Money- weird or not?

[Anonymous]

Is it weird that I have no idea what our monthly household expenses are?
I am the one who does most of the bills etc.
yet, I can't tell you whether my our onl expenses are 5000 or 9000.

I know what we make, and I know we aren't let with much at the end of the day. So I could surmise that our expenses are about equal to our pay. But I can't tell you a figure.

Have tried quicken before, but I can't seem to stick to it. Plus expenses seem to vary month to month.

[Anonymous]

Not weird. Just stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not weird. Just stupid.

OP here, why do you say it's stupid?
I still watch what I spend on. I don't blow money frivolously.

[Anonymous]

It's stupid because you pay all the bills yet can't seem to add them altogether.

[Anonymous]

I think it's weird - I assume you are afraid of the actual numbers. What gives it away is that you "watch" what you spend on. How can you watch without knowing how much you have? That's not really watching, that's just pretending.

[Anonymous]

But how would that info help me?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's weird - I assume you are afraid of the actual numbers. What gives it away is that you "watch" what you spend on. How can you watch without knowing how much you have? That's not really watching, that's just pretending.

I am not afraid. It just seems to vary, that the numbers aren't very useful.
What I mean is I watch my money so I don't spend foolishly. I watch to ensure there is enough for everything and save a bit.

[Anonymous]

How do you know if you are saving if you don't know the numbers? How do you know how much is too much? Seems like you act from the gut instead of using real information. Do the numbers vary from week to week or month to month or year to year? Is there a long enough time frame to get some consistency? Do you mean that sometimes your monthly income is $5k and sometimes $9k and annual is about $80k or that you don't know if you are earning $60k a year or $108k a year? Do you check your bank account balances to know if you have enough money to make a purchase? How do you know?

[Anonymous]

I always check my bank info online.

My spouses pay is consistent, though may vary by 600 a month. Mine varies by 2000 a month at times. Depends on how much I feel like working.

I know how much I transfer into a savings acct.
Also, how do you account for expenses like getting a new backsplash, window coverings etc. We have a new house and have been having constant expenditures for the house. Or getting a new computer etc?

So, tell me, what do you do? How do you guys track your money?

[Anonymous]

I've got a steady paycheck. I know how much I spend annually on things - utilities, house stuff, kids, gifts, clothes, medical, taxes, etc. Annually, usually between Jan 1 and tax time, I download all the transactions from my bank and credit card to quicken, and I can see how much I've spent on each category.

So I know how much I can spend on a monthly or annual basis without breaking the bank. If there is something large - new windows or something, I save on the house expenses category for a few years, to save up enough for the large purchase. Or I look at how much we have in savings and investments, and decide if we can swing it now.

Mortgage is my only debt. I pay the credit card in full each month.

I also have a savings plan, going up to age 67. So I can plan and track large expenses like new cars, major house repairs, and the cost of college as I go on (these are financial goals). It's a large spreadsheet with rows for bank accounts, investment accounts, value of house, mortgage balance, etc. So long as that keeps getting larger each year and meets goals for retirement, I feel like I'm on track. And I can see where I've come from - started it at age 25, am now 45.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I always check my bank info online.

My spouses pay is consistent, though may vary by 600 a month. Mine varies by 2000 a month at times. Depends on how much I feel like working.

I know how much I transfer into a savings acct.
Also, how do you account for expenses like getting a new backsplash, window coverings etc. We have a new house and have been having constant expenditures for the house. Or getting a new computer etc?

So, tell me, what do you do? How do you guys track your money?

I'm not a very organized person, so I just make sure I pay myself first. All bills are set to autopay twice a month on paycheck days. Also on paycheck days I have about a dozen Capital One 360 savings accounts that auto-debit my checking account. There's one for emergency savings, one for car repair, one for house repair, one for once-a-year insurance or tax payments, one for vacations, one for tech purchases, etc. When I need to pay for something out of a category I just shift the money back to checking. It makes you plan big purchases because the money takes two days to transfer.

This way I know whatever my online balance says I can spend, I can spend it without worrying I just blew the car payment.

[Anonymous]

That's for the details.
But don you think your income will change over he course of your life? I guess you adjust it when it does.

[Anonymous]

*dont

[Anonymous]

Agree that you sound stupid, OP.

Three reasons:

- You can't figure out how much you make (head-thumpingly stupid)
- You can't figure out how to increase the amount you have left every month (average stupid)
- You don't even seem aware of how stupid you are (definitely stupid)

[Anonymous]

OP, I would use your Quicken software to record every expense, everything, for 90 days. It is a PITA but you may be very surprised at what you learn from it.