WTF is my money going?

[pisces2473]

Okay...so I looked at how much I make per month after taxes and health insurance, and then took out all of my expenses. Apparently I should have about $300 leftover. Where is this money!?

Is there anything I'm forgetting besides gas, car insurance, renters insurance, cell phone, and prescriptions? I also figured in my laser appointments, and any dr's appointments I might have. I make a contribution to our household account (almost 1/2 my pay) for rent, utilities and food, so that's covered.

[capella]

In my experience... $300 can go very quickly. It's the little holes that sink the ship. I can find the big ones, but the small leaks are what gets ya.

I should have money left over too, but I often don't see it or it ends up going to some large bill that pops up. Gah. That's the question isn't it? Where IS my money going???

[winneythepooh7]

I read somewhere recently about the "Latte Factor". You know, a coffee here, a newspaper there and pretty much you are asking "Where'd it go?".

Taking out a certain amount a week for spending and when it's gone, it's gone can help with this.......

[pisces2473]

I read somewhere recently about the "Latte Factor". You know, a coffee here, a newspaper there and pretty much you are asking "Where'd it go?".

Taking out a certain amount a week for spending and when it's gone, it's gone can help with this.......
Ahhh the Latte Factor, lol...yessssss...

My mom did always tell me to give myself an allowance...:rolleyes:

[Kitty]

Didn't you just buy some new clothes?

[wordsmith]

The nickeling and diming stuff, yes, and also breaking a larger bill...when you spend cash, always try to spend the lowest denomination possible, because if you break a twenty and get back, say, 15 bucks and some change, you're far more likely to fritter away that leftover fifteen than you would have the twenty as a whole. We tend to hang on to larger bills and notice when they're gone...not so much with the smaller denominations. It does go fast...break a twenty and piss away the leftover change on whatever incidentals and small impulse purchases without really noticing...easy to do. Do it five times, and you're out $100 with nothing to show for it.:eek:

[pisces2473]

Didn't you just buy some new clothes?
Yes, I did. I was figuring things out generally speaking, not just from this past paycheck. But at least I know that I have about $300 every two weeks that I could spend on whatever I wanted if I needed to. :)

[Kitty]

Yes, I did. I was figuring things out generally speaking, not just from this past paycheck. But at least I know that I have about $300 every two weeks that I could spend on whatever I wanted if I needed to. :)

Oh, ok. I thought you meant this specific pay check.

Maybe it's grocery store stuff? I swear, that gets expensive.

[pisces2473]

The nickeling and diming stuff, yes, and also breaking a larger bill...when you spend cash, always try to spend the lowest denomination possible, because if you break a twenty and get back, say, 15 bucks and some change, you're far more likely to fritter away that leftover fifteen than you would have the twenty as a whole. We tend to hang on to larger bills and notice when they're gone...not so much with the smaller denominations. It does go fast...break a twenty and piss away the leftover change on whatever incidentals and small impulse purchases without really noticing...easy to do. Do it five times, and you're out $100 with nothing to show for it.:eek:
Oooh, that's definitely true for me. "Oh, it's only $4" over and over again can make a huge dent in one's wallet.

[wordsmith]

Don't forget the tipping on every conceivable thing you might tip for. People often forget to take that into account, and add it in to their expenses, but it, too, can multiply quickly, especially if you're a remotely generous tipper and/or have a lot of things you tip for.

[pisces2473]

Oh, ok. I thought you meant this specific pay check.

Maybe it's grocery store stuff? I swear, that gets expensive.
That's okay :)

Nope, food is already budgeted in. I put $400 from every paycheck into the joint account, and we pay rent and utilities, and buy food, from that.

Hmm, maybe the occassional date night factors in? I don't buy dinner, but if we do coffee/dessert afterwards, I'll pay for that.

[pisces2473]

Don't forget the tipping on every conceivable thing you might tip for. People often forget to take that into account, and add it in to their expenses, but it, too, can multiply quickly, especially if you're a remotely generous tipper and/or have a lot of things you tip for.
I only tip for table service and when I get my hair cut. But I don't get my hair cut every month, so I didn't factor that in. Sometimes when C and I eat out, I'll pay the tip, but that's usually less than $10.

[Kitty]

Hmm, maybe the occassional date night factors in? I don't buy dinner, but if we do coffee/dessert afterwards, I'll pay for that.

Well, if you do that 4 times a month that could easily be $40.

[pisces2473]

Ha, it IS the latte factor!

[SmilesSoSweet]

Don't forget the tipping on every conceivable thing you might tip for. People often forget to take that into account, and add it in to their expenses, but it, too, can multiply quickly, especially if you're a remotely generous tipper and/or have a lot of things you tip for.

I'm getting a lot better and remembering who I tip and when I do. Usually it's just when I go to the airport and leave my car at one of those remote parking lots and the driver helps me with my luggage and stuff. Or when I go and get my car washed and I tip the guy drying off my car.

Since May I've been trying my best to keep track of EVERYTHING I spend my money on. My excel spread sheet I created has helped me a lot.

Now it's not "where's my money going" but more of "why am I spending my money on that?"

I keep track of every dollar I earn and any money that's given as a gift or is non-taxable work money (i.e. mileage reimbursements). Then I keep track of all my expenses to a T and now it's a habit that as soon as I get home for the day (or a day of shopping) I go straight to my computer to input all my expenses. I know how much money I'm spending on meals out each week and each month. I also know how much money I spend total each week and each month. I haven't totaled up the months from May to December but I will just to see how much I really spent in that time. I'm curious, but scared to know! LOL

I can email you my spread sheet if you want.

[redav]

Okay...so I looked at how much I make per month after taxes and health insurance, and then took out all of my expenses. Apparently I should have about $300 leftover. Where is this money!?

Is there anything I'm forgetting besides gas, car insurance, renters insurance, cell phone, and prescriptions? I also figured in my laser appointments, and any dr's appointments I might have. I make a contribution to our household account (almost 1/2 my pay) for rent, utilities and food, so that's covered.
Have you tried keeping an expense diary? Record every purchase, no matter how small. (Yes, it does get tedious.) You could also hold onto receipts to track what you bought (like at a grocery store) instead of just how much you spent. I think this is a good exercise to do every once in a while because there are so many things that either are so cheap we don't think about them or so infrequent that we don't remember them.


EDIT:
Since May I've been trying my best to keep track of EVERYTHING I spend my money on. My excel spread sheet I created has helped me a lot.

Now it's not "where's my money going" but more of "why am I spending my money on that?"

I keep track of every dollar I earn and any money that's given as a gift or is non-taxable work money (i.e. mileage reimbursements). Then I keep track of all my expenses to a T and now it's a habit that as soon as I get home for the day (or a day of shopping) I go straight to my computer to input all my expenses. I know how much money I'm spending on meals out each week and each month. I also know how much money I spend total each week and each month. I haven't totaled up the months from May to December but I will just to see how much I really spent in that time. I'm curious, but scared to know! LOL

Do you categorize your expenses, too? For example, I once tried using ones like these: services (hair cuts, oil changes, etc), consumables (food, gas, paper towels, stamps), durable goods (DVDs, clothing). I can't say it worked terribly well, though. But I do think it's important to know the types of things the money goes toward.

[WorkInProgress]

Have you tried keeping an expense diary? Record every purchase, no matter how small. (Yes, it does get tedious.) You could also hold onto receipts to track what you bought (like at a grocery store) instead of just how much you spent. I think this is a good excercise to do every once in a while because there are so many things that either are so cheap we don't think about them or so infrequent that we don't remember them.

This sounds like a decent idea to me. It's actually something that I probably ought to do myself.

[coll214]

I used to keep track of my expenses that closely Smiles, but have since well gotten lazy. But i did notice how quickly those 'cheap' $5 lunches or popcorn at the movies, or just one drink can cut into my spending money.

[SmilesSoSweet]

Do you categorize your expenses, too? For example, I once tried using ones like these: services (hair cuts, oil changes, etc), consumables (food, gas, paper towels, stamps), durable goods (DVDs, clothing). I can't say it worked terribly well, though. But I do think it's important to know the types of things the money goes toward.

I break it down even further. Each expense has it's own category. Instead of listing just services, I have one row for personal grooming, one for gas (car), one for car maintenance, etc.

That way I know exactly where my money is going to every week/month without having to looking back and think "I spent X amount on 'services'? What were those services and should I/can I cut back on them?"

I know I can cut back on haircuts and pedicures, but I know I can't stop putting gas in my car and maintaining it. So I make sure everything has its own category.

[wordsmith]

I've tried keeping a notebook where I write down every expense, but to be honest, it's too tedious for me. It never lasts more than a month, and even that's pushing it. It's just not something I'll stick with. It has been useful for showing patterns (i.e. if I buy a coffee three mornings a week, I'm out ___ amount without really realizing it), but it's just ultimately not something that I'm gonna be able to stick with.

[pisces2473]

LOL just spent $10 on a salad for lunch. But damn, it was good.

[WorkInProgress]

LOL just spent $10 on a salad for lunch. But damn, it was good.

Every now and again, that's worth it.

[pisces2473]

Yeah, and it was totally w/in my eating plan, which is great. Lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, hard boiled eggs, smoked turkey and Gouda. YUM!!!!!

[g8ergal83]

try not to eat out if you can. my bf and i have decided not to eat out anymore, expecially fast food places, or even panera bread, etc., except if we go out to a nice dinner once in a while. We're saving $400/month.

$10/day for lunch, x 5 = 50/week. $15/day for dinner x 7 = 105 +50: 155/week x 4.5 = 697.50. now we're paying about 250/month for groceries so we're saving about $400-450/month. WOW. I didnt realize that until he did the math for me.

Also, those little things you just NEED to get when you go to walmart or another store that you could really do without, don't get them. (that $250 on groceries would quickly rise over $300 if we did that)

[mishl982]

Yea, but you can splurge every now and then. It makes it much more worth it when it's once in awhile vs. all the time. And then you're just depriving yourself if you never eat out :p

[pisces2473]

Uhh g8rgirl, I hardly get lunch out. I mostly always bring mine.

[Krishna]

When I graduated I started tracking my expenses very closely. I set out an estimated budget X per month for 'fun', Y per month for food, bills, gas, etc. For the misc/fun categories, if I budget, say, 120/mo and I only use 100, that remaining $20 gets stashed away into savings, not carried over until the next month. I'm finding that it adds up quite nicely, and I definately think through what I'm spending $ on now.

[nikorock28]

to the original poster, i didn't see anything factored in for car maintenance (oil changes, regular work, tires, etc), gifts, or clothing.

[pisces2473]

to the original poster, i didn't see anything factored in for car maintenance (oil changes, regular work, tires, etc), gifts, or clothing.
Hi, I'm the OP. I don't require monthly work on my car (and I hope no one does!) so car expenses are just things that pop up along the way, something that the extra $300 would either cover or go towards paying off putting it on a credit card.

Clothing? Hahaha, I hardly shop for clothing. At least, not monthly. Long story, lets not get into it.

[EmberMae]

Microsoft Money is really useful for tracking exactly what you spend your money on, you can add categories if you want. It can make all these pie charts and show you what you've spent for the month or for the year. Oh and it yells at you if you go over budget. I don't know how much it costs though, I have an old version that came with my computer 5 years ago.

[WorkInProgress]

Microsoft Money is really useful for tracking exactly what you spend your money on, you can add categories if you want. It can make all these pie charts and show you what you've spent for the month or for the year. Oh and it yells at you if you go over budget. I don't know how much it costs though, I have an old version that came with my computer 5 years ago.

On best buy's website, anywhere from 50-90 bucks depending on which version you buy.

[pisces2473]

HA! That cracks me up that it YELLS at you!!!!