August was a difficult month in terms of financial management.
1. It was so incredibly busy and stressful that I wasn’t able to collect checks/claim payments on time, thus putting my September budget in peril.
2. I had a couple of unplanned expenses – my mom’s medical insurance premium (I thought it was due October), fees involved with getting a receipt from BIR (need one for a job) – both justified, but outside my budget.
3. I still forced myself to zero out one of my credit cards (Second one! Yay!), putting the balance in both my bank accounts to minimum.
Yes, I met one goal – zeroing out a credit card – but I’m near broke and I don’t know when my next check is coming in. I’ve begun charging stuff (gas and groceries) on my two remaining cards again, and payment for one of them is due today. Sigh.
It sounds like you’re doing great!
A piece of advice though: I read somewhere that the first step to financial peace (come to think of it, that’s the name of the book) is to create a savings buffer (usually a typical month’s expenses x 3) which you should never touch unless there’s an emergency or unexpected expense (like your mom’s medical insurance premium).
Once you have that buffer, start hacking your debts to pieces (pay as much as you can afford above the minimum). Then, once you’re debt-free, start saving/investing. If you happen to dip into your savings buffer before you’re debt free, temporarily pay the minimums on your debts again so you can fill up the buffer first. That way you don’t pay off debts only to charge up expenses again.
This worked for me, given a few modifications
Thanks mags
Three month’s expenses is already almost equal to my remaining credit card debt =P I had a small buffer – equal to about a month’s expenses – but that’s what I used up for all the unexpected expenses.
I so can’t wait to be debt free. I got investments lined up already!
well,hirap talaga kumita dito ng pera sa pinas.