Director Struggling with Finances? Any Experts Here Who Can Help Me?

[PamperedChefDebi]

I need someone to help me get a handle on my finances. Any of you guys especially skilled at that stuff? I know how to make a budget and all that, but dealing with things like the VA NOT giving me my housing allowance 2 months in a row ($1000/month) is killing me and I end up screwing EVERYTHING else up! I think I mostly need some really good guidance and maybe someone to just hold my hand for a few months so I can think straight and dig out of this hole and still be able to live. Sorry if I sound like an idiot.....but I'm getting desperate.

 

[Sheila]

Lesson #1: Your wealth is not determined by where you live, what you drive or what you wear. Your wealth is determined by how long you could live if you lost your income today. (You can live in a mansion & drive a Ferrari, but if you are living paycheck-to-paycheck, you are NOT wealthy. )I'm assuming you don't have any type of a savings account to fall back on & get you through this? What is a Virginia Housing Allowance? Are you military? If so, there are military organizations who can give you a loan until the pay issue is all straightened out.If you don't have a source to go to for extra money, you'll need to find where you can cut back. Here are some ideas:

• Cut back on auto expenses: Walk or carpool when possible, don't drive & use gas.
• No extra stuff: IE movies, manicures, dining out, shopping for clothes/shoes/makeup, etc. PB&J sandwiches can give you lots of nourishment for a lot less money than it takes to hit a fast food restaurant!
• Be economical in the home: Change the setting on your A/C unit so that it's not as cold in your residence and turn off lights, TV, stereo, etc. when not in use to lower your electricity bill.
• Lower your communication bill: Give up the cell phone. If you are in the habit of making a bunch of long distance calls, stop.

Anytime you go shopping stop and REALLY think. Is this something I need or something that I want??? If you can justify that it's definitely something that you have to have to function (bread, milk, tampons, etc.) then get it. If it's something that you just want (that movie that just came out on DVD, etc.) pass it by and keep walking! Once you get out of this rut, you'll be more prepared to have the little extras and reward yourself. STEP UP YOUR PAMPERED CHEF BUSINESS AND ADD MORE INCOME TO YOUR MONTHLY BUDGET!!!

 

[finley1991]

Debi,A few years ago, there was rarely a month that I wasn't in the red. Then I read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover (get it from the library). I thought I knew how to budget and I realized I was off... I was budgeting *in a perfect world* where I earned everything I needed. He taught me how to budget with what I actually have. Since then, I have never been late on a bill and am in the black every month while padding my savings and paying off the rest of my lingering debt. PM me if you'd like I can help you out further if you want.

 

[baychef]

{{{{{HUGS}}}}} Deb, I am in the same situation. Trying to ramp up my PC business but no bites so far. No parties scheduled until mid September:bugeye::cry:

My van is giving me fits (2003 with 140,000 miles, engine still good but doors starting to not close and bad rust). I have already eliminated all the areas Sheila mentioned but my problem is I am still paying child support until next May and I am helping my parents out by purchasing a family cottage. I did Dave Ramsey and I have to get back to some of his principles.

Right now I need PC business but again, finding none. Trying to get 2 people recruited. A third is starting to not take phone calls (and we have met!). Just feeling a little uneasy myself right now (and there is a little pity party I am trying to avoid!!).

So Deb, if you have not looked into Dave Ramsey, do so. He is great...his advice is sound. Cutting back is hard, but the ease of not being late for payments and having an emergency fund will help put you at ease.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Lesson #1: Your wealth is not determined by where you live, what you drive or what you wear. Your wealth is determined by how long you could live if you lost your income today. (You can live in a mansion & drive a Ferrari, but if you are living paycheck-to-paycheck, you are NOT wealthy. )

I'm assuming you don't have any type of a savings account to fall back on & get you through this?

What is a Virginia Housing Allowance? Are you military? If so, there are military organizations who can give you a loan until the pay issue is all straightened out.

VA = Veterans Admin....Debi is retired military.

 

[PamperedChefDebi]

I've been through Dave Ramsey's course and love his ideas. And I love that even HE agrees you can't cut out EVERYTHING (like movies and clothes). But putting things into action is my problem. Keep in mind also, I only get paid ONCE a month. And some of you are aware of some of the crazy things that have happened since I came back to the states that were beyond my control for the most part that have added to these problems (the ex trying to pocket the money he was supposed to be sending me, moving Deuce to his dad's, then having to go get him 6 months later, my car catching fire, the entire Mick incident, lack of opportunity with my business where I was in Ohio, driving at least 6 hours a week for school in an SUV, etc.), and I'm just at a loss as to recovering and how to make it actually work other than on paper. Especially with things like the VA taking forever to process my paperwork and get me my money.Ann, sounds like our situations are similar. I feel like I keep cutting back but I'm still not getting anywhere.Colleen, I may take you up on that offer!!! Like I said, I feel like alot of what I need right now is just someone to hold my hand and help me get a handle on everything. I feel SOOO overwhelmed.Thanks ladies!

 

[finley1991]

We're here for you Debi! Let us know what we can do to help!

 

[chefkathy]

Remember that if you took FPU once, you can take it again anywhere at any time for FREE. Find a class there in Louisville and I bet the coordinators would be willing to hold your hand.

 

[PamperedChefDebi]

Remember that if you took FPU once, you can take it again anywhere at any time for FREE. Find a class there in Louisville and I bet the coordinators would be willing to hold your hand.

Good point Deb! I may check into that. But, I feel like I'm not communicating my point well here. Right now, I owe WAY more than I bring in, but they aren't recurring things. In my efforts to rectify that, I keep screwing up the grocery money, and have none, or the gas money, and having none. I can put a monthly budget on paper that is realistic based on what I know, but then something else comes up that I had NO way to anticipate (like Deuce wants to play a sport costing $100) and it totally throws me off. Add to that the fact that I'm trying to pay all these misc bills and I'm going in circles. And now I'm behind in rent and my car payment.

NOW, I KNOW I MAY BE MAKING THIS HARDER THAN IT IS!!! I'm good at that. =( But something isn't clicking in my brain.

 

[cheftiffany]

Just a small thing to add--Check with the Sports organization to see if they have "scholarships" or if you can pay a bit at a time. Having been around sport organizations my whole life and growing up in a low income area it was something that they wanted to work out to make sure the kids weren't on the street. May be different in your area but it's worth a try. Also you may be able to contact your car loan and ask if you can push one payment to the end of the loan to help get caught up. You will have to pay a little extra interest cause it's longer but it may help.
I'll send some prayers your way and it will all work out soon!!

 

[Sheila]

Sorry, but I'd have to forgo the sports bill if the rent & car payment were behind. If you don't have a place to live or a means of transportation to make money, then you won't have a way to take your son to the sporting events either. Not that I think it's fair to deprive your child of the fun stuff. And you certainly can't do that if you are still getting extras. But if it takes cutting back for 2-3 months on all the extras so that you can catch up, it might be a necessary evil.I used to work with a girl who would eat fast food at least twice in an 8 hour shift, 5 times a week. She's make multiple trips to the vending machine for soft drinks & candy and she smoked like a freight train, usually having more than one cigarette going at a time so where ever she walked in the room, she had a lit one to pick up & take a puff. Yet she complained that she couldn't afford to give her son 25 cents for ice cream. I never understood her logic! If she had given up just ONE candy bar in an 8 hour shift, she could very well have been able to afford for her baby to have ice cream at school like his friends. She didn't understand priorities. Sometimes it really takes sitting down & looking at your spending. Programs like Microsoft Money can really let you see where your money is going. But even if you have to make a check book register on Excel so that you can sort through and see how much you spent in the last month on food, gas, etc. sometimes that's really the best way to see where you can cut back. My husband didn't realize how fast that ONE DVD added up when he did it 10 times a month. Once he saw where he could cut back, he did. Good Luck! I hope you figure out a way to find extra money in your budget.