During the first years of married life, I lived in Panama. I made just enough money to get through a month as long as nothing went wrong. This means I did not have enough money. I'd crunch numbers, take public transportation, walk, only order a drink when I went out with friends, but more often than I would like to remember, near the end of the month, I would be scrounging for pennies to be able to pay the 25 cents needed for bus fare. I could not figure out how to spend less or make more. Life was less expensive in Panama than in the US, but I could not get ahead financially.
I moved back to the States and started making enough and still found myself paying last month's bills with this month's pay check. I am not weighed down by credit card debt, and that feels good. However, I could not figure out how to save ahead for things like car insurance, care repairs, and other you know they are going to happen but not typical monthly expenses. I certainly never really felt like I could have fun and enjoy spending money. I have spreadsheets upon spreadsheets but not much to show for my effort other than a few gray hairs. Earlier this year, a friend of mine told me about YNAB or You Need a Budget. I did not buy the app (yet). But I have been watching the videos on the website, listening to the podcast, and checking out their TikTok videos. Several of the missing pieces of my budgeting journey clicked. Their explanations finally made sense - I had glanced at the website at other moments in the past without the aha moment. I changed my spreadsheets to reflect what they call True Expenses (large less-frequent expenses) and looked at the money I had in savings and gave it a job. I listened to their videos about how to budget out of debt (no credit card debt, but I have always had student loans, car loans, and/or medical debt) and tried to be as honest as possible with myself about true expenses. What does this mean for me? My plan this year had been to close my eyes and hope for the best when my child's first college tuition bill came due. I may have been able to make it work with that method as long as I didn't eat. Now I have a budget set up that accounts for my future expenses, and I figured out how to save ahead for the first tuition bill (thank you, stimulus check) while also paying down my car loan. And, yes, I will have enough for the car insurance and car tax payments when they show up later this fall. I don't think I am cured of my budgeting woes, but for the first time in my adulting life time, I think it might be possible for a future me. In the year of covid, that is a pretty hopeful thought indeed.
3 Comments
Suzy
3/19/2021 01:51:42 pm
I'm really impressed!
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me
3/19/2021 03:56:59 pm
be impressed when I keep this going for a full year. Definitely a good start.
Reply
Jennifer
3/20/2021 08:21:42 am
It's never too old to learn something new. Congratulations!
Reply
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