Rain is coming down and expenses are going up!

I'm still tracking my actual expenses with YNAB and they have been increasing. Last month, I spent 11% over budget. I overspent in just about every category except eating out. I went over in the basics like groceries and gasoline, as well as gifts, miscellaneous and house projects. With the increase in my spending came a corresponding decrease in debt repayment. It feels a little like my spending is out of control--things like AP test fees, doctor bills.
I'm starting to see that my beginning budget was not very realistic about unexpected expenses.

I hope the sun shines soon!

Goals Update

I have been very lax in updating my goals since the computer problems in February. I guess I got off my schedule. Even though I haven't written about my goals, I have been making progress on the goals as a group, but I need to focus on the details. Here goes:

Financial goals

Track spending with YNAB weekly. I'm still enjoying using YNAB to track spending. I got a little off track when my computer was cleaned, but I was able to use my bank statements to reconstruct Jan. and Feb.
Begin sinking fund account. Keep in checking account. This is working well. I've started small funds for taxes, car repairs, life insurance, and house projects. I'll be able to modify the amounts needed because of tracking what I actually spend.
Pay off $6000 in credit cards by July 1 . Not doing so well with this one. In order to achieve this goal, I need to pay $800/month to credit cards. February was good, but March was only $600 and April will only be $400 because of car repair. I will have to modify this goal to September 1.
Save emergency fund of $3600 by Dec 31. This goal will also be modified, probably to $2600.



Personal goals

Work out or walk (1 mile) 2x week. February and the 1st 2 weeks of March were successful, but the past 2 weeks have been exerciseless.
Walk Gretsky every day . Not everyday anymore. I need to renew my commitment to this.
Do Flylady routines. Nope
Bible study. Yes! I started attending a Bible study group in February. I also have been learning from Beth Moore online.
Learn something new. Yes! I may be going overboard a little here, but it's fun!
Compost bin/garden. I'm stuck on making a new compost container because I can't find my drill! Organization is lacking!
Monthly house project Nope

Wow! I thought I was making adequate progress, but 6 out of 11 goals are in the red. It's time for me to refocus.

I'm back!

I apologize for the 2 week hiatus from posting. My computer was infected with nasty stuff (spyware and all kinds of nasty stuff). My Symantic antivirus could not get rid of it and it kept getting worse and worse. Finally, I took the computer to the local repair shop and after two attempts and I'm finally free of all the bugs.

The bad news is that through a series of unfortunate event, I accidentally tried to reinstall Windows and erased some of my programs--like YNAB. I spent yesterday evening entering the data from the last two months and I think I'm pretty accurate.

I'm glad to be back! Has anyone else had problems with computer bugs?

How Did I Do in January?

January is finally over! It seemed like a really long month, because I actually started tracking my expenses on Dec. 29. How did I do on my 2009 goals?
Financial:

• Track spending with YNAB weekly. I love using YNAB. I've been updating almost every day. It just takes a few minutes. As I suspected, I don't really budget accurately. I went over budget by $299, I tend to be too optimistic about the expenses. YNAB will help me become more realistic. I also started putting money each month in irregular expense accounts which will help with unexpected expenses.
• Begin sinking fund account. I'm getting 5% interest at my credit union. I just had $5.14 credited to my account!
• Pay off $6000 in credit cards by July 1. I was only able to pay $600 instead to the scheduled $900 because of the plumbing expense. So I am -$300, so far.
• Save emergency fund of $3600 by Dec 31. I put $80 into my EF for a balance of $930. This amount will go up to $600/month in Sept.

Personal

• Work out or walk (1 mile) 2x week. I rejoined the gym for a 6-week strength training class. For the last two weeks, I went to class 2x/week. The walking has not been going well. I want to step the aerobic workout.
• Walk Gretsky every day. I missed 3 days out of 31--90%.
• Do Flylady routines. Not doing great with all the routines. The sink is going OK.
• Bible study. I signed up for a group Bible study that starts next Friday. I'm excited!
• Learn something new. I may be going overboard here. I joined the local astronomy club two weeks ago. I'm starting a Master Gardener class on Tuesday. Tonight, I went to a support group called DivorceCare for people who are separated or divorcing. I'll keep you all updated on these in the coming weeks.
• Compost bin/garden. On hold
• Monthly house project. I put up curtains on two basement windows. Still need to buy tension rods for the other two. Did not get the chairs recovered.

I'm a little disappointed that I won't be able to make my July 1 payoff goal, but I'm modifying the payoff goal to July 31, 2009. I'm still optimistic!

It's time for "The Office". DS is a big fan and I'm becoming a fan so that we can enjoy watching it together.

Personal Finance Goals: Week 3

It's almost the end of the month and I'm updating Week 3--just a little behind!

Financial Goals:

• I'm still enjoying using YNAB. I don't have a large unexpected expense fund yet, so with the car repairs and new running shoes for DS, I am over budget this month by 8%. At least this gives me a number to try to beat for next month!


• I probably can't make by goal date 1 of July to be debt-free, but I'm not going to change it until I see how Feb. goes.

Personal Goals:

• I'm still walking the dog every day and working out 2x a week. Gretsky's walks are pretty short--about 1/2 mile. I will try to increase this as the weather improves.


• The exciting news for me is that I joined the local astronomy club and attended Astronomy Day at the local community college. My plan is to attend at least one meeting this spring to look at the stars. I also plan to take a Master Gardener class, which starts in February. I have wanted to take this class for the past two years, but have been too busy. I think this is the right time. The class costs $80, but I feel it is a worthwhile investment. I hope to be able to apply what I learn to landscaping my steep walk to the river.

I am pleased with my progress this month. I am learning how to get my financial house in order while enjoying life. I appreciate the encouragement and suggestions given in comments. It's nice to know that other people struggle with and are overcoming the "debt monster"!

January Week 1 Update

Time for a weekly progress report on my goals. I think weekly checks will help keep me on track.

Financial:
Track spending with YNAB weekly. I'm really enjoying keeping track of my spending with YNAB. I enter my spending amounts and YNAB automatically updates my budget, so I can see at a glance how I'm doing. If I overspend in one category, like the house repairs, then I am reducing another category, like CC payment :(
Begin sinking fund account--transfer to ING by March . $50 in it so far.
Pay off $6000 in credit cards by July 1 Already behind on my goal of $900/month because of plumbing repairs.
Save emergency fund of $3600 by Dec 31 At $890.

Personal
Work out or walk (1 mile) 2x week. Yes!
Walk Gretsky every day. Yes!
Do Flylady routines. About 60%.
Bible study. Not yet
Learn something new. Not yet
Compost bin/garden Not yet
Monthly house project. Getting the kitchen and bathroom sink repaired was costly, so this month's project will be recovering 2 dining room chairs (today!), because I already have the materials.

I just remembered that I need to send in for reimbursements from my medical savings account. Maybe I can meet (or at least get closer) to my goal of $900 CC payments!

For next week: Focus on Flylady routines. Life is fun!

2009 Goals

My SMART goals for 2009:

Financial:

1. Pay off credit cards ($6000) by July1. Plan: pay $900/ month x 6 + $600 from Job 2.


2. Have an emergency fund with two months living expenses by Dec. 31, 2009. $600 x 6


3. Start sinking funds for next car and house expenses. Still working on details-$110/month right now.
4. Use YNAB to track spending and budget. Update weekly.

Personal:

1. Work out or walk 2x a week.
2. Walk dog every day.
3. Recommit to morning and evening Flylady routines to reduce mental clutter.
4. Attend a Bible study.
5. Act on my interests and learn something new--possibilities are astronomy club or Master Gardener

House

1. Make a planned project for each month to improve the house. Projects include: painting the kitchen, my bedroom, 2nd bedroom, refinish wood floors, make steps to the river, new bathroom floor and tub walls.


2. Start a compost bin and plant a garden.

These goals are a work in progress, but it feels good to have a direction to start 2009.

YNAB for the New Year

One reoccurring problem I have with budgeting is mentally spending allocated money more than once. Since this is physically impossible, my debt-reduction plan is not very realistic. For example, when I first began trying to pay off my debt in June 2007, I estimated that I would be debt-free in December 2008. While I have made great progress--reducing debt by $7500, my estimates were way off! I need a system that keeps me accountable. My budgeting tools in the past were pencil and paper first, then last April I found an Excel worksheet from Mr. Debtbeater based on bi-monthly pay. I was diligent about planning my budget, but not so diligent about entering actual expenditures. I tried jars and envelopes, but was still able to avoid the consequences of overspending. In September, I looked at spreadsheets to track expenses, but my brain was so stressed with school and then moving that I couldn't get started with anything new.

I first saw YNAB online awhile ago and was intrigued by it, so I decided to give the Excel version a try. YNAB stands for You Need a Budget, and is based on 4 Rules of Cash Flow that merge nicely with Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps and the envelope system. What I like about it is that if I overspend in one category, I have to figure out a way to "fix it" either this month or the next. I can spend less in that category next month, or move money from another category. My budget will be a better reflection of my actual spending.

I'm sure I will make mistakes and miscalculations, but with the YNAB software, at least I'll be aware of them and be more likely to correct my errors. I am excited to try January's numbers.

Does anyone else use YNAB?