create a budget

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Sara’s been reading personal finance blogs for a while now, and she’s ready to set up a budget. She’s come to us for help. She writes:

I would like to start listing my spending totals into a spreadsheet budget along with setting goals for ‘bigger things’ (trips, winter tires etc). Do you have a budget template that works for you, or could you please recommend a few tips on getting started?

A budget can be an excellent tool not only for planning your spending, but also for planning your saving. Over the past 2½ years, I’ve shared a variety of budgets and budgeting tools — here are some of my favorite.

3 Budget Frameworks

A budget doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, readers have recommended three very simple budgets to me in the past. Most people will need more detail than these provide, but each provides a framework on which to build something more personal. (Notice that each of these allocates 20% to savings. If you can pick that habit up early, you’ll be way ahead of the game.)

In The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need, Andrew Tobias offers the following simple yet effective budget:

  1. Destroy all your credit cards.
  2. Invest 20% of all that you earn. Never touch it.
  3. Live on the remaining 80%, no matter what.

Although Tobias is being glib, this is actually an excellent system. If you can develop the discipline to follow just these three steps, you can become rich.

In All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan, the authors argue that in order to succeed financially, you must keep three broad areas of your finances “in balance”. They say to divide your net income (after-tax income) as follows:

  • Allocate 50% to Needs (which the authors call Must-Haves). Needs include housing, transportation, groceries, insurance, and clothes you really need.
  • Spend 30% on Wants. Wants include cable television, clothing beyond the basics, restaurant meals, concert tickets, comic books, knitting supplies, etc.
  • Set aside 20% for Savings, including debt repayment.

This budget is designed so that you can save a lot and have fun. To achieve this, the authors encourage you to reduce your Needs. In fact, reducing Needs is the cornerstone of their advice.

At MSN Money, Richard Jenkins offers his 60% solution. He suggests your budget should divide monthly gross (pre-tax) income like this:

  • 60% to Committed Expenses such as taxes, clothing, basic living expenses, insurance, charity (including tithe), and regular bills (including things like cable).
  • 10% to Retirement.
  • 10% to Irregular Expenses such as vacations, major repair bills, new appliances, etc.
  • 10% to Long-Term Savings/Debt — money set aside for car purchases, home renovations, or to pay down substantial debt loads.
  • 10% for Fun Money to be used for dining out, hobbies, indulgences, etc.

Jenkins believes that the best way to relieve money pressure is to reduce Committed Expenses: cut the cable TV, spend less on clothing, reduce your housing expense, etc.

4 Budget Spreadsheets

Once you’ve picked a framework on which to build, there are a host of budget spreadsheets to choose from. My top recommendation is the PearBudget spreadsheet, a detailed, polished work of Excel art. If this doesn’t meet your needs, move on to another option.

One of those options is the free and simple budget planner that Jeff M. shared with Get Rich Slowly readers last February. It’s available in two formats:

  • Microsoft Excel (70kb) — right-click and choose “Save as…” to download. This file should also work with Open Office.
  • Google Docs — select “File -> Copy spreadsheet…” to save to your account.

Jeff’s spreadsheet is designed solely to keep you on a budget you’ve already set, not to help you create a budget. Budgets vary from person-to-person. Create one that works for you, and use this planner to track your progress. If you need help developing a budget, try this Google Docs budget estimator from GRS-reader Justin M.

Finally, GRS forum administrator Stephen Popick shared his homegrown budget workbook last year. This highly customizable spreadsheet has tabs for your budget and your spouse’s budget.

(If you’re looking for other financial tools, It’s Your Money offers an additional 33 personal-finance spreadsheets for a variety of uses, from budgeting to fuel tracking to CD laddering.)

3 Web-Based Budget Tools

Naturally, there are web-based tools for budgeting, too. Here are three excellent choices:

  • The afore-mentioned PearBudget comes in a web version that receives rave reviews.
  • NeoBudget is an online budget manager that uses the envelope method to help you track your spending habits and stick to a budget.
  • Finally, You Need a Budget offers a robust feature set, and is probably most appropriate for advanced budgeters.

I’ve never used any of these products. If you have tried one (or more), leave feedback to let us know your impressions.

A Few Words of Advice

Last March, Joshua explained why he believes budgeting is the most important thing you can do with your money, and offered hints on how to get started. More recently, Trent at The Simple Dollar shared his 10 tips for a successful budget:

  1. Know why you are budgeting. Don’t do it just because you think you should — do it to help yourself spend less than you earn.
  2. Have a specific, concrete long-term goal in mind. Remember: the road to wealth is paved with goals.
  3. Know how much you actually make.
  4. Have accurate data for both your monthly spending and your irregular spending. You can get this data by learning to track your spending.
  5. Choose checking and savings accounts that include useful budgeting tools by default. ING Direct, for example, makes it easy to open multiple accounts.
  6. Use a simple budgeting tool that you’re able to understand. “Start with pencil and paper if you have to,” Trent says. (Any of the tools I listed above would be a good choice.)
  7. Be realistic. Don’t start by promising yourself to be a super saver. Take small steps, and work up from there.
  8. Get support from at least one other person.
  9. Set some short-term goals that will be easy to achieve if you stay on budget. These will give you a psychological boost so that you’re more likely to stick to the program.
  10. Don’t be afraid to adjust your budget (even radically). Be flexible. Your goal is to find a system that works for you.

Trent’s advice is great. I’d add that, if possible, you should base your budget on yearly expenses. The Journal of Consumer Research found that people are more accurate when constructing an annual budget than a monthly budget.

Reader Hints and Tips

All of these tools are excellent resources to help Sara start budgeting. I think her best bet, however, is to pick the brains of Get Rich Slowly readers. You are real people with real lives who have implemented real budgets. You’re not some personal finance writer pushing a theoretical model to sell books.

If you keep a budget (or have in the past), what’s the best way to get started? What works? What doesn’t? What should Sara do to ensure ongoing budgeting success?

Source: getrichslowly.org

Apache is functioning normally

Do you hate the very thought of budgeting? Does tracking every dollar you spend seem like a waste of time — or, worse, an activity guaranteed to curtail your spending “freedom”? Good news, then…you and I are a lot alike! But one month, after spending over nine hundred dollars on clothes — and not realizing it until I got the credit card bill! — I recognized I needed to rethink my assumptions about budgeting.

Overcoming obstacles to setting up your budget
Even after reading a lot of articles and several books on how to create a budget (including some here on Get Rich Slowly), none of them ever really stuck with me. I’d flip through them, thinking that they sounded great, but kept putting them off. Each month I put them off, though, was a month I veered dangerously closer to being financially “upside down”.

I realized that I had two beliefs I needed to get past before setting up a budget:

  1. I felt like a budget would take a ton of time and effort for very little return.
  2. I liked what I considered the “freedom” of being able to spend whatever I wanted, when I wanted to spend it.

The biggest issue I had to face, though, was admitting that I had a spending problem: I was spending every dime I made, and then some — and I couldn’t easily tell you where it all went.

After reading several personal finance books and becoming increasingly frustrated with my lack of spending accountability, I finally gave in, made a budget spreadsheet, and tried it for several months.

Much to my surprise, creating a budget actually gave me more freedom! Instead of having a panic attack when I got my credit card statement, thinking, “How am I going to pay this off?”, I knew where I stood every few days. Instead of forcing myself to pay cash (which is easily stolen, or used and then forgotten), I had an at-a-glance look at exactly what I was spending, and where I was spending it, every month.

But most importantly, I stopped feeling guilty every time I bought something for myself. As you’ll see in the videos that follow, I have a “fun” spending category. As long as I spend less than that amount every month on fun stuff, I don’t obsess over it. In this way, having a budget has been a huge stress relief for me.

Cash vs. credit
The final problem I had to overcome was remembering to put everything in my budget. I decided to cure this by simplifying my life. Instead of charging purchases on several different credit cards, I ordered a rewards credit card and charged everything to it.

Not only did it give me cash back for everything I charged, but I was easily able to download the data every few days from my provider’s website. I also got rid of all my store credit cards — the small amount I saved wasn’t worth the extra time and hassle to put the numbers into my budget.

Many financial authors support a cash-only system in order to help get yourself out of debt, since spending cash is more tangible than swiping plastic. However, a budget, updated every few days with data from your card provider’s website, gives you the same knowledge of where your money goes immediately. Plus, a credit card offers consumer protections, down-to-the-penny accuracy, and rewards points!

J.D.’s advice: Do what works for you. If you have problems using credit cards responsibly, it’s best to stick with a cash-only system. Use your debit card and track expenses that way. If you know that credit won’t cause you problems, consider making most or all of your purchases with a single card.

The 10-minute budget
If you’re a visual person like me, you’re going to love this. Instead of a typical text-heavy, boring budget post, I’ve boiled down the entire task of creating a budget into two videos I call the “10-Minute Budget.”

The first video is a six-minute introduction. It describes some financial mistakes I made, and how those mistakes pushed me to make a budget. (Watch to find out how I spent over $900 on clothes in one month, and how much money I saved later on!)

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The second video is the actual 10-minute budget. Please take a few minutes now to download the budget spreadsheet, watch the videos, and follow along.

Stop Being a “Budget Slacker”!
Don’t make the same mistake I did and get that sinking feeling when opening up your credit card statement. Knowing where every penny goes, and being able to quickly see which expenses to eliminate should your income decline, is well worth the time investment. Creating a budget enables you to never again say “Where did it all go?” and feel the frustration of spending more than you earn. If you have 10 minutes, try this out!

If you already have a budget, please watch, too, and leave your comments on how to improve it. Or share what you do to help track your expenses…to help us “budget slackers.”

For more information on budgeting, check out the Get Rich Slowly guide to building a better budget.

Source: getrichslowly.org

Apache is functioning normally

Filing for bankruptcy is a tactic often used to erase large amounts of debt, but nondischargeable debts can prevent that clean slate.

Certain kinds of debt, including child support, student loans, and some tax bills, typically survive a bankruptcy filing.

Some 403,000 Americans filed for bankruptcy in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2023. For one reason or another they found themselves in debt situations complex enough to seek bankruptcy as a means of relief.

Though on the surface bankruptcy may appear to produce an opportunity for a fresh start, nondischargeable debts prevent it from being a true end-all solution.

What Does Nondischargeable Debt Include?

Nondischargeable debts can include home mortgages, certain taxes, child support, and student loans, and can vary based on the chapter of bankruptcy filed.

A debt may also be considered nondischargeable if a creditor formally objects to a discharge in court and wins.

When a debt is discharged through bankruptcy, the debtor is relieved of any legal obligation to pay it back, and the creditor is prevented from taking any further action to collect that debt. This includes contacting the debtor or filing a lawsuit.

Personal loans, credit card debt, and medical bills are types of debt generally considered dischargeable.

Nondischargeable debt, on the other hand, does not dissolve in a bankruptcy filing. The debtor remains liable for payment even after the filing is complete. These are types of debt that Congress has deemed unforgivable due to public policy.

Recommended: Understanding Bankruptcy: Is it Ever the Right Option?

Types of Nondischargeable Debt

Nineteen categories of nondischargeable debt apply for Chapters 7, 11, and 12 of the Bankruptcy Code. (A more limited list of exceptions applies to cases under Chapter 13.)

Except in unique circumstances, if a debt falls under one of these categories, it is not considered dischargeable.

1. Debt incurred from U.S. taxes or a customs duty.

2. Debt for money, property, or services obtained fraudulently or under false pretenses.

3. Any debt excluded from bankruptcy filing paperwork (unless the missing creditor received prior notice and had ample time to respond to the filing).

4. Debt acquired due to fraud, larceny, or embezzlement while working as a fiduciary.

5. Debt contracted for a domestic support obligation, including child support and alimony.

6. Debt from intentionally harming another person or their property.

7. Tax debt as a result of a fine, penalty or forfeiture that is, at minimum, 3 years old.

8. Student loan debt (unless not discharging the debt would impose an “undue hardship”).

9. Debt incurred due to the death or injury of someone caused by the debtor while operating a vehicle, vessel, or aircraft while intoxicated.

10. Any debts that were or could have been listed in a prior bankruptcy filing, and the debtor waived or was denied a discharge.

11. Debt obtained by committing fraud or misappropriating funds while acting as a fiduciary at a bank or credit union.

12. Debt incurred for the malicious or reckless failure of a debtor to fulfill any commitment to a federal depository.

13. Debts for any orders of restitution.

14. Debt incurred by penalty in relation to U.S. taxes.

15. Any debt to a spouse, former spouse, or child that is incurred through a separation or divorce.

16. Debts incurred due to condominium ownership or homeowners association fees.

17. Legal fees imposed on a prisoner by a court for costs and expenses related to a filing.

18. Debts owed to a pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus, or another retirement plan, as well as any loans taken from an individual retirement annuity.

19. Debt obtained for violating federal or state securities laws, common law, or deceit and manipulation in connection with the purchase or sale of any security.

How Will Nondischargeable Debt Affect Me?

Nondischargeable debt is just like any other debt in the sense that it must be paid off on time to avoid negative consequences.

If a debt is left unpaid for too long, the creditor may sell the debt to a collection agency, which then may result in any number of the following repercussions:

•   Significantly lowering a credit score

•   Flagging a borrower as “high risk” to future lenders

•   Decreasing the odds of approval for future credit offerings

•   Increasing high-interest rate offers with less favorable terms

•   Adding negative remarks to your credit history

•   Activating a lien against a property or asset

•   Prompting creditors to pursue legal action

•   Enacting wage or asset garnishment

How Can I Resolve Nondischargeable Debts?

Making plans to resolve any outstanding debts as soon as possible is key to managing a credit history and salvaging future credit opportunities. Here are a few strategies to consider for paying off debts.

Stop Using Credit

The first step toward debt resolution is to stop collecting it.

The average American consumer has 3.84 credit cards, and the average balance is $5,910 in 2022, according to data from Experian.

Making a point not to purchase anything that can’t be bought with cash outright can help curb unnecessary expenses. This includes larger purchases that may require financing. Leaving credit cards at home and removing their information from online payment systems can also help remove the temptation of using them.

Create a Budget

According to a 2022 Debt.com survey, 85% of Americans said making a budget helped them get out of or stay out of debt.

A monthly plan including income and expenses can help reveal where extra money might be coming in and where you can cut back on unnecessary spending. A plan will provide a holistic view of spending habits, allowing for larger decisions to be made about how to change habits in order to fit new, debt-focused priorities.

Cutting back on expenses and carefully tracking spending can help reveal extra dollars and cents needed to pay down debts.

Start a Part-Time Job

When paying down debt is a top priority, taking on another job or picking up additional hours at your current one can be extremely helpful.

An extra check here and there can provide funds to make additional payments on debts, helping to dissolve them more quickly. Consider options such as working weekends at a local coffee shop, picking up a temporary gig in food delivery, or freelancing for additional income.

Recommended: 19 Jobs That Pay Daily

Consolidate Debt

Applying for a personal loan is a strategy for managing several debts simultaneously. Though it may seem counterintuitive to take on another loan, a personal loan can be used to pay off multiple existing lines of credit, such as credit cards, and consolidate them into one loan with a single monthly payment and, possibly, a lower interest rate.

In addition to comparing rates, it’s important to make sure you understand how a new loan could benefit you in the long run. For instance, if your monthly payment is lower because the loan term is longer, it might not be a good strategy, because it means you may be making more interest payments and therefore paying more over the life of the loan.

However, a debt consolidation loan could help streamline payments and ease the anxiety that comes with being responsible for managing numerous lines of credit.

The Takeaway

Nondischargeable debts require more than bankruptcy to be resolved, and without proper management, they could worsen your current financial situation. Like any other debt, nondischargeable debt must be paid off on time in order to avoid negative repercussions. Creating a plan to handle outstanding debts as soon as possible is a smart choice.

Think twice before turning to high-interest credit cards. Consider a SoFi personal loan instead. SoFi offers competitive fixed rates and same-day funding. Checking your rate takes just a minute.

SoFi’s Personal Loan was named NerdWallet’s 2023 winner for Best Online Personal Loan overall.

SoFi Loan Products
SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.

Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

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Source: sofi.com

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

I’ve decided to develop a budget.

This probably sounds strange coming from a guy who has been anti-budget all his life. Besides, haven’t I paid off all my debt? Don’t I have a positive cash-flow of over $1,000 per month? Yes, these things are true. But I’ve noticed something troubling: I’ve begun to experience that lifestyle inflation I’m always warning others about.

Lifestyle inflation is the natural tendency to increase our spending as our incomes increase. When we get a raise at work, we’re likely to spend more at home. A little lifestyle inflation is fine. But there’s a real danger of becoming too comfortable with increased spending. Once we become accustomed to a certain lifestyle, it’s difficult to cut back.

Cracks in the Foundation

On our flight home from Orlando, Kris and I talked about my spending. It has increased in recent months. Some of this is deliberate. I’ve made a conscious decision to allow myself to spend more money on Wants. I can afford it. The trouble is that I’ve begun to spend indiscriminately again, and I’m afraid that’s a slippery slope. I’ll buy random magazines at the grocery store, or pick up a game for the Wii that I’m only half interested in.

I’m certainly not spending beyond my means, but I’ve begun to make more impulse purchases. I want to correct this now — before it becomes a problem. In the past, I’ve used a spending plan to help me meet my goals, and more recently I’ve been following the broad outlines of Elizabeth Warren’s balanced money formula:

But sometimes broad outlines aren’t enough. In this case, Kris suggested that a budget might help curb my impulsiveness, and I think she’s right. With a budget, I can set specific goals. I can focus on the things I really want instead of just spending on random things that appeal to me in the moment.

So, I’ve decided to create a budget. Not a comprehensive budget — my Income, Needs, and Saving are all fine — but a budget for my Wants. I want to exercise discipline in this area so that I’m spending on things that are actually important to me instead of random stuff, stuff that ultimately turns into clutter.

Blueprint for Success

To start, I reviewed my discretionary spending from last year and compared it to the totals from the first four months of 2009. This is where tracking every penny you spend can prove valuable. By comparing my past spending to my present spending, I’m able to detect trends. It’s very clear, for example, that I am again spending too much on dining out. Time to cut back.

Next, I thought about my goals. What is it that I really want to do? Lately, travel appeals to me. Kris and I both would like to take a vacation to Europe in 2010. To make that happen, I need to save. This gives me a medium-term goal to save toward.

Finally, I allocated a specific amount of money toward my monthly Wants. Remember, because I’m self-employed, I have an irregular income that passes through my business account first. If I pull out $2500 per month (after taxes) to act as personal income, that gives me $750 to spend on my passions. That should be plenty.

Note:Based on my Income, Needs, and Saving, I can afford to allocate $750 for Wants. This might seem high to some GRS readers. It would have seemed high to me once, too. But because I’ve paid off my consumer debt, I have $750 per month to spend on the things that make me happy.

Building the Budget

After collecting the data and setting my goals, I made a first pass at a budget. This is what I’ll use for June and July:

  • Books: $50/month
  • Comic Books: $50/month
  • Entertainment: $50/month
  • Clothing: $50/month
  • Charity: $50/month
  • Dining Out: $200/month
  • Vacation 2010: $200/month (plus small windfalls)
  • Miscellaneous: $100/month

Obviously, you might make different choices. I know that many GRS readers are avid contributors to charity, for example, and I suspect few of you budget for comic books! These are the allocations that seem to make sense for me and my situation. I’m sure that I’ll make changes to this budget as I work with it in the real world.

Actually, I have a lot of questions about how a budget should work in the real world. Because I’m a budgeting novice, I could use some help. I’m hoping that you experienced budgeters can answer some of my questions:

  • How often do you re-evaluate your budget? Do you make monthly adjustments? Quarterly? Yearly?
  • If you go over budget for a month, what do you do? Do you make immediate adjustments? Or do you simply try to correct things the following month?
  • What if I go under budget in a category? Does that mean I get to carry that money into the next month? Can I use it for a different Want category? (Perhaps sweep anything extra into the Vacation fund?) Or does does that money go to Saving instead? Or should I donate it to charity?
  • How do you track your spending against the budget? If I used the envelope system, I’d allocate the actual cash to each account before-hand. But what if I don’t want to have that much cash around the house? Is there a good way to keep track of current spending in each category? Should I carry a notecard with my monthly spending on it? (That seems to be what Bargain Babe recommends.)
  • Do you try to further reduce spending on these categories? For example, should I try to drop my budget for Dining Out even more?

This is a strange new world for me. Over the past year, I’ve been pursuing more and more advanced personal finance subjects and concepts. Yet here I am, in better financial shape than ever, about to implement a basic skill I’ve never mastered before. That’s okay. I believe it’s important to continue focusing on the fundamentals even as we tackle more advanced topics.

My Discretionary Spending: Bits and Pieces

I want to talk about a couple of my spending habits. One is a worrisome trend, and one is a thing I’m doing right.

Food for Thought

Long-time readers know that Kris and I love to dine out. It’s one of those things we’re willing to spend on. We cut corners in other areas of our lives so that we can afford to make this happen. Still, I’ve been concerned about my restaurant spending for the past couple of years. It seems a tad excessive.

How’d I do last year? Well, my grocery spending dropped, but my restaurant spending went up again — a lot. Here’s a look at five years of data:

  • In 2005, we spent $1423.39 to dine out 100 times, for an average cost of $14.23 per meal.
  • In 2006, we spent $1869.58 to dine out 108 times, for an average cost of $17.31 per meal.
  • In 2007, we spent $2051.93 to dine out 84 times, for an average cost of $24.43 per meal.
  • In 2008, we spent $2628.08 to dine out 77 times, for an average cost of $34.14 per meal.
  • In 2009, we spent $3443.61 to dine out 69 times, for an average cost of $49.91 per meal.

Holy cats! Will you look at those numbers? We’re only dining out about half two-thirds as often as we were in 2006, but we’re spending nearly three times as much per meal. At the current rate of spending growth, we’ll be spending $300 per meal in 2015! Since I can afford our current spending — I’m not living beyond my means — the real question is: Am I getting my money’s worth? I’m not sure that I am.

If I’m honest, I have to admit that I don’t like the idea that we’re paying $50 per meal. I’d much rather return to our former habit: Dining out more often, but spending less each time. To that end, I’ve been brainstorming ways we can work to cut costs:

    • We could do a better job of looking for discounts. We have an Entertainment book, and the local paper often features specials at local restaurants. We should take advantage of both of these. We used to do this, but have fallen out of the habit (primarily because we’ve become so used to eating at the same places again and again).
    • We need to find more cheap places to eat. Half the fun of going out is just going out. Sure, we love the fancy restaurants, but we used to be happy with Dairy Queen. (This is lifestyle inflation in action!) The real problem is that the cheap places I know and love (Cha Cha Cha and Imperial Garden) aren’t Kris’ favorites. We need to find cheap places we both like.
    • When we do eat in the same old haunts, we need to make an effort to reduce our spending. It’s okay to have an appetizer, entree, dessert, and drink all in the same meal now and then, but we could save money by cutting one or two of these from the mix each time we dine out.
    • Finally, we should invite friends to our home for dinner more often. As soon as the book is done (getting close!), I’m going to make a habit of inviting one family to dine with us every couple of weeks. We used to do this a lot, but have fallen out of the habit. It’s fun and frugal to have folks over for dinner.

So, that’s one part of my financial life that still needs work. Next, let’s look at something I’m doing right.

Tangent: Portlanders, help me out. What are your favorite cheap places to eat around town? Bonus points for inner southeast, West of 39th from Hawthorne south to Oregon City.

A Waning of Want

Here’s something that amazes me: We’re twelve days into the year and I haven’t spent anything yet on personal expenses. I haven’t even felt the urge. I’ve bought gas for the Mini and groceries for home, and Kris and I went out to lunch last Friday, but I haven’t spent a dime on gadgets or books or games or toys or magazines.

“Big deal,” you might say. “That’s how it should be.” You’re right. But for me, this is a big deal. All my life, I’ve had the uncontrollable urge to buy Stuff. It used to be that I couldn’t go more than a day or two without buying something. Even while writing this blog, that’s been the case. (I’ve just learned to channel my desires into smaller, cheaper things.) Now, as last, I seem to have licked it.

I still want things — no question! — but I’ve become very good at ignoring the wants and moving on. How?

  • Sometimes, I just put down the thing I want, turn off my brain, and walk away. I force myself to stop thinking about it. (Usually by thinking about something else — like our upcoming trip to Europe, and how I need to save for that instead.)
  • If I still want the thing when I get home, I put it on my Amazon wish-list. For whatever reason, that’s often enough to satisfy the strange inner workings of my mind. I feel comforted knowing I’ve let myself put it on a list where I won’t forget it.
  • I’m very good about using the 30-day rule to control my impulse spending. My Amazon wish-list plays a role in that, but so does my mountain of index cards. (My life wouldn’t be complete without index cards.) I have a handful of cards on my desk filled with notes about the things I want. It’s amazing how many times I sort through this stack and end up throwing cards away because I no longer want the item I’ve written down.

These techniques help me deal with desire. They don’t quell it completely — nor would I want them to — but they do keep it in check. That last rule is probably the most effective. By delaying purchases 30 days, I don’t feel like I’m denying myself. I can still buy what I want if I want it 30 days later, but I’m not just giving in to impulse spending. (When 30 days rolls around and I do still want something, it actually feels pretty good to be able to buy it.)

My current spending moratorium isn’t permanent, and I know that. In fact, the new Dick Tracy anthology comes out tomorrow, so if nothing else, I’ll be shelling over $25 for that.

Remember: there’s nothing inherently wrong with spending money on things that bring you joy. Problems arise when you finance these purchases with debt. If you’re meeting your other financial goals and have money left over, it’s good to indulge your interests and passions. Just make sure you’re getting value for the dollars you spend.

A Look Back to Previous Years

I believe there are two components to building wealth:

  • Reducing costs
  • Boosting income

Doing one or the other can help you meet your goals, but to really succeed, you must do both. My goal has been to create a significant positive monthly cash flow. I’ve managed to do this. But as my income increases, so does the temptation to spend more. Have I been able to fight the urge? It’s time for the annual review of my largest sources of discretionary spending:

Comic Books (2005: $2810.52, 2006: $3202.91, 2007: $897.08, 2008: $550.51)
Although I use comics as a prop for laughs at Get Rich Slowly, I’ve genuinely struggled with my spending on them in the past. Not this year. I made vast improvements in 2008, actually spending less on comics than I had planned. There are two reasons for this. First, I’ve narrowed my focus, collecting only those titles I most desire. I’m also making an effort to read all of the books I’ve bought but never finished. These two changes have helped me to spend less on this hobby.
Books (2005: $1049.91, 2006: $657.96, 2007: $702.73, 2008: $404.49)
At one time, I spent over $200 a month on books. Now I spend less than $40. I’m content with this number, especially since many of these are for our monthly book group. One reason my inclination to buy books has decreased is that I’m able to purchase personal-finance books through Get Rich Slowly, the business. (Plus authors and publishers send them to me for free.) This gives me a never-ending source of reading material, and makes me less inclined to spend time in a bookstore. And again, I’m trying to read books I own but have never finished.
Entertainment (2005: $478.81, 2006: $543.55, 2007: $1094.83, 2008: $897.91)
This number isn’t as bad as it seems. It includes two Decemberists concerts for me and Kris, and it also includes some of our television viewing. (Remember that Kris and I cut back to basic cable, and now we watch TV through Netflix and through the iTunes Music Store.) There’s also a one-time $236 event here that ought to have been a business expense. I’m not unhappy with my spending on Entertainment.
Pets (2005: $397.76, 2006: $471.03, 2007: $625.52, 2008: $378.75)
Many personal finance writers view pets as an unnecessary expense. To me, $35 a month to keep four cats is a bargain. It only costs me about a quarter a day for each animal, and they bring much more joy to my life than that. If Kris would let me, I’d be the “crazy cat lady” on the block. (Are there “crazy cat gentlemen”?) Note that our actual pet expenses are greater. Kris pays for their food, and that’s not reflected in these numbers
Vice (2005: $1055.33, 2006: $768.95, 2007: $431.89, 2008: $924.79)
This includes wine, liquor, pipe tobacco, poker nights, etc. I don’t smoke regularly, but I do smoke a pipe maybe a dozen times a year. Most of this expense is for alcohol at dinner parties and social gatherings. My alcohol consumption did increase during 2008, which is a concern, but that’s not the reason for the increased spending. For the first time ever, we bought a couple of cases of wine. This will actually reduce the “wages of sin” in the long run, but it bumped the number for 2008.

Although this report is interesting, there are problems with my methodology. For example, I’ve included my grocery spending above (although it’s not really discretionary), but have not included spending on exercise equipment (which is discretionary). Also, Kris pays for much of our grocery shopping. Because we keep separate accounts, her share of that expense isn’t reflected in these numbers.

In order to be consistent from year-to-year, however, I’ve elected to continue reporting the same expenses in the same ways. You’ll have to take my word that the figures here are representative of my spending as a whole. This annual report is sort of like tracking a stock market index, I guess. It doesn’t reveal nuances, but it’s still a useful indicator of the Big Picture.

So despite cutting back on the areas that are really important to me — books and comics — my spending increased. And most of that increase came from dining out.

How did you do on your spending goals last year? Are there areas where you wish you spent less? If so, what strategies do you use to keep yourself in check?

Source: getrichslowly.org