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/diy/ - Do It Yourself


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1370552 No.1370552 [Reply] [Original]

how do you guys diy a budget, im at wits end here i cant figure out how to cut cost's

>> No.1370557

and i haven't figured in things like gifts, or random child expenses ect

>> No.1370560

>>1370552
dude your housing is like 13% too much desu, you should realistically be spending only 30% on your housing costs

>> No.1370561

>>1370552
leave LA

>> No.1370563

quit listening to your wife

>> No.1370566

>>1370560
any lower in my area and its a bridge
>>1370561
rural canada

>> No.1370567

>>1370566
>rural canada
Freedom garden and work more hours or get a better job. Entertainment shouldn't be costing you that much, and consider a motorcycle for summer and spring.

>> No.1370568

>>1370567
in the process of going to trade school but I'm work/school almost 70hrs a week so no real time for gardening
motorcycle wont help me much since i cant exactly carry tools/materials with it
noted on entertainment (tobacco is the biggest portion and i'm trying to cut down again)

>> No.1370571

>>1370568
If you use a simple greenhouse and a dripfeed pipe, then you can cut down the maintenance to maybe something like half an hour a week. Pick something hearty like eggplant or squash to get the most out of your time.
Potato boxes are also easy and very low maintenance.

>> No.1370579

>>1370571
how much of a bad person would i be if i went to a community garden pulled weeds for a few hours and took some seedlings/offshoots as payment?

>> No.1370581

>>1370579
Good luck transplanting without killing them.
Is it too late to start seeds up there? I'd go that route.

Also, realistically, where do you get most of your food. I dont mean "what's in your cabinets" but of your last 10 meals how many were fast food/restaurants vs. how many were actually home made.

>> No.1370582

>>1370581
lunches for work 5 days a week, boss pays 3-4 of them usually and me an the wife eat out once a week on average, im out of town every other week for school so im eating easier (more expensive) things then normal but mostly and i dont got a coffee maker so thats a bit extra to

we just got a big ice storm so i'm assuming anything in the ground is dead (good for the side income though)

>> No.1370584

If you go easy on yourself when you're away from your wife, you're doing yourself a disservice, buddy. Iron mind.
Also, any candy/soda/useless food? Drop it like it's hot. Same goes for drinking apart from rarely.

You diy budget by reducing comfort.

>> No.1370585

>>1370582
Get you some cracker packs, pop tarts, whatever the fuck is relatively cheap and keep em in your car. Stop paying for fast food that breaks your wallet.
Personally I keep a box of those shitty little cheese and peanut butter cracker packs in my trunk along with a couple Gatorades. Keeps me alive long enough to get home to make my own food.

Coffee makers are hilariously simple to DIY, I made one out of a water bottle and a t shirt once but that was deployment. Or just buy one that'll last you a while.

Get you some seeds for simple, versatile foods and go ahead and start them indoors in containers, that way when the ground thaws they'll be big enough to take off once you get them in ground.

>> No.1370589

>>1370585
Adding to this, for my gardening, I compost as much as possible and hoard every container that can fit a plant.
This means that aside from the $10 in seeds I spent 2 years ago, all my fresh veggies and herbs are free.

What's wrong with your car that's costing you 20% of your income?

>> No.1370592

>>1370568
So you're young and in school, will probably have a better job in the next 2-3 years, and you're SAVING $2000+ a year? What exactly are you bitching about here?

>> No.1370595

>>1370589
its not the car its the gas on the truck, i use it as sparingly as i can but I'm paying about 400 a month in fuel and some of the suppliers are almost 200k away
>>1370592
im not actually saving 2k a year i've been operating at a loss since i didn't figure in mandatory tool purchases, incidentals or a drunk dude kicking my mirror off when im doing a cash job

>> No.1370597

>>1370595
So wait, are you driving this truck for work then?
Not sure how canadia works but here in the states that's able to be written off on taxes and/or reimbursed by your employer.
Talk to your suppliers as well about coming up with some sort of schedule, so you have to make fewer runs out there.

Also anon I hope you know I'm not trying to dog you, I'm just trying to help.

>> No.1370602

>>1370597
yeah i try to set things up with the suppliers i only go once a month maybee and do tax write offs but they only reimburse you on a portion of the taxes payed (income tax so on 400$ it was 500 pre income tax so ill get a 100$ credit) and these new fuel prices are killing me

i appreciate it i came here asking because 1 of two things happen
-trolling me
-legit advice
either way it might help which is why i ask for this kind of shit here instead of people i actually know i find anonymity more honest

>> No.1370606

>>1370602
Ah alright, I'm not sure what else I can do for you on that note man. But that line of thinking is how I got myself out of brokeness. Dont look at your whole budget, get down into the weeds in each individual issue and see where you can cut pennies.

Also a thing that helped me was to calculate my daily cost to leave on average, and then look at that and work out ways to lower it, even just a few cents here and there, over time.
Also, stop all these things immediately:
>fast food
>soft drinks
>impulse buys
>grocery shopping while hungry
>using money to make day to day life easier

That alone will save you insane amounts in the long run. Sandwiches and water/kool aid are your friends.

I'm off to bed anon, good luck to you.

>> No.1370666

>>1370552
Use gnu cash and be more specific on expensive this general shit is not helpful.

>> No.1370685

Housing is too much, but you said no, so your options are food and transport. That's harsh.

I built my e-bike for $300, it hauls a trailer made from a kid carrier, goes 20mi/32km per battery. No good for your work but maybe other chores?

You're spending an average amount on food and that can be reduced through meal planning, extreme couponing, buying items in bulk or online. Such as dry foods, but also meat if you get a bulk deal and freeze it.
Garden is obvious choice for free veggies and spices.

>> No.1370713

>>1370552
>food and groceries 20.9%
>food and groceries $9,530
>food and groceries $26.09 per day
How many mouths do you have to feed? Even after figuring the exchange rate, that's more than what I pay for my food in a week, with little care to budgeting and ~4,000 calories per day.

Some thoughts: Stop making a habit of going out to eat. Save it for special occasions. If you need to join in for schmoozing at work, that's one thing, but an adult should be able to cook for himself far more economically than a restaurant. Stop buying coffee and get a cheap machine and a thermos if you need a fix. Do the math for the payoff time and smack yourself on the head. Move a large chunk of your calorie intake to things like potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, beans, pasta, and bread. They go well with more flavorful things to produce a variety of nutritious options that are much cheaper than what you're doing now. To save time, make use of things like soups, crock pot meals, and roasts that you can leave to cook while you're out doing other things.

Another thing. The impression I get is that you are habitually using stimulants to try to compensate for lax discipline. Cut the nicotine and caffeine, and spend the time you currently put towards that on exercise.

>> No.1370774

>>1370582
>i dont got a coffee maker so thats a bit extra to
Kick it. if you consistently use caffine, you lose the benefits. Use it sparingly, and never for 3 consecutive days or for more than 4 days in a week.
Find an instant coffee you like or learn how to do a pour over, french press, or cold brew.

>> No.1370785

>>1370552
are you seriously spending over 9 thousand on groceries?
and 3 thousand on entertainment?
>makes 45 thousand a year and is barely making it
I could live on 15 thousand a year

>> No.1370791

>>1370552
and I see you have around 9 thousand for transportation?

I have 3 trucks
including operating expenses and insurance I am at around 3 thousand a year

>> No.1370830

>>1370552
Your diy budget should become your entertainment and fun category... or at least half of it. Drop life insurance. It's a waste of money unless your married. Try to drop groceries to 15-16%. Easy enough to do all that. If you want to save and have money for projects your gonna have to cut expenses or make more money. Also shop your local habitat for humanity restores.

>> No.1370838

>>1370552
$10k food/annually. Now anon I am not trying to be condescending, but if you're quite heavy or concerned about your weight I may know why friend. You only need 1800-3000 calories a day based on your activity daily. A pound is approximately 3500 calories, so if it turns out you are quite heavy, and you change to 4 500 calorie meals daily, you will not only save money but lose quite a bit of weight at a consistent rate.

>> No.1370839

Housing costs should be no more than 25% of your budget.

>> No.1370841

>>1370785
This does make me quite sick. It's situations like this where I become so frustrated when I see other people talking about how others dont deserve more because they work so hard, ect. I work 5 days a week as a store manager, with a college degree and make $14/hr. I travel 40 minutes to work across 3 different interstates to make about $25k/annually. I have three vehicles, pay for my own health insurance, and I have enough money left over to pay down about $1500/mo on student debt. I haven't technically paid myself in seven months, just buying food and necessities. I am miserable, but I know at this rate by the end of the year, all of my income should be mine and I should be free.

On the other end of the spectrum, this guy probably bitches about his taxes and non-existant 'beaners' taking all the jobs, while making double what I make. He eats out every night, pisses away have of his income on rents to some slumlord who lives in Isreal or California, and he's at 'wits end'.

How old are you mate? I swear to god, say 45-55.

>> No.1371003

>>1370552
Housing. Unless u got a litter there is no reason to not just get a small house in a cheap area and build a pole barn.

>> No.1371004

>>1370571
>potatoe box

Sounds like the house us autists need

>> No.1371018

>>1370841
you talkin to me?>>1370785
>How old are you mate? I swear to god, say 45-55.

no
21
I bet it blows a lot of peoples minds
not paying college jew thieves makes a big difference
be responsible and work hard
live in a rural area
shoot a deer and ducks and rabbits and geese and more
>help my uncle with cows for a day
>receive 25 pounds of cow
grow some vegetables

most people don't have the mechanical skills that I got
would have to pay someone else $150 or something like that for a throttle body rebuild that I do myself for about $30

>> No.1371038

>>1370791
how many kms do you drive though?
>>1370830
good advice just found out about restores, great prices
>>1370838
not feeding 1 person more like 6 (i buy my sisters family food every week they have it bad)
>>1370839
not how housing works around here unfortunately where the fuck do you guys find houses that cheap?
>>1370841
25 im not bitching about more money im bitching about my failures to budget, yes i make more then you, i also work 70 hour weeks (+side jobs) im sleeping 4 hours tops a night and you want to raise my taxes because boo hoo i work at a store for a living, cmon. ps my pretax/pre deduction income is 65k so i pay what you make in taxes when you figure in all the extras here in the great white north

>> No.1371050

>>1371038
>where the fuck do you guys find houses that cheap?
Literally everywhere that isn't a population center.

>> No.1371052

>>1370552
>i cant figure out how to cut cost's
You can always eat cheaper, and its not even hard to do

>> No.1371110

>>1370552
budget
I don't, I have a good paying job.

>> No.1371111

>>1371018
Wow guys, you hear this? This guy has a lot of technical skills we don't have AND he can rebuild a throttle body. Wow, all I can say is wow man. Impressive.

Sorry that your blumpkin, 50 student a year high school didn't indoctrinate you that college was a necessity if we didn't want to become people like... Well frankly you. My graduating class was 450 people, in a city with five major high schools in my borough alone.

When you grow up in an apartment, with a broken home, and neither parent has anything, and all you know until you're 17 is school, you're God damn right kids are going to throw down tens of thousands of dollars. Because that's what we were taught lifts us out of this fucking hole. Fuck you for even holding that above someone's head.

$45k @ 21, unfurling believable. I can't wait for the revolution

>> No.1371138

>>1371111
op here i was also making about the same money at 21, didn't go to college i joined the military, whats your issue? did you blow your college tuition on photography or drama? yet we are the problem
i think his throttle body was just an example, personally ive gone to a mechanic once in my life because why the fuck would i spend my hard earned cash on a welfare queen like you

lemme guess you make 14$ an hour 37 hours a week, your in your late thirties and we should tax everyone that makes more then you 100% more because a man isn't allowed to provide for his children and family off the sweat of his brow he should provide for your poor life choices

i also cant wait for the revolution so that people like you starve to death

>> No.1371159

>>1371138
I'm 27, and you must not have head my example in regards to saturation. There are no jobs man, I live in a large city where thousands of people graduate annually and thousands of jobs are not created or open annually. It's simple math.

I went to school for business management, and I run a business. I fix my own vehicles (3) everytime they break.

Of course the wealthy should be taxed more. America is falling apart, our infrastructure is ignored, all while certain people and corporations aren't required to pay shit in taxes. I bust my fucking ass at work, and I bet you do too. Don't you fucking dare tell me my life choices were poor, when really what was poor was my family. I am doing my best and it's fucking people like you that are killing my generation and my country. Fuck you, fuck the system, and fuck this retard pissing away $45k/year while some of get by on a third of that.

>> No.1371164

>>1371159
i didn't grow up rich, i took my chances and failed a bunch made mistakes (more then i care to admit)
but why the fuck should i pay to defacto subsidize your business and lifestyle while your GREAT life choices brought you there (see what i did?) why the fuck cant you pay for your share of the roads, emergency services ect you clearly have enough money to buy 3 vehicles but not enough to move away to a less populated area to find a decent cost of living vs income ratio.
i have 2 vehicles (one work truck one car) and they are both way past their prime, the truck is literally on its last legs and my income depends on it. yet here you are making 15k a year with 3 vehicles and you want to take more money out of my pocket because "i cant live on theses slave wages"

>> No.1371167

>>1371159
also just did the math with the side jobs i work approx 80 hour weeks (including school full time every other week)
your saying you make approx 15k a year = approx 1100 hours at min wage
1100/52=approx 21 hours a week
you work so hard right
you bring it on yourself, you have a business that's nice you best be working a real job too

>> No.1371178

>>1370582
>Wife
There's your problem

>> No.1371199

>>1371164
It is not MY business, I run the business. I make $25k/annually to be clear. I have two small trucks, and a summer car for better gas milage, and we switch one of the truck insurance policies to the car. Infrastructure is a lot more than just roads you know. I'm discussing things like efficienct public transportation, properly trained police personnel, better public schooling, and poverty assistance. All of the funding for all of these programs could have been achieved for the cost of that piss waste of money that was a missle strike in Syria just a few days ago. You're a fucking idiot to think I am trying to take money out of YOUR pocket, and not Jeff Bezos, or Elon Musk, or any of those other tax dodgers taking in BILLIONS.

>>1371167
You don't fucking know me or my life. I worked overnights, full time while going to a private university. I have worked two jobs since getting out of college and even while working full time as a store manager, work for a foreclosure clean out service. Don't you ever tell someone else they don't work hard, because you don't know where they are from or what they have been through.

>> No.1371215

>>1371199
elon musk creates over 30k jobs (well paying jobs) in the us alone and you want to take more money out of his pocket. why wouldn't he move those jobs to India?
also you are fucking lazy, you think people owe you something you cry about working two jobs and making 25k a year yet the math don't add up
people on minimum wage make more then you and your apparently university educated in business none the less PS it doesn't count as working two jobs if you don't clock 20 hours a week
also again on the poor life choices you own 2 trucks and a car why exactly, vehicles belong to the middle class + and those who require one for work you don't fall in that category who told you that you deserve to live comfortably doing work designed for high school student

>> No.1371216

>>1371199
There aren't enough rich people to pay for large programs. The majority of taxes willl always be paid for by the 99%.

The problem is the inefficiency and the market disortion caused by government programs and regulations.

>> No.1371247

>>1370552
Your housing budget is WAY too high.
Any lender that let you buy a house for that should be reported and investigated.
If you are renting you are stupid.
I make about half as much as you and I own a 2 bedroom 1 bath lot and a half for under $400 a month and pre-qualified qualified for $60k.
Cut your housing.
I hope you are a family of 4 because your food budget corresponds to that.

>> No.1371575

>>1371138
/thread

>> No.1371577

>>1371199
I'm noticing a lot of spite towards those who are more successful than you...
Theft is good as long as you're the one stealing, amirite?

>> No.1371592

>>1370841
Maybe find a job besides managing a goodwill and calm your cranky ass down?

>> No.1371594

>>1371018
Man, having a lift and 4 carbeurated shitboxes is truly a blessing.

Pay for parts. Cuss for a coupke hours. Save $2,000 transmission job or whatever.

>> No.1371597

>>1371111
Wasting quads on a shitpost....

Fucking calm yourself faggot. Had 26 in my graduating class and at 45 i am STILL driving my first truck i got in highschool for a daily.

He wasn't bragging. Those are necessary skills to live a comfortable living on sub $14hr wages.

$12 an hour around here isn't terrible. Deer and hog hunting and shit is a hobby that pays well in saved groceries. Gardening pisses me off but i swear i make a 55 gallon drum of salsa a year and sell it.

A new carb for my truck is $700. For under $100 i can replace anything on it.

The big city life nickle and dimeing you is why mutherfuckers make 50k and can't buy a house or a descent car.

Sucks you had a shitty upbringing. And grats on btfo student loans quickly.

You should study personal finance and investing though. College really is a meme.

>> No.1371602

>>1371199
ANON! ANYTHING that you descide to keep had best be double bagged and tossed in a deep freeze for a week.

Don't want a tv infesting your house with roaches like i did when i was a kid...

>> No.1371604

>>1371577
Mfw broke 40k at $11hr.

#noexcuses

>> No.1371653

>>1371597
>College really is a meme.
If you want to be anything other than an engineer, doctor, or lawyer. And that's just because of licensing requirements.
Expensive college is absolutely a meme, no matter the degree. If your parents can afford a meme school, then they already have the connection that make the meme school unnecessary or they're retarded niggers and think prestige is worth pissing a way a few dozen thousand dollars.

>> No.1373107

>>1371653
this so hard

>> No.1373148

Wow this thread became the cock size olympics, didn't it.

OP, I hear you on housing costs but have you considered any ways to offset those? If single, you could get a flatmate, or move into shared accommodation.

Also look into whether a mortgage would be cheaper than rent. Sometimes it can be. A deposit would be a problem, but it might give you a goal for the next year or two that will save you a bunch long term.

>> No.1373162

>>1370552
Not pay credit card interest is almost like making it...

>> No.1373419

>>1373148
married with kid also have mortgage
>>1373162
only outstanding monies is the mortgage and a water heater rental

i need to put aside like 20k to get my own "company" booted up and i want to owe less then i already do hence the side jobs. im just having a hard time being like imma spend 100$ a month on x or y its a foreign concept to me.
how do you guys arbitrarily decide how much you spend on food or fun or vehicle maintenance

>> No.1373462

>>1370552
Get a roommate
Tell your sister to feed her own fucking family

Just saved you about $1000/month

>> No.1373465

>>1370552
https://yendieu.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/the-complete-idiots-guide-to-personal-finance-in-your-20s-and-30s.pdf

will poorfags ever understand basic finance

>> No.1373478

>>1373419
>how do you guys arbitrarily decide how much you spend on food or fun or vehicle maintenance
I don't. I just spend what things cost with an emphasis on cost effectiveness, and avoid luxuries.
Percentages and flat amounts are for allotting an acceptable amount of luxury.

>> No.1373489

>>1373419
Is this combined income then?

>> No.1373491

>>1373462
Know anyone who wants to live in a house with kids? Like a up every 2 hour kid

>> No.1373495

>>1373489
Yes and no, wife isn't working due to still recovering from her emergency c section

>> No.1373509

>>1371159
>I live in a large city
>There are no jobs
Holy fuck what a retarded statement. You seriously typed that with a straight face to a guy living rural? I could go to pretty much any city and get a job in a day, whereas there won't be ANY jobs out in the countryside for months at a time.
Cry make a fucking river you blubbering little bitch rather than blaming people more skilled(read: Better) than you getting high skilled jobs. If I was an employer I'd avoid someone with a dogshit attitude such as yours like the plague.

>> No.1375467 [DELETED] 

>>1371038
how the hell are you getting your taxation rate like that in the land of the free?

Also how rural? None of these numbers make sense. My understanding of the real world number might be off Oil and Gas area, but it seems like you are fudging a ton of stuff.