If money is tight- question for you

How do you put the stress out of your mind?

Re: If money is tight- question for you

Worrying about it won't put more $ in my account...so I try to figure ways to make it less stressful by juggle things as best I can...do 0% balance transfers so I can make smaller payments w/o paying interest & pray that DH finds a freaking job already!!! I really try to not think about it unless I am actually dealing with it and bills...it sucks...but I'm hoping it'll change!!

Re: If money is tight- question for you

Things usually do end up getting better.

DH and I were in this position a few years ago.


I also sometimes like to make a "game" about how many ways I can come up with to save $$$.


It also helps to remember that many people are in the same boat, especially because the ridiculous COL here on LI.

I got a chuckle once too when someone posted on here that "everyone on LIF comes off as rich." But that's probably not the reality ;).

Re: If money is tight- question for you

my answer is "it depends"

are we short on money because something unexpected came up and we have $0 until the next paycheck?

are we short on money because we made a stupid move and the budget doesn't allow for money until the next budget?

are we dealing with a reduction in income and/or an increase in expenses that won't end soon?

for the first two, i do what i can to make it through the short period of time. i make it a game to see how many meals i can make with the food that's in the house. i raid every place where money might be (sofa, car, under the bed). walk everywhere i can so as to not need gas... it's survival time and i know it's short term...

if it's longer term, i do all i can to reduce expenses. i call everyone we owe money to: utilities, cell phone, cc... and do what i can to reduce the expense. try to have as many candle-lit nights as we can muster... read instead of watching tv

doing all these things keep me busy enough to not "stress" out about it. knowing that i'm doing all i have the power to do also helps me to not worry more than i should.

i know that was long... i hope it helps

If money is tight- question for you

Making lists make me feel better... I listed all the places I could save money (reduce phone bill, get rid of cable, make simpler meals that require less ingredients), lists of things I can make myself instead of buying, and I constantly play with the budget.
I have an spreadsheet with two tabs... one the monthly budget of everyplace we spend our money, and then it calculates for Dh's and my paycheck to see whether we are over or under budget (My paycheck is steady, Dh's is variable). On the 2nd tab I have months going down the side and the long term expenses and when we would be paying bills off. On the side of that is a tracker of how much I expect to have in the account each month as time goes on, and I feel better about knowing that the hard work we're putting in to pay things off will get better. We've paid off two loans this year, and its just a sigh of relief,
so I'll look at that sheet to see how far we've come and how close we are to the end goal.

But thats because I'm super type A and things like lists make me feel better.

Re: If money is tight- question for you

I am type A also

I would make lists

Sell things I didn't need- ebay, craigs list

I would call it my game plan- when I first started in real estate there were days were I still don't know how I didn't run out of gas


I got a bartending job for cash and gas money

I think the most important thing that we are all saying is you need to do something to take back the control of the situation

what I didn't do was think of others being in the same situation to make myself feel better- to me that's like saying it's ok- when it's not- (no offense to the person who posted it- it's just not the way I allow my brain to work)

If money is tight- question for you

I was just fired...today is my last day. We will definitely be in this position, and since I was fired on Wednesday, I have been putting off the anxiety by trying to come up with the ways that I can scrimp and save, and the ways I can make even a couple more bucks. That seems to be helping me.

Re: If money is tight- question for you

I cut back on cable, got on balanced billing for LIPA and Keyspan so I could better plan my payments and didn't have huge surprises. Stopped eating out, sold things I didn't use (DVDs, books I already read, etc.) on Bayslist or other FB groups, told all my friends that I'd like to earn some extra cash and babysit if they know of anyone they is ever looking (I babysit a few times a week for extra cash), go to playgrounds and free playgroups with DD instead of enrolling her in classes I have to pay for or going to play places that you have to pay for...she doesn't know the difference and has just as much fun. I stopped buying wine, magazines and follow a strict list at the grocery store...

We are doing much better, over the summer we paid off a bit of our debt, we still have a little ways to go...but we'll get there.

I make lists as well, it makes me feel more organized, lets me see if I have any wiggle room for the month for anything extra (wine, ice cream, going to a play place).

To keep DH and I from getting depressed about it, we often sit and talk about how lucky we are. We have a roof over our head, food on our table, our DD is healthy....and not everyone is that lucky!

Re: If money is tight- question for you

Re: If money is tight- question for you

Re: If money is tight- question for you

The best advice I can give is not to be afraid of your bills/debt. If you're scared, then you can't come up with a plan because the fear will just make you want to avoid it.

I went through a very rough time in my twenties, where I wouldn't even want to look at my bank statement because I was so afraid. It was awful..

I wish you the best!!!

Re: If money is tight- question for you

Re: If money is tight- question for you