So let's get one thing clear:
I do not like numbers. I do not like them here or there, I do not like them anywhere.
And yet here I find myself having to manage them. True, it's a little more appealing when I get a reward in the form of stuff I can buy when I do it right, but still, I have little clue on how to manage my finances correctly.
But what needs to be done needs to be done.
So I find myself devising evil plans on how to work it out. Up 'till now, it's basically been spending directly out of my debit card, writing it down and keeping track and always knowing how much I have. While this did not make me crash and burn (even though an expected income did not come as expected, which made me "grrr", and reach out to my Israel account which I hoped I wouldn't have to do), I don't think it's the wisest.
The basic plan now is to try using different plans until I find one that works for me and makes me save money :)
The first idea I had, which I'm going to try applying this month, is to take out 50 shining euros in cash out every Monday and use them for my regular expenses (beer & groceries, mainly). This isn't a lot of money (a lunch out, for example, might make me go over budget) and I might have to add a bit, but we'll give it a go and see. Every thing I buy which isn't for my hand-to-mouth consumption (for example, my visit to IKEA on Sunday goes into this category. So would a new pair of pants) will go off my PIN card and kept track of.
With my salary (once I finally get it! grrr) and my regular expenses (rent, gas&electricity, a neat 18-euro-a-month cinema membership, gym membership, etc) - if this plan works out, it could leave me no less than 800 euros a month for the irregular expenses (IKEA, pants). And since I'm not much of a consumer (or at least, try not to be) I hope I can put a lot of money aside for traveling and savings this way.
I would really appreciate any comments on this. Especially tips on how to improve or how to keep track. I really suck at this sort of thing, and so I really hope this works out well.
