$$$ 1st February Payday $$$

-
I challenged you on the last payday post to challenge yourself to do better. Maybe save an extra $20 or stay within budget, how have you been doing? Have you been telling your money where to go? Wherever you need help, make February the month to do better and challenge yourself. We are only halfway thru this short month so you have plenty of time to stay on track or get back at it if you fell off the budget wagon.

 I will be showing you how we allocate our money, if you haven't read the 1st payday post, I suggest reading that one first. Just like that post, I will not be using my actual paycheck amount.

 JP and I get paid on the 15th and last day of the month. When planning out our budget, we use the amount that hits our account. So, this will be after taxes, 401K, medical, FSA, etc. I suggest you do the same. 

I used the same paycheck amount as my last post of $2,500. This will include any bills due before our next paycheck. We have listed our water and Verizon bill since those are the only 2 due before our last paycheck of the month. You will also see $50 towards auto, which is for gas and any other various costs for our car. We also get $450 towards food, which is groceries, eating out, household goods, alcohol, coffee, tea, cat food and litter. The final amount is going towards our flywheel. Remember, the flywheel is something we talk about and always change. This amount will almost always vary each month. The last thing you should notice is that JP's paycheck is not included. His paycheck usually goes towards savings, travel, charity and spending money.

I have had people reach out saying how hard it is to budget and it's true that it can be... especially if this is your first time budgeting. You will underbudget items, blow your budget and ignore your budget, but the longer you go trying to budget, the better you will be at sticking to it. There is a learning curve. Most Americans have no idea where their money is going and that is frightening. Once you start to see where you spend the most money, you will start gaining control of your money. 

Do you need help with your budget? I will put together a budget for you if you would like, just reach out.


Again, I ask, do you know where your money is going? Be sure to comment and subscribe.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

$300 Tax Deduction

-
Image
I have been majorly slacking off on my blog, but I just had to inform you all about a t ax deduction that everyone needs to do for 2020 taxes. If there is one thing you do before the end of the year, you should read this and take action. For a pre-covid tax year, the only way that you could claim any charitable donations you have made is if you itemized your taxes. In December of 2017, Trump signed The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that significantly raised standard deductions. When I say significant, he nearly doubled it; It is the highest deduction in American history. Before this, 46 million people would itemize their taxes and charitable donations were included in this and deducted, it is down to nearly 16 million since this new Act. I do not mean to say that this Act is bad, it is actually great and very beneficial to many. But for those that can no longer itemize, it meant that they could no longer take charitable tax deductions ... until this year. For this year only, thanks to the CA...
Read more

Payroll Taxes

-
Trump recently signed an executive order which includes payroll taxes. He is wanting to stop payroll taxes from being deducted from your paycheck effective Sept 1 to bring relief to the American people. The problem with this is that he is not forgiving these taxes, you will still owe this money, he is just delaying the tax. As someone who works with clients who are struggling to manage their money, I see this as a huge burden to the American people. What are Federal Payroll Taxes ? Federal payroll taxes are collected by federal authorities and are deducted on an employee's pay stub. Federal payroll taxes cover Social Security and Medicare contributions.  How much will I get from the payroll cut? The executive order applies only to the 6.2% Social Security obligation. Based off a salary of $50,000, you would receive about $258 per month during the Sept 1 thru Dec 31 period.  When is this owed? If these taxes are not forgiven by the federal government, individuals will be respon...
Read more

Is Starbucks making you broke?

-
Image
Have you heard the debate that getting Starbucks everyday is killing your finances? I once worked in an office where Starbucks was in the lobby, it was no big deal... until the fall came and so did the Pumpkin Spice Latte. I had received a gift card to Starbucks and treated myself to a few until my card ran out. But then I kept getting them. Not only did I spend way too much on Starbucks in October that year but I also gained 5lbs from all the sugar. This year I told myself I would not get Starbucks, and the only time I have is when we were on a road trip to/from Florida and I needed coffee on the drive.  I often debate with my peers about getting coffee everyday or even grabbing lunch out. My stance is it is a waste of money and your money can be working harder someplace else. In the last 3 years, I have paid to eat out lunch less than 10 times. My brain also works differently than most because when I eat out, I think about how much that meal would have cost me to make at home ...
Read more