An Old Friend- YNAB

Last week I re-loaded YNAB, input all my numbers and a wave of relief washed over me. It was like seeing an old, comfortable friend.

I decided to go back to YNAB because I wasnt happy with how Quicken Online was FREAKING me out on a daily basis. I’m sure that it works for some people but not anymore for me. That feeling of panic when I saw “negative numbers” a month down the road was weighing very heavily on me.

Now that I’m safely budgeting my money with only the money I have in my bank account instead of looking at next month, I can sleep easier.

I’m starting with the initial tracking, looking for areas that I’m overspending and make the needed corrections but I feel confident that it wont be long before I get back on my financial feet.

Wish me luck!

 

Money November Randomness

Alot has been going on and although I’m getting into the groove of our new place and work again, there hasnt been alot of time to blog. Note to self: change that!

So, a “randomness” post is called for.

• I havent received my deposit refund yet but it takes about 30 days (2.5 weeks to go)
• I should be receiving a refund of $46 from my previous phone company due to the cancellation of service. (We moved out of area)
• Our new phone/internet is $25.00 cheaper than the previous one! Score!
• I’ve discovered my clothes all over again thanks to my HUGE walk-in closet! It’s like Christmas in there!
• I re-installed and have been working with YNAB again and my money “fog” is clearing up. (More on this later)
• Also, I’ve stopped using Quicken Online and I’m glad to have that chain taken off my neck! (More on this later also)
• I’ve started giving Christopher his weekly allowance again and he’s enjoying having some “dollars” to spend.

As you can see, there’s alot going on with we money wise!

 

Old House Walk Thru

Today was the walking thru of my old house with the Property Management Company to assess the wear and tear as well as what will be taken off my deposit.

We spent several days cleaning and polishing but short of hiring a professional cleaning service, we did the best we can.

They did find a few things that are in need of repair but I’m at a point where I cannot care. We’ve lived there for 4.5 years and as I have previously posted I HATE HOME MAINTENANCE.

My deposit was one month rent plus cat deposit ($1500 total), so I dont expect to get everything back, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

 

 

Next Step- back to YNAB

As I’ve posted previously, I use Quicken Online to keep track of my finances. So far, it has been very helpful in that I can see a timeline of my income and expenses.

But, there is one part of it that makes me uncomfortable and its not necessarily with the program itself, it is how my finances are viewed on a paycheck to paycheck basis and I DETEST having my finances viewed that way. So, it’s a problem of how I want to budget and not how I’m budgeting.

On YNAB, I could look at my overall monthly, sometimes yearly budget and I felt more in control. Eventually I need to get back on YNAB even if I dont have the one month buffer. Something has got to give.

When I look at my budget from paycheck to paycheck, I see too many shortfalls and not enough surpluses and I KNOW they are there.

So, the next step is to get back on YNAB.

 

Getting back on track

We finally made it!

We moved into our new apartment on Saturday and I have taken this whole week off work so I can clean out the old house and get our new place together.

The move was somewhat painless as it only took two trips in the U.Haul but everything was out within 5 hours. It’s so nice to have teenage nephews that are willing to help!

Anyway, I’m happier than I thought I would be about our new place. It’s so beautiful and secure. We have an internal security system and I havent slept this well in months!

As for the financial aspect, it’s been relativity painless which is what I’ve been counting on but now the plan to get my finances back on track really begins.

But, I’m happy with the decision to move and my head is alot clearer.

Next up, goals to get back on track.

 

Giving to friends

The big move is less than two weeks away and I am so excited about it! It means a whole new situation for us and we’ll finally be able to get out of this deep hole that we are in.

The packing/purging has been a steady thing each weekend and the house is really close to being in good shape but there’s only so much I can do. Afterall, we still need to live here and it’s not too fun looking for things in boxes when you’re in a hurry!

One part of the purging that I thought was cut and dry was what I was going to donate to Goodwill and what I need to give away to friends and family.

For instance, Christopher has clothes that he has outgrown but I hate to donate them when I have a friend with a son three years younger.  I know how expensive it is to buy children’s clothes and everytime I start to take the outgrown clothes to be donated, I think of her and her child.

But, it can get pretty expensive to mail these items and especially right now as I’m in a cash crunch. Also, I have no intention of asking her to pay for the shipping.

So, I’ve decided to just hold onto them until after the move and slowly mail a package here as I can.

I know that she would appreciate the clothes and I want them to go to someone that will use them.

 

Holding my breath- 10 days and counting

In 10 days I will be able exhale a sigh of relief!

In 10 days my forward flowing cash flow problem will come to an end!

In 10 days I get paid and I can catch my breath!

In 10 days I will be able to fully throw myself into this move by buying the rest of the boxes that we’ll need.

In 10 days I will be able to buy Christopher his Halloween costume.

In 10 days I will be able to buy a few extra groceries that I havent been able to the past 3 months.

In 10 days my problems wont be over but they wont be as intense.

In 10 days….

 

Amost out of the woods- October

I’m so glad that tomorrow is October! I wasnt sure if I would make it and we’re not out of the woods yet but October is more promising month than the past few have been.

In October:

• I get paid 3x- whereas I only budget for 2x(the extra paycheck will finally bring me out of this financial hole that I’m in- at least as far as my checking account)
• We move to our new apartment- HOORAY!
• I finally get to turn off the A/C (actually that was today but I’ll count it as October)- Another HOORAY because my electricity will drop to a more manageable amount($200 because of the heat is NOT normal)
• Christopher’s allergies/asthma gets better because the air isnt so hard on him.

But, it wont be until we finally move and I’m able to calm our expenses down will I see the full affect but I’ll take anything I can get!

 

September Randomness

Alot has been going on during the month of September:

* I gave my 45 day notice to vacate my house (I was only required to give 30 days but I am anxious to move!)
* I turned 38 on September 22nd!
* I finally broke down and got my haircut(shorter than usual so it would take longer to grow out- hee hee)
* We have started packing as well as purging and boy does it feel good and bare in the house!
* The world did not end when I was not able to pay the minimums on two of my credit cards. (more on this later)
* I finished Knitting my 3rd Prayer shawl.

There are alot of baby steps going on in our lives but we are managing to keep our chins up and know that we’ll get through this and come out stronger in the end.

 

KUWPFB(Keeping Up With Personal Finance Bloggers)

There has been a post that has been on my “drafts” for some time now but I’ve only recently wanted to finish it.

It’s about KUWPFB(Keeping Up With Personal Finance Bloggers).

When I first started this blog, I was so excited to find a community of people that were so deeply interested in their personal finances. To read about their successes and failures was a daily inspiration. I learned and am still learning so much.

But, then it occurred to me that there is a danger to personal finance writing. The danger of keeping with other other Personal Finance Bloggers. It is very similar to KUWJ (Keeping Up With the Jones’), but instead of competing with your neighbors and family, you must keep up with other bloggers!

It became and is still for me, very overwhelming to not become envious when I read about someone who is debt free, has $50k in the bank, a fabulous job and the like, when I’m struggling to keep the lights on and put food on the table.

Dont get me wrong, I’m also happy for those people because they worked very hard to get where they are but it can mess with your confidence.

But, I also realize that we are all in different places in our lives and everything happens for a reason, so I continue to plug on and chronicle my successes as well as my failures because afterall, this blog is a chronicle of MY journey, not theirs.

In the end, I know that I will continue to strive to have financial peace because of my desire to KUWPFB if nothing else, so at least it keeps my on my toes!

And who knows, perhaps someone out there will learn something from my story!