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Well I just started using YNAB. Its weird not forecasting whatsoever! I am definitely going to keep using Quicken in addition, but I like planning where money I currently have is going, vs where the money is coming from and going to for the next month+. Thanks for the suggestions guys! (And no, I definitely could not use YNAB as my only software at least not at this point in time. Plus investment tracking, tax tracking, etc.) (PS: This part was an afterthought, spurred by your post, Phantom!) DirtyTalk posted:So, this summer really demolished me in terms of finances. I have a spending problem, Im 23, earn a pretty decent salary, and have a girlfriend that is currently broke that I pay for everything for.
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Aug 30, 2013 06:25
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SiGmA_X posted:Well I just started using YNAB. Its weird not forecasting whatsoever! I am definitely going to keep using Quicken in addition, but I like planning where money I currently have is going, vs where the money is coming from and going to for the next month+. Thanks for the suggestions guys! (And no, I definitely could not use YNAB as my only software at least not at this point in time. Plus investment tracking, tax tracking, etc.) I don't really like Mint. Idk why but it never seemed to do it for me. It is way too convoluted in my opinion. And in terms of the Steam Sale for YNAB I went to buy it this morning and the discount is gone. I can't freaking believe it. Anyhow, I'm going to look for some more discounts online - if not I may just cave. In terms of pen and paper, I've tried it. It somehow just ends up not working. For some reason it doesn't make much sense.
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Aug 30, 2013 12:06
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DirtyTalk posted:I don't really like Mint. Idk why but it never seemed to do it for me. It is way too convoluted in my opinion. You can also just get a 34-day free trial to see if you "get" it. What about a google docs spreadsheet? Just put your statement amounts into that manually and use simple columns and formulas to figure this stuff out.
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Aug 30, 2013 12:31
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tuyop posted:You can also just get a 34-day free trial to see if you "get" it. Good news. I found a discount for it so I just picked it up. I'm going to figure it out - and get back here after I've gone through their tutorials and whatnots.
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Aug 30, 2013 13:44
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Good deal. This is an ideal time to start too, end/start of month and all. Good luck!
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Aug 30, 2013 16:36
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DirtyTalk posted:Good news. I found a discount for it so I just picked it up. This is great, but you should make sure to follow the advice that PhantomOfTheCopier has posted throughout the thread. He's awesome and YNAB isn't really a total budgeting solution.
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Aug 30, 2013 16:49
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PhantomOfTheCopier posted:You know, you can budget with a piece of paper and a pencil for gently caress's sake. Tried spreadsheets, going all the way back to Excel '97. I've been trying to get money under control since I started earning my own way. quote:At least 40% of posts in the previous two pages were about trying to get YNAB to work.
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Aug 30, 2013 16:55
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Anyone who reads the last ten posts of any page in this thread should know of the obsession with it.
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I bought YNAB, it seems great, but I really do miss people posting their budgets and talking about them, as I actually found that super useful for figuring my own poo poo out. I'll probably post a budget myself in a month when I've done a month test run of how things are going post-move.
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Aug 30, 2013 18:42
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YNAB is great for me, but I recently hit a snag where the numbers are all accurate, but the actual budgeting part is way off. Due to the best security deposit return I've ever had, I had a couple hundred dollars more than I thought to manage, but YNAB seems to think it's already been allotted. Thankfully, I get very bored at work and already had a rough draft of this paycheck's budget, so I'm not really off track or anything - I just need to figure out how to make YNAB get up to speed. I think the combination of a paycheck right before the start of a new month, combined with a vacation in the middle of the month where I went ~$200 over budget is maybe what's throwing stuff off. Is this something anyone else encounters from time to time? I'm a little reluctant to start dicking around with my budget numbers just to make the "Left to Budget" amount match what I actually have left to budget, but I'm even more hesitant to scrap the whole thing and start over.
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Aug 30, 2013 19:13
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morcant posted:YNAB is great for me, but I recently hit a snag where the numbers are all accurate, but the actual budgeting part is way off. Due to the best security deposit return I've ever had, I had a couple hundred dollars more than I thought to manage, but YNAB seems to think it's already been allotted. If this isn't the case, post some screenshots.
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Aug 30, 2013 19:15
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DirtyTalk posted:I don't really like Mint. Idk why but it never seemed to do it for me. It is way too convoluted in my opinion. Another thing for the thread to remember, just because A, B, and C didn't make sense at some point in the last ten years doesn't mean they won't make sense knowing what you now know.
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Aug 30, 2013 22:44
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morcant posted:...I think the combination of a paycheck right before the start of a new month... B) If yes, did you then mark the inflow of the paycheck as "Income for September" in YNAB? I ran into a rough spot when I first started using YNAB because I had a situation where I paid rent on the 1st of April and again on the 29th of April (for May). The advice I got from the YNAB forums was to go ahead and use the real dates for the transactions (meaning I paid $2005 in rent in April) and budgeting $1002 for rent in May - even though I wouldn't actually pay that until the 29th. Then I got paid in early July, and so my budget looks like I didn't pay rent in June - because I paid rent FOR June, but not IN June. It looks wonky as hell, and makes my brain hurt when I think about it, but the numbers did actually smooth out and match up as time went on, just the way the folks in the YNAB forum said they would. 
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Aug 31, 2013 02:39
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Kenny Rogers posted:... budgeting $1002 for rent in May - even though I wouldn't actually pay that until the 29th. Then I got paid in early July, and so my budget looks like I didn't pay rent in June - because I paid rent FOR June, but not IN June. It looks wonky as hell, and makes my brain hurt...  Yeah. What is this, the dating game? This reminds me of a goony friend who used to send money to the credit card company every few weeks based on his pay checks coming in and, if I recall correctly, some of the leftovers after things like rent and such were paid. This might seem fine in practice because "when the other routine bills are paid there's always leftover", and it was until his notions of reality failed to match the credit card company's and he ended up missing a payment, whereafter followed the penalties and realization that you pay things with money that you have on a schedule for a reason. Every couple of pages in this thread, after people have been going on for a few days trying to clarify something about YNAB, it starts to look like it might actually make sense. Then someone picks up a basket, walks into the bank, and dumps a bunch of fish onto the counter, and I again realize that it just about flopping around like fish hoping you end up in the water.On the other hand, I said to find your strengths and use them to budget, so if you're good at playing computer games...
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Aug 31, 2013 04:30
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This YNAB thing sounds like exactly what I need, but I can't afford $60 for it.  I wish I'd been here for the sale. Maybe I'll try the demo out, and see if I can save up enough in the free month.
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Sep 2, 2013 13:19
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It will almost certainly be on sale again in the steam winter sale in ~4 months
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Sep 2, 2013 22:47
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I really like step by step instructions for things. I like clear and concise goals and tasks. I like the idea of YNAB because unlike pen and paper, it is meant for and geared towards BUDGETING. the support is there, and it is clear and concise to help someone in my position. Like everything else, it's worth a shot as nothing else has seemed to work so far.
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Sep 3, 2013 22:07
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DirtyTalk posted:I really like step by step instructions for things...
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Sep 3, 2013 22:54
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It's a good point about it being a tool designed specifically for this job. It's not the only solution, but for me at least, it's what finally worked. I wouldn't want to go back to pen and paper. And my finances sadly aren't robust enough for me to need to create custom spreadsheets. But they're much stronger than they were when I was trying to do it myself. Budgeting didn't really "click" for me until I used YNAB and read up on their process. I had previously used spreadsheets and the like. While there are other ways to learn these lessons, YNAB helped me learn how not to spend to the bank account. I now know that it works much like the envelope method, but a lot easier to manage if you primarily use electronic funds. I also quite enjoy the ease and interactivity of the reports.
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Sep 4, 2013 00:23
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Old Fart posted:It's a good point about it being a tool designed specifically for this job. It's not the only solution, but for me at least, it's what finally worked. I wouldn't want to go back to pen and paper. Same here. I've never been an overspender, so keeping a pen and paper (or Excel) budget always worked for me on that front. However, I was lousy about properly managing that amorphous blob of "extra money" left over each month. The way YNAB is specifically set up to facilitate giving every dollar a job and easily moving money between categories targets my main financial weakness and makes managing a dozen different savings goals so much easier than I'd find it on my own.
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Sep 4, 2013 14:51
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PhantomOfTheCopier posted:One of the first ten hits from Google for "how to create a budget" could get you started, as could one of the many other resources online. I'm by no means saying I haven't looked up budgeting programs/strategies before. I saw YNAB for $15 and snatched it. Why not try it? I've already established that I bought it, so I might as well give it a shot.
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Sep 4, 2013 16:25
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Here's my first shot at a budget in YNAB: I know it kind of flies in the face of YNAB to budget out a month ahead, but since I'm salaried I know how much money I'll get next month. My pay does fluctuate slightly, but I know the bare minimum I get, and I keep track of extra hours of pay I earn. I should earn right around $2,500 next month. And I only get paid once a month (on the last day), which I actually like. Once I get those stupid credit cards paid off again it'll be a lot better. I need to curtail my online shopping addiction. Hopefully using YNAB helps! My car payment is $299, but I am aiming to pay at least $350 a month. $400 when the credit card is paid off. Or should I pay the minimum on the auto loan and extra on the credit card? The auto loan has a much lower interest rate... but I get a kind of "double paycheck" in November, so the credit card will be paid off in full then anyways.The next few months will be a bit tight! spinst fucked around with this message at 03:21 on Sep 8, 2013 |
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Sep 8, 2013 03:16
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spinst posted:Here's my first shot at a budget in YNAB: Regarding your line items, your phone and internet bills are ridiculous, but you don't seem to have TV so that's a big win right there. You might also consider not saving for an emergency fund while you have debt and opting instead for some kind of springy debt thing, a la MMM. For debt repayment, there are two basic methods: mathematically correct and "debt snowball". The mathematically correct approach says to take the debt with the highest interest rate and hammer it until it's gone while paying the minimum on all your other debts. This approach minimizes interest paid but it can be a long slog plugging away at that 12k line of credit (if you have one) while your $750 credit card balance laughs at you. The debt snowball says to pay your debt with the smallest balance first in the same fashion. This may cost you more interest but some people find it more psychologically satisfying and that satisfaction helps to keep them on board. Personally, in the past three years I've paid off more than $42000 in debt using the maths approach (and not really saving any sort of emergency fund), so yeah. tuyop fucked around with this message at 04:15 on Sep 8, 2013 |
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Sep 8, 2013 04:03
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tuyop posted:Regarding your line items, your phone and internet bills are ridiculous, but you don't seem to have TV so that's a big win right there. You might also consider not saving for an emergency fund while you have debt and opting instead for some kind of springy debt thing, a la MMM. It's a $17k car loan (@ 2.99) and the two credit cards ($665 @ 12). Wouldn't you pay more interest if you're paying of the lower interest rate loan first? 
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Sep 8, 2013 04:13
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spinst posted:It's a $17k car loan (@ 2.99) and the two credit cards ($665 @ 12). Haha, yes. I mixed that up! Pay off the highest interest rate first.
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Sep 8, 2013 04:14
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tuyop posted:Haha, yes. I mixed that up! Pay off the highest interest rate first. Phew! I was getting a little nervous that I was missing something big there. Well, luckily both those strategies point to the same balance to go first, then. I'll make some adjustments!Edit: Yes, my internet and phone are expensive. I guess I just never think about it! I don't have cable. I just use Netflix. I will take a look and see if I can reduce either of those! Edit 2: Got my internet down $10. It's a start! Haha. I guess only one company services my building so I'm a bit stuck as to who I can use. spinst fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Sep 8, 2013 |
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Sep 8, 2013 04:22
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Sigh. Just start to get a budget under control and some punk kid keys the car I bought less than three weeks ago.
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Sep 19, 2013 05:20
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spinst posted:Sigh. Just start to get a budget under control and some punk kid keys the car I bought less than three weeks ago.
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Sep 19, 2013 10:50
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 In line to save/pay off $4100 this month then the wife hits another car. Bye bye $1000 deductible. Also, grocery budgets can suck a dick.
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Sep 19, 2013 12:53
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27 year old, who just moved out of the house for the first time. Have no credit card debt, and want to try to keep it that way. Here's my first crack at a budget. I have about $20k in the bank saved up for an emergency fund. The girlfriend expenses aren't necessarily a monthly expense, but she goes to school ~5 hours away, so it's an amount I'm setting aside monthly to plan trips to visit her (which will include hotel rooms, travel, and eating out). The expense numbers are all what I anticipate my monthly spending to be in these categories. I've never lived alone so I have no idea how realistic these numbers are so please provide input if anything looks really wonky. Income Monthly Biweekly Gross $5756.08 $2878.04 Dental $10.16 $5.08 Medical $77.54 $38.77 401K $1036.1 $518.05 Taxes $1898.9 $949.45 Net $2733.38 $1366.69 Living Expense Rent $1300 Parking $80 Renter's Insurance $14.83 Utilities Internet $40 Electric/Water $40 Cell Phone $45 Day to day Groceries $200 Gas $150 Fun Eating out/bars $200 Miscellaneous $200 Girlfriend expenses $400 Total monthly income $2733.38 Total monthly budgeted expense $2670
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Sep 19, 2013 18:11
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I'm guess you are living by yourself in a high cost of living area if you're dropping a net paycheck on housing every month. The budget is a start, and I'm a big fan of the Misc. category but I still think you're missing some things. Mostly things that come with starting your own household. Household items and furnishings add up quickly. Your electric/water bill budgeted amount is very low, as is your grocery. It's doable, but you're probably underestimating it a bit. The electric should be upped to at least 100 probably. I think you might be overestimating your tax burden though. A quick scrap sheet of paper calculation should put your taxable income around 54K with a fed tax bill in the ballpark of 10K a year. ( I assumed no other deductions other than standard single). No idea on your state tax situation. You'll be fine, but I don't think you're accounting for everything. Grab a credit card that ties into whatever hotel chain you'll be staying at and put your trips and discretionary spending on it. It'll save you quite a bit in free hotel rooms and whatnot. The Marriott Rewards card is pretty nice.
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Sep 19, 2013 18:45
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I'd also recommend some savings for short-term needs. Various deductibles (medical, dental, auto insurance) are the types of things people usually put on their credit cards because they don't have the cash saved for those types of things. I have categories for auto insurance, auto maintenance, household items/repairs, healthcare costs, etc. to earmark funds. Also: no car insurance? Edit: I assume your "Misc" category is for a lot of this stuff, but without it being earmarked for a purpose, it's liable to be spent on something else. You could look at your balance in Misc and say "I've got $1500, I'm getting a new MacBook!" without realizing that some of that has to pay for your dental checkup and car insurance due in four months. You've got a very sizable emergency fund, but remember what it's for: actual emergencies or job loss, not for dipping into to cover these non-monthly expenses
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Sep 19, 2013 18:49
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skippdogg: Yeah, I'll adjust the budget accordingly as I start getting some electricity/water bills. Is a normal electricity bill really $140/month? I live in a 540 sqft studio if that helps estimates. I thought $200 dollars a month for groceries for a single person living alone was normal if not high? The tax numbers were taken directly from my pay check, those aren't estimates. My paycheck amount is the same every month. Omne: My parents are paying for my car insurance as it's bundled in under their house insurance. Thanks for the advice guys! Keep it (and the questions!) rolling in. bouncyman fucked around with this message at 19:21 on Sep 19, 2013 |
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Sep 19, 2013 19:16
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bouncyman posted:I live in a 540 sqft studio bouncyman posted:Rent $1300  Is there someway for you to lower the rent without paying for it in space/quality of living or increasing your income? You certainly don't have a low income number wise, but it seems relatively awful for your area if that's normal.
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Sep 19, 2013 19:43
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It's pretty normal for the area I'm living in. I just moved in and signed a one year lease, so I don't think I can get out of it right now (nor do I want to. after living with my parents (whom I love very much) for 20+ years it's loving awesome living by myself and giving no fucks). When I decided to move out I wanted to live by myself, with no roommates just to see if I could survive on my own. For reference, in the area I was looking, a 700+ sqft 1 bedroom apartment would be about 1500-1600. I looked at a couple other studios comparable to mine when I was apartment shopping, and they were all about 1200-1300.
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Sep 19, 2013 19:47
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bouncyman posted:skippdogg: Yeah, I'll adjust the budget accordingly as I start getting some electricity/water bills. Is a normal electricity bill really $140/month? I live in a 540 sqft studio if that helps estimates. It depends on where you live and what your rates are. For my ~525 sq. ft. apartment in Texas I was spending $85 during the summer months and $40 during the winter months at 9.6 cents per kWh (and a $10 fee for not using enough electricity). Talking to other people here I found out my summer bills are a lower than average. To help lower your bill, I would recommend changing the temperature setpoint of your A/C to 80+ when you leave and buy CFLs (or LED lamps if you have money) to replace any incandescent bulbs you may have. You would think this this is common sense but I see a lot of people not doing the basics to save on their electric bills.
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Sep 19, 2013 22:31
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skipdogg posted:I'm guess you are living by yourself in a high cost of living area if you're dropping a net paycheck on housing every month. The awesome recipes they provide are *just right* for two people, when YOUR GIRLFRIEND is there, or just you with leftovers for lunch the next day. When I'm ordering weekly groceries (delivery groceries available in my area *also* help keep the grocery bill from inexplicably climbing), I often find that I need to add stuff that's not on the mealime list just to make the $50 minimum order. Kenny Rogers fucked around with this message at 22:57 on Sep 19, 2013 |
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Sep 19, 2013 22:54
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The plan for groceries right now is buy all protein from costco (tuna, chicken, ground beef) freeze what needs to be frozen and buy vegetables as needed. Skipp in terms of furnishing, I forgot to mention, I spent about 3k furnishing my apartment (couch, mattress, bed frame, pots, pans etc) and that came out of my savings as part of the cost of moving in. The 20k in savings is after the 5k I spent on move in furnishings. Kenny thanks for the link... I'll check it out.
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Sep 20, 2013 00:07
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I am so glad I still read this thread. Mealime sounds awesome. Do they calculate nutritional information for each meal or do you have to do that on your own? e: found a still-active groupon for it in case anyone else in here is thinking about trying it: http://www.groupon.com/deals/mealime. It's a canadian deal but I imagine anyone can buy it since it's essentially just a meal plan. the littlest prince fucked around with this message at 18:09 on Sep 20, 2013 |
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Sep 20, 2013 18:05
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the littlest prince posted:I am so glad I still read this thread. Mealime sounds awesome. Do they calculate nutritional information for each meal or do you have to do that on your own?
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Sep 20, 2013 19:12
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How does it work if you cook for two like, always?
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Sep 20, 2013 20:19
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