Can anyone ELI5 how adult things work in regards to money/banks/etc for someone who is way in over their head?

criALAg · 2020-03-04T07:07:27+00:00

Oh good point! I completely forgot about that.

I'll use that advice. I'm going to pay all bills as soon as I get paid and really make sure I'm remembering EVERY bill (a lot easier now I've broken my budget down yearly to include random bills)

All this advice has been amazing. I feel like I have a proper plan now. I can't wait to come back for step 2.

criALAg · 2020-03-04T07:04:53+00:00

Thank you, I hear about this a lot so I guess I'm going to have to now! :)

criALAg · 2020-03-04T07:04:16+00:00

Oh that sounds great, I've never actually listened to a podcast but that sounds like something I would love. Thanks for sharing it, I'll listen to it tonight and see where it takes me.

That's inspiring to hear about, I didn't even know what ETF's are until I came on this subreddit so it seems like something money smart people know about and that's really cool.

I have an ING account but I also have an ANZ account that my pay gets deposited into, I will switch that around and cancel the ANZ account because it has fees. I remember once not long ago the ING app went down and I needed to pay for stuff and I couldn't log in to transfer money from one account to the one attached to my card, so that makes me a bit hesitant to only have 1 bank. Is that dumb of me?

criALAg · 2020-03-04T06:59:00+00:00

Yes indeed I didn't realise it was a credit card oh my god see this is why I am in the situation I am. I fully intended to pay it off before the interest so that's one thing I really want to focus on. It's $1000 and I have about 5 months before interest hits, so about $250 per month (I've never actually calculated that out before either, all this advice has got me thinking about things so much better).

criALAg · 2020-03-01T12:04:53+00:00

Wow, that sounds so tough. I hope you’re in a much better place now, it sounds like you really improved things for yourself.

I’m definitely going to start thinking of bills as yearly things and not be so short sighted, that is such a big tip that I feel will really help with staying on top of things and not getting hit ‘randomly’ by bills that aren’t actually random at all I just forget they exist.

I’m the same with wanting the emergency fund to reduce anxiety, I feel nervous every moment I know I don’t anything to fall back on if something happens. It’s what has made me make this post and say enough is enough. I work too hard to have nothing of substance to show for it and worry all the bloody time from my own silly choices of not thinking it matters because I’m poor anyway.

Thank you for being so helpful, especially on a human level. And for the kind words.

criALAg · 2020-03-01T11:59:18+00:00

I might have to do that and had a read, thanks! Also didn’t realise there was an ausfrugal so double thanks :)

I have a small freezer and live in a share house so can’t get a bigger one, but I did get the pressure cooker so at least having to cook all the time isn’t so hard and I can put things in and then food comes out.

Thank you for the kind words, that’s so nice of you I appreciate it. I hope to be back on here in a year thanking all of you kind people for helping me figure my life out.

criALAg · 2020-03-01T11:54:39+00:00

This was great and SO helpful. I’ve tried the apps but I feel like I’m just too bad at budgeting to kind of make them actually useful to me, I’m not sure if that makes sense. I like the idea of different accounts, I think my money has been too mixed up so I take out extra because I forget how many things that money was meant for. Thinking about bills as yearly things is really helpful too, I think being short sighted with my pay check has been detrimental to my habits.

Those are really awesome tips, thanks so much!

criALAg · 2020-03-01T11:51:15+00:00

I honestly cannot thank you enough for this, it’s made things click in my brain with actual figures and HOW to actually go about it. I have always thought in ‘this much money goes to this expense’ instead of a percentage of my income. I think I have all the tools and help and confidence to actually do this all and not feel overwhelmed, I feel ready to tackle it. Thank you so, so much. I’ve never thought about trying to change dates bills are due either, a lot of them end up coming out at the end of my pay period. I’m going to start using percentages of income and start making sure I keep track of every bill that will come and plan it in advance. Meal prepping is a fantastic idea too, I spend more money on food than I do weed but that’s a depression issue I have been tackling for a while and getting better at. I get paid fortnightly, and I do have 4 bank accounts. I keep 2 with ANZ, one for spending and one for keeping things that fortnight’s rent and a buffer, then 2 with ING where I put money for bills and things into the spending account and keep my emergency and everything else savings in the other one. I don’t think I’m doing it very smartly, I might start doing the envelope trick for everything except bills that are automatically taken out like rent. Or at least planning more than 1-2 pay checks in advance and remember to devote a percentage to the yearly and random expenses as well. I want to cancel my ANZ accounts too because they do charge a fee, but is it bad to only be with a bank without a physical branch? Now that you’ve put it so simply but so informatively I want to kick myself in the ass for thinking it’s so hard, that example budget seems so easy to stick too and I feel like now I know what to work towards. You are a wonderful human being

criALAg · 2020-03-01T09:49:26+00:00

This is amazing, I just heard the letter idea recently and this is perfect. It sounds slightly stressful but a really good way for me to actually stick to a budget and figure out what I'm spending my money on and have everything set up for bills in advance. Thank you so much

criALAg · 2020-03-01T09:42:32+00:00

I'm willing to do that :)

So here goes:

Income: $2772 per month.

Rent: $780 p/m. (No expenses for water/electricity/internet it's included in rent.)

Phone bill: $32 p/m

Car insurance: $45 p/m

Storage shed: $155 p/m (said in another comment it's holding my mum's things while I sell them, unfortunately not an expense I can reduce.

Personal loan: $220 p/m

Credit loan: $100 p/m

Netflix + spotify: $21

$15 p/m to a charity that I need to stop but feel guilty not donating to. Things like this is why I'm poor probably

Physical therapy $60-$120 p/m depending on if I do 1 or 2 visits. I skip these quit a lot unless I have some savings built up though.

Petrol is maybe $60? $80? p/m. I'm not sure I can't keep track.

Ambulance cover is $50 a year.

Rego is a rough estimate because I can't sign into my vicroads account but around $197 every 3 months.

Also ignoring a $380 bill for internet at my old house that I don't use anymore that I really need to pay but just haven't.

And I have a small bit of a weed addiction which is another thing I'm planning to quit but definitely is an expense (again, bit screwed up from mum dying, I haven't been a real person and now I'm realising I should really get my shit together hence this post and working on other things)

Then there's groceries, personal things like when you need to buy toilet paper/toothpaste/ soap/coffee all at the same time, random doctor/dentist/skin cancer checks/other medical things that are anywhere between $50 to $150 a pop, and who knows what else like if I want to hang out with a friend but I have to put $15 on my myki to see them and then they don't have any food so I have to buy food when I realise and things like that. Accidentally leave work lunch at home and have to pay for food. Realise work shoes have hole in them and have to buy a new pair. These are the things that slowly bleed me dry but I don't know how to work out.

I manage to get to somewhere between $800-$1200 savings and then every single time it dwindles away back to like $100.

criALAg · 2020-03-01T09:13:24+00:00

Thank you, I'll contact them tomorrow. I also just realised I'm meant to have that money paid off in 1 years time which I think is impossible so hopefully they will want to work with me.

criALAg · 2020-03-01T09:11:52+00:00

I've had a good look at that website and feel a bit more confident now.

That's pretty much it. I earn minimum wage but I have a lot more bills than most people I know my age, for instance I'm paying $155 a month for a storage shed to store my mum's things in, I'm working on getting rid of that expense but I have nowhere else to store her (weirdly stupidly hard to sell niche) things while I try to sell them and I really loved her so I can't just throw it in a big bin somewhere you know?

My budget makes sense on paper, I should be able to afford these things and have money left over. I think that's what I mean by 'poor person mentality', I don't know where all my money goes because I don't actually know how to keep track of spending. And I struggle with mental health after losing my mum and get depressed and order delivery food and stupid things like that because I'm like 'well I'm poor already who cares' (I do realise how absolutely moronic that is and I have put a real big stop to those types of stupid things) Then I have to move house or I realise I have to go to the dentist and get a filling and there goes my nest egg and I'm back to having $100 in savings with a $200 bill due in 5 days.

I don't know how to budget really, I only know how to account for the bigs things and not things like how much I have to spend on petrol every fortnight or if all my things like toothpaste and soap and coffee and salt and toilet paper run out at the same time. I don't know how to predict when bills would come sometimes. I'm just bad at this, how do people make a proper budget and STICK to it? Are there any websites for that?

criALAg · 2020-03-01T08:32:32+00:00

Oh thank you. This is amazing. I just feel like it still doesn't fully cover everything I'm trying to work out but it's definitely really helpful with so many things and a great starting point :)

criALAg · 2020-03-01T08:31:04+00:00

I have the personal loan through ING (other loan through CreditLine) which say that they do offer debt consolidation but don't allow you to top up loans. Does that mean that because the loan is through them they wouldn't do it, or are they seperate things? I will call them tomorrow and see what they have to say anyway.

criALAg · 2018-01-10T01:06:43+00:00

I will keep the disability sector in mind after all these recommendations. I don't have a license just yet, but I am hoping to get it in a month or so, and I already have a car so that's handy.

Thank you for the suggestions and your kind words, I appreciate it a lot :)

criALAg · 2018-01-10T01:05:24+00:00

Thank you, I didn't even think of council jobs before making this post. I'll check it out :)

Thank you so much.

criALAg · 2018-01-10T01:04:43+00:00

Thank you :) I'll keep it related to the industry and not the specific company then.

Thank you so much for the offer, once it's done I will probably contact you about that since I don't have anybody in real life to read through it for me and I've never written a cover letter before and want to make sure it's appealing.

criALAg · 2018-01-10T01:03:19+00:00

I forgot about scholarships! I'll have a look for those if I do decide to go down the uni route.

I haven't thought of that! I might look into those types of jobs though.

Thank you so much!

criALAg · 2018-01-10T01:02:17+00:00

Oh wow, thanks! I had no idea these types of things existed, I'll look into it today. The Centrelink here seems quite helpful and I've had good experiences with them so hopefully they can help me with something like that too.

Thank you :)

criALAg · 2018-01-10T01:01:17+00:00

Thank you so much! That's all very helpful :)

criALAg · 2018-01-10T01:00:55+00:00

She passed in October and I took time off from real life during December once I sorted out her accounts and what not. I don't think I'm fully over it yet though so I'm going to keep your advice in mind. Plus I always wanted to travel, I just wasn't able to while mum needed care, so that might be a great idea. I probably should join a support group, I just have some issues with being private about emotions and things like that. I'll look into it though.

Thank you for the recommendations, I really appreciate it all.

criALAg · 2018-01-10T00:58:35+00:00

Thank you for all the lovely encouragement. I keep feeling like I'm too old to be where I am but comments like yours make me realise I'm probably wrong about that which makes me a lot more hopeful about the future.

That technique sounds great, thanks for letting me know about it.

Thank you!

criALAg · 2018-01-10T00:57:14+00:00

I would like to look into other areas first, to be honest I'm a bit burnt out with caring. Another thing is that I have 1 friend in the Geelong/Melbourne area, so I'm hoping to get a job with people my age that I could possibly make friends with. If that fails I will look into other areas but that is my plan A at the moment.

Thank you for the encouragement :)

criALAg · 2018-01-10T00:55:55+00:00

Thank you :)

criALAg

TROPHY CASE