Obreh Winfrey

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Budgeting is easy. Have something in Excel, and cut down costs as much as you can.
You would think, but MFs will fight you tooth and nail on doing it :skip:. Other than a legitimate emergency, nothing should be a surprise about your money. But ask somebody specifics and the juelzing begins.
 

winb83

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Budgeting is easy. Have something in Excel, and cut down costs as much as you can.
I've tried many times to budget and it doesn't work for me. I take all my savings off the top when I get paid via direct deposit between different accounts. I have one dedicated spending account and I just spend whatever out of that. I typically don't spend it all and keep at least a couple grand in there but sometimes it dips to about a grand.
 
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I've tried many times to budget and it doesn't work for me. I take all my savings off the top when I get paid via direct deposit between different accounts. I have one dedicated spending account and I just spend whatever out of that. I typically don't spend it all and keep at least a couple grand in there but sometimes it dips to about a grand.
Let's talk about it. Post your budget if you don't mind - change numbers. How does money flow into your accounts and out of it? I'm free to help you. List all accounts you use.
 

BornStar

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I've tried many times to budget and it doesn't work for me. I take all my savings off the top when I get paid via direct deposit between different accounts. I have one dedicated spending account and I just spend whatever out of that. I typically don't spend it all and keep at least a couple grand in there but sometimes it dips to about a grand.

I found out this is the most optimal way for me to save money as well. Allocating money to different accounts changed the way I look at money.
 

winb83

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Let's talk about it. Post your budget if you don't mind - change numbers. How does money flow into your accounts and out of it? I'm free to help you. List all accounts you use.
It's not making it it's adhering to it. I can make a budget fine but I do a lot of random spending. I'm not the type of person that plans out all my spending then sticks to that plan.

I have 5 checking accounts my check direct deposits into.
1 is general savings
1 is general spending
1 is car payment attached checking
1 is a house down payment fund
1 is a Chase Checking I use the direct deposit so I can get a free checking from them. My monthly rent comes out of it

I don't usually touch any of those accounts but the general spending account. All my fixed bills are auto pay many on a Citi Double Cash card and the rest either on my Amex BCP or US Bank Cash+ which ever maximizes my cash back. All my credit card bills are automated for at least the minimum payment. That Citi Double Cash is fully automated because all I use it for is monthly bills that are fixed cost.

When I go to Costco for example I will buy random stuff. I look at what they're selling and if I want it I buy it. I know budgets have sink funds but that's a level of management I find tedious. Also my investments aren't always fixed either. They come out of my general spend account and other than buying $100 of Google once a week and now $100 of Tesla whatever else I invest in isn't set in stone.

I'm going to take a look at trying YNAB again because my annual sub just hit me for $89 and I fell off using it.
 

Rawtid

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It's not making it it's adhering to it. I can make a budget fine but I do a lot of random spending. I'm not the type of person that plans out all my spending then sticks to that plan.

I have 5 checking accounts my check direct deposits into.
1 is general savings
1 is general spending
1 is car payment attached checking
1 is a house down payment fund
1 is a Chase Checking I use the direct deposit so I can get a free checking from them. My monthly rent comes out of it

I don't usually touch any of those accounts but the general spending account. All my fixed bills are auto pay many on a Citi Double Cash card and the rest either on my Amex BCP or US Bank Cash+ which ever maximizes my cash back. All my credit card bills are automated for at least the minimum payment. That Citi Double Cash is fully automated because all I use it for is monthly bills that are fixed cost.

When I go to Costco for example I will buy random stuff. I look at what they're selling and if I want it I buy it. I know budgets have sink funds but that's a level of management I find tedious. Also my investments aren't always fixed either. They come out of my general spend account and other than buying $100 of Google once a week and now $100 of Tesla whatever else I invest in isn't set in stone.

I'm going to take a look at trying YNAB again because my annual sub just hit me for $89 and I fell off using it.

Why don't you refer to this as budgeting? You have money allocated for specific things, going to specific accounts and you only spend from the account you allow yourself. That's budgeting all day long and it's pretty elaborate at that.
 

winb83

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Why don't you refer to this as budgeting? You have money allocated for specific things, going to specific accounts and you only spend from the account you allow yourself. That's budgeting all day long and it's pretty elaborate at that.
When I think of a budget I think of assigning every dollar a task and writing it all out. I don't think of trying to automate as much of my finances as possible and making sure I take some savings off the top as a budget.
 

Rawtid

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When I think of a budget I think of assigning every dollar a task and writing it all out. I don't think of trying to automate as much of my finances as possible and making sure I take some savings off the top as a budget.

Ok makes better sense now. I think detailing every penny you spend is a a level of budgeting but generally knowing where the bulk of your money goes is also a form of budgeting. Probably just have different views of the concept.
 
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Why don't you refer to this as budgeting? You have money allocated for specific things, going to specific accounts and you only spend from the account you allow yourself. That's budgeting all day long and it's pretty elaborate at that.

Exactly....
 
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It's not making it it's adhering to it. I can make a budget fine but I do a lot of random spending. I'm not the type of person that plans out all my spending then sticks to that plan.

I have 5 checking accounts my check direct deposits into.
1 is general savings
1 is general spending
1 is car payment attached checking
1 is a house down payment fund
1 is a Chase Checking I use the direct deposit so I can get a free checking from them. My monthly rent comes out of it

I don't usually touch any of those accounts but the general spending account. All my fixed bills are auto pay many on a Citi Double Cash card and the rest either on my Amex BCP or US Bank Cash+ which ever maximizes my cash back. All my credit card bills are automated for at least the minimum payment. That Citi Double Cash is fully automated because all I use it for is monthly bills that are fixed cost.

When I go to Costco for example I will buy random stuff. I look at what they're selling and if I want it I buy it. I know budgets have sink funds but that's a level of management I find tedious. Also my investments aren't always fixed either. They come out of my general spend account and other than buying $100 of Google once a week and now $100 of Tesla whatever else I invest in isn't set in stone.

I'm going to take a look at trying YNAB again because my annual sub just hit me for $89 and I fell off using it.


Let's simplify this since this looks too cluttered imo.
CLEAR ALL DEBT, ONLY TWO AT MAX CAR / HOME.

CHECKING + SAVINGS
- Checking [Direct deposits goes into here - pay car / rent / credit cards from here]
- HY Online Savings [Emergency Fund + House Down payment]

By keeping a online savings you resist the temptation to withdraw.

INVESTMENTS
- Stick to S&P 500 Index Funds

Please start there, educate yourself and be safe. Keeping too much cash is a problem outside of emergency. Don't chase dream / meme stocks. Time in the market beats timing the market.

CREDIT CARDS
- Pay in full twice a month [NO BALANCES unless no interest- looking at double cash]

In addition, the biggest expenses most of have are Housing, Transportation and Food. You may need to keep a fixed amount of cash (ex: $450) each month to tame your spending habits outside of those that are automatic and fixed.

I would check all automated charges, ensure you have things you TRULY need. Lower that cell phone plan, Internet, remove cable / gym / streaming etc.

How much savings you have after expenses per month? This is very important. Are you invested into an IRA / 401k / HSA, Taxable Account.
 
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Macallik86

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Let's simplify this since this looks too cluttered imo.
CLEAR ALL DEBT, ONLY TWO AT MAX CAR / HOME.

CHECKING + SAVINGS
- Checking [Direct deposits goes into here - pay car / rent / credit cards from here]
- HY Online Savings [Emergency Fund + House Down payment]

By keeping a online savings you resist the temptation to withdraw.

INVESTMENTS
- Stick to S&P 500 Index Funds

Please start there, educate yourself and be safe. Keeping too much cash is a problem outside of emergency. Don't chase dream / meme stocks. Time in the market beats timing the market.

CREDIT CARDS
- Pay in full twice a month [NO BALANCES unless no interest- looking at double cash]

In addition, the biggest expenses most of have are Housing, Transportation and Food. You may need to keep a fixed amount of cash (ex: $450) each month to tame your spending habits outside of those that are automatic and fixed.

I would check all automated charges, ensure you have things you TRULY need. Lower that cell phone plan, Internet, remove cable / gym / streaming etc.

How much savings you have after expenses per month? This is very important. Are you invested into an IRA / 401k / HSA, Taxable Account.
I've seen this play out before. Just a heads up, IIRC win83 is not someone below the poverty line or living check-to-check with mountains of debt. He is very financially literate but is contrarian on some mainstream financial ideas and voices his opinion when they are a topic of interest.

Typically, the financial-related interactions I recall with him usually go along the lines of "Ok, yes that is financially irresponsible for the majority of the population, but yes, you are financially knowledgeable enough where that rule doesn't apply to you". IIRC, things like ignoring an emergency fund -> instead using a credit card in case of emergency -> investing 'emergency fund' money into an investment account instead. It's trash advice for the average American, but someone financially literate/responsible can put it on their CC and liquidate their stock position within a few days if need be and pay off their CC in full... and if there's no emergency, they will otherwise outpace returns within their checking account.

Just saving you some time so that you don't waste your advice
 
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winb83

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Let's simplify this since this looks too cluttered imo.
CLEAR ALL DEBT, ONLY TWO AT MAX CAR / HOME.

CHECKING + SAVINGS
- Checking [Direct deposits goes into here - pay car / rent / credit cards from here]
- HY Online Savings [Emergency Fund + House Down payment]

By keeping a online savings you resist the temptation to withdraw.

INVESTMENTS
- Stick to S&P 500 Index Funds

Please start there, educate yourself and be safe. Keeping too much cash is a problem outside of emergency. Don't chase dream / meme stocks. Time in the market beats timing the market.

CREDIT CARDS
- Pay in full twice a month [NO BALANCES unless no interest- looking at double cash]

In addition, the biggest expenses most of have are Housing, Transportation and Food. You may need to keep a fixed amount of cash (ex: $450) each month to tame your spending habits outside of those that are automatic and fixed.

I would check all automated charges, ensure you have things you TRULY need. Lower that cell phone plan, Internet, remove cable / gym / streaming etc.

How much savings you have after expenses per month? This is very important. Are you invested into an IRA / 401k / HSA, Taxable Account.
My primary spend account is SoFi. It doesn't have physical banks so I need a physical. I use Chase because they have tons of branches around me.
My credit union I financed that car through for 2.9% APY on $10K for 5 years back in 2019 requires I have their checking to pay the loan back direct for the rate I got. They have fewer branches so it isn't my primary physical bank.

My primary savings is a Discover bank account with less APY than SoFi but I still keep it. I also have Betterment and Ally. I have a lot of checking / savings accounts but Betterment and Ally aren't used so much.

The main 4 I use are SoFi (Checking and Savings), Chase (Checking), Discover (Savings), FPCU (Checking).

I have about $2500 in credit card debt. It's all either on 0% cards or the rest gets paid in full every month. I get a lot of cash back so I don't pay any interest on anything. All in all my debt is $4500 on the car and $2500 on cards.

My cell phone plan is Visible on a party plan for $25 a month unlimited everything. My Gym membership is Active&Direct through my work for $25 a month. I work for the cable company so my cable and internet are free. I do pay $4.50 a month for a cable card for my Tivo and HD Homerun Prime.

My main problem was eating out which I used to spend every day. I stopped that and I've begun preparing all my meals at home except once a week I allow myself a small 4 slice pizza and a small cheese bread for $14. It was mainly at work on lunch but getting a Hot Logic Mini I make my lunch at home and heat it up on the go.

I do waste a bit of money. I have every streaming service except Apple+, Paramount+, and Discovery+. I keep them to get my parents entertainment so they can cord cut and just password share with them. I pay about $100 a month in services. I do Spotify and YouTube Music which is redundant but I like Spotify better and I only use YouTube Premium for actual YouTube. I get the $99 Spotify Card once a year and usually get 5-10% off on it.

My wasteful spending doesn't really add up to all that much. I'm not really frugal but I'm cheap as fukk. Now when it comes to tech gadgets I'm wasteful. We're talking spending like $150 on a set of Bluetooth headphones.

As for my investments.
452021.jpg

M1 Finance - Free Automated Investing
That M1 is a mostly Dividends account I started last year. I don't contribute to it nearly as much right now but it's about $2700.

I have close to my annual pay invested in the stock market not counting retirement accounts. Just in taxable investing accounts. My annual pay isn't so hot though but I live in a low cost of living area with no kids so me making like $72K a year with a rent payment of $590 and a car payment of $164 a month goes pretty far.

I know most of my financial weaknesses I just haven't really felt the need to go hard and address them fully. I've been getting there though.
 
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My primary spend account is SoFi. It doesn't have physical banks so I need a physical. I use Chase because they have tons of branches around me.
My credit union I financed that car through for 2.9% APY on $10K for 5 years back in 2019 requires I have their checking to pay the loan back direct for the rate I got. They have fewer branches so it isn't my primary physical bank.

My primary savings is a Discover bank account with less APY than SoFi but I still keep it. I also have Betterment and Ally. I have a lot of checking / savings accounts but Betterment and Ally aren't used so much.

The main 4 I use are SoFi (Checking and Savings), Chase (Checking), Discover (Savings), FPCU (Checking).

I have about $2500 in credit card debt. It's all either on 0% cards or the rest gets paid in full every month. I get a lot of cash back so I don't pay any interest on anything. All in all my debt is $4500 on the car and $2500 on cards.

My cell phone plan is Visible on a party plan for $25 a month unlimited everything. My Gym membership is Active&Direct through my work for $25 a month. I work for the cable company so my cable and internet are free. I do pay $4.50 a month for a cable card for my Tivo and HD Homerun Prime.

My main problem was eating out which I used to spend every day. I stopped that and I've begun preparing all my meals at home except once a week I allow myself a small 4 slice pizza and a small cheese bread for $14. It was mainly at work on lunch but getting a Hot Logic Mini I make my lunch at home and heat it up on the go.

I do waste a bit of money. I have every streaming service except Apple+, Paramount+, and Discovery+. I keep them to get my parents entertainment so they can cord cut and just password share with them. I pay about $100 a month in services. I do Spotify and YouTube Music which is redundant but I like Spotify better and I only use YouTube Premium for actual YouTube. I get the $99 Spotify Card once a year and usually get 5-10% off on it.

My wasteful spending doesn't really add up to all that much. I'm not really frugal but I'm cheap as fukk. Now when it comes to tech gadgets I'm wasteful. We're talking spending like $150 on a set of Bluetooth headphones.

As for my investments.
452021.jpg

M1 Finance - Free Automated Investing
That M1 is a mostly Dividends account I started last year. I don't contribute to it nearly as much right now but it's about $2700.

I have close to my annual pay invested in the stock market not counting retirement accounts. Just in taxable investing accounts. My annual pay isn't so hot though but I live in a low cost of living area with no kids so me making like $72K a year with a rent payment of $590 and a car payment of $164 a month goes pretty far.

I know most of my financial weaknesses I just haven't really felt the need to go hard and address them fully. I've been getting there though.

Make more money so you can spend how you want or instill some sense of discipline to sleep well at night. For single you, the pay is good. A family....
 

winb83

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Make more money so you can spend how you want or instill some sense of discipline to sleep well at night. For single you, the pay is good. A family....
I already do spend how I want. I buy pretty much whatever I want to buy within reason. I live off less than half of what I make. I mean I'm not going out and buying a Tesla or a Rivian but still.

Also most people in families have dual incomes. Not a lot of people are raising a family off a single income unless they're wealthy.
 
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