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It's easier to budget when you've got more money.
Posted September 3rd 2012 at 02:17 AM by i_like_black
What a revelation, right? Not. My family and so forth were constantly blaming my on-going "poorness" and inability to pay bills on my poor budgeting skills. The truth is, you can only get your money to stretch so far - you can't create it out of nothing if you need it to make that one extra bill. You just end up in debt.
Now I'm getting more money. About double what I was getting before. Before, after my rent had been redirected, I got $86 a week. Now, after my rent's been redirected, I get $167 a week. I have to say, it's a lot easier to pay my bills. The credit card is now being repayed at $20 a week, ditto the overdraft. I can comfortably put $10 a week in each of the bill tins (as does my flatmate). My fine repayment fits comfortably within the margin. My car insurance will go out this week, yet I'll still have enough money to buy food. I might even have enough money to top up my phone. (Most mobile phones in New Zealand are on prepaid plans.) So, to all the people (mostly irl people, not online people) who claimed I couldn't budget . . . shove it up your arse. I CAN budget, it's just that I needed something to budget WITH.
I am sure there are plenty of struggling people out there who understand exactly where I'm coming from. I'm sure there are people out there who pay less than the $30 a week I spend on groceries, and they're managing, but I'm sure they're often tired, and grumpy, and wondering how they can stretch what's in the pantry for their next meal. All world governments at the moment, it seems, are unwittingly stretching the divide between those that have, and those that have not. I am no a political activist. I just think that maybe, those who have MORE money, who think poor people are simply bad with money, need to open their minds a bit.
Sure, I got into some unwise debt a few years ago - that's the credit card and the overdraft - but I've been trying to pay it off. Now, in the last couple of months - since I've finally had enough money to make more than the absolute minimum payment - I'm finally making progress. I've been attempting to pay it off since 2009. That's 3 years. The problem is, each time I made it close to the credit limit, something would happen, some other major expense would come up, and I wouldn't be able to keep up with the payments. Then I'd get a late payment fee. Get charged interest. Suddenly, there would be an overlimit fee as well - and it all kept building up. My $500 limit credit card has owed over $900 three or four times over the last 3 years, simply because I didn't have enough to pay it - all the fees combined added up to around $60 a month, for a long time, the absolute maximum payment I could afford was $40 a month, broken down to $10 a week. But now, now with more money, my credit card is back within its limit. It even has available credit.
I'm going to keep paying it off until it's paid off entirely. And then, I'm going to close the account. And never, ever have a credit card again. It's a trap - you have very little money, but with a credit card and overdraft available to you, you fall into a false sense of security. But I've grown up somewhat over the last three years, and now I know, that no matter how much money you have to start with, borrowing isn't wise. If you can pay for things with the money you've got, then that's the best way to go.
I'm buying a Big Wednesday ticket this week. I know it's a waste of $12, but there's a part of me that says you can't win if you're not in, and it sure would be nice to win. I don't think I will, but I like the idea that I might. Maybe it's a one in ten million chance. But still.
So I've just rambled on and on about budgeting and money. It's been on my mind, I guess, and now it's here, so maybe I won't dwell on it so much.
My flatmate's still in hospital. I'm waiting for her to ring me to let me know if she'll be coming home today or not. I guess for her part, she's probably waiting for her MDT. If she doesn't come home today, I'm going to bake chocolate chip cookies. And also, I'm going to eat them. Lol. If she does come home today, then I'll probably leave that idea til later on in the week. It's just that the weather today is dismal, and a warm baking oven would cheer me somewhat.
Third day of September. Raining. Windy. Cold.
Spring, my ass. This is a fucking continuation of winter. Although, this isn't unexpected - it happens pretty much every year. Starts to warm up near the end of August, then, BAM, it's freezing again.
Now I'm getting more money. About double what I was getting before. Before, after my rent had been redirected, I got $86 a week. Now, after my rent's been redirected, I get $167 a week. I have to say, it's a lot easier to pay my bills. The credit card is now being repayed at $20 a week, ditto the overdraft. I can comfortably put $10 a week in each of the bill tins (as does my flatmate). My fine repayment fits comfortably within the margin. My car insurance will go out this week, yet I'll still have enough money to buy food. I might even have enough money to top up my phone. (Most mobile phones in New Zealand are on prepaid plans.) So, to all the people (mostly irl people, not online people) who claimed I couldn't budget . . . shove it up your arse. I CAN budget, it's just that I needed something to budget WITH.
I am sure there are plenty of struggling people out there who understand exactly where I'm coming from. I'm sure there are people out there who pay less than the $30 a week I spend on groceries, and they're managing, but I'm sure they're often tired, and grumpy, and wondering how they can stretch what's in the pantry for their next meal. All world governments at the moment, it seems, are unwittingly stretching the divide between those that have, and those that have not. I am no a political activist. I just think that maybe, those who have MORE money, who think poor people are simply bad with money, need to open their minds a bit.
Sure, I got into some unwise debt a few years ago - that's the credit card and the overdraft - but I've been trying to pay it off. Now, in the last couple of months - since I've finally had enough money to make more than the absolute minimum payment - I'm finally making progress. I've been attempting to pay it off since 2009. That's 3 years. The problem is, each time I made it close to the credit limit, something would happen, some other major expense would come up, and I wouldn't be able to keep up with the payments. Then I'd get a late payment fee. Get charged interest. Suddenly, there would be an overlimit fee as well - and it all kept building up. My $500 limit credit card has owed over $900 three or four times over the last 3 years, simply because I didn't have enough to pay it - all the fees combined added up to around $60 a month, for a long time, the absolute maximum payment I could afford was $40 a month, broken down to $10 a week. But now, now with more money, my credit card is back within its limit. It even has available credit.
I'm going to keep paying it off until it's paid off entirely. And then, I'm going to close the account. And never, ever have a credit card again. It's a trap - you have very little money, but with a credit card and overdraft available to you, you fall into a false sense of security. But I've grown up somewhat over the last three years, and now I know, that no matter how much money you have to start with, borrowing isn't wise. If you can pay for things with the money you've got, then that's the best way to go.
I'm buying a Big Wednesday ticket this week. I know it's a waste of $12, but there's a part of me that says you can't win if you're not in, and it sure would be nice to win. I don't think I will, but I like the idea that I might. Maybe it's a one in ten million chance. But still.
So I've just rambled on and on about budgeting and money. It's been on my mind, I guess, and now it's here, so maybe I won't dwell on it so much.
My flatmate's still in hospital. I'm waiting for her to ring me to let me know if she'll be coming home today or not. I guess for her part, she's probably waiting for her MDT. If she doesn't come home today, I'm going to bake chocolate chip cookies. And also, I'm going to eat them. Lol. If she does come home today, then I'll probably leave that idea til later on in the week. It's just that the weather today is dismal, and a warm baking oven would cheer me somewhat.
Third day of September. Raining. Windy. Cold.
Spring, my ass. This is a fucking continuation of winter. Although, this isn't unexpected - it happens pretty much every year. Starts to warm up near the end of August, then, BAM, it's freezing again.
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