Sixty-Two Sixty-Two

As talked about yesterday, Americans spend a lot of money on food and drink. If you eat outside of your home often, you spend even more. Two weeks in to this 30 day budget cycle, and I'm already at my budgeted amount for food/groceries/house items. After seeing this I need to make two changes. The first change is adding another line item to my budget for household items (think paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning products), because right now it's getting lumped in with my grocery dollars. The second change is an effort to eat more frugally. I've begun to do this, but efforts will be increased. Here is my plan: I need to get to a point where I make a list and shop once a week. I've been known to stop by Hannaford 3-4 times per week and this alone will lead to buying too much. I want to stick to a simple eating plan: Delay my first meal as long as possible in the morning. I think there are benefits to the combination of  intermittent fasting/calorie restriction

Before I started tracking my spending, I never considered how much I was spending on certain things. I mentioned in yesterday's budget post, I leak a lot of money in my grocery and food budget (still!). And according to this article , I'm definitely not alone. Most of us could give our budgets a significant boost by tracking spending and figuring out alternatives to how we currently spend our money. Here are some easy ways that I'll save the most money this year: Cell phone - I mentioned in an earlier post that I sold my phone and paid it off (opting for an older used phone), saving a $30 monthly payment. I also cut our data plan in half, saving an additional $20 a month. Total savings for the year = $600 . Stop buying coffee (and other caffeinated beverages). There was a article circulating last year stating Millennials spend more on coffee than they invest in retirement accounts. This was according to a survey by Acorns, a micro-investing company. I have to say,

Getting down and dirty today...here is a printout of my budget spreadsheet. I use Google sheets, which has an app that allows me to update on the fly using my phone. I hope this can be educational for some, motivate others, and make a lot of people feel great about their personal financial situation compared to mine (even without totals, it ugly!). Many of us are in different situations, and the goal is to keep falling forward making progress daily. Leading the left hand column of green blocks is revenue, or simply net take home pay (after insurances, 401k, health savings, and taxes paid). I don't have other streams of income but if you do, I'd list them here. This is followed by line items for life expenses, loans, credit cards, savings, recreation/entertainment, and misc. I like the simplicity of these categories. I'm not the type that likes to break down spending categories to the minutiae. The first blacked out column is what I budget to pay for each 30 day cyc

I'm pleased to write that I stuck to the budget 100% this week. Around lunch time on Wednesday, I started craving a silky smooth...iced...Starbucks Americano...with cream only....but I found a local walking path and walked that craving away. Frugal fitness - biked 55 miles M-F this week. Got outside for 3 miles of walking. Two weeks in and I'm feeling good about this journey, and the journaling of it. On Monday I want to talk about how I'm allocating money within the budget. According to the statistics here at Sixty-Two Sixty-Two, the post on my budget has gotten the most views and I imagine people are interested in learning and sharing ideas about this. I'm always open to ideas. Don't forget to subscribe, and comment. Have a great weekend, everyone.

In yesterday's post, I mentioned teaching the kids about finances. L and I have been meaning to start an allowance system, and I believe we'll start when S turns 10 next month. It will be a simple plan which I've seen out there on the internets. It will include 3 jars, labeled Savings, Spending, and Sharing. Each child will get a dollar for each year of their age, each week. They'll be forced to put 50% in savings, 40% in spending, and 10% in sharing. We will set up a few age applicable chores that must be completed before getting their allowance.  I'll create a ledger for each child and they'll have to keep track of their balances. This will help prove to S that you do in fact need to know math in real life, contrary to her thoughts while she's doing her math homework. That's all for today. Enjoy it.  

The past four years have been a realization that there exists two main commodities in life, time and money. In this post I talked about the fact that when you spend your money, you're mortgaging your time. This was most evident a few weeks after Christmas 2014. The girls reached an age where their Christmas list was quite large; a lists of desired toys influenced by the culture they find themselves growing up in. L and I obliged their many desires that year, leading to a fairly expensive Christmas. A mere two weeks after Christmas those many wants, which were now haves in their very hands, no longer held the same meaning to them. I didn't and don't blame them for this. I feel it's a "luxury" of their generation, and if I'm honest, each generation between theirs and my own. Under that tree that year existed many hours L and I spent at work. I dare say time that would have rather been spent as a family, doing any number of things that cost little to

I decided to share this journey on my Facebook page for a few reasons. I wanted to hold myself more accountable. I realized I wasn't alone in this financial situation, and wanted others to realize they're not alone either. I want to help connect people through the idea that it's alright to share your bruises with others. Social isolation seems to be an increasing epidemic alongside a social media movement that makes it seem like we're more connected than ever... ...We seem to be willing to share our vacation pics, our new car/home purchases, our nights out on the town, etc. But, how many of us share the hangover? How many are willing to share, even with the people closest to them, the things that they're struggling with? I'm not suggesting everyone needs share their dirty laundry with everyone within an ear shot. Find someone that you trust, ask them if they're willing to sit down and hear your story, and figure out a plan to reverse the situation y

As much as my life has added undesired debt, it's added undesired weight. Going forward, to attack debt and to become healthier, my focus will be on frugal fitness and intentional living. Intentional living will become a common thread in this journaled journey. My gym membership ran out on Monday the 5th, and spending on food/drink is often a source of extreme waste for myself and many Americans. The gym membership won't be purchased, and a simple approach will be in place to avoid waste on food and drink. Admission:  I've wasted money in search of health and fitness. While health and fitness are important to me, and worthy of money spent, there are many things I've done that have been in waste. This includes purchasing many types of supplements (common fitness supplements, but also MLM type supplements like Beachbody and Advocare, etc.). To keep it simple, I believe supplements are a waste of money when you're purchasing them in ways that I have . I've p

In yesterday's post , I talked about the behavioral and emotional link behind my spending. I also shared a spending problem I'm sure many can relate to - an attempt to keep up with the Kardashians. I also shared with you how I have a tendency to feel down for periods. This has affected how I spent money as well, and only recently have I taken myself to the wood shed for what I'm about to admit to you. I make purchases to mask my negative feelings. Without being too open about it here, I can usually sense when I'm about to enter what I'll call a "black cloud" period. While these occurrences have increased in frequency as I've gotten older, I've learned that once I'm in it, the cloud will pass in 1-3 days. As a natural introvert, when I'm in a black cloud, I withdraw. One reason for this is I'm stuck inside my own head. Secondly, I'm trying to avoid other black clouds. As an "empathic" , I have a tendency to easily a

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I'll be on a spending diet during this journey. While this sounds straight forward, I've recognized that spending money is a behavior/habit that needs to be assessed if I want to be successful. Many behaviors and habits, whether good or bad, are connected to the brain's reward system. This becomes extremely powerful when a behavior becomes associated with, or triggered by, certain emotional states. While spending money isn't inherently a negative thing, when it's fueled by emotions and used as a coping mechanism to mask negative feelings, it becomes something that easily works against your best efforts at achieving personal goals. I'm guessing the foundation for my poor spending behaviors started at a younger age (always blame EVERYTHING on your childhood, right?). To keep it short, I grew up in an environment that didn't help me develop a strong self esteem. Combine this with experiencing high levels of cultura

So, the down and dirty plan. I've read a lot of financial blogs and success stories regarding debt repayment. Like most things, there aren't very many secrets and quick fixes. It's about setting a plan, and sticking to it. This journal will hopefully force me into sticking to it. Dave Ramsey is mentioned quite frequently in debt repayment circles. I'll be utilizing his suggestion of having a $1000 emergency fund to start, and I'll be utilizing the debt snowball method for the quick successes and the motivation that comes with that. Like everyone, I have basic expenses: Mortgage Utilities (water/sewer, heating oil, WiFi) Mine and L's cell phone (more on this later) Gas Family groceries Car Insurance and registrations (once a year) If you read my last entry , you'll know I have established a three phase plan in order to break my goals down into digestible pieces. Phase one expenses will be credit cards . I'll filter all extra funds into

I've had times in my life that I lived paycheck to paycheck. However... I've never missed a payment.  I always took pride in making my payments. Over the years, I've had a few friends that would receive phone calls from collection agencies during the few hours that we were spending time together. Sometimes multiple calls. I remember thinking how fortunate I was to never have been in that position. That stress and feeling of disappointment would be hard to deal with. However, I've made a lot of minimum payments on my debt accounts over the years. One dominating thought I have heading in to this debt repayment journey is the overwhelming amount of time the process will take. Right now, I have a three phase plan that I'll outline in future posts. I estimate that the first two phases, at best, will take two years. If life happens (if??), it could bleed into that third year. The third phase, paying off the mortgage, is a goal I'll keep on the back burner for

Hello. I'm D. To state that today is the beginning of tackling debt isn't completely true. Debt has always been on my mind... From it's birth - my first year at college with my first credit card in hand, making my first trip to the university book store. The shocking total appeared on the register after scanning a semester load of books; my only option was that newly activated credit card. It was then and there that I was introduced to the ease of swiping plastic through a machine and walking away with a purchase. It had begun. Through the college years, the ease of that credit card swipe would help fill in the large margins of uncontrolled spending with only a part time, minimum wage salary to my name. Debt was nursed on that credit card - food, alcohol, clothing, gas, fun, books. The "necessities" of college life. Debt became a raging toddler after graduating from college. Adding to the credit card debt was now student loan debt. Upon graduating, reading