Update Summary
Holy cow...I mean really, time is just a-flyin'!
Last time I posted, I was sharing my new budgeting plans, budgeting tools and basically my overall support system for getting out of the hole I had been putting myself in over time.
The Facebook groups I've joined have gone from basic budgeting groups to mustachian based groups to minimalist living groups. My spending has taken a complete 180-degree turn, wherein I now look to save instead of spend, and I spend only (mostly?) on things that matter most.
The supportive person I had in my life when I started 2016 is no longer in my life, however the viewpoints that were shared with me have stuck, and I'm now looking to *hopefully* retire early. Probably not SUPER early, like some folks I've seen, but early enough that I don't end up part of the rat race at 60 years old.
What's New??
In the time since I last posted, very very many things have happened and/or changed in the way I work with the money I have/earn:- I've found a new, better paying place of employment, that fits my personality and future work plans much better.
- I totaled my car, and ended up using the insurance money to buy pretty much the same car, just one year newer, and a hatch instead of a sedan.
- I've refinanced the house, which basically moved my consumer debt from my individual debtors to my property
- I've joined even more supportive and educational groups on Facebook that have helped curbed my financial spending appetite.
- I've lessened the amount of money I spend eating out by at least 75%... I used to eat out every day or every other day, sometimes multiple times a day. Now I'm down to once a week... Maybe.
- I've requested, reviewed and updated all of my credit reports. (This takes for-ever!)
- I track my finances religiously almost daily, and know almost exactly where each dollar ends up.
Without the push from my aforementioned ex-friend, I do not believe I would have developed the habits I now have.
Budget Tracking
I was previously using EveryDollar to track my budget, since it was free... Then I found out about nYNAB, to which I purchased a subscription and started using it to track my budget... Then I realized I needed a bit more flexibility in the way I see my budget laid out in front of me. The nYNAB concept is that you only see what money you have available to use, based on the budget you set up for any given month. This worked well for me until I wanted to see that info at a lower level.I then created my own spreadsheet set up like the image below, that goes into a daily, category budget level.
The file above may seem like overkill, but once I knew exactly what I needed or didn't need to spend in order to up my savings, I became far more aware of how much money I was "wasting" (spending unnecessarily).
I was also previously tracking food prices in my area in order to know when it was best to buy which products, but shortly after starting on this financial awareness journey, I learned of Facebook groups, to which I now belong, that already do price tracking for you. Like, that is the entire purpose of the Facebook group. So I've been able to know what to stock up on, how to meal plan based on upcoming sales and more! I've taken my love of planning things to the next level, applying it to more money aspects of my life.
Debt Obligations Update
Due to the refinancing of my house, I no longer have difficult to pay (i.e. catch up with) consumer debt (past due student loans, past due payday loans, past due credit cards, etc). I do currently have a secured credit card that I pay off every month, but that's because I even track what I spend on that to make sure I'm not overspending, and that I can pay it back when the time comes to do so. I will be aiming to obtain a no fee , unsecured card in the near future so that I can close the card I have nowand start really building up my credit.
Overall Financial Update
Based on my budget spreadsheet and financial plans, I'm on the way to saving up just over $25k by the end of 2016. This doesn't include any savings for the month of January and February since that was a time during which I was going through a LOT of change in home, in car and in work. Provided that things stay relatively stable for the year 2017, I should be able to aim toward a savings rate of $30k for 2017. =DI know I say I will come back to post on this blog regularly, but it's not highest priority in my life, so I come back to it when I can. I'm hoping I can share more with you all in the near future, but for the last couple months, my daily financial process has basically been the following:
- wake up
- check bank account for anything that may have passed through that I'm not aware of, or that I am aware of
- make note of any transactions that have passed through overnight in my budget tracker
- try not to spend money unnecessarily throughout the day, each day
- before the end of the working day, update my budget tracker to reflect any monies spent that day
And that's pretty much it when it comes to tracking how not to spend money. :)
Without the debt hanging over my head, I haven't needed to worry about scheduled debt repayment, so I have nothing to share in that regard.
I did check on what my estimated credit score might be based on my current financial status, and it's back up into the "OK" range, when it was previously (about 1.5 months ago) in the "Bad" range. I will be applying for the unsecured CC early in July or August and I will report back on whether my score has improved enough in the last 3 months to now be approved for it successfully.
Food Budget Detail Info
Because food tends to be the most variable budgeting category, I've decided to share what my monthly/daily food budget breakdown looks like these days.Be aware that my mother lives with me, and while I purchase mostly for me, and she purchases mostly for her, I always budget for 2 with the amounts you will see.
Below is my monthly/daily amount available based on the dollar amount I've assigned some of the major budget categories:
Groceries: $280-310 /mth OR $10 /calendar day
Eating Out: $175-$195 /mth OR $6.25 /calendar day
Pet Food: $150 /mth
In addition to the above spending amounts, I use apps like PC Plus points, Checkout51 and Flipp in order to price match and get some money back on what I spend. This has provided me with a little bit of kickback for doing basic groceries I would need to do anyway. :)
Well, if there's anything else to share, I will try to remember to come back and update it here. But there shouldn't be anything for the next little while since my routine is pretty much set. I will try to remember to post on how things progress with my credit score as I notice things changing.
- Negative K