Posted: 10/26/2008 11:38:15 PM EDT
So, I started to get my preps in order, was doing ok and then I got that note on my door. Pay your shit in 3 days or get the fuck out. So, guess where every dime, almost, of my money is going until the end of next month. I had to start eating my preps to survive and now they are almost gone. Does anybody have a system other than get some stuff every time you go grocery shopping? I am not comfortable stopping my prepping and I need help!!! P Master |
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It sounds to me like the first thing you must do is to establish a budget. The second thing you must do is find out where you are spending your money. This sounds simplistic but if you take a pad & pen, and write down EVERY thing you spend money on, you will probably be pretty astonshed when you find out where your major expenses are. For example: if you eat at McDonald's EVERY day, just once a day, you are probably spending $50 to $70 per week at McD's! That is enough to feed yourself very well if you spend it on groceries!
Movies? At least five bucks if you attend only matinees... and once a week = $20/month. You could watch as many movies as you like for less than that if you use Redbox or Netflix. Gasoline? You are easily spending fifteen to twenty cents PER MILE if you own a car. That's JUST GASOLINE... insurance and upkeep add to that. Here's the easiest way to establish your weekly/monthly budget (I'm assuming you have a job or other regular income): Take a piece of notebook paper and fold it into eight squares. Write your normal (i.e., without overtime) takehome pay at the top of each square. From that, subtract your absolutely necessary expenses (rent, utilities, gasoline, for example). From the remainder, subtract what you'll spend on food. The remainder of THAT is your 'discretionary' income, i.e. what you can spend on fun, preps, ammo, dating, etc. I set myself up with this kind of budget back in '85 or so, and it has worked well for many years. |
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Thanks, just to be clear, I wasn't screwing off my bills. I lost my job about a year ago and got behing. I have a pretty cool manager and she helped me out. Now her boss is just laying it down on everybody. I was even paying extra on my rent every month to catch up. I don't even leave the house on every other Friday unless I have payed the bills. And yes, I am damn glad that I had what I did. I just looked at my online banking and just about shit! I think it's time to do some adjusting. Also, don't feel bad about being blunt. I am 22 years old and sometimes reality just has to land on your face and start wiggling before you wake the hell up. Thanks for the help guys.
P Master 
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Quoted:
Thanks, just to be clear, I wasn't screwing off my bills. I lost my job about a year ago and got behing. I have a pretty cool manager and she helped me out. Now her boss is just laying it down on everybody. I was even paying extra on my rent every month to catch up. I don't even leave the house on every other Friday unless I have payed the bills. And yes, I am damn glad that I had what I did. I just looked at my online banking and just about shit! I think it's time to do some adjusting. Also, don't feel bad about being blunt. I am 22 years old and sometimes reality just has to land on your face and start wiggling before you wake the hell up. Thanks for the help guys. P Master Hang in there, Man, ok! 
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Quoted:
Thanks, just to be clear, I wasn't screwing off my bills. I lost my job about a year ago and got behing. I have a pretty cool manager and she helped me out. Now her boss is just laying it down on everybody. I was even paying extra on my rent every month to catch up. I don't even leave the house on every other Friday unless I have payed the bills. And yes, I am damn glad that I had what I did. I just looked at my online banking and just about shit! I think it's time to do some adjusting. Also, don't feel bad about being blunt. I am 22 years old and sometimes reality just has to land on your face and start wiggling before you wake the hell up. Thanks for the help guys. P Master When I was 22 I had the IQ of a cinder block.......Seriously buy the book Total money makeover by Dave Ramsay......Follow the plan and you will never have another money issue short of complete disaster.......Wish It would have been around back then and I had enough sence to read it.......would have a ton of money in the bank.....im 43 and just now building my emegency fund |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Thanks, just to be clear, I wasn't screwing off my bills. I lost my job about a year ago and got behing. I have a pretty cool manager and she helped me out. Now her boss is just laying it down on everybody. I was even paying extra on my rent every month to catch up. I don't even leave the house on every other Friday unless I have payed the bills. And yes, I am damn glad that I had what I did. I just looked at my online banking and just about shit! I think it's time to do some adjusting. Also, don't feel bad about being blunt. I am 22 years old and sometimes reality just has to land on your face and start wiggling before you wake the hell up. Thanks for the help guys. P Master When I was 22 I had the IQ of a cinder block.......Seriously buy the book Total money makeover by Dave Ramsay......Follow the plan and you will never have another money issue short of complete disaster.......Wish It would have been around back then and I had enough sence to read it.......would have a ton of money in the bank.....im 43 and just now building my emegency fund Hell, when I was 22, I knew it all––smartest guy in the world. 
I've just gotten dumber ever since.
Predatormaster, you've experienced the SHTF event that is most likely to befall any of us: income loss. The advice to check out Ramsay's stuff is sound. In a nutshell, you need to get current on your rent obligations. While it's better to have preps than not, it doesn't do much good to be huddling under a tarp living on MREs because you got no roof over your head. When your rent obligations are current, you need a plan to get rid of any consumer debt you may be carrying. When you have no consumer debt, you then need a plan to build an emergency fund......six months living expenses would be a good goal. I'd personally want three months living expenses before doing any prepping. Once you've got that then perhaps buy a few preps.......then get back to the plan to build a 6 month fund for living expenses. Good luck. 
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