Hey, check out the Carnival of Personal Finance over at Frugal for Life.
Great collection of posts from various personal finance bloggers.

Well, the wheels on this bus have slowed to a crawl. I am still moving forward, and will make some form of debt re-payment Monday or Tuesday, but there is no way that I can manage the 100 dollar a day goal. Will I still be able to be debt free by 10-10-2005? It appears very unlikely. I KNOW that I will be debt free by Christmas, but I really, really wanted to hit the 10-10 date. But, I am reminded of the old Jerry Clower line, “what’s time to a hog?”. I have been in debt for 15 years, so what’s a couple of months more, hmmm…

WELL, I’LL TELL YA…It’s two stinkin’ months too many. While I cannot see HOW I am going to do it, I AM GOING TO FIND A WAY. I will scour my closets and attic for things to ebay. I will skimp on every purchase. This is a very, very important goal that I have set for myself. I really, really, really, really, really, want to knock this junk out by 10-10. So, I am going to do it. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Why? Because, for my entire LIFE, I have delayed taking responsibility for my financial actions! NO MORE! A line has been drawn in the sand, and if I must take showers with watered-down shampoo, If I must eat beans and rice, if I must turn the a.c. up and not drive my car…SO BE IT. I will succeed. I must succeed.

Man, I hope I make it…

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Okay, I received an email about my budgeting system. Now, I know that several personal finance bloggers post their actual budgets, but I am not going to do that. I am going to post a very simple, 2 column budget, assuming a 1000 dollar take home. I will use 50 dollars in each category. This IS NOT an actual budget. I am just using these numbers as “place holders” for where you would put your “real” numbers. I just wanted to show how easy a simple, dimple budget can be.

Here are the steps for a simple, easy to use budget.

1. First, Start with 2 columns. You can use a spreadsheet program like Excel or just a piece of paper. In Column A put: “Take Home”. In Column B put: take home pay: Example “1000″. See example here:

2. Now, In Column A list the 5 ways or place you use your money. I call these major categories Savings, Cash, Bills, Debt, and Checks. (This is all money that has a purpose for that pay period. Long-term savings and retirement are not included.) Savings is a major category for saving up money that will be used once a year or for unexpected needs. Cash is for day to day purchases, like groceries and gas. The Bills Category is where you place funds for your MONTHLY bills. The Debt Category is where you allocate funds for debt re-payment. (Note, you CAN put your debts under the Bills Category, but I like to separate them.) Checks is a special category I created for those constant once a month payments that I have that I do not receive and actual “bill” for. Your page should now looks something like this:

3. Now, break-down each category into sub-categories. These are your actual “budget” items. Your page will then look like this:

As you can see, the numbers listed here are simply to make the math work. Please note, you should spend EVERY dollar that comes into your house, ON PAPER, before the month actually begins.

A few special notes:

I keep my “savings” category in an interest bearing savings account, and withdraw funds as needed. I keep my cash in my wallet. I keep my checks, bills, and debt payment in my basic checking account. I use online bill pay as much as possible.

Now, this is why this Simple Budget really works. You can use it for weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly pay-checks. You simply put your starting amount, and then allocate a portion of it to each account. For instance, I get paid weekly, the wife gets paid monthly. We allocate my check to several accounts weekly, and hers monthly. The allocations are not always equal, but, the total allocation for each check always leaves us with a “zero” total. We spend EVERY dime, before it comes into the house. Any money “left-over” gets to go towards debt, or towards extra savings.

Ready to move beyond pencil and paper. I suggest you try long-time site sponsor: If you are ready to move from pencil and paper, may I suggest long-time site sponsor, You Need A Budget. I use Jesse’s product to manage my day-to-day spending.

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Hey all, a quick thanks for all of the positive vibes I have received. I am over my “I want to quit” junk, and will get back to business. What, pray tell, did I do to get over my bad mood? Well, I ditched the junk food, ate a bunch of fruit and grilled chicken, and went for a good work-out. Then, I came home and read the blog, and then chilled out to a free relaxation mp3 from this site: Meditainment. That made me feel much, much better. Thanks to Hello, Dollar for input, and the input from all who commented.

Now, back on track, and to the plan. I have not missed the XM or the Netflix, and I made a total of over 700 bucks from eBay. I have a few more items to auction, so I might manage over 1000 bucks when I am totally finished. For now, I am going to chill with what I have.

I still have not received my title to our Accord from Honda. I am waiting one more day to check the mail, and will call them Friday to verify. Also, as planned, I sold my XM Receiver and Home Kit. Good stuff.

I will be making a sizable dent into my debt on Monday. I am going to try to pay somewhere between 1000 and 2000 dollars, depending on just how much money comes in, and what the exact totals are for some bills due.

Again, thanks for the support, and I’ll see ya tomorrow.

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Okay, I guess the idea behind a blog such as this one is to be honest. Up until this week, I have been totally “on fire” and ready to pay off my debts. Now, I’m just tired of it. I don’t want to think about money. I don’t want to check my balances. Heck, I don’t even want to deal with my bills. Where is this coming from? Is it just natural, like being on a diet? Does there come a point when the old brain says, “ENOUGH!”. Or, am I just being a baby. I think a little of both. I don’t want to do this money stuff for a while. I want to go to the movies, get a big bowl of popcorn, a large coke, and zone out. No more eBay, no more selling stuff, no more “gazelle intensity”. I am tired. Mentally, physically, emotionally, I am drained. I feel like someone who needs to lose 100 pounds (okay, I AM someone who needs to lose 100 pounds, but that is another battle for another day) and that person has lost 30 pounds. I should be so HAPPY with the 30 pounds gone, but all I focus on is the 70 pounds left. Crud.

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Okay, a quick question for all you guys. What was your biggest financial blunder? What one thing did you do that has set you back the most financially? Try to be specific. (You can list more than one if you have them). Here are my top 3 dumbest financial moves. They are in order from least to most harmful. (I usually don’t do “polls” or reader-participation stuff, so, post a few comments so I don’t feel like a total dork).

1. Purchased a brand new car, right out of high school, when I had a perfectly good car paid for from my parents. Roughly 15000 dollars of unnecessary debt.
2. Went on a 4000 dollar vacation 2 years ago, right after promising that I would get out of debt. Put every dime on credit cards, and then used credit cards for every meal, every outfit, and every thing we did on vacation.
3. The big one. Purchased (in 1999) a 32000 dollar SUV, when we only made about 40000 dollars a year take-home pay. This ONE single purchase set us back many, many years. I was stupid to buy the SUV, I got a horrible trade for my old car, and I paid for unnecessary warranties. Plus, the guy who sold the car to me really, really did me wrong on the financing, etc. (I am NOT blaming him. I was totally ignorant about money, budgeting, and debt.)

Dave Ramsey uses the phrase “stupid tax”. These are three examples of how I have paid tons of “stupid tax”. Hope to hear from many of you.

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