i need a system...something that works for me. i never want this to happen again in my entire life. if youve fucked up before like me and made it work tell me what worked for you.

10/20/2009 11:53:34 AM

how badly did you fuck up

10/20/2009 11:54:42 AM

http://www.mint.com

10/20/2009 11:54:44 AM

mint.com

10/20/2009 11:54:59 AM

What did you do?

10/20/2009 11:55:36 AM

Get a girlfriend. She'll spend it for you.

10/20/2009 11:56:32 AM

being in credit card debt sucked more than anything else i've ever experienced in my life. working my way out of debt was probably one of the hardest things for me. that experience is what helps me to NOT get in trouble again. it was that bad.

perhaps your situation wasn't bad enough to learn ya.

10/20/2009 11:57:52 AM

dont pressure yourself so much, youll reach that point eventually

thats one thing ive learned, forcing yourself fresh outta school when youre still young and in a relatively unstable period in life is never going to wind up well. just too much transitioning you gotta take it slow and do what you can with your money by being cautious, not necessarily hardcore budgeting

its been three years and im just now easin my way into knowing what comes in and what goes out in a stress free, flexible manner. Once i get that old money and am responsible for a family ill be a little more strict

10/20/2009 12:01:21 PM

been there...done that...

i'm a budgeting fool now


my life is boring as hell but at least i'm not in debt anymore

10/20/2009 12:04:18 PM

jay hire me as your accountant and I will cut out all your gay life style expenses

10/20/2009 12:17:55 PM

I suppose it is time I grow up and stop visiting the Bank of Mom and Dad

10/20/2009 12:48:15 PM

Mom shouldnt really have the right to go into the family account.

but thats another thread

10/20/2009 12:49:58 PM

i don't budget mine nearly well enough. I have several things set up on autopay that i just let them cruise on and get paid each month without thinking twice.

10/20/2009 12:51:36 PM

yea thats what i learned to have to do, and i made sure they get drafted as soon as i get paid and not later


also i stopped using checks and use money orders whenever possible cuz its instantly gone, get tired of the random times people decide to cash them and honestly im piss poor at keeping financial records

10/20/2009 12:54:04 PM

I could never set or adhere to a budget as long as its just me

If I ever had kids, then yeah maybe, but I see no reason to restrict myself at this point

10/20/2009 12:54:19 PM

automate everything and mint.com

10/20/2009 12:58:28 PM

Dave Ramsey is getting me on track. His system makes a lot of sense to me. You should check it out.

10/20/2009 1:23:23 PM

Ya'll clearly didn't grow up poor. I save almost 1,000$ a month, thats ~ 40% of my monthly take home pay. Im on the extreme other end of the spectrum, I should spend more, but being financially concious is so ingrained in me from my childhood that i can't help it.

Don't eat out, that's the biggest one. 10$ meals will add up so quickly. Don't drink lattes. bring your lunch to work. If you're really hurting, move in with roommates.

what works for me is, compare everything you buy to your hourly wage. If you have to think "This beer is costing me 10 minutes of work" or "this video game is three hours of wages", you're going to think twice before you buy it

10/20/2009 1:39:05 PM

Excel

10/20/2009 1:40:06 PM

what does growing up poor or with money have to do with anything?

im not following that one, i like the rest of the post

10/20/2009 1:42:14 PM

Quote :

"Get a girlfriend. She'll spend it for you."

10/20/2009 1:44:07 PM

bighit, you're dumb

if you grew up poor, you value money more

If you grew up rich, you don't concern yourself as much with discretionary spending, because its always been readily available


how is that not obvious

[Edited on October 20, 2009 at 1:50 PM. Reason : x]

10/20/2009 1:46:31 PM

^ thanks slave, I had some stuff typed up, but you got me covered

10/20/2009 1:47:06 PM

If:
1. I had somebody to prepare all my meals.
2. I quit smoking.
3. I could stand drinking regular water all the time.

Then I would be in much better financial shape.

10/20/2009 1:48:33 PM

^that and if you grew up well to do your standards for things are higher. if you grew up in a really nice area living in an apartment complex such as wild woods right after school may seem off limits to you because its below your expectations (this was how i felt) while someone who grew up with less money might find it entirely suitable (an old coworker of mine). i was spending 250 more a month on rent, when i could have been saving that money.

this applies to all sorts of things. cars, first home, etc...

how you grew up makes a big difference.

10/20/2009 1:51:04 PM

well with busted ass kidneys you`ll be grateful to drink plain water








going from relatively wealthy to a lot less wealthy hurts

10/20/2009 1:51:35 PM

I live in a cheap shithole now. But we have cable and roadrunner because my baby can't seem to live without it.

I went for almost 5 years without paying for cable tv.

10/20/2009 1:52:58 PM

Quote :

"if you grew up poor, you value money more If you grew up rich, you don't concern yourself as much with discretionary spending, because its always been readily available"

i dont think thats necessarily true


i didnt grow up wealthy but once i got money i started spending it because i had it, its not an accurate statement at all and is certainly not all that relevant in discussion of budgeting because you can find just as many cases that corraborate as you can find that are contrary

so..youre dumb since we wanna go 3rd grade about it

[Edited on October 20, 2009 at 1:56 PM. Reason : f]

10/20/2009 1:55:30 PM

Thats because you're black

Look at all the athletes who grew up poor as shit...then they get rich, and blow it all, then they're bankrupt by 35

10/20/2009 1:57:20 PM

Quote :

"bighit, you're dumb if you grew up poor, you value money more If you grew up rich, you don't concern yourself as much with discretionary spending, because its always been readily available how is that not obvious"

Bingo.

I'm almost glad my family got poor right around my teenage years forcing me to get a job and be responsible with money.

I wouldn't call myself "well-off" in the least bit...but I've got plenty of money saved and my credit is spectacular.

10/20/2009 1:57:38 PM

so....how does that...o nevermind

10/20/2009 1:57:58 PM

Don't think it matters whether you grew up poor or rich. It's all about whether your parents taught you (or if you learned yourself) financial responsibility.

If they did, you're all good.

If they didn't and you grew up rich, you'll be screwed when you don't have as much money to spend and you blow through it all.

If they didn't and you grew up poor, you'll be screwed because you've never had any money to save, so you just spend what you get.

10/20/2009 2:07:44 PM

Not saying it's a direct correlation...but you're more than likely going to value your money more if you had to work to get it and/or it wasn't given to you in bundles by your parents as a kid. I think that's pretty common sense.

Sure...there are some people that are just more responsible in general, and will save money whether they grew up poor or rich. And there are people that are just completely irresponsible and will squander their money whether they grew up poor or rich. But poor kids are usually more aware of paying bills and credit problems because they might have seen their parents go through the same thing growing up.

10/20/2009 2:08:04 PM

^^

I think that's a pretty solid point. It's probably easier for a kid to accept lessons on financial responsibility if they grow up poor. I think there is some truth to better appreciating what you have when you have less, but i think you have to get that sense of responsibility from your parents for it to work.

10/20/2009 2:14:37 PM

Similar to what you probably experienced growing up in a lower caste

10/20/2009 2:16:12 PM

I'd be in the lowest caste in existence. Being a Christian, that automatically makes me an untouchable.

Maybe similar to how you may notice people doing a not-so-subtle wallet check after they walk by you.

10/20/2009 2:18:38 PM

I''ll be sure to visit your samosa booth at the bazaar, I hear that place is paradise for thug pickpockets like me

[Edited on October 20, 2009 at 2:24 PM. Reason : x]

10/20/2009 2:22:33 PM

Quote :

"I'm almost glad my family got poor right around my teenage years forcing me to get a job and be responsible with money."

While I was growing up it was obvious that my family was a little more well off than most others. My dad was a veterinarian in a partnership. We had a lot of land, we usually got nice Christmas/birthday gifts from our parents, we had horses and dogs to take care of, pool table, nintendos, computers, and other stuff. I believe I was called a "spoiled little rich kid" by a girl back in elementary school right around the movie Richie Rich came out (and the quote from the movie that she called me). It was only until after she got to know me that he opinion was baseless.

We had to perform lots of manual labor working on the farm and other property down at the creek. We spent many weekends helping dad and very little time at friend's houses. I learned a lot of skills that most kids my age wouldn't know what/how to do though.

My parents bought me my first truck but I had to throw in $1,000 for the down payment and a grand at the end of each summer. We didn't have to work during school though, just in the summers.

I had to take out student loans, do well in school, get a job, and pay off my loans. I'm doing that now. Just because you grew up rich doesn't mean you don't value money or don't know how to budget. Just because you grew up poor doesn't mean you do value money or know how to budget.

10/20/2009 2:26:11 PM

Quote :

"I'm doing that now. Just because you grew up rich doesn't mean you don't value money or don't know how to budget. Just because you grew up poor doesn't mean you do value money or know how to budget."

I think people don't understand the words "usually" or "in general." This is what I said right after what you quoted from my post:

"Sure...there are some people that are just more responsible in general, and will save money whether they grew up poor or rich. And there are people that are just completely irresponsible and will squander their money whether they grew up poor or rich."

Pretty similar to what you said. It's not an exact science...but there is some "general" relation.

10/20/2009 2:50:22 PM

That makes you a woman.

10/20/2009 2:58:33 PM

^^but its not "usual" or "general"

you just say it is, im willing to bet that its pretty even and to say that generally wealthy people are worse with their money and that the poor appreciate it more is flat out bullshit

[Edited on October 20, 2009 at 5:18 PM. Reason : h]

10/20/2009 5:18:17 PM

people who spend [nearly] all their money every month: morons

people who spend more than they earn: fucking idiots

the only requirement for budgeting and saving is an IQ of > 95.

10/20/2009 5:54:01 PM

you know yall son of a bitches are poor

10/20/2009 6:16:15 PM

try being paid on commission...that shit really fucks you when budgeting

10/20/2009 6:36:12 PM

mint.com is great. How much are you looking to save? The easiest way to budget your money is to keep a log of everything, even mundane shit, that you have purchased over the course of one month. Then review all your purchases and make cuts/changes where necessary. That alone will free up a lot. Most people don't realize that they are wasting a lot of money to gain convenience. A simple switch to buying your food from BJs, instead of Harris Teeter, can potentially save you hundreds or thousands over the course of a year. Simple changes like that can really add up to huge savings.

10/20/2009 7:09:01 PM

good responses....definitely gonna check out mint.com. its not that im retarded or anything, ive always had problems with organization.

Quote :

"its been three years and im just now easin my way into knowing what comes in and what goes out in a stress free, flexible manner. Once i get that old money and am responsible for a family ill be a little more strict"

ive been able to do this my whole life but now i have a million things to pay for and i have no idea where it leaves me each month. if i dont get strict now ill never learn

[Edited on October 20, 2009 at 10:27 PM. Reason : .]

10/20/2009 10:22:31 PM

i feel ya

i havent really had a steady job until junior year of college, and never had a car and all that

all of a sudden i had all that stuff and it was just alot of change in a short period of time so thats how i dealt with my finances, and still am

truth is you know whent he time is right to manage your money better i wasnt tryna say that you shouldnt be worried about it that was just my situation lol

[Edited on October 20, 2009 at 10:39 PM. Reason : g]

10/20/2009 10:38:13 PM

If you dont already have one, your bank probably offers a mastercard/visa debit card thats tied to your checking account. Use it to pay for everything. When the transactions get imported into Mint they come accross with the merchant account which Mint can use to automatically catagorize each transaction. Super easy. Once you have everything in Mint you have a real good picture of your finances and where you can save some money.

I used to do it all in excel, but fuck that shit. Mint rules.

10/20/2009 10:39:47 PM

thats cool as shit

10/20/2009 10:41:20 PM

^^ oh yea man, i have all of that. all i had to do was log into my account through mint and it automatically did everything. this is everything i could have asked for.

10/20/2009 10:43:53 PM