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| (Image from LifeHopeandTruth) |
These blog posts with the 'header' titles, "My Point Of View On," Parts 1 - 26, are originally from my "Paul Whiting — Math Magician" blog, which is my blog with the fewest posts. So, I decided to not group posts in this series with similar topics from that blog (unlike the blog post series with similar topics from my other blogs, which I republished on my "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blog), because I wanted this series of posts in their chronological order, representing the way they were originally published.
My Point Of View On...
Budgeting
My Point Of View No. 1: If possible, maintain a monthly budget with your bills listed by due date, so that you can reconcile the monthly bills that you have outstanding with how much money that you have in your checking account; that way, you know exactly how much money that you have to spend—without ever spending more money than you have, or overdrafting your checking account! (I maintain handwritten monthly budgets on 100% recycled note paper, so that I know where every penny that I spend is going.)
My Point Of View No. 2: If possible, maintain a "savings pad" in your checking account in order to prevent any overdrafts due to unexpected transactions. I keep extra money in my checking account as a "savings pad," which, in part, is available for me to keep in my checking account from the money that I have set aside on a regular basis due to what I have saved while I am spending money (such as savings from discounts), which I keep track of as I am saving it! Therefore, I am able to utilize these "spending savings"—which adds up to hundreds of dollars over an entire year—on future purchases and unexpected expenses.
My Point Of View No. 3: If possible, set aside any surplus funds from your monthly budget and then save those surplus funds for later use, such as future purchases, or unexpected expenses. I keep extra money in my checking account as a "savings pad," which, in part, is available for me to keep in my checking account due to what I saved from surplus funds in my monthly budget that I did not spend.
My Point Of View No. 4: If possible, set aside your "spending savings" in your monthly budget from coupons, discounts from stores, and discounts from other businesses, etc. Then, save that 'spending savings' for later use. As an example, if I buy an item on sale for $20.00, that was regularly $25.00, I set aside the $5.00 that I saved, in my monthly budget, as if I spent that money since—if I hadn't received a discount—I would have spent that money! Thus, I do this on most of my purchases that are discounted, by setting aside the money that I would have spent, as if I had spent that money. And the first full year that I set aside my 'spending savings' in my monthly budget, I saved over $900.00 in only twelve months! Also, to clarify, I only track what I have saved on discounted purchases that I made with my debit card, in order to set aside those funds in my monthly budget, and not with discounted purchases that I made with cash or credit. Otherwise, I feel that it would be too difficult to set aside funds on purchases that were discounted for which I paid in cash or credit. And, to clarify even further, I only track what I have saved at a store if that store lists the amount that I have saved on the receipt. Otherwise, I feel that it would be too difficult to track discounts on purchases where the store does not list discounts on the receipt. And, to clarify one final thing, I track other discounts from businesses that I also set aside in my monthly budget, such as discounts on my subscriptions to news outlets, or discounts on my monthly cell phone service!
My Point Of View No. 5: If possible, set up all of your monthly payments to be deducted automatically in order to make sure that you never, ever miss a monthly payment—and so you that do not incur any late fees.
My Point Of View No. 6: If possible, deposit money each month into your savings account in order to be prepared for any unexpected expenses and/or to prepare for retirement.
My Point Of View No. 7: If possible, set aside "carrying cash" each month for any expenses which you may wish to pay for in cash. Then, save your unused "carrying cash" at the end of the month for later use in future months. I also keep "carrying cash" in order to help homeless folks who are panhandling, or 'spanging'—which I have budgeted for specifically—as a way of giving "alms to the poor!"
-Paul Whiting
(a.k.a., A Creative Writer)
"I maybe say too much about how life really is!"
My Writing About Tracking My "Discount Savings" In My Monthly Budget: I track how much I save from discounts on purchases in my monthly budget! You see, beginning in the year 2016, I started to set aside my 'discount savings' in my monthly budget from coupons, discounts from stores, and discounts from other businesses, etc. Then, I saved those 'discount savings' for later use. And the reason that I decided to start doing this is because I couldn't figure why I did not have any money left over at the end of each month, even though I was always really careful about purchasing whatever I needed to buy when it was on sale—as much as possible. Then, I realized that I wasn't keeping track of how much I was saving when I bought items on sale in order to save money! Therefore, that is why I decided to start setting aside what I saved from any discounts on purchases in my monthly budget. As an example, if I buy an item on sale for $20.00, that was regularly $25.00, I set aside the $5.00 that I saved, in my monthly budget, as if I spent that money because—if I hadn't received a discount—I would have spent that money anyway! Thus, I do this on purchases that are discounted, by setting aside the money that I would have spent, as if I had spent that money. And the first full year that I set aside my 'discount savings' in my monthly budget, which was 2017, I saved over $900.00! Also, to clarify, I only track what I have saved on discounted purchases that I made with my debit card, in order to set aside those funds in my monthly budget, and not with discounted purchases that I made with cash or credit. Otherwise, I feel that it would be too difficult to set aside funds on purchases that were discounted for which I paid in cash or credit. And, to clarify even further, I only track what I have saved at a store if that store lists the amount that I have saved on the receipt. Otherwise, I feel that it would be too difficult to track discounts on purchases where the store does not list discounts on the receipt. (I actually used to go back through a store and write down on my receipt how much I saved on each item if the store didn't list the savings on my receipt, but it was kind of a hassle to do so. That's why I only track what I save at a store if they list my savings on the receipt.) And, as I mentioned above, I also track other discounts from businesses that I set aside in my monthly budget, such as discounts on my subscriptions to news organizations, or discounts on my monthly cell phone service! –Paul Whiting (written originally sometime after 2017, then turned into a quote on July 11th, 2022, revised July 13th, 2022, revised August 31st, 2023 and revised June 26th, 2024)
My Writing Notes:
The reason that I wrote this prose can be summed up with the following statement: I micromanage my finances in order to know how much I have to spend each month—and also so that I know where every penny that I spend is going!
And this prose was also published on my "Paul Whiting — Math Magician" blog (please see the hyperlink below for the blog), since I feel that the message in this prose applies to the message I am trying to convey through "Paul Whiting — Math Magician."
This prose was written in Portland, Oregon.
-Paulee
https://paulwhitingmath.blogspot.com
May 11th, 2015 Update [My Writing About Taking Care Of My Own Needs First And Then Donating To Charity]: I spend what I can afford to spend on charitable donations while still being able to afford to take care of my day-to-day needs. (The reader should know that I am HIV-positive with full-blown AIDS. And I am on Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI, so my income is quite limited.) Thus, I would not make charitable donations if I was not able to take care of my day-to-day needs, since I believe in taking care of your own needs first and helping others second—that is, if it is possible and desirable for you to help others. Plus, I personally believe in wisely accepting charity, or assistance, if it is really needed; but, I also personally believe in not accepting charity, or assistance, if it is not really needed. For example, I qualify for assistance to help pay my monthly electric bills, but I don't apply for that assistance, since I don't feel like I really need it. However, if I felt like I really needed that assistance in order to help pay my electric bills, I would definitely apply for it! Therefore, I feel that you should give charity if possible, and accept charity if needed, if that feels right to you. –Paul Whiting (written approximately on May 11th, 2015, then turned into 'my writing' from my notes on July 20th, 2022, then turned into an update from the aforementioned writing on July 25th, 2022, revised April 17th, 2023 and revised August 9th, 2024)
December 26th, 2015 Update: I budget for "carrying cash" each month in my monthly budgets for any expenses that I may wish to pay for in cash. And I budget—specifically—to use some of my carrying cash to help homeless folks who are panhandling, or "spanging" (which is a term that is a blend of the word 'spare' plus the word 'change' from the phrase, "Do you have any spare change?" or the phrase, "Can you spare any change?") and that is how I give "alms to the poor." –Paul Whiting (written December 26th, 2015, revised September 24th, 2019, revised December 23rd, 2021, revised December 24th, 2021, revised December 25th, 2021, revised December 26th, 2021 and revised July 6th, 2022)
July 18th, 2016 Update: If possible, get out of credit card debt and utilize the money that you save on minimum payments and interest for other purchases. I am out of debt as of January 2016! And I use the money that I save from minimum payments and interest for other purchases, such as charitable donations. –Paul Whiting (written July 18th, 2016, revised October 24th, 2021 and revised June 18th, 2022)
April 14th, 2018 Update: I decided to allow myself to use my available credit card line for when I need to purchase things that I do not want to purchase using my debit card or cash (such as items that I buy on sale), so that I can "buy now and pay later..." And, therefore, I am back into debt as of January 2017! However, I try to be as wise as I can be when utilizing credit; for example, I try to only purchase "non-consumable," or "non-perishable" items (like clothes, home furnishings, appliances, etc.), when I charge purchases to a credit card. That way, I am only paying interest on purchases that are going to be around for a while, rather than paying interest on purchases that I will simply consume immediately. Also, as of March 2018, I am budgeting to pay more than my minimum payment on each of my credit cards. That way, if I totally max out my credit line, I can still afford to pay the minimum payment on each of my credit cards, plus pay additional payments on each card in order to help pay off the principle balance. –Paul Whiting (written April 14th, 2018, revised April 21st, 2018, revised December 26th, 2019 and revised June 18th, 2022)
September 6th, 2018 Update: So, I was totally out of credit card debt (as of January 2016) and, then, I decided to allow myself to utilize my credit line! So, I am back into credit card debt, as of January 2017; however, I am trying to control my spending. Plus, I am making extra payments on my credit card debt in order to pay down the principle balance. In addition to that, when I charge purchases to my credit line, I try to make sure that I am only charging items that are '"not consumable." That way, I am only paying interest on purchases that will last a long time! And, then, if I do buy something "consumable" (such as food that is on sale, which I am buying in bulk in order to save money), then I charge that to a specific credit card which I have designated to not carry the balance of all those "non-consumable" purchases! And, consequently, I pay off that specially-designated credit card as quickly as I can, once I have made those consumable purchases... –Paul Whiting (written September 6th, 2018, revised October 19th, 2018, revised December 26th, 2019 and revised June 18th, 2022)
December 26th, 2019 Update: I decided to totally get out of credit card debt (again) as of December 2019—since I was almost at my credit card limit on the one credit card that I have available. (I used to have two credit cards, but I cancelled one of them.) And I realized that it was going to take too long to pay off that debt with just the minimum payment and one extra payment that I was making—due to still making occasional purchases, which would put my total balance back up toward my credit limit. So, I decided to throw everything that I had at the balance on my credit card and I paid it off! Now, I am trying to only use my credit card for really important purchases; plus, I am trying to treat my credit card as if I am getting a term loan from a bank! –Paul Whiting (written December 26th, 2019 and revised October 24th, 2021 and revised June 18th, 2022)
This "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Post No. 280 was edited on August 9th, 2024.
"Prose is using all of the words that are necessary in order to describe all that is necessary to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]
