Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Budgets, Money and Life.

Lots of piss poor advice as per usual. Some good advice though on how to be a broke dick though! Hopefully you and your wife are on the same page here or you’re probably screwed. Yeah, Get a budget put together so you can at least see where your money is going. If you don’t at least know that, you can’t expect to help yourself. My CU has that as part of their mobile app. Go in and categorize your spending and pretty soon, it’ll basically do it for you. You’ll be surprised on how much you spend on food and eating out.

#2 - does your work have a retirement savings plan? Do they have a match to it if a 401k? If so, invest in that at least up to the amount you need to contribute to get that match. It’s free money. Keep it up and you will be a millionaire by the time you are 60s. Once you know this you can focus on spending for necessities and things that are important to you and get away from stupid buying habits.

#3 - pay off any and all consumer debt! Today’s interest rates will eat you alive. And there’s a certain amount of security in not having that burden. I’ve been out of work due to closures, layoffs, four times now in my caeer. The first time I was in your exact situation and it was stressful. I am going through it again right now but everything is paid off (early 50s here) so I don’t really care this time and started my own gig, The point being you become a slave to your lender(s) and interest never sleeps, takes a sick day or a vacation. This includes cars btw. Buying a depreciating asset on credit is the stupidest thing we do! Once here, don’t ever go backwards and do it again.

#4 - This one can come earlier in the list. Buy a house. Renting is both more costly and you don’t build any equity on those dollars. You can write off the interest on your mortgage as well. But get a place that is within your means. This is a tougher situation right now than it used to be. My parents bought their first home hen Carter was President and interest rates double digits. It can still be done.

#5 - Make sure you and the wife give yourselves a little ’mad money’ that you don’t have to be accountable for. Spend it however you want.

Start a 10 percent account and stay with it. We you get money from anywhere put 10 percent of it into savings no matter what and then work off what is left for everything else. Don't eat out or any fast eating places. Buy your flour and sugar to make biscuits or bread and cook your own stuff. Eating together as a family is a wonderful way to live.

One other thing since you said major things. I don't know where you live or anything about your house but I will say that insulation in your home is an investment that never stops paying dividends.

A million dollars 20 or 30 years from now will be peanuts.

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Decide first what you want to accomplish. Next, decide what that will cost and the time frame for attaining whatever this is. Calculate how much you’ll need to save/invest each month to accomplish this. Have that amount autodrafted from your checking account. Figure out how to live on the rest.

Becoming and staying debt free will make this process much easier.

A good sized emergency fund will keep you from dipping into these investments.

I don't have much of a budget, but essentially a single income house hold. Max out my retirement and invest in some IRA's and other assets, but feeling the pinch.

Taxes, insurance, utilities, etc. all keep going up.

What hurts me most is I used to buy/flip some project vehicles before COVID, ever since COVID I've only managed to buy one project truck. Used to pay 750-1500.00 for a vehicle, put anywhere from 300-1k into it and make a good profit (not counting my labor). Paid for my extra toys/trips, etc.

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I'll 3rd (or 4th?) the advice about subscriptions & eating out. The latter has taken care of itself, since the quality has tanked since COVID. Makes no sense to go out when we eat way better at home, for way less, and we never wait in line, nor suffer schidtty service.

My other tip would be to shop your insurance at least every 2 years. The rates always creep, & it aint in your agent's interest to remind you that they could cover you for less. So, you remind them.

My agent has cancelled my policies several times over the years, & re-written me as a new client. Most recently, she saved me half of what I'd been paying. Between house, cars, & whatever else, that gets to be serious savings.

We also have to buy our own health insurance, and have gone to a bare-bones plan. It's still way expensive than I think it should be, but we're paying about half what the full-featured plan was. Since we rarely have any medical claims, the savings has been many, many times greater than whatever we've spent out o' pocket.

Good luck,

FC

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And zero in 20-30 years will still be broke.

We run on a CC and pay it off monthly. Bank account was hacked 2 or 3x because of the debit card scammers so now we feel we are better protected.

I haven't had a truck payment in 10 years. Paid one off, kept saving that monthly payment then 2 years ago I bought a low mileage 08 with cash. Wife paid her car off last week, only has 42k in the odometer. I am trying my best to never finance another vehicle.

Probably save a portion of what that payment was for the next vehicle which is hopefully 5+ years down the road. It won't be a brand new vehicle either.

“Bidenomics, it’s working!”

To OP- I can't and won't tell you what to do or what I do, everyone's situation is unique.

But I will say this, the household budgetary "fixed" items have greatly increased in price in the last 3 years. Requires some movement in one way or the other for most.

So yes, everyone is feeling the crunch.

I break up my income and spending down to the day level. For example, bring home $3K a month is $100 a day. Then calculate daily expenses: rent/mortgage, car payments, utilities, food, insurance, etc. Then see how much is leftover and think carefully before you spend on eating out or buying stupid crap you don't need.

Biggest expenses are usually rent/mortgage and cars so those are places you can also save the most. Get what you need and not to impress.

Never wrote a budget in my life.


It's not rocket science, and you can't accurately write a formula.

Do what your great grandparents did.
Buy what you NEED. Never borrow for anything not a NEED.

(A car is a need. Not a newer one, not one others will envy.
Home repairs are a need. New flooring, New kitchens, a deck or entertainment area are not needs.)
Borrowing is ok for needs. Wants, it'd be nice are too expensive for you if you can't do them for cash.


Pretty soon you should have money you haven't pre-spent.
You are on track.
In awhile you can buy reasonable cars, for cash.



Vacations, recreation...pay cash. If you can't pay cash for fun, you can't afford it.


True honest to goodness investment/recreation land or other dual purpose purchases are tricky.



Learn to be honest. With yourself.
Do we need it?
Is it worth it?
Is it durable? How long will it be worth it?
Or will it become worthless/or ignored.
IS IT A TRENDY PURCHASE BECAUSE OTHERS ARE BUYING ONE?


The last paragraph is probably the key.

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Major things to save money:

1. Don't have kids...but we will need to skip that one.
2.Relieve yourself of all debt that is humanly possible. If you use credit cards pay the full balance at the end of the month, or throw them away.
3.Vehicles:don't go into debt for one. Period.Drive an older vehicle that you can afford to buy and maintain it.Just what you save on not having to pay full coverage insurance is astounding, not to mention no monthly payment of $800 plus for that new truck.
4. Old school- if you can't pay cash for it, you can't afford it.
5. Prioritize-is it more important to have experiences( like vacations) or to buy things? Don't become a slave to your possessions.
6. Think SERIOUSLY about "need" vs "want. You don't need that RV, or ATV, or jet ski. Rent one when you gotta have one.
7. Any spare change-invest- through your 401K, IRA or on your own.You gotta have money to make money.