Mark, I also like the idea of putting the money toward the principle, but for different reasons. Whenever I've tried to do similar activity with my investments--I'll accumulate it in Savings throughout the year, and then buy my investments in one big lump, usually, I don't have as much in Savings as I had initially planned to invest, and this is because I am not really committed to the investment, and I don't have the discipline to follow through. With a large balance in my Savings, the temptation is strong to buy that new techno-toy, rather than continuing to save the money for investments. Buying the investments throughout the year, or in your case, paying off your car loan, you're really committed, and there's no going back. You have to make decisions with the money you have left over.
Blair On Dec 23, 2008, at 10:00 PM, mhadja...@gmail.com wrote: > > I'd like the debt to be paid off a lot sooner. I could have the option > of putting 50 dollars per month into a savings account and once i > reach my loan payoff, I could just pay it in one check. However, I > choose to pay the 50 per month towards principle payments to save on > interest payments. If I can save 5-10 dollars per month in interest, > over a 5 yr loan, that's extra money to do something else with it. > > Maybe I should average my monthly payments and make the average my > 'spending plan' for the car payment? > > > > On Dec 23, 7:45 pm, Blair Watkinson <thewatkins...@mac.com> wrote: >> Mark, >> >> The only caveat I would add is that perhaps you shouldn't just plan >> your minimum payment as your Spending Plan amount. >> >> Rather, take a different approach--when do you want the debt paid >> off? What will you have to pay each month to make that happen? Can >> you make the sacrifices to achieve that goal? Balance your >> sacrifices >> and your debt pay-off goals, and prescribe that as the minimum amount >> in MoneyWell. >> >> I have found that when I don't plan for an expense (like Savings), >> and >> just put away "what's left over," I don't have anything left over. >> Money, like other things in life, is a limited resource with many >> demands on it. If we're not deliberate about how to use it, we will >> find that we are using it in a way that we would not have planned had >> we taken a more deliberate approach (I really wanted to pay off my >> Car >> loan, but I didn't set the money aside, and instead went out to eat >> 25 >> out of 30 nights this month). Therefore, my spending plan needs to >> be >> a reflection of my priorities--if eliminating debt is a priority, >> plan >> for that, and don't do it as an after-thought. >> >> Now, you can still catch additional money on the back-side of the >> month as well--if you have money left over. But, I'd encourage you >> to >> deliberately plan an amount that meets your goals and is doable >> within >> your personal lifestyle, sacrifices, etc, when dealing with the >> limited commodity that money is. >> >> Blair >> >> On Dec 23, 2008, at 7:33 AM, Jaysen wrote: >> >> >> >>> Budget your minimum payment including interest (the $200). You can >>> still pay more, but it will need to come from your surplus. The idea >>> with MoneyWell is to let you control expenses and show you where you >>> are (sorry if that is slightly off Kevin). You can always spend >>> more, >>> but you will need to "steal from Peter to pay Paul" and MoneyWell >>> will >>> let you. Here is how. >> >>> 1. Do your spending plan >>> 2. Allocate income >>> 3. Over spend in a bucket (over pay your loan) >>> 4. Find a bucket that has "extra" allocation right now. >>> 5. "Flow" money from that bucket into the over spent. Easiest way to >>> so drag the source bucket to the destination bucket. >>> 6. Indicate how much you are moving from bucket A to bucket B then >>> hit >>> add. >> >>> Presto. Instant balancing of the flow. >> >>> Hope that helps. >> >>> Jaysen >> >>> On Dec 23, 12:07 am, "mhadja...@gmail.com" <mhadja...@gmail.com> >>> wrote: >>>> I was messing around with iBank and it seems to do what I want, >>>> however, I'm still willing to give MW a shot till the end of the >>>> week. >> >>>> What I want to know is my principle balance on the car. I don't >>>> need >>>> it down to the exact dollar, as this amount will change on a daily >>>> basis since that's how interest is calculated with this loan. >>>> However, >>>> I would like it to be more ballpark. So updating it once a month is >>>> sufficient. >> >>>> My starting balance is a -xx,xxx >> >>>> So what your saying is, when you make the payment, you move X >>>> dollars >>>> from your checking into your car loan bucket. Since I pay mine >>>> differently each month, I can't really budget for this, or can >>>> I? I >>>> have to make at least (eg, $350.00) - anything more goes towards >>>> principle like I said. So should I set my budget for 350, or >>>> should I >>>> make it lets say double this amount? Most likely I don't plan on >>>> making more than double payments. >> >>>> Then when you receive your next months statement, you update the >>>> interest and principle (doing a split transaction) ? >> >>>> I'll try that out as i'm doing something close to it, but mine >>>> seems >>>> to involve a few more steps. >> >>>> Mark >> >>>> On Dec 22, 11:41 pm, The Watkinson Family <thewatkins...@mac.com> >>>> wrote: >> >>>>> Hi, Mark, >> >>>>> I take a different approach to loans than the others that have >>>>> responded. I like that MoneyWell helps me spend only the money >>>>> that I >>>>> have by allocating it to specific purposes. However, as your >>>>> example >>>>> demonstrates, finance software should do more than that. I refuse >>>>> to >>>>> keep two money softwares to track overall net worth as well as >>>>> keep >>>>> spending under control, and I have found that MoneyWell will >>>>> actually >>>>> do both. >> >>>>> Consider the fact that both your interest payment as well as the >>>>> principal payment are Car Loan expenses. >> >>>>> Here's what I do. When I first pay the bill every month, I don't >>>>> know >>>>> how much I am paying towards interest and how much towards >>>>> principal... I'm just paying the bill. I create this expense as a >>>>> single transfer from my Checking account to my Car loan >>>>> account. I >>>>> put this transfer in the Car Loan bucket. >> >>>>> Later, when I receive my loan statement, or look at it on-line, I >>>>> can >>>>> see how much of my payment was for interest and how much was for >>>>> principal. >> >>>>> I edit the original transaction, creating a split. I put >>>>> "Interest" >>>>> and "Principal" in the memo of the two split items. The >>>>> "Interest" >>>>> item should not be a transfer, but it should be assigned to the >>>>> Car >>>>> Loan bucket. "Principal" should be a transfer from Checking to >>>>> Car >>>>> loan, and it should also be assigned to your Car Loan bucket. >> >>>>> This way, your Car loan account will show approximately what you >>>>> owe >>>>> on your car loan as far as the principal is concerned (of course >>>>> this >>>>> amount changes every day), and you will be able to track your >>>>> spending >>>>> with buckets, as well. >> >>>>> Hope this helps. Please let me know if you need further detail. >> >>>>> Grace to you, >>>>> Blair >> >>>>> On Dec 22, 2008, at 10:08 PM, mhadja...@gmail.com wrote: >> >>>>>> My monthly payment from the bank is lets say 200 bucks. Each >>>>>> month, I >>>>>> pay a different amount, sometimes 225, sometimes 250, sometimes >>>>>> even >>>>>> 300. Now any extra over the 200 goes towards principle. >> >>>>>> So I can't track a steady cash flow because depending on how much >>>>>> extra money I have left is what I put in towards the car payment. >> >>>>>> So my 60 month loan should be paid off within 48 months >>>>>> hopefully. >>>>>> Which makes having to do more work in MW to see my remaining loan >>>>>> balance as well as track cash flow. >> >>>>>> Mark >> >>>>>> On Dec 22, 9:59 am, Kevin Hoctor <ke...@nothirst.com> wrote: >>>>>>> On Dec 21, 2008, at 7:01 PM, mhadja...@gmail.com wrote: >> >>>>>>>> Maybe i'm missing something, but my interest goes down each >>>>>>>> payment as >>>>>>>> I'm paying more towards principle. It also changes depending on >>>>>>>> how >>>>>>>> many days sooner my payment clears. The reason for tracking >>>>>>>> is to >>>>>>>> see >>>>>>>> how much money is leaving my checking account each month, as >>>>>>>> well as >>>>>>>> the remaining principle left to pay my auto loan. >> >>>>>>>> When I receive my statement, it tells me the prior months >>>>>>>> interest >>>>>>>> payment, which I tack on to the remaining auto loan balance. So >>>>>>>> the >>>>>>>> actual amount owed for my vehicle isn't exact, but its within >>>>>>>> 100 >>>>>>>> bucks typically. >> >>>>>>> But your loan payments are the same all the time, correct? And >>>>>>> this >>>>>>> is >>>>>>> what comes out of your checking account each month so this is >>>>>>> what >>>>>>> you >>>>>>> are trying to track to control cash flow, right? >> >>>>>>> What I am saying is, tracking the principal and interest is fine >>>>>>> but >>>>>>> excessive work because you are not affecting it unless you >>>>>>> decide to >>>>>>> pay more than you calculated loan payment. If you are going to >>>>>>> do >>>>>>> that, then you still will have a static amount going to your >>>>>>> loan >>>>>>> each >>>>>>> month and you just have to check with the bank to see what you >>>>>>> balance >>>>>>> is prior to your last payment because it will get paid off >>>>>>> early. >> >>>>>>>> I'm trying to learn this program and use it to my advantage, >>>>>>>> but I >>>>>>>> feel like i'm struggling more to figure this out and having to >>>>>>>> hold >>>>>>>> back from a lot of the 2.0 features. >> >>>>>>> MoneyWell 2.0 will have some great additions but the core >>>>>>> process of >>>>>>> managing your cash flow better is already in place. If this is >>>>>>> what >>>>>>> you're trying to accomplish or you just enjoy a cleaner register >>>>>>> manager, then MoneyWell 1.4 should be helpful. >> >>>>>>> Peace, >> >>>>>>> Kevin Hoctor >>>>>>> ke...@nothirst.com >>>>>>> No Thirst Software LLChttp://nothirst.comhttp:// >>>>>>> kevinhoctor.blogspot.com > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "No Thirst Software User Forum" group. To post to this group, send email to no-thirst-software@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to no-thirst-software+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/no-thirst-software?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
