Blogging Away Debt

The Downside of Living on Last Month’s Income

I’ve run into a problem with living on last month’s income. In general, I think its an awesome thing and has been really valuable for us. But maybe you YNAB-ers can fill me in on how to handle this situation….

You’ve got a budget all planned for the month and things are going well. Mid-way through the month (and everything is on track), something costly comes up. It cannot be put off until the following month and it is 100% for sure going to blow your budget.

If you are living on your current month’s income then maybe you can try to sell some things, work extra hours, or do whatever it takes to boost your income. But if you’re living on last month’s income then your income is already set and there’s really not much you can do about it (aside from “cheating” and using money from the current month’s income and/or dipping into savings). How is this issue best handled???

Let me tell you what’s happened/happening…

Remember my friend whose getting married? Her wedding is at the end of this month. Remember how I talked about giving her a decent-sized check because I’d initially thought I might be a bridesmaid, but since I’m not incurring any of those expenses I’d like to put (some of) the money I would have spent toward giving her a nice gift? Wellllllll, apparently things have changed.

What is it about the wedding industry that sucks people in and forces them to get all hyped up on the hoopla even when they’re trying to avoid it? I swear, its like they tell you that if you don’t get the monogramed napkins and matching monogrammed floor sticker that your marriage is doomed to divorce. I don’t want this to come off as talking badly about my friend but….she got sucked into the trap. And now, all of these things that didn’t exist before (bachelorette party, bridal shower, etc.) suddenly exist.

I had already budgeted to give her and her husband-to-be some money. Initially I’d thought $100-$150, and I ended up budgeting for $100. But that is it. There is no more wiggle room in our budget. Now, with two weeks notice, I have been invited (and would love to attend) a mini bachelorette the week of the wedding. Nothing crazy or over the top, but it’s a night out that will NOT fit in my eating out and/or entertainment budgets. And although she said no gifts, I feel like there’s an inherent expectation of maybe picking up a round of drinks or showing up to the party with some of those fun penis-shaped straws and whatever bachelorette parties entail. This all, of course, costs money. Maybe not a lot of money (certainly nowhere near as much as being a “real” bridesmaid would have cost), but money nonetheless and money I don’t have in our budget.

I know many will say simply not to go. But even though we may not be life-long friends (we met 4.5 years ago), she is one of my best friends in the state. We moved here at the same time (for school) when we didn’t know anyone else and have been through some serious life transitions together (weddings, babies, graduation, employment/lack thereof). I want to support her. I want to be there. So then do I just go and not really participate? Don’t buy her a drink, don’t buy myself a drink, don’t partake in the festivities? Do I give her less for her wedding and put some of that money toward these expenses? What would you do?

And, back to the down side of living on last month’s income, what do you do if you simply have an expense that exceeds your monthly budget/allotted income? Where does the extra money come from? I know a wedding/party is a whole different situation than a real necessary expense (like, a car tire blows out and HAS to be replaced immediately), but either way, how does this work with the YNAB living on last month’s income system?

Suggestions? Advice? What would you do?

You Get What You Pay For

by Ashley

Remember when I talked about the kiddos climbing out of their cribs and how we’d have to buy some expensive bed rails soon?

Well, I have an update to report.

Based on some of your suggestions I decided to opt for a bed rail as opposed to the fancy-pants (and $$$) toddler crib conversion kit. I ordered the cheapest crib rails I could find on ebay, to the tune of $25 + free shipping. Plus it was one of those “name your price” things so I emailed the vendor and asked if I could get a deal if I bought two. Out the door it ended up costing me $45 (a $5 savings) and I got free shipping to my house.

The problem, my friends, is that sometimes you get what you pay for.

The bed rails, although advertised as able to be used with a crib, are total crap. First, they’re made of cheapy plastic and I can tell they are going to fall apart soon. Second, they take up the entire length of the crib, so it’s very difficult still for the girls to get in and out of bed and they’re forced to still climb over the side. Even though it’s much lower than the old crib side, it still doesn’t seem safe. Particularly since the cheap pieces of plastic aren’t sturdy and were not intended to be climbed on/over. Sigh. We’re going to make do until the girls are old enough to simply have them removed entirely.

Bed Rail – Taking up the entire length of the crib and just generally being a piece of doo-doo.

But here’s a little life lesson for you. I could have bought a moderately priced bed/crib rail for $50 each, spent $100 out the door, and still saved more than $100 versus the cost of the toddler crib conversion kit. Instead, I opted for the $25 model ($50 for two), and bought total pieces of crap. Boo!!!! Sometimes, you get what you pay for.

Foot note: I don’t want this to sound like I’m blaming you guys since some of the readers had suggested the bed rails! Actually commenters provided exact links to better quality ones (not the cheapy ones I found on ebay), so this is 100% my fault! After proofing this it sounded almost like I’m mad at you guys for giving me the suggestion and I don’t want it to come across that way at all!!! On the contrary, I’m always grateful for your suggestions!

Have you ever bought the cheap version of something only to find out later it was total crap? On the flip side, what have you scored for a lower-cost that ended up being just as good as the full price product?

(I’ve had pharmacist friends say to always, always by generic medicine because its the exact same, often manufactured in the same factory and just put into different boxes. So that’s one thing where the cheap version has worked just as well as the higher-priced name brand product for my purposes)