So about 2 years ago we let our budget get the better of us. We would sit down at the end of each month tally up our budget for that month and budget for the next month. That is the ONLY time we would do our budget. Then one month our grocery bill was $200 over budget, AND our eating out budget was over $600! That was $800 we could have put into savings instead it was gone. We knew we needed to figure outhow to save money or we would be in trouble!
At the time hubby was still in the military, we has 2 kids and I wasn't really making any money yet. I was just figuring out how to. So we were on a VERY strict budget! We were living in housing. For those non military people that means we did NOT get our housing allowance (at the time it was $1600 a month for our area) that money went to the housing company BUT we did not pay rent, or electric, or water, or gas and the yard maintance was taken care of ect. You still have to pay for internet, TV, and phone bills.
So we made an agreement to sit down with each of his pay checks on the 1st and the 15th of each month and budget the money. We were able to get our spending down a bit more but really there wasn't much wiggle room to put money into savings as we started to pay off our debt.
So I started looking for easy ways to make some extra money. After all if you need more money bring it in right? I started earning free Amazon Gift Cards with sites like InstaGift Card, Swagbucksand GiftHulk.They were great for less than 30 minutes day I was earning about $300 in Amazon Gift Cards a month (I still do!) I also now use Superpoints as well. I then took that $300 and got things like diapers, toilet paper, laundry soap, also food and birthday and christmas gifts needed.
Then I became pregnant with baby #3 and we moved out into town and rented a townhouse so we were getting our BAH each month, but incurred an electric bill and water bill. At this time I was bring in a few hundred dollars a week doing social media work. As time went on my income became very irregular and still is. I also remember reading a book by Ellie Kay called 1/2 Price Living : Secrets for living on one income
So we knew something was going to have to change. So we started sitting down every week. The first month we did this our budget was the same as the past few months but sitting down for the 10 minutes and working out our budget on Mint and that month we were able to put $100 in to savings! So we have kept it up. Sitting down for 10 minutes a week and going over the budget and we have been able to build our savings. It really works when baby #4 was born that month we didn't have our weekly sit downs and we over spent! The following month back to our weekly sit downs and our budget was right back on track!
We still have those 3 books and re read them from time to time, tips we passed over before are now relevant and we can use. We have read several other books as well always looking for tips and tricks to use! No matter what we sit down every week after the kids are in bed and go over our budget, sometimes with a dessert to share sometimes with a glass of wine but we make it fun and do it together and every month we have been able to putat least $100 in savings, now that we have been doing it over a year we are able to put away more!
We recently started using Digit(use my link so you don't get waitlisted! Read more about Digit here.) it helps us save money without having to really think about it by analyzing out spending patterns! It's free to use! It has helped us save about $50 – $100 more month!
For many people, the 50/30/20 rule is a great way to split up monthly income. This budgeting rule states that you should allocate 50 percent of your monthly income for essentials (such as housing, groceries and gas), 30 percent for wants and 20 percent for savings.
A solid emergency fund can save the day when you must cover an unexpected cost. If you don't yet have an emergency fund, it's never too late to start building one. By contributing $200 each month, your fund will add up throughout the year -- $2,400 is a solid amount of cash.
It's recommended that most couples save at least seven to eight times their combined annual income to retire comfortably. This number may seem daunting until you remember that savings compound over time.
Splitting shared bills down the middle is one of the easiest approaches to a joint financial life. Each person pays half. This straightforward approach makes budgeting as a couple consistent. Each person pays half the rent, subscriptions or insurance from individual accounts.
Make a list of all your combined expenses: housing, taxes, insurance, utilities.Then talk salary. If you make $60,000 and your partner makes $40,000, then you should pay 60 percent of that total toward the shared expenses and your partner 40 percent.
Spouses can share the same EveryDollar budget by using the same sign-in credentials. This will allow you to be signed in on separate devices and be able to keep up with the budget and spending from anywhere. Only one EveryDollar Premium purchase is required if you and your spouse choose to purchase it.
Our 50/30/20 calculator divides your take-home income into suggested spending in three categories: 50% of net pay for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings and debt repayment. Find out how this budgeting approach applies to your money.
Key takeaways. Keeping separate bank accounts after marriage could help you stay engaged with your money. Paying for shared expenses could mean using bill-splitting apps and extra planning for emergencies, but it's worth it for some couples.
If you're age 25 and have 40 years to save until retirement, depositing $100 a month into a savings account earning the current average U.S. interest rate of 0.42% APY would get you to just $52,367 in retirement savings — not great.
The goal of the Challenge is simple: save $100 in a 30-day time period through a series of gradually increasing deposits. November has 30 days so every day is a savings day. As shown in the picture below, daily savings deposits start at $1 a day for five days followed by $2, $3, and $4 each for five days.
According to data from the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, the average American family has $62,410 in savings, across savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, call deposit accounts, and prepaid cards.
The short answer to what happens if you invest $500 a month is that you'll almost certainly build wealth over time. In fact, if you keep investing that $500 every month for 40 years, you could become a millionaire. More than a millionaire, in fact.
Fast answer: Rule of thumb: Have 1x your annual income saved by age 30, 3x by 40, and so on. See chart below. The sooner you start saving for retirement, the longer you have to take advantage of the power of compound interest.
Saving $1,000 per month can be a good sign, as it means you're setting aside money for emergencies and long-term goals. However, if you're ignoring high-interest debt to meet your savings goals, you might want to switch gears and focus on paying off debt first.
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