do you like using Mvelopes Bill Pay or a method like it and how hard was it to start?

[nmeadows0101]

I have been looking at crown mvelopes to see if it could help or not. A few yrs. back I tried Dave ramsey but got no where.

I have done the numbers and we should be ok except for the fact now we pay our on health ins. that is the that hurts us the most.
but also my hb checks go up and down each wk or month.
On this first page I did , it was based on your annual pay, well ours is doable.
I can change some of the amounts around to fit but I am running in to a blank trying t work out this health ins . every mo.

Oh yeah for groceries it says to drop to 243.00 month and we are a family of 4 , I am still working on a stockpile so that would be very hard to do now.

any ideas?

Oh yeah, I looked to see if there was anyone close to us(our area)to help with the numbers a no one. I did find a church in Charlotte but it is from 8:30-4:30 pm. that day I have classes and hb works later than 4:30 plus we have to pick up the kids.

[Josiology]

I use YNAB for all my budgeting needs. YNAB stands for "you need a budget" and it is budgeting software, but so much more. There are four basic principles to it...it's given me a whole new perspective on money and how I spend/save it. The ynab philosophy has pretty much saved us from losing everything we've worked so hard for all these years when I got a 25% paycut at work (it was either take a paycut or get laid off). Anyway, you can find out more about it here: Personal Budget Software - Free Home Budgeting Program for the Family (there is a free trial).

I've never used mvelopes or any other budgeting system before so I have nothing to compare it to. I just know it works for me. We are still living paycheck to paycheck because we haven't saved up a full buffer yet. I've accepted the fact that it will probably take us a year to finally reach that point, but we're getting there. The greatest thing is it tracks ALL of our spending by category. So every month I know to the penny how much I spent on food, gas, you name it. This was a HUGE eye opener for me when we first started...that first month we spent well over $1000 on groceries for my family of four. $1000!!!! Slowly but surely we've been able to change our habits, chiseling away at that number...of course, couponing has helped immensely.

Good luck, I hope it all works out for you...I certainly can feel your pain. I've been without health insurance now for several years, so all of my medical expenses are OOP.

[nmeadows0101]

I watched the video on the steps , they are pretty good on some points. However, I am lost on stepOne - from the first mo. to the 2nd mo.

My hb checks go up and down from week to week so how to plan ahead like that?

Oh yeah, last yr, our health ins. was about 900.00 month until this this jan. Now it is a little lower but his co. was taking out the checks before we got it. I just hate having another bill to worry .
Yesterday we went looking for another car - 4 door for 4 of us which 2 are over 6ft, tall. and we though about using his pd older truck as a trade in but even if the vechie was 3,000-4,000 our payment would be around 200 mo.
well, I am trying to stick to less than that , so we are still looking.