suckers gone so we can close them and no one can try and screw us over again. Strange how priorities can change in the blink of an eye! We are also needing a new washer. I have enough money set aside (it was meant for other things) but sometimes you have to move the cash to other envelopes. At least we have the cash and won't be needing to accumulate any more debt. I am frustrated with the slowness of it all, but I can't change that. We are definitely the tortoise in this race.
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