After scouring the Internet and comparing programs, it looks like I will be going with the Quicken Money Program. It seems to be the most user friendly and will tell me in plain English how much more I'm spending than I should. Now that I've made the decision, I just need to go do it.
Today, I went to my best friend Katrina's mother's memorial. Glenda was like a second mother to me. Something the pastor said this morning has really stuck with me today. He simply said "Fear Not". There is nothing to fear since God is with us and will help us along. I do not need to fear making a budget, I just need to do it and God will help me along the way when it says on paper that I am living FARRRRR beyond my means. There is no fear. A little trepidation perhaps, but no fear. It needs to be done.
So the reality of it is - #43 - Create a money management program is in full swing. I am aiming to have the numbers set up by the end of the month so I can start September with all the numbers in place to see where my money goes.
On another note/goal, tomorrow will be my attempt to complete goal #52 - Bake a cake from scratch. I ended up going with a Chocolate cake recipe from Tyler Florence of The Food Network fame. When my dad (a diabetic) caught wind of the fact that I am going to be making a cake, he somehow jumped to the conclusion that I was making the cake as a practice for the actual cake I will be baking for him on his birthday (2 weeks from now). I never said I was making a cake for him, but I guess I am now. So the cake tomorrow has a twofold purpose.
1. To help me complete #52 on my life list
2. To act as a practice cake for the second cake from scratch I will be making in 2 weeks.
I hope all goes well. I will take picture throughout the process.
Showing posts with label Budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Budget. Show all posts
8.13.2009
8.03.2009
Forced Progress
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I've been forced to start working on Goal #43 aka, Create a Money Management Program aka Make a Budget. It's a good thing to have a budget, I just didn't want to be forced into making one. I have many jobs, but my full time job has cut my hours almost in half. Damn this recession BS.
Due to the depletion of my income, I have been forced to closely monitor my money so that I can make rent, pay school loans and my car note. Those are the 3 big ones. All my other bills are not as important. I'm very good with my money, but I find as I am getting older, I am starting to worry more and more about retirement, the future etc etc etc. If I think too much about it, I get overwhelmed and can't think straight, so I try to live in the present as much as possible.
Therefore, I've started looking into budgeting programs. What I would like is a program that I can plug numbers into and it does the work for me. If you know me, you know that I am terrible with numbers. If I have a program that can tell me how much I'm spending versus how much I take in, and tell me how to make it better, then it's one less headache.
When I wrote this goal for myself, in my mind, I really wanted to write everything down so that I could figure out a way to put more money away in savings. But the reality of it is that I've actually directly been affected by this recession of ours. Just the other day I was talking to a friend saying how grateful I was that I hadn't been affected by it, but I suppose I spoke too soon. I better make sure to knock on wood next time. My manager says it's only temporary, 3-4 months tops, but I don't believe her. She is assuming the state of the economy will be better in that time frame and that our company will have more money. I think that's a huge gamble.
I'm not much of an optimist sometimes, so I'm just going to assume that this is a permanent change. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. I'll make it through August with my current situation, so I figure I have the rest of August to get this budget thing in order. Any ideas?
Due to the depletion of my income, I have been forced to closely monitor my money so that I can make rent, pay school loans and my car note. Those are the 3 big ones. All my other bills are not as important. I'm very good with my money, but I find as I am getting older, I am starting to worry more and more about retirement, the future etc etc etc. If I think too much about it, I get overwhelmed and can't think straight, so I try to live in the present as much as possible.
Therefore, I've started looking into budgeting programs. What I would like is a program that I can plug numbers into and it does the work for me. If you know me, you know that I am terrible with numbers. If I have a program that can tell me how much I'm spending versus how much I take in, and tell me how to make it better, then it's one less headache.
When I wrote this goal for myself, in my mind, I really wanted to write everything down so that I could figure out a way to put more money away in savings. But the reality of it is that I've actually directly been affected by this recession of ours. Just the other day I was talking to a friend saying how grateful I was that I hadn't been affected by it, but I suppose I spoke too soon. I better make sure to knock on wood next time. My manager says it's only temporary, 3-4 months tops, but I don't believe her. She is assuming the state of the economy will be better in that time frame and that our company will have more money. I think that's a huge gamble.
I'm not much of an optimist sometimes, so I'm just going to assume that this is a permanent change. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. I'll make it through August with my current situation, so I figure I have the rest of August to get this budget thing in order. Any ideas?
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