Tuesday, June 14, 2016

New Developments in Life

My new cash system wallet from Savvycents!
Ok, lets talk about the elephant in the room. I know I have not written a blog post in a while. There have been some new developments in my life. First and foremost is the fact that I am leaving the job that I have been in for the past eight years. I will still be working for the same university, but in a different department.

This is a big step for me because I enjoy my job and the people that I work with. I also am the kind of person that likes predictability. So, stepping out of my comfort zone is a bit of a scary step, but I am taking it! This move has been very exciting yet sad at the same time and I am still trying to work out the emotions. 

Also, I am still trying to plan my novel. Camp NaNoWriMo is occurring again in July and I will try to take that opportunity to work some things out. However, I start my new position at the end of June, so getting into the new routine of a new job may mess that up, but I gotta try.

Along with this transition into a new job, my employer has decided to switch from bi-monthly paychecks to bi-weekly paychecks. I had bi-weekly paycheck in all of the other jobs that I had, but I've been in this position for eight years and I'm used to getting paid twice a month. I just need to get used to a new system and budget a little differently. 

Some of you may be asking 'Well, why is that a big deal. You're still getting paid the same amount of money". Switching from a 24 paycheck system to a 26 paycheck system means that I will be bringing home less money each month, except for the two months out of the year where I will get three paychecks instead of two. However, I will be getting paid more frequently. 

If I were staying in my current position, I would be bringing home about $130 less most months than what I've been used to. That's a big chunk of dough. With my new position, which come with a pretty decent raise, I should be bringing home about $130 more most months. Every little bit helps. 

Since I am trying to get used to a new pay system, I've needed to adjust my budgets. I have also decided to move more to what is known as the 'cash system' or the 'envelope system'.  

If you are not familiar with Dave Ramsey, he is a financial consultant who urges people to pay with cash instead of credit. His followers use a system of envelopes to set aside money for their expenses. For example: If I had $500 to use for my expenses, I would set aside $100 for groceries, $100 for clothes, $100 for personal products, $100 for restaurants, and $100 for gas. I would also not deviate from that budget. Now, keep in mind that that is just a very basic example and you can tailor your budget and envelope system to your own needs.  

Previously, I've not carried around a lot of cash. As a previous bank teller, I know that if you carry cash and someone steals your wallet there is no getting that money back, as opposed to carrying debit cards which are secured and can be deactivated. I would write out my budget and still use my card to make most purchases then deduct what I've spent. 

Now, I'm moving more to the cash system. This wallet from Savvycents is designed from the Dave Ramsey system. It has little dividers so you can budget your money for your expenses. I am hoping that using this system will make it easier for me to budget and prevent overspending. 

So far, I really like this wallet. It's really cute and the dividers for cash is super helpful. I would recommend checking it out on Amazon. (The cost is $29 plus shipping.)

Have you had to switch from a 24 to a 26 pay system, or from a weekly to bi-weekly? How did it affect your budget and what did you do to compensate? I would love some new ideas!