Have and follow a financial plan

I’ve got Quicken set up with preliminary budget data. I’m going to have to adjust it as I go along, because A) the way the spending is set right now, I’d only have $20 left over each month and B) as I get more history in the system, I should be better able to predict future expenses.

I really hate the way it feels to be out of money at the end of each paycycle. I hate that more than I hate the tedium of tracking stuff and maintaining the data. My “towards” goal is the sense of peace I will feel when I truly know what I have & what I can spend, while still being able to get myself out of credit card debt.

I like the tools on mint.com but there’s no forecasting ability; only visibility into what has already cleared. I need to be able to track upcoming bills; checks I’ve written or pre-scheduled payments that haven’t cleared yet; etc. in order to have full insight into where my finances stand and where they’ll be in a week.

I’m hoping that Quicken 2010 will get me closer to truly managing my money, and give me the tools I need to actually have a full financial plan.

I need to set spending goals for major discretionary categories like food, household supplies, hobbies, cons, festivals, etc.

I can’t change my bills right now – but choosing how to divide up what’s left after the bills are paid will give me a sense of ownership and control over my finances.

Back when I was a single Mom (daughter’s grown & gone now), I was really, really good at this out of sheer survival necessity. Over the past few years, I’d gotten away from it – and it’s hurting me financially. I have the skills; I need to dust them off and put them back into regular use.

A friend told me about mint.com so I created an account and took a little time to look at the trendlines (only 90 days of history, but still helpful).

OMG. I spend way, way too much money. No wonder I feel like I’m living paycheck to paycheck! The biggest and easiest area to trim: food. Dining out has gone down, but grocery costs are still ridiculously out of proportion.

I need to do some serious thinking about how to fix this immediately.