budgeting

This is one of the best and worst times of the year. Don't buy yourself anything. Then stick to it. If you want clothes or craft supplies jot them down, then when people ask you what you want for Christmas you don't have to say 'I don't know' and it (might be) taken care of ;)

As for other things. ALWAYS make up a lunch box and take it in to work. Buying a baguette at work can be like £3.50 whereas buying a whole loaf of bread, a filling and a bunch of bananas would be cheaper than that and you'd get more out of it ;)

I wouldn't recommend leaving all your money at home because there could be a situation where you really need it. Car breaks down and mobile has run out of battery? You'd need to go to a phone box... Or miss the bus and need to get a taxi or something? Anyway, moving on :p Trust yourself with not spending too much then after a couple of weeks or a month if you have been really good and not bought yourself anything you can treat yourself to a few sheets of felt or something

I use an excel spreadsheet to work out all outgoings (including all bills, food and other 'necessities'), and incomings - if you have spare this can be put into a savings account or limit yourself to spending like £5 on yourself each week or something? If you want something for £10 then obviously you're going to have to wait 2 weeks to get it.

Limit and trust yourself. I'm sure you'll be fine. Hope this has kinda helped too

thanks, it has

I am also printing one out and sticking it near my computer. I also put myself on vacation in Etsy and told myself, no ebay. To much temptation.

Also there is a really great store called Goals, that sells, clothes, furniture and other items for under $20, all proceds goes to the GOALs foundation that helps people with special needs.

And I already "bought myself xmas items" so no more me items.

now to pay them off.

also, I was thinking about it last night. I suffer from depression and maybe in some way, buying things makes me feel good, I know it doesn't last long. But I reconize it now. and I really need to stop.

I am making progress, I ask myself, do I really need that.

but admiting that I send to feel good is a way to get better, right?

Is there any other way to get that feeling? How about cooking? Exercising? Going for a run normally helps get my emotions out then feel happier when I get home...

I understand it might make you happier but if by taking that away it makes you unhappy then I wouldn't do it. Happiness is the better bargain here

well, its a bad way to make myself feel better. maybe I will just go to Goals and get amazing things for a Dollar on pay day.

Plus crafting makes me feel good. Thats why I join so many and started happygrams. But where I am a work so much, Laurel has taken over

How many loans to you have? Are you paying over the minimum balance in the alloted $50?

If you have a bunch, but aren't making any significant payments, it will take forever to see any results. You need to pay them off as quickly as possible, so this is what you do.

Order your loans from smallest amount to largest amount. You want to pay them off in that order. So, if you have to make the minimum payments on your other cards for awhile, don't worry. You'll save interest in the long run.

Now, apply all your extra money (everything you've budgeted for loans minus the minimum payments for the largest ones) to your smallest card. Ask that it be applied to the principal. (That's very important, otherwise, most companies apply it to the interest you haven't been charged with yet)

Now, if you put all your efforts into paying off your smallest card first, you'll see a victory a lot sooner, and it will make you feel awesome!

Now on to the second part of this plan. Once you pay off that first loan, begin to apply all the money you were spending per month on that card, to the NEXT lowest loan, in addition to the money you were sending already. It will look like this:

Month: 1-2
A Balance: 200/monthly payment $100/ End balance: $0
B Balance: 500/ monthly payment $20/ End Balance: $480
C Balance: 1000/ monthly payment $50/ End Balance: $900

Month: 3-6
<s>A Balance: 200/monthly payment $100/ End balance: $0</s>
B Balance: 500/ monthly payment $120/ End Balance: $0
C Balance: 1000/ monthly paymen $50/ End Balance: $600

Month: 6-9
<s>A Balance: 200/monthly payment $100/ End balance: $0</s>
<s>B Balance: 500/ monthly payment $120/ End Balance: $0</s>
C Balance: 1000/ monthly paymen $170/ End Balance: $0

Hope that helps.

my min payment is $50 a month, I am paying in $100 on each per month, they are almost finished now

also, I am banning myself from etsy and ebay. too much tempatation

I am terrible at budgeting, too. My husband is also bad with money - so even though we technically make more than enough money to cover our living expenses, it seems we're broke a lot. I have heard good things about the site www.mint.com, but I haven't really set up my account there yet. They can set it up to send you alert messages when you're close to your limit on different categories of items, but you have to link them to your bank account.

Thankfully we don't have any credit cards, and the hubby's student loan is ALMOST paid off, so even if we don't always have a lot of extra cash or savings, we're also not really in debt. But this year is the first year I've really had a lot of close friends to get gifts for, and I'm discovering that Xmas can be a huge money drain!

I know, I always feel like I am broke. I try to save money, then something happens and then I need to dip into it

I am broke this week, I had to buy glasses.

$300

but my loans are almost paied off and so is my credit card

Michelle have a look on Amazon for Alvin Hall - he's written some great books on getting out of debt and living within a budget. He used to have a show on UK telly so you might find him on youtube too. Martin Lewis is another good person to look for online. He has a website Moneysavingexpert.com (I think) - Although he's UK based some of the stuff he passes on are applicable whereever you live. He also has a budget planner on his site and tips for cutting down outgoing.
As a glasses wearer too I got my last pair from Glassescrafter - they're online and saved me tons. I got my current pair for £40 as a opposed to £300 (which is what they normally cost).
I've also started visiting our local Scrap bank. Do you have one near where you live. You normally pay a yearly fee and you can visit it and pick up crafting supplies. They are basically other peoples rubbish and lots of stuff from industry like off cuts and carpet tiles. Great for recycling and once you've paid your yearly fee most stuff is free.
I'm permanently skint so I can empathise. I try and cut costs where I can but its really tough.

I know, I found this great shop in town called Goals, where you can get fabric for $1(its all second hand) but all it needs is a good wash

and you can get great clothes for a $1 each

I found a Ralph Lauren sweater for $1, and a great pair of jeans. You really have to seach around, but its worth it.

so I am going to pay off my loans and stuff right away

Hey guys,
here's an advice from a banker : go to your bank, meet a financial advisor. She will tell you where to start with paying off your debts, and give you some advice to start saving. She won't do your budget but you have plenty of online to help you like this one http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/products/personalloans/budget/budget-calculator.html

Dessah is right about staying motivated but her strategy might not be the right one for your situation. Establish goals, it will help you...