Comments on: Staying Motivated

By: Nicki

Nicki — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:26:05 +0000

Thanks for the input. Sometimes I find it difficult to find the middle ground. My husband and I have agreed he will get a weekly amount towards his personal entertainment or fun and if he fritters it away because he has it (which is often what he does) and doesn’t save it for things he wants to do on his own that come up, he will be out of luck, unless I agree with the expense. That saying about money burning a hole in your pocket applies to him. Thanks again

By: kristin

kristin — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:52:03 +0000

my hubby and i have separate spending accounts (for fun money). on the first of the month X dollars goes in their. everything else is joint but we felt it important to have this separate for your very reason. i didn’t want to police my husband and hand him his lunch money on the way out the door. and visca versa. i don’t want to be monitored on every little thing if i was responsible and saved for it. and he’s a big boy, i’m a big girl, we can save it up and blow it on whatever we want. if it’s not there when we need it than tough. mind you it has never been an issue. often we pool our saved money and do fun stuff together.
you both need to respect the system that you plan to use in your family. if you aren’t both on board, it’s going to be a struggle to do and a bitch to maintain. maybe there is a compromise in their somewhere?

By: admin

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:19:00 +0000

Nicki, try reminding him that the account is just where the money is kept, the budget is what says where the money is going. So when he wants to take more than you have allocated for entertainment ask him what category he wants to take the money from. He could take it from groceries, for example, if you are both willing to trim back on what you’re eating that week. Or he could take it from gas if he’s willing to walk or bike to work. Or he could take it from wherever else he’s willing to give something up. Some people have a lot of trouble with the idea that money is an exhaustible resource, so as long as there appears to be money in the bank they think they can spend it… never considering the bills that are yet to be paid. Good luck. g

By: Melaniesd

Melaniesd — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:03:17 +0000

Ajana, Congrats on getting down to one debtor left! You’re on your way now! It must feel good. : )

Nicki: Have you set aside spending money for each of you in your budget? If you each have a set amount for spending each week, and you know you have something special coming up, you can budget for it.

By: Nicki

Nicki — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:11:48 +0000

Gail, I love your show and about 6 weeks ago I talked my husband into starting your jar system and using your budget worksheet.

Our budget has been going well and we are saving money I knew we could. We don’t have much debt (less than $2,500, although no savings either) but I knew we were frittering away our decent salaries on “stuff” and that we could have much better RRSP savings and regular savings.

However, I guess I didn’t involve my husband enough, plus he knows we are not exactly in financial trouble, because he is committed to the budget some of the time, but not when it doesn’t suit him. I am naturally much more frugal than he, but he doesn’t see why he should deprive himself of certain things. For example, tonight he is going out for dinner and drinks after work, followed by a stag & doe for a guy from work (I don’t know the people so am not going). This morning, since I will be replenishing the jars tonight, I gave him the entertainment money we have left, around $40.00, and he was complaining, saying why couldn’t he take it out of our account since he just got paid yesterday. I said what’s wrong with this money? He said he didn’t know how much he would need. I suggested he pick his dinner carefully and not spend too much on drinks. He wasn’t too happy about that. I get the feeling I am handling this the wrong way, but what I suggested he do is what I would do in the same situation. Any suggestions?

Thanks everyone

By: Ajana

Ajana — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:18:00 +0000

Just crossed of one debtor off my list - now only one left. Yippee!

For that final one (and it’s a biggie), I’ve done an area graph which has the debt in red. The area of the red will decrease as the amount owed goes down. I like visual reminders and with this graph I actually see how my debt is shrinking month by month to nothing.

By: kristin

kristin — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:37:49 +0000

i thought i was the only one who wrote on their to-do lists things that were already done!
i feel a little less lonely,
ha.
k.

By: Angela

Angela — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:51:10 +0000

I agree that we should “measure our Progress”. The total amount of debt would discourage people from achieving our goal for sure! But if we could see how much we could pay down each month, that’s a big motivation indeed!

And that’s how I keep myself motivated.

By: bigasssuperstar

bigasssuperstar — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:06:10 +0000

I love that frog-eating line. Ribbit.

By: Lisa Marie

Lisa Marie — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:31:04 +0000

Life gets in the way sometimes, doesn’t it? I am on track (barely), but Lord there have been challenges! Honestly, it’s enough to drive a girl to tears.

So once I’ve had a good cry, accept that I can’t control or plan everything, it’s time to move forward and plod on. Unforseen dental costs, car repairs and a vet bill will be managed (barely) while I still contribute to my RRSP and repay my debt. And the frustration and resentment I felt for having to dip into my savings is wearing off. I’m only about three months into conquering my debt so it’s hard to withdraw a chunk of those savings already. In the end, however, I decided that it beats asking my parents to bail me out.

I will tweak my budget, see how I might tighten my belt further and maintain my determination to follow through on my plan if it kills me! And I have to say, my daily visit to this site is great motivation to stay on track even if it feels like I’m clinging onto the track for dear life. Thanks Gail!