Ask:
Were do you pull money for misc. items, like kids clothes and shoes, glasses or contacts. DH says we should take a certain amount every month and put in savings and just use that. I usually shop at Kohls', buy what I need and then just pay off the bill when it comes in. But I need to figure out a better way. How do you do this. Thanks
Answer:
I know a lot of people put a medical category in their budget such as glasses, etc. You could also budget a clothing allowance. I like dh's idea of taking out a certain amount each month and using it as you need it. That way if it ends up you don't need it, its still in savings. Bonus.
I'm sure some ladies will have better answers as I don't run a very tight budget per se.
Answer:
we have a medical category and a clothing category, we set aside a certain amount of money for those, we rarely spend the clothing allowance for the month so we just let it add up and then move it to our vacation fund.
Answer:
I don't use categories, just have money left after bills to cover everything, whether it be food, clothes, whatnot. I know I need to do a better budget, but it works for us.
Answer:
i set aside several hundred dollars from my tax return to cover clothes ect for spring and summer. then my dh gets a bonus check in july i use that for winter and fall.
Answer:
After I pay bills I take out 400 for food. IF their is anyting left that is what I have for clothes and new glasses that sort of thing. He worst part is that their is never anyting left. As a mtter of fact it has gotten to to the point to where I just take out the 400 and then pay as many bill as I can. I dont care if the creditors call my children need food first.
Answer:
I don't have a specific category or allotment for items like that. Because we are only buying what we really need, and save the rest of the money, there is always some if we really need something.
Answer:
We have tried allocating and creating a "fund" for certain things, but it hasn't worked out very well for us. We have a zero interest cc we use and try to pay off each month for those type things. Then it's pretty much same as cash, but it's more readily available. I definitely don't encourage more cc use but in this case it works out.