Post your money management plan here! :D

As a way to deter us from gambling, I suggest we post our money needs here! I text messaged myself the money that I needed from my previous paycheck(s) and ended up blowing like 85 percent of my paycheck in slot machines and since I texted the money needs to myself, and not to anyone else it kind of lost big mert. I looked at my text message with my money needs after losing big money in slots and felt disgust.

My paycheck is roughly $565 this time, so here is my money needs list.

Utilities bill. $330.
Personal loan. $46
Haircut $20
New shoes from a cheap place. $30
New duffel bag. $20
Food money $60
New ID replacement. $25
Open new bank account. $25

I won't HAVE money to gamble as I need everything in this list.

So,post your money needs list!

I paid my utilities bill as soon as my paycheck went into my account! . My utilities bill wasn't due until the 10th, so that could have been real tempting temptation to gamble some of the utilities bill money away. But I listened to my logical brain that told me to do the responsible thing and pay the utilities bill! I did!

Well done Kentry! When we become responsible again with our money it's a wonderful feeling of achievement we can gain by doing something so mundane and normal as paying off a bill, I guess for us it's such a huge achievement because we are taking back control. Your doing great keep going x

Thanks for the warm congratulations.

Kentry wrote:I paid my utilities bill as soon as my paycheck went into my account! . My utilities bill wasn't due until the 10th, so that could have been real tempting temptation to gamble some of the utilities bill money away. But I listened to my logical brain that told me to do the responsible thing and pay the utilities bill! I did!

That's the smartest thing any person can do when fighting his addiction. Less available money/less access makes it far less likely to even be tempted.

My money needs is to save up so that in 5-6 years I can become a homeowner. I don't want to pay rent forever, I'd rather pay for a mortgage and pay toward owning my own property.

I have changed the title of this thread so it doesn't sound like a place to come and ask for money . I understand the intent , just thought it needed clarification .

NSR

Earnings per month : between $500 and $1000 in a third world country.
Spent in a casino last month : between $100 and $200.
Spent in a casino this year : 0
What is my management plan? Simple.

All the money I earned will go to my father's agricultural business, which was in need recently of $4000 which i sent it to him, remaining with only $600 to live on 2-3 month basis.
Paying for the place : $70 ( student )
Food: $100
Fun: $50-$100.

Anything above will send it to my father as I'm sure he needs em more.

Regards and have a happy new year!

Congrats on not gambling at all in 2017a casino in 2017!

If you don't have enough bills, you can start a retirement account. If your company doesn't offer one you can personally set one up yourself with Vanguard or a reputable bank. You can also set up a an online bank account with American Express, or Discover, for extra savings. The best thing about this is, it's harder to access your money. If have An itch to gamble, it would take you about 3-5 days to get the cash. If 3-5 days isn't long enough you can open up a Certificate deposit with your online bank. Open a recurring 30, 60,90 days or longer if you prefer. Just some ideas.

Here is my list (estimates)

Rent 20%
Insurance, Utilities & phone bills 10%
Food and delicious craft beers 10%
Retirement 10%
Future house down payment fund 25%
Gas 3%
Emergency "what if fund" 5%
Household items, and toiletry 5%
Nice dinners, bars, movies 7%
Trip savings fund 5%

Looks like No money for gambling.

I had about $53000 in debt spread out over three credit cards and a line of credit from the bank.

First thing I did was cut up two of my three credit cards. I would have cut the third up, but I travel quite a bit for work and really do need it. I was able to get the debit and cash forward features deactivated on the remaining card though.

Second thing I did was assess my finances and come up with a path forward on repayment. I get two paychecks every month so I determined a number that I was comfortable allocating to repayment from each check. In my case it was $2000 from my mid-month paycheck and $1250 from my month-end paycheck. This number may be higher or lower for you, but the principal is the same.

Next thing was to decide where to put the repayment money. I determined this by interest rates. I paid about half of the repayment money from each check to the card with the highest rate, and spread the remaining money out among the two other credit cards and the line of credit. Once the card with the highest rate was paid off, I used the same tactic for the card with the next highest interest rate, and the same tactic for the card after that. By the time I got down to just the line of credit (which was the lowest interest rate but the highest balance) I already had it nearly 1/3 paid off, and it didn't take long to pay off the rest by putting the $3250 per month against it. I was even able to pay it off a bit sooner than anticipated as I received a bonus at work that I wasn't counting on.

I swear on my life that I got a better rush seeing my debt go down than I did playing the slots. The best part is that the rush continues even after the debt is paid. I'm actually putting money into savings now, and putting money towards retirement. I know this "rush" might sound lame to someone who hasn't pissed away their money for 15 years, but to me it's very real.