Seriously, how do you stick to a financial plan?

It's hard. I know what you're going through because this is what I teach people for a living so I've heard every story you could possibly imagine about finances.

Have you done a detailed tracking of where your money is going? If not, both you and hubby need to write down every penny you spend for the next month. Put it into an excel spreadsheet and categorize it. See if you can figure out where the money it going.

Additionally, here are some suggestions I have for you:

1 - you need to sit down with your family, including your kids (get them involved in family finances early), and figure out what your family's financial goals are. Make a list of them, prioritize them, assign due dates and come up with a plan on how to meet them. Then implement your plan.

2 - make everything automatic. On the day you get paid, set up automatic payments to your credit cards, loans, savings accounts, retirement accounts, etc. Everything that you want to pay towards should come out of your account the day you get the money. Whatever's left after you pay towards all of that is how much you have to spend that month.

3 - tracking every penny will make you insane. Instead, implement #2, set aside your grocery money and then the rest is fair game.

4 - give yourself an allowance. You and hubby both get $X/month to spend on whatever you want. Once that's gone you're done. No robbing peter to pay paul. When the money's gone you're done.

You and your husband should both read Smart Couples Finish Rich by David Bach. It will make you take a look at your relationship with money and give you tips on how to make it work.

You can do this. You just need to get control of where your money is going.

Good luck!

http://www.personalfinance101.org/?utm_source=YH&u...

The reason you can't stick to a budget is budgets don't work. Almost no one can, so don't try. Best thing for you to do is start saving 10% of your money right off the top. Arrange to have it directly deposited from your paycheck into a mutual fund. No creditor is more important than your own well being. Don't incurr any more debt. Come up with a reasonable plan to pay what you owe without strangling yourself. Eventually the debts will be paid and you'll have more money to work with. It doesn't happen overnight. Take these steps and in a few years you'll live much more comfortably. It's really not that hard.

First off, you are not alone.

I am really big into finances. It's just my thing. For my wife and I, we can just not spend money. We are not wealthy yet, but I am sure that in 10-15 years, we will be. Anyway, the best way I know of for most people is to make their finances automatic. You have drawn everything out on paper. Great! Now, make everything that you have drawn out automatic. If you are intending to put a certain amount into savings/investing every paycheck, (which you should be, even if you are in debt,) then set up an outomatic deduction from your paycheck or checking account to go into a seperate account. Then, don't touch that account...ever. Also, have your payments on credit cards and other debts happen automatically. Determine how much you need to pay on each card every month and set up payments to be automatic.

Finally, obviously, do not spend money on anything you cannot afford. For me, I use a credit card but pay it off in full every month. For people who have difficulty not spending more than they have in the bank, stick to cash. I have known people that only pay for things in cash. If they are going to pay $20,000 for a new car, they carry into the dealer a locked briefcase filled with cash. That's a little extreme, but if that's what you need to do to make sure you only spend what money you have, than it is well worth the risk and effort.

Another note: Don't be discouraged. The key is making wise decisions now and moving forward. If you have time fore some reading, I would recommend both of David Boch's books listed as sources. (I am also a big fan of Robert Kiyosaki, but his advice is more for people who want to become wealthy. David Boch's is more for the average American.)

You're looking at your finances the wrong way...the reason budgets don't work is that most people who need a budget skip the single most important step in ensuring they become financially secure. The very first step in budgeting is to immediately invest in your future by paying yourself first out of every pay check and then budget wisely and live off the amount of income you have left over..(because you currently have consumer debt paying yourself first means paying down your consumer debt rather than savings but the theory is the same and when you're out of consumer debt the % you are using to pay down debt should be put into savings/investments). If you skip this first step creating a budget is a waste of time.

20-30% of your take home pay should be going to aggressively paying down your debt (once out of debt that % should be going to savings). Obviously you can't do that based on your current standard of living so unless your income is going to increase substantailly in the near future you need to downsize your lifestyle. Most people aren't willing to do this and that is why so many people are living paycheck to paycheck and are in so much debt.

My Wife and I are not weatlthy but we are on our way to becoming wealthy because we've been paying ourselves first each month for the last 6 years and living below our means...we have no consumer debt and our mortage expense as a % of our net monthly income (take home pay) is 14% which allows us to sock away 40-50% of our take home pay each month into long term investments.

Sounds to me like your family are "impulsive" buyers. That although your "take home pay covers well over our usual bills", you still managed to accumulate debt.

The credit card is the slippery slope to bankruptcy. It is easy to use; it is readily available, and generally, it is trouble.

I recommend that for the next 3 months, suspend the use of the card(s). If you don't have the cash, for non-essentials, don't buy.

On a weekly basis, "sweep" any surplus funds into a bank account. At the end of the 3 months, you should see a significant change in your household finances, as well as a change in your buying habits. After that, use the cards for emergency purposes only.

You are definitely not alone. I would recommend checking out Dave Ramsey at www.daveramsey.com. He is a personal financial counselor who has written a book called The Total Money Makeover.

My husband and I have started on his plan and it's working extremely well. I think his concepts can help you a lot.

your on the right track,where does your money slip thur,likecell phones,high speed ,hrdoro change bulbs in house

etc. be more open look deep,eating out .....keep gioing.lrt other partner takeover bills,if making min payments gets you nowhere... take on one biill at time or consolidate all high paying cards off breath aliittle,or it will distroy your marrage ,allways looking for what you desirve..what if yo die does husband know yor banking methods.,im in same boat,debt free , but staying thereis hard key is nonmore brick stores ,etc your dioing just fine.,my 15 yr old daughteris learning,start there crdit now with visa ,pay off cut up they now have good credit line .if they need to apply for loan.on own off course,lol.. your diong a good job i think , your allmost there ...whos spending ,you still have to treat your self..when im laid off,const,ithink icant make money at work so invest in home ,paint repair used paintyour friend didnt like , up yor investmnt ,over loked thing s ins on house car

etc power positive thinking.....t robins

Jan:

Your debt is $1,000.00 in a Visa Credit Card.

You pay $500.00

You charge $501.00

Feb:

Your debt is $1,001.00 in a Visa Credit Card.

You pay $900.00

You charge $102.00

Are you getting this?