Budget help

[Owlie]

Okay, I need help.
I'm trying to stretch $2000 until mid-March, when my next financial aid check comes in. January was a very expensive month (3 textbooks, replacement electronics and software), and on top of that, I have a car insurance payment to make. So cash is a little tight. If at all possible, I'd like to have a little left over to help pay off some of the loan. (Freaking unsubsidized loans...)
Big things: Rent for march, car insurance, credit card, electric bill.
Rent and car insurance are fixed. Where I need help is the CC bill and the electric bill.
CC: Big thing is not to buy lunch at school. Other big thing is to stop buying crap. Relatively easy, once I get back into the swing of packing my lunch. I only fill the gas tank 1x a month (unfortunately, bike commuting is not an option here for a variety of reasons). I have a fairly large supply of food in the pantry/freezer, so the only things I need to buy weekly are veggies, fruit, and milk. I'm not sure what else I can cut.
Electric bill: All my appliances are electric, as is the heating, and there is no insulation. Rates are very high here for no obvious reason, and I have a west-facing apartment with two windows. I've been turning the heat way down during the day when I'm not here, but that doesn't seem to be sufficient.
Help!

[tulip]

You Need A Budget. Seriously, it has turned my finances around. Or rather, it has given me the tools and I've used them and I've turned my finances around.

[ny biker]

I hate to say it, but the only way I've found to really reduce my electric bill was to replace the heat pump.

Still, there are some things you can do that can have a small effect and can make you more comfortable. I've found insulated drapes to be very helpful with keeping my home more comfortable in winter, especially the north-facing windows. But if you don't already have them, it would cost you money right now. The ones I have are from Target (their store brand and a pair from Eclipse), and I think Sears carries Eclipse also. Not really expensive, but not free either.

I used to use a big plastic dropcloth over my balcony door to lessen the draft there. I would fold it in half (otherwise it was way too big) and tape it to the wall above the door area with painter's tape. It doesn't look pretty but helps keep that part of the room warmer. This year I went out and bought a clear shower-stall shower curtain and taped that up.

If you have any holes in exterior walls or in the ceiling (like nail holes where there used to be pictures or hooks), tape over them. They let hot air out and cold air in. Same with electrical outlets in exterior walls. For longer term, you can buy foam insulating things that go around outlets and light switches on exterior walls (under the face plates) that stop the draft.

Unplug electric things that have remote controls (like a DVD player or stereo) if you aren't using them. Also do not leave your phone charger plugged in unless you're actually charging the phone. If you have your own water heater, check the setting and turn it down to a more efficient setting if necessary. Only use the washing machine and dishwasher when they're full, and use energy-saving settings if you don't do that already. And of course turn out the lights when you're not in the room and don't stand with the refrigerator door open.

As for the credit card, my bill was higher than usual last month due to Christmas shopping, and I didn't get a bonus last year which I usually use to cover the extra expense. And then in January my bike repair was finally finished and that cost nearly $500. So I've been on austerity since the start of the year. I just don't go shopping. No trips to the mall are allowed. It's been painful, because I usually like to buy winter clothes in January since you can score great deals with the post-holiday sales. But it's necessary, so I'm finding other things to do on weekends (like cleaning out closets and taking stuff to Good Will).

For groceries, stick to produce that's on sale if you can.

Depending on how cold it is, you might be able to save gas by not turning on the heat in the car. My commute is only 4 miles so my car doesn't warm up before I get to work, so a few years ago I got a nice fleece blanket that I keep in the car, and I use it as a lap blanket while I drive. It keeps me comfortable unless the temps are really low.

As for turning the heat down or off, bear in mind that you don't want it to get so cold indoors that the pipes will freeze. My condo association recommends setting the heat no lower than 50 degrees.

[Kiwi Stoker]

Leave all plastic at home and only use cash. Find every loose coin you have (look in bags, under couch, in pockets etc), bag it up and only use that for purchasing snacks or lunch. If you cannot afford it you cannot buy it. This stops me randomly purchasing snacks when I am out and about.

I am not sure if you are or not, is to eat vegetarian as much as possible. Maybe treat yourself to one or two meat meals a week.

Oh and something else my mum found out. Don't bake in your oven. Not worth it. She was making muffins etc at home and the power bill went through the roof. It was actually cheaper to BUY muffins than to make your own once you factored in the power used.

[Owlie]

I have plenty of frozen leftovers (I have a ton of turkey from Thanksgiving and Christmas, among other things) and things like rice and flour, so food isn't really an issue, save things like produce and milk. Getting up early so I can turn the heat off in the bedroom and eat a decently large breakfast will probably help with the cafeteria food too. Tuesdays and Thursdays are a bit challenging because I don't get out of class until 7:45, though.

I agree, it's totally not worth baking, the exception being the times when it's so cold that it needs the extra boost, and even then...

Nybiker--thanks for those tips. Time to re-familiarize myself with which cord is which. My commute is just over a mile, so unless it's super cold, I don't even bother with the heating. (And on those days I have to melt the layer of ice on the car anyway!) I've duct-taped over the outlets, and I need to look into some kind of weather stripping or something for around the AC unit

Muirenn--Food for thought. The biggest reason that I turn the heat above 60 or so in the living room is so that I can actually take a shower without freezing. I might just get a space heater and use it to heat the bathroom for like 15 minutes...

Related: Something that might help is to use the option to split my car insurance into two payments. Yes, I'd owe them another two dollars (and use a second stamp), but the second half would be due in April, when I should have my financial aid check for spring. That should give me enough of a cushion to pay off the interest and a little bit of the principal of the loan. As much as I don't like giving them more money than necessary, this may be worth it. Thoughts?

[Irulan]

Related: Something that might help is to use the option to split my car insurance into two payments. Yes, I'd owe them another two dollars (and use a second stamp), but the second half would be due in April, when I should have my financial aid check for spring. That should give me enough of a cushion to pay off the interest and a little bit of the principal of the loan. As much as I don't like giving them more money than necessary, this may be worth it. Thoughts?

It's probably worth $2.55 to not have to really scrimp somewhere else.

[jyyanks]

I agree that splitting your car insurance into 2 payments is a good idea. I also second a space heater and using it in the bathroom or in the bedroom right before bed.

Is there anything you can sell on craigslist to make some extra cash? I ended up selling a bunch of stuff that I wasn't using and made some extra pocket money.

I would also just pay the minimum on the credit card until you get back on your feet. Good Luck!

[tulip]

Your commute is one mile? Sell the car and walk. Or take the bus, but in the time you wait for the bus, you can already be there.

If you must keep the car, shop around for insurance. I cut mine by many hundreds of dollars just by asking.

[Catrin]

...
Electric bill: All my appliances are electric, as is the heating, and there is no insulation. Rates are very high here for no obvious reason, and I have a west-facing apartment with two windows. I've been turning the heat way down during the day when I'm not here, but that doesn't seem to be sufficient.
Help!

Outside of pipes freezing, you will also want to check your apartment lease to see if they have a minimum thermostat setting for the winter. My lease has this requirement. Basically this means that if my pipes freeze because I've had the thermostat too low, I pay for the repairs.

I've also been told that when you turn it way down when you aren't there, then warm things back up when you got home, that this uses more energy this year since it has to work so hard to heat things up. My own experiments over the years appears to prove that out. I seem to have better luck when my settings in the winter stay pretty constant - for me that is 67 to 69 degrees, I am required to at least have it set at 65. Since I lost my weight I get cold much easier than at one time, 65 is just too cold for me if I want to do anything more than sit on the couch wrapped up in a blanket.

Tulip's suggestion about YNAB is a good one, but it costs $60. They do have a trial version you can use for a month to see how it works and you can use that experience to develop your own spreadsheet budget if you don't want to spend that money

Personally I keep a budget spreadsheet that does pretty much everything that YNAB does, with the additional benefit that it goes 8-12 months out for all of my usual expenses. This allows me to see the potential effect of some extra purchase on THIS date might have on THAT pay period down the line. For me this is quite beneficial and has helped me to start digging my way out a bit.

[Melalvai]

+1 on sell the car. If you need a car for the occasional trip out of town, rent one. That is cheaper than car payments, and you can control when it happens. If you don't have the money to make a trip you stay home, whereas a car payment is due whether or not you have the money for it.

Pay food first, then rent and utilities, then the loans & credit cards. Prioritize it so that if money runs out, you have pre-made the decision about who doesn't get money that month or who gets less than a full payment. And call your creditors and explain the situation. You'll end up paying a fee, but you can stave off having collection agencies hounding you.

If you even just send them $10 that's better than missing a payment entirely.

[Catrin]

Hmm. Don't suppose you could post a blank version of that spreadsheet Catrin?

I spend too much

Yes, I can do this tonight and I've started to keep it in Google documents so I can access it whenever I want/need to. For me at least it helps to see the overall big picture. I spend too much as well...so this helps me quite a bit.

...
Pay food first, then rent and utilities, then the loans & credit cards. Prioritize it so that if money runs out, you have pre-made the decision about who doesn't get money that month or who gets less than a full payment. And call your creditors and explain the situation. You'll end up paying a fee, but you can stave off having collection agencies hounding you.

If you even just send them $10 that's better than missing a payment entirely.

This is a good approach, when I fell behind for assorted reasons in the late fall/early winter I adopted a similar approach to start digging my way back out. I seem to want to put food last on the list though...and am trying to do better with that. I hate late fees...

For me I prioritize my biggest/most important bills first (rent, car payment, utilities) then I move to the largest credit accounts down to the smallest. While this hasn't helped my credit rating, it does help to talk with my creditors and it stops the calls.

[ehirsch83]

When I went to school in Boulder I didn't have a car and I walked everywhere, rode a hard tail entry level mtb or took the bus(and I waited tables and that was about 2 miles from my house and I walked daily to work, even when I got done late at night or worked a double) . Granted, public transportation in Boulder was a lot better then Dayton. My grandfather lives really close to DU( within walking distance). Dayton is definitely commuter friendly enough that I would also consider selling the car.

Maybe you find some babysitting jobs once or twice a week to bring in some extra cash?($10 an hour is a normal rate and it is cash under the table) you could easily make an extra $50-100 bucks a week and have food money. Most kids go to sleep around 8 or so, so you could study after.

[Irulan]

You can usually put a car on a "not driving" status and pay a minimum amt to park the policy.

[Owlie]

Your commute is one mile? Sell the car and walk. Or take the bus, but in the time you wait for the bus, you can already be there.

If you must keep the car, shop around for insurance. I cut mine by many hundreds of dollars just by asking.

Alas, car is necessary. There's no real public transport system, no sidewalks between my apartment and the university (they're all on the other side). I'm not in Dayton itself--rather, I'm in a suburb that seems to be rigged to be unwalkable. I got away with no car in Cleveland because there were sidewalks and public transit. I swear, I'm moving back to a bigger city.

The loans are grad school loans, and since I'm still in school, they're not due yet, though the unsubsidized ones are collecting interest.

[jessmarimba]

I agree, it's totally not worth baking, the exception being the times when it's so cold that it needs the extra boost, and even then...

Muirenn--Food for thought. The biggest reason that I turn the heat above 60 or so in the living room is so that I can actually take a shower without freezing. I might just get a space heater and use it to heat the bathroom for like 15 minutes...

Related: Something that might help is to use the option to split my car insurance into two payments. Yes, I'd owe them another two dollars (and use a second stamp), but the second half would be due in April, when I should have my financial aid check for spring. That should give me enough of a cushion to pay off the interest and a little bit of the principal of the loan. As much as I don't like giving them more money than necessary, this may be worth it. Thoughts?

I always split the car insurance. Definitely worth it to spread the anti-wealth around. I also just dropped comprehensive insurance - my car is old and high mileage and it just wasn't worth it. Would've dropped collision, too, except I'm afraid of sliding in ice or snow here and actually needing to repair the car.

My b/f's house is always frigid in the winter - except the bathroom. He keeps a tiny space heater in there and it makes it really, really hard to ever leave the shower On the other hand, my bathroom is the coldest room in my house. I keep my heat at 60 but the bathroom has a cast iron tub and tile floors over a frigid Colorado crawl space and I swear it just leaches heat out of the house. No room (or extra outlets) in my bathroom for a heater but I dream...

And the baking price applies to electric, I'd guess? My range/oven (and water and heat) are gas and I rarely go more than one "step" over the minimum usage charge. Electric is still what drives up my utility bills and I can't trace the source for the life of me. I swear it's higher now than when I had my non-functional hot tub still hooked up and running. But then, Xcel is trying to make all of us pay for some experiment it spent $150 million on up in Boulder.