End of the Month Reflection : January 2011

January was a tough month. We started off with high hopes, but there were times we messed up. No matter if we did good or not, the month's end is still a good time to look back.

Here's where we started and where we ended up :

:: Make a budget and stick to it - - we met half way. We made a spending plan, but we overspent. I took some personal days off work and indulged in Restaurants with my Besty, my Mommy and my brother. . in 5 separate occasions. $200 over budget. OUCH

:: Get all bills current and pay them by the end of the month - - DONE DONE DONE!! It's been a while since all our bills were paid by the end of the month. What a relief! I can actually close out January and file it away. YAY! We had 4 past due accounts and now only have 2. Still a bummer, but we're a few steps closer.

:: Start an emergency Savings fund - - DONE! I wanted to open an ING account, but apparently, about 7 years ago, I had an ING account that was closed due to inactivity. ING directed me to send a form, but I got lazy. I opened a Smarty Pig account instead. The features were enough for me and I got to post a nice little widget on my side bar =) I'm only 1% in, but it's a start, right?

:: Organize finances - - almost done. While I started to organize 2011, 2008, 2009 AND 2010 haunt me. I had so many unorganized bills I just had to get that out of the way. I finished organizing 2010 finances last week and I was fatigued. I did that 2 weeks straight - investing 30 minutes each night. I had to take some time off and I plan on continuing that this week. It was a hard day @ work today, so I already penciled that project in for tomorrow night.


I have 40 more projects around the house while dealing with the finances. I really need to find some sort of balance.

For February 2011 Our goals are

:: Create a spending plan and try our best to stick with it. I'm hoping to create something realistic this time around. I also need to find ways to avoid spending on stupid things. I recently changed my diet and choose to go 'sustainable' Not necessarily "all Organic". People do have the misconception that going Organic = expensive, but I think I can make it with our $400 budget for groceries.

:: Get all bills paid again! Mr. Broke didn't have the same 'WHOOHOO' reaction as I did. I guess it was something expected. . but I was ecstatic! I'd like to do it all over again. I'd also like to get the last past due account current this month. I also need to make pretty Spending envelopes. =)

:: Continue Organizing 2011 Finances. I'll be posting how we organize our bills next month when it's all done.
:: Make a TAX envelope. We're starting to get Tax Statements in the mail and they're mixed in with other junk mail. I need to make a pocket for these important documents.


:: Bump up the Smarty Pig. Although most money will go toward the past due accounts, I want to bump up the smarty pig to a few more %'s. As soon as the baby emergency is funded, I'll get to start saving for the Buffer. Life would be so much easier by then.

:: Submit our Home Modification to CitiBank. ARGH. I hate Citi. Most people I talk to are incompetent. But it's something we MUST do. Should our Home Modification be approved, we'd be paying 50% less. Something we really need right now.

Here's to a new month!

Feb 2011 Spending Plan

I've always had difficulties making budgets. I can easily write down what we spend - but it's hard for us to stick with the plan.

January's trial budget was a dump. Maybe it was too strict. . But I think we can make this work this time around. I need to enter expenses daily to see how much we really have available to spend. I was too lazy to withdraw money from the ATM this month . . and also used the excuse " I don't have pretty envelopes to put my cash in."

If I have ATM Cards easily available, I spend more than I want to. I HATE it! I've had enough chasing money around. . hate not having money when I need it. . hate looking at no commas in our accounts!

Here is our February 2011 budget. I'm hoping for an income of $7200 which is less than our average $7500-$7700. I've only budgeted $7200 - and if the extra money does come along, it'll go directly to our $2000 emergency fund goal.

In addition to using CASH ONLY for our variable expenses, I'll be writing everything we spend. I was bad about this last month, and I'm hoping it will get better this month. If there's no more money to spend in the envelopes - that's it.

We usually get paid on Friday's, so on Wednesday is BillPayDay - I'm able to pend payments for Friday/Saturday. Then after everything posts, any extra will be transferred to my SmartyPig Account.

Let's hope for a good month.

I don't see the Louis

Mrs. Broke here.

Last year my mom came by to "show off" of my home to my Aunt who visited from the Philippines. Show off = Yabang in our Filipino language and I guess 'Yabang' is a good thing for them.

My mom showed off my pantry organizing skills and how well kept my closet was... And then my Aunt said "I don't see Louis or Gucci" WTF! My mom quickly said "they're in rotation" WTFagain! Kill. Me. Now.

First off, I have my priorities. If I wanted to, I can skip a few mortgage payments and buy more Louis and Guccis than all my Aunts combined with Lubu heels to match. But I know where money SHOULD go. And that's to home, food, savings and bills to name a few.

Not that I don't want a designer purse, but I am doing perfectly fine with my no name purses and backpacks. Thank you very much. After 5 years of wanting those damn purses, I still can't justify the cost. I can use the money for a roundtrip flight to NYC and go to canal street and buy a decent knockoff - and still get the leisure of traveling. Or I can simply pay off one of my credit cards.

People in my (family) circle have different priorities. And I HATE IT. They rock the LV and the guccisma - but can't find a proper job. They ask for my help to get them a job at a Kaiser Pharmacy - because she's my cousin. Please don't be begging me to help you in if you cant do shit on your own. I've got no idea how your work ethics are and I'm not about to put my clean, hard-earned name so you can slack off and flaunt your dirty laundry.
Yeah, that's great. You got a few LV's but I can still smell the rat piss on your jacket picked up from your rat infested APARTMENT.

I'm not big, nor am I trying to be. In fact, I made this blog to confess how broke I am and I'm finally getting my life straight. My assets got no Ass and this year, they're getting a workout. I say no to going out, because I'd rarer spend time teaching my kid how to cook a home-made meal. But please don't tell me I'm selfish, because I'm not. What wealth is there to spread?

They live on Champagne dreams on a beer budget... If they even had a budget.SMH..

I'm living like no one else - so I can live like no one else. Progress is in the works.

My First NO SPEND DAY!

No Spend are hard to come by. I need to gas up about every 2-3 days. I'm too lazy to pack lunch. I go to places where I'm tempted to buy stupid stuff.

I get dozens of emails about the sale of a lifetime. People post recent purchases and good food they eat and I want to out-post them.... Coz I "make" more money than they do. Sigh.. Moving on...

Today was my first official No Spend Day during a work week. Party dance! I'm so proud of myself!

1st Temptation: Went to Barnes and Noble for lunch to look at Personal Finance Books. Saw them cheaper on Amazon, so I decided to skip. I also didn't have the lost of books I want to read with me either.

2nd Temptation: Didn't pack lunch for work. I was Hungry - so I found Instant Miso in my drawer and had a free banana. The McDonalds my coworkers had smelled so good, but so bad for you. 600 calories saved!

To relieve the itch : My Daughter and I went to the library to borrow a few books. We got home early and chores were done by 7pm.
The Contra Costa libraries don't have that many personal finance books, but they have a whole lot of recipe & special diet cookbooks I can try! The online catalog wasn't working either... But can't complain for Free!

To feel better: my coworker paid me back the $2.50 she owed me from the red bull run this past Thursday. That was $2.50 I didn't think I'd get back.

I can sure use a lot more of these no spend days. I could have easily spent $30 on a few books, notebooks that I don't need and lunch. That makes me $30 wiser. I would need to pack lunch - I was hungry!

I'm in! "Saved Quarter Challenge: Setting Your Goal"

I've been on a blogging rut lately and I find these challenges very motivating. I've been a huge follower of The Saved Quarter and found her website very helpful thru tough times. Penny's one of the main reasons why I started a personal money blog.

This week's challenge is to  set your goal and write it all down.

I just finished reading "You're Broke Because You Want to Be" by Larry Winget - and a HUGE part of the book is WRITING down what your goals are & actually acting on them. A goal would just be a stupid statement without actually working on it. He advised to create different goals in life - Financial, Personal, Family, Relationship, Home etc. I'll be keeping my 'Personal' Goals to myself but I'll be posting financial goals here.

For 2011 My Financial Goals are:

1. Save $2,000 in Liquid Emergency Fund - I'd love to be able to save 1/4 of a year's salary, but for me - I think it's impossible. That would be $16,000! Hopefully next year when everything is running smoothly. I think my goal for $2,000 is more tangible. 
2. Create a budget. I'm such a looser when it comes to budgeting. I have a basic knowledge of Budgeting, but I just can't stick to it. Maybe I've made my past budgets WAYYY to complicated when budgets should be simple, easy, and basic. I plan on reviewing my budget twice a week (On Wednesdays & Weekends) and adjusting as needed. I need to realize that budgets are not permanent. I also need to make sure that every dollar is accounted for.
   2.a - We're gonna give the Envelope Budget a go for variable expenses.
3. Cut down on Stupid Expenses. This is another weakness.
4. Write every expense down.
5. No More PAST DUEs/LATES/Overdrawn Accounts. We paid $1,620.50 in Overdrafts/Bank Fees in 2010 = CRAZY. I could have paid a few credit cards down with that money! Or build a darn emergency fund! 
6. Blog Regularly. I need to really get into the habit of blogging. It's a great way to see progress. As Flylady puts it "Progress not perfection" and I'd like to see PROGRESS. Blogging to me is just to tell my story & to hopefully look back at these hard times in the future and laugh them off. It's also proof that we were Young & Dumb BUT we can overcome.
7. Plan meals. I used to follow www.organizingjunkie.org's Menu Plan Mondays. Then, I fell off the bandwagon. Planning menu's ahead of time sure decreased the stress of going home. It also made sure that my family was well fed. It also gave me a good picture of how much money we're spending on food & it also avoids dinners out (costly) and takeouts (usually unhealthy)

We have a lot of work and changing to do and it is going to be WORK! If we can get out of this rut, then anyone can. 

So there you have it. Our goals for this year (or before the year's end) Let's go!