Getting back on the wagon

[screamingflea]

Hi all! It's been a while. :|(

A little over a year ago, I was hanging on by my toenails after my last job dried up. I lived on an SSDI pittance, food stamps, and an open ended family loan. Since then I've found a job I can live on, if modestly. My annual income is about $20K. I was so relieved to have income again that I went through a period of living large (by my standards.) Having fun with my debit card, impulsive vanity runs to the thrift stores, that sort of thing.

Last night I flipped channels and came across a video of Suze Orman, and I'm back on track. Sadly I seem to have lost my binder with about 10 years of monthly tabs, but I'm starting over. Here, give or take, is what I'm looking at:

INCOME: 1612

Rent 570
Utilities 40
Internet/TV 75
Cell phone 107
Martial arts 40
Part D coverage 35
Prescriptions 60
Groceries 150
Restaurants 100
Bus pass 24
Pets 60
Haircut 8
Debts 160

Total outlay 1429

The expenditures are monthly averages, of course. The debt is mostly toward the family loan, but also to my doctor's office for a recent injury that shows no signs of healing soon. So that amount is more likely to go up before it goes away.

I'm not necessarily asking for feedback on where I can reduce expenses, it's more just part of my effort to get everything out where I can see it.

Most of my restaurant expenditures come from the fact that I'm a bus commuter - sometimes I'll have up to an hour to kill on a rainy 34 degree night, and I can't usually just take up space in a business without buying something. And I'm hypoglycemic so I often need to drop everything to grab a bite at inconvenient moments. Which is why I'm lukewarm on the idea of retiring the debit card, even though I know it would make a big difference in my overall picture.

Anyway, the above figures mean about an 11% savings rate. Is that considered a respectable amount? I've gone far enough astray from my self-imposed program that I don't even remember.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Moral support and ticker tape appreciated. :cool:

[iris lily]

Good for you flea! Carry on! It DOES help in being accountable to put it all out there and share with others your intent.

[leslieann]

Glad to hear from you, flea. Things certainly sound so much better than they did. I also admire your forthrightness in putting things right out there. And I'm really glad to see you here!

[rosarugosa]

Flea, That sounds like respectable rate of savings since you are living on a limited income. Now if you were making $200,000. a year, that would be a different story!

[cdttmm]

flea -- great to hear from you! I think you are doing well with an 11% rate of savings!!! Keep it up!!!

[JaneV2.0]

And hooray for the thrift store splurges! Life isn't supposed to be a dismal slog to the finish, after all.

[loosechickens]

hey, good for you, flea......11% savings rate is far above average, believe it or not.......so good to know that you're doing well and have found your way into an income adequate for your needs, plus a bit extra to save.......

and I agree, life isn't worth living without a few thrift store splurges and small pleasures....sounds like you're doing fine.....

[screamingflea]

Thanks all. I suppose I should clarify here that the 11% isn't necessarily savings. It's just what isn't already spoken for. :|( I usually find a happy home for it on its way to the bank. That's part of why I'm posting this - to hold myself to a little extra accountability and motivation.

[sweetana3]

Welcome back.

You might enjoy the British posts on http://frugalincornwall.blogspot.com/ She is practicing an extreme form of frugality to pay off debt and has wonderful and interesting posts. It can be done.

[lhamo]

I agree that having 11% of wiggle room in an already tight budget is doing pretty good. But everybody else has given you the warm fuzzies, so I'm gonna hop in and offer some tough love -- you know you want it, or you wouldn't have asked, right? :)

The two categories that jump out at me as possibly needing a closer look are the TV/Internet and cell phone bill. Those two together are more than you pay for groceries. They may be worth the investment -- I seem to recall you pondering purchase of an iphone, and the convienience of being wired all the time may make something like that worth it. But could you then look at cutting the internet/cable bill, since you can access the internet through your phone? Not sure how data plans, etc. work so maybe that isn't cost effective. Anyway, if you haven't called your cable provider to ask for a discount, that might be worth doing. And any other way you might be able to bring those categories down -- sharing wireless signal with a trusted neighbor, for example. At least until you pay off the debt. Once that is done, you'll have more wiggle room still.

Not a criticism of the choices you are making -- I am truly impressed at how frugally you live -- but having debt hanging over your head is no fun so if there is a way to help you get that taken care of I'd love to help you find it.

Welcome back -- we missed you!

lhamo

[JaneV2.0]

I raised an eyebrow at the cell phone bill as well, and figured this was a contract she was tied to. My sense is that there are cheaper plans out there.

[reader99]

Congrarulations, flea on the improvement in your situation. It seems perfectly natural to kind of take the lid off spending at first when income increases.

I, too, noticed the cell bill. Also assuming you're tied by a contract. When it ends, MetroPCS offers unlimited voice, text and data for $40 a month, no contract. Virgin Mobile has some good plans too.

[JaneV2.0]

When I had a smart phone for a couple of weeks, I had a plan--Boost Mobile, maybe--that started at $50 a month and then went to $35 after you had been with them for 18 months or so.

[ljevtich]

First off, welcome back!

Too bad you lost that binder, I would suggest checking around again, so hard to lose something so important.

I would also suggest taking a look at some of your expenses. You do not have anything listed for "fun activities" unless the TV/internet is that. It always amazes me how people who are in debt will spend money on TV & internet, but the glaring expense is the cell phone.

I would suggest the 11% be put to savings, build up your emergency fund and then start paying down more in the debt fund. That way the debt is not looming over your head.

[Spartana]

Congrats Flea and welcome back. Not to go over to the Dark Side but I agree with the others about the cell/TV/internet bill - too high. Look at getting a bundle package if you can as that might save you over $150/month - money for the "fun" stuff Laura J. mentioned. I have a Trafone pay-as-you-go cell that includes double minutes and it costs me about $7/month ($96/year) with minutes that roll over ad infiniteum. I also don't have cable or home internet (use wi-fi elsewhere like at the library) so save big buck there. So if you don't use those things much, then you can probably find a lower rate for everything. And the packages usually ofer unlimited access to phone and internet. But I am very impressed with how low your Martial Arts monthly fee is. Can't get anything for less that $80/month around here and that's considered cheap.