Budgeting in the new year
Written by Moveforfree on January 12, 2011 – 2:49 pm -
Whenever I think of budgets, money, credit cards etc… I think of this ridiculously funny and true sketch from Saturday Night Live with guest host Steve Martin.
The sad thing is, credit card debt happens to a lot of people and yet it is so easily avoidable. If you don’t have the actual money for something, than don’t buy it. I’m not a saint in this department. I have a car payment and a student loan. I’m even working down a very minor credit card debt, but from these experiences I’ve learned a thing or two about creating a good budget and sticking to it. Here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way:
1) Start out with your monthly income… the exact number (i.e. what you get on your paycheck AFTER taxes). Then add in any other incomes that you will definitely earn, such as a regular babysitting job or any other side jobs.
2) Once you do that, go through your bills and figure out how much each one of them are for and on what day they are usually due. If the bill has a fluctuating amount from month to month, like your energy bill, either write down a range from lowest to expected highest, or an average of the two.
3) Once you have all your bills written down, go through your bank statements and look to see what you spend your money on: eating at restaurants, gas for your car, gifts, grocery shopping, clothes, etc… Make a special column for grocery shopping, dinning out, gasoline, entertainment, etc…, and put an estimate of how much money you think you will spend each month on those things. I’m realistic and always over estimate. You could even track how many times you fill your gas tank in a month and get a pretty good estimate for that.
4) Make sure you include things that you spend money on every once in a while too. If you get your car checked once a year for a routine maintenance, then just divide that number by 12 and put that into your monthly budget.
5) Put all of this information into an Excel type spreadsheet. If your expenses are more than your income, go back and see where you can slim down some of the non-essentials. If you have a pretty good difference between your expenses and your monthly income, make another row for your savings. It is never a bad idea to start and continue saving money. Whether it be for an upcoming vacation, or those unplanned expenses, saving is always a good idea.
6) Another thing that has REALLY helped me be more responsible with my money, is when I get paid, I write down in my checkbook register the bills that need to be paid before my next paycheck. These include rent, cable bill, car payment; everything I know the exact amount of. For example, say I get paid next Tuesday. On Tuesday, I will write in my check register the amount of my paycheck and balance the total amount. Then I will look at my calendar and write in my register all the bills that are due before my next paycheck and balance the final amount. This way I know EXACTLY home much I truly have in my checking account and will be able to spend/save. I used to just check my bank account online without keeping track myself. This resulted in many an overdraft fee. While checking online can be a good habit, the bank sometimes can be slow and not post things for a couple days.
7) Along with the previous tip, I write down EVERYTHING in my checkbook register that I use my debit card for. I normally don’t carry cash, so I usually use my debit card. This way I have little chance of overdrafting my account. This could result in major fees from the bank. So far this has worked out really well for me.
8 ) In my opinion, if you don’t have to have a credit card, then I highly suggest that you don’t get one. I can not express how much credit card debt can ruin your credit. Those small payments can really add up.
9) My Mom always told me to try not to let my account dip below $100, and just pretend like that money isn’t there.
10) If you do have credit card debt, stop using that credit card! It’s going to get harder and harder to pay back if you keep putting money on it. Also, check your interest rate on the card. It could be as high as 30%!!! If you find that your interest is crazy high, see if you can transfer your balance to another card with a lower interest rate through your bank.
Hopefully you found these tips useful. Remember if you are moving this year, look for ways to save money, like using moveforfree! You know I had to throw that in somewhere, but seriously, it can save you a TON of money on moving expenses.
Tags: budget, credit card, debt, Money, Moving, tips
Posted in Money, thoughts | No Comments »
Recycling in Apartments
Written by Moveforfree on June 9, 2010 – 9:25 am -
Going through and reading San Antonio’s Waste Department’s 40 page “Proposed 10 Year Recycling and Resource Recovery Plan” was actually not as gruesome as it sounds. There has been a lot of talk lately about San Antonio’s efforts to develop a sound plan for recycling in multifamily communities, i.e. apartment properties. Right now, the only choices apartment dwellers have is to throw their recyclable materials away in the trash, use a private recyclable collection service or haul their own recyclables to a city drop off location.
Of the four most populated cities in Texas (Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Austin), only Dallas and Austin have a recycling program for multifamily residents. Actually, Austin has committed to zero waste in 2040. Zero Waste = recycling 90% of what else we might always throw away.
Compared to Houston, Dallas, and Austin; San Antonio has the lowest recycling rate at 15%. In the proposition from the Solid Waste Department, director David McCary suggests the number one thing the city needs to consider is requiring multifamily properties to offer recycling services to residents. This would improve San Antonio’s recycling rate according to data from the US Census and studies done by Texas A&M Real Estate Center indicating 28% of San Antonians live in apartments or condos.
The proposition suggests several things need to be done in order to implement a city wide recycling program for multifamily properties:
- Education and training for property managers and employees
- Help develop efficient programs for property owners targeting the materials that would earn the most revenue
- Establish policies ensuring the recycling programs will be convenient to all residents living in a multifamily community
Other large cities use rebates and credits, which offset recycling collection costs to residents and property owners, either partially or completely. However, to be eligible for this credit, a certain number and specific types of materials are required to be collected by the property. They may also have to submit a plan to the city outlining their recycling education plan for the residents of their community.
My main concern while doing research for this article was what would be the added cost for recycling for residents of a multifamily property. Right now I only pay around $4.00 a month for trash. Would there be an extra fee for a recycling program too? If there was, could I opt out of the service if I don’t wish to participate?
I think it would be great if there was an easier way for apartment dwellers to be able to recycle. The city has a 10 year plan to increase the recycling rate from 15% to 40% by 2020. Hopefully this will be a “pathway to zero waste.”
What do you think about this new plan? Do you think it will help reduce the amount of waste in landfills? Would you pay an additional fee to be able to recycle? Would apartment properties increase rent because of this?
Tags: apartments, McCary, Money, multifamily, recycling, san antonio, texas, Waste Department
Posted in Apartment Living, Money, thoughts | 4 Comments »
Average Money Spent Moving on Your Own
Written by Moveforfree on November 23, 2009 – 4:02 pm -Moving can be one of the most stressful things in a persons lifetime. Plus the stress level goes up depending on how far you are moving, how much stuff you have to move, and how much money you are able to spend on the move.
I asked our MoveforFREE Facebook fans how much they have spent in the past moving on their own.
20% said they have spent $50- $100
60% said they have spent $100- $300
20% said they have spent $300- $500
Considering everything that goes into moving… these results aren’t that surprising.
Take for example this typical average moving situation….
Say you and your spouse are moving into a new apartment waaaaaaaaaay across town. You moving from a two bedroom third story apartment into another two bedroom apartment on the third floor.
In this situation you have several different options.
You could do it completely on your own; by using your own truck or a friends and moving EVERYTHING on your own. ($50- $100)
Pros
- Saving some money
Cons
- Making countless trips across town
- Going up and down the apartment stairs at BOTH apartments
- Throwing your back out from carrying all the furniture and boxes
- Dealing with traffic from driving back and forth across town
- Filling up your gas tank several times from driving back and forth across town
You could do it partially on your own; by renting a moving truck and moving EVERYTHING on your own. ($100- $300)
Pros
- Can save the countless trips across town by just making one big one
Cons
- Depending on how much furniture and boxes you have the rental truck can still cost over $50 and that is just for the truck
- If you are renting a truck then you will also need to purchase insurance for the truck as well as all those extra fees
- And don’t forget that you need to make sure the gas tank is full before you return the truck. And considering you are moving way across town you will probably need to fill the tank mostly up. Which will cost you another $50 or so.
- You STILL need to carry EVERYTHING up and down the stairs and load it into your truck on your own. This could possibly still lead to throwing your back out.
OR you could hire movers to EVERYTHING for you
Pros
- You won’t have to rent a truck yourself
- You won’t have to lift or carry anything
- You won’t have to drive back and forth across town
Cons
- You WILL have to shell out over $300 for someone to move you
So what exactly is this typical average couple suppose to do. It seems like they will have to give somewhere.
Drum roll please
MoveforFREE.com is here to cure all that ails you!
Or you could use MoveforFREE.com!
Pros
- Find a great apartment online
- You don’t have to lift one finger. Even from your old third floor apartment to your new third floor apartment
- No renting a truck needed
- No need to pay for gas or truck insurance
- No need to drive back and forth across town
- You pay Nothing, nada, zilch, not a thing, nil, zero!
Cons
- Ummm…. well theres…. that one…. ahhh…. hmmm?
- If you can think of any cons to this scenario… please let me know
I think the right choice is pretty clear….
Tags: apartment, DIY, free, Money, Moving, saving
Posted in Money, Moving | No Comments »