February 15, 2007

So, what a day for a day dream. Grin.

I got part of the stuff for my bike. Yeah. I didn’t get part of the stuff for my bike. Boo, hiss.

So anyway, I have been searching for a way to handle my finances that made sense to me and would help me not overspend. I overspend because I always feel that I have more money than I have because I look at a total amount and guesstimate what I have left to spend money on. And I always spend too much and end up with too much month left at the end of my money.

Also, I don’t do credit. I do owe some money, but I don’t pull out a Visa Card or American Express Card to do my car repairs. That means that I need to be able to save up money to do my motorcycle repairs and save up money for other things. That is the stuff that I really want to get a handle on.

So I do research. I read this book and I read that book. I surf to this site and I surf to that site. And I have found few answers that fit. But today I ran into a book by “The Cheapest Family in America” (hey they called themselves that in the book) and the way they tell you to look at the monies is a little bit different that it may work for me. Let me tell you what hasn’t worked.

Putting money away in a different envelope. (which actually has gone electronic). If there was money in the clothes fund and I wanted to eat out-hey, did I really care if I had new jeans? Or any clothers at all. grin We all know that I never really was into clothes. Now I am not saying that this isn't a great system for lots of people, it just didn't work for me.

Dave Ramsey. I didn’t have debt, he figures that everyone must have debt and well, he didn’t work for me. If he does for you-that’s great. I know a lot of people who worship the ground that he walks on and pay him accordingly. There are forums available on his site where you can chat with some of the worshippers. Now, I am not saying he isn't good, he's just not for me.

There are a few more, I am drawing a blank right now. What is important is that I at least tried to put my finger in the dyke so to speak and tried something. Not looking for a way to grab some control of your money when it's out of control is like burying your head in the sand. Hmm, sand, dykes, I need to head to water.

Anyway, I read this book by the people who run the website http://www.americascheapestfamily.com and the plan actually made sense to me, (Ok, ok, I know that I am no good at finances, but no really, this plan I could actually understand, that’s probably a good starting point) and what’s even better it doesn’t tell me to keep all my money laying around in my house easily accessible to my fingers.

So I go to surf to my bank to find out a couple of things, like do I have any money left and how much do I get in a month (hey, I warned you that I’m no good at finances), all that really complicated stuff. And the Internet goes out, but I pull out the notes that I made and realize that it still makes sense to me, even without the gosh darn book.

That sounds great to me. I think I will try this plan. Most of the rest of them I just sit back and laugh at. (Kind of like the other book that I read tonight.)

I am the person who read the book about running a lemonade stand and couldn’t figure it out enough to use. And I was told that book made finances really simple.

Ok, just go online enough to go to the website. Hmm. No, I don't like this result. Just go read the book, it will work out much better than trying to go use the website. The website is pretty much a bunch of ads and little boxes selling themselves to you, by telling you where they will be. ;) Gotta love it.

Oh, what’s the name of the book? Geez, now I have to go back to the website to find out. Just a minute.

America'sCheapest FamilyGets YouRight on the MoneyYour Guide to Living Better,Spending Less andCashing In On Your Dreams! Buy it online and save some bucks. You can get it for $8.01 used.

This is a book we wish existed when we were first married. It's easy to read and full of hundreds of simple money saving ideas. Plus it explains how to get out of debt and set up a household budget that really works. Read more about it.

While here I also read The Six Day Financial Makeover by Robert Pagliarini. It has some redeeming points also.

Well, go read it, I might buy it if I wasn’t already so short on space. LOL

Gotta go, happy trails Marty