BBP Real Life Budget - Single Mom + Financial Goals + Budget Tips

[@krmh75]

Been a single mom for my girls lives... the most I've brought home, including child support and my wages, was around 2500 a month. While I love these videos it can seem daunting for those of us in the lower middle class (i make around 35k a year). Too much for help but living paycheck to paycheck (hence why I'm on this journey). Thank you

[@jenniferleigh1674]

Same. Its tiring but Im trying!! These videos help me stick to my budget though and stay focused.

[@futurefunz5870]

I agree , I think if you are going to do a single mom budget video keep it real

[@melissaj3331]

I would love to see more budget tips from you regarding saving money on groceries, making things work on one income, things you cut from your budget to pay down the debt you owed. You have such incredibly valuable information - love your videos so much. They really Inspire me!! 💜

[@tspacefullstop4161]

This one hit home for me, 5 years ago I was faced with the same decrease in income, losing my family payment once my son turned 18. It took a hard turn towards bankruptcy the following year..I was unprepared and treading water with no land in sight..it seemed. I wish I had known about you 5 years...or even earlier. Hindsight is great isn't it? Anyway...now I am on my financial journey with your help and I am so grateful.

[@luv2cook5]

Hi miko can you please do a budget on someone thst makes 2,000 a month?

[@nancyval325]

When my husband passed away 2 years ago, I was drowning. we weren't married long enough for me to collect social security benefits and we didnt have kids. He had a six figure income, i was dependent on him but I had a degree and started working 6 months before he passed. My life changed over night and I needed to increase my income, and even when I did it was still half of what he made so I had to downgrade my home and lifestyle. Learning to budget was hard for me! But thank God I have managed and watch these videos to improve.

[@ihama99]

God Bless You

[@joana04]

Ty. I felt a connection here as I am also a single parent of 3 who lost my husband almost 2 years ago. Needed some tips on my finance goals for now and future needs of my children 💕💕💕

[@ashleynovi]

Your such an inspiration to so many don’t let the little negativity get u down. I look up to u and am so excited to finally start my financial journey by following ur methods. I’ve tried so many times but nothing ever worked until I found your channel!

[@thebudgetmom]

Thank you so much!

[@briangonsalez2173]

Me too! Nothing ever worked until I found the budget mom! Thank you Miko!

[@WithLoveShante81]

You are such an inspiration.. and after the day Ryen took over your IG and you shared the story .. I felt you were even more of an inspiration. I do not have kids, but I am single .. being single you do fully for yourself...(financially) I use your methods to fit my lifestyle and I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart ❤️

[@stevedoria2996]

Watching these Budget By Paycheck videos really help clarify how to organize my finances! thank you.

[@cspann33]

Same!! I prefer TBM method or organizing money.

[@LaToyaPlansLife]

I love these videos! I wish you would pick one of these videos to go back and do a close out for the month so we could see the entire process from start to finish. Just a thought...

[@lizondec4550]

It definitely helps looking where your money goes! I quickly realized I was spending a lot more than what I was making! It was an eye opener! But I’m getting better at saving now! Thank you 😊

[@crystalburgamy7876]

This was one of the most helpful budgeting videos that I've ever seen. I'm still new to the TBM way of budgeting but I can definitely see how this could help me. Thank you for sharing this Kumiko and for keeping it "user friendly."

[@brireid8064]

Could you do a budget that range between $700-$850 I would really be interested in how you would budget with that income range?

[@thebudgetmom]

That amount for the month?

[@brireid8064]

The Budget Mom $750 biweekly

[@brireid8064]

The Budget Mom just sent my info to your email

[@craftclutter]

Love the paycheck method, you have changed me so much and I'm so grateful. Don't let the nasty comments bother you, there are so many more of us that adore what you project and teach. Don't stop being you, stay strong xx

[@moniquemc4553]

I don’t know why I was lucky enough to stumble across your channel.. But heck yeah! I’m a new subscriber. This was great. Very mindful and thoughtful advice and very well spoken.

[@dianjohnson1]

I can’t wait to preorder my bbp planner!

[@meganwagner7914]

Miko I recently found your channel and WOW. I’m obsessed to say that least. Finding your channel has also made me follow other great youtubers with similar, financial content. Thank you 💜

[@mai_world]

Holy Budget By Paycheck! How have I not been able to get this ALL the other times you explained this? Going back to our budget. Thanks you, Miko!

[@JustineCarissa]

I like this series where you break down other real life budgets. Please keep making more!

[@Currentlywearing1]

Thank you for sharing! I love your channel because you are normal and relatable 😘

[@sarahwilson9213]

So helpful! I think it’s so important to pay debt and save. I look at debt as what happened and savings as what gonna happen.

[@arthrodea]

The $300 "Beauty" category seems a little high. If you want to have $30,000 down payment in 8 years, that requires saving $30,000 divided by 8 yrs = $3,750 a year. $3,750 divided by 12 months = $312.50. So you need to save about $312 per month to reach your goal. If your spending $300 a month on beauty, you're prioritizing that over a new house. Which is totally fine, but realize the decision being made. Also, $60 twice a month on "Fresh Patch" which is a rectangle of fresh grass for a dog to pee on? That seems like it could potentially be cut out. Cut back a little on Fast Food. A little off the groceries. A little off Miscellaneous. Her goal of saving $312 a month over 8 years is doable!

[@akinea101]

I love seeing how things progress over a month or two

[@nicolelink2419]

I think it is amazing that you are doing these new kind of videos !

[@Lucy1ROCK]

could you please do a real life current budget during this pandemic with a person who's not working and receiving unemployment? im curious to see that

[@lgregory3131]

Great idea!!!

[@peacebeteal]

I love your single mom budgets because I can definitely relate.

[@molina616]

Have you done a video for people who don't earn salary? I'm paid per session. I kind of want tips on what to pay at what time, how to budget for the lowest amount, how to stay on top of payments when pay isn't consistently the same amount, and what I should prioritize when I may earn more or less in a month. I'm overwhelmed because I am going from making 850/900 per month to 5500-6000 but with COVID it isn't always consistent and I've never made this much before. Thanks for all the good info btw! You motivated me to look at all my debt and be less afraid to talk about money.

[@amandaquackenbush2403]

Love the video! I would recommend that if she wants her kids to not have a debt when they finish college, they need to join the Armed Forces or ROCT program in high school, or put her money in a 529 and let it grow . Saving for a house , once she pays off her debt and get our of lease, put her 15% of her income in mutual funds for 5-7yrs. I had a great financial advisor who set me up for success. Just my two cents. Thanks for sharing.

[@merly5735]

I love this 💖...can u continue doing real life budget... i feel like we learn more looking a different budget goals and income 🙌🏼

[@carolynallen9016]

Just started watching your channel love it and finally started budgeting for my future.

[@Kimba29]

These are my fav videos of yours, and budget reviews with Ryen! 🤓

[@kivlogs7812]

I love these videos! This is really a great addition to your content! Please continue to make these 😁👍

[@marynasharapova2408]

Super useful video, this approach helps me better understand my own budget mistakes and fix them, as budgeting for beginners is not that easy! Love the channel, you are an inspiration!!!

[@faithrussel9384]

Now I have more knowledge about personal finance. I just subscribed to your channel. Big ups to everyone working effortlessly trying to earn a living while building wealth in this recession. I’m 47 and my husband is 51, we are both retired, no debts. We are currently living a frugal and financially savvy lifestyle and generating passive income even during this recessionary period. Our commitment to saving and investing in the financial market has enabled us to maintain this lifestyle and continue earning monthly passively through investment.,,

[@plan2move417]

♥️ keep up the good work lady. I truly appreciate you

[@mj482]

I'd love to see if you can do a basic budget of $500 once a week, a family of 6. With just the basic bills of more or less of $600 plus about $4500 total in debt, our goal is to be debt free hopefully by the beginning of 2021, We have $1000 in savings We have no sinking funds and o other plans at the moment, but to get out of debt. Thank you so very much, hopefully your able to work my budget to help me come up with a budget plan.

[@kristinedel4824]

You might get a better response from her if you fill out that form she showed with the why and details about the budget like you mentioned, via her email :) but she also seems to reply here as well.

[@helenscho4769]

Can you please go into the math on the concept at 10:17. I feel like the “snowball” vs “avalanche” debate is missing this concept of considering both the interest and the balance. A low interest debt on a high balance debt might cost you more than a high interest debt on a low balance debt. As a personal finance guru, please don’t be afraid to do the math and encourage your readers to do the math. You were so close to doing it in this video!

[@KC-zn1mg]

Helen Scho honestly it is my opinion that people should tackle it in whatever way will help them stay motivated. For some that might mean paying off debt based off highest interest, highest balance, lowest balance, etc.

[@leyaneschaefer5399]

Love these videos. At 4:01 you referred to him as her ex-husband, but I believe it is her deceased husband. She might be sensitive to that comment.

[@maxinejoie6615]

I am so happy following your channel here in KZbin, Instagram and FB and its make me more motivated to do the same my only problem I am so confused how to it because I facing 2 sets of expenses, 1 for my kids back home and 1 here abroad. I hope you can help or guide me how to do the budgeting. Pleaseeee.

[@melissarodriguez4531]

Loving these videos 😀💛 You are amazing!!

[@MariGEspinoza]

Hello Kumiko, I found your YT 2 years ago and purchased your first book, I absolutely loved it, how may I reach out for a session like this? My partner and I try and try and get out of debt and then get back. I’d love to hear back from you.

[@pollydolly9723]

So helpful regardless of our situation!

[@lauraberkholtz7959]

Why not pay off the smaller amount first? It feels good to get rid of a debt and it doesn't matter in the total interest you are paying.

[@catdragonrose2155]

She did explain her reasoning. Bigger amount means that you pay more. the amount of interest paid on a 4,000 card with 13% is going to be less than the interest paid on a 8,000 card with 13% interest.

[@sandyseibelhager7131]

Either way is fine, Dave Ramsey proposes the way you said which is the debt snowball. The way she recommends is the debt avalanche. We did the debt snowball because like you said it gives you motivation to keep going when you see progress.

[@arthrodea]

@@catdragonrose2155 From a math point of view - if you have two amounts with the same interest rate, it doesn't make any difference in your total interest payment if you put a set amount of money towards one vs the other. Eg: Two debts $10,000 and $5,000 both at 10% interest. For the month: $10,000 at 10% interest = $1,000 $5,000 at 10% interest = $500 Suppose I pay $1000 to the smaller debt: $10,000 at 10% interest = $1,000 $5,000-$1,000 = $4000 at 10% interest = $400 So my total interest is $1,000 + $400 = $1400 Suppose I pay $1000 to the larger debt $10,000 - $1000 = $9000 at 10% interest = $900 $5,000 at 10% interest = $500 So my total interest is $900 + $500 = $1400 (Exactly the same)

[@sarahhouk]

Awesome Video! Love your explanations.

[@donnaharris4422]

I love watching these vlogs but would like to know if you would be doing a digital version on your latest pay check book as it’s too expensive to ship to NZ ? Can you see anything like this happening down the future.

[@Mousie01234]

How do you suggest closing out the month? If you’re paying bills from June 1 - June 11 with a May check, your expense/income ratio are going to look weird.

[@edithcruz5238]

Thank you

[@emmabeer5690]

Anyone else out there got a little glassy eyed hearing the widow's backstory? Instantly thought omg if my husband died I would lose my bestfriend and partner all in one. How would I handle our 4 kids without him as he is a very proactive dad

[@brroookkeee]

What does everyone think of balance transfers to cards with a promotion for free interest for 15-18 months? I do that all the time so I don’t have interest! We currently have two cards with balances (we just paid my husband’s card off that had 8% interest through our credit union) one with a $4,000 balance, and one with a $700 balance both on promotional periods for no interest. Once they’re up, I transfer to new cards with another promotional period. Hopefully within the next year or two I can pay all the debt off. I feel it’s smart to not get the interest accumulated but want to know what others think about opening new cards for balance transfers. Yes there’s about a 3% one time fee but it’s way less than interest would be monthly!

[@amydiedrich9879]

I would like some advice about budgeting. These real life videos are so helpful. How do I go about submitting my real life budget

[@SingleLadyFinance]

So many gems

[@ashleynovi]

Yes I love these!!!

[@seasonalliving2881]

are you a fan of trying to get a month ahead so that you can put the whole month's expenses/bills into the accounts?

[@veronica7389]

Miko how did you save for your home, you paid in cash right?

[@la_ren0609]

Thank you for covering this story. I'm in the same position and learned of your channel through a young widows group. I've been following your method for a year but still struggle. Having these real-life scenarios help a lot and I'll probably reference this video every month when working on my budgeting. I would also like to see a video on cutting the cord of using the debit card. I'm having anxiety utilizing the cash envelope method.

[@tiffaneyivy9571]

How would I go about getting your help with my budget?

[@amandamaple5524]

Do you have a real life budget example for irregular income?

[@terryromanow292]

I love your videos of real life budgets. They’re really helpful. This one financially is out of my monthly take-home range. I have lots of debt, which I’m now starting to conquer prior to retirement, thanks to your system. The only thing that really made me ‘cringe’ was the fact you called him her ‘ex-husband’. An ex is through divorce. She’s a widow and he’s her ‘deceased husband’ or her husband. It felt disrespectful to me.

[@jp3610]

Where do we find the forms you used in this video?

[@tinker608]

Im frustrated, I don't know where to put the extra $200 a month 😫 I have sinking funds but I also have debt. I am not sure which one to put the extra $200 towards. Or split it. I am uncertain.

[@amberlyn5027]

How do we apply to have have you help with our real life budget?

[@gabrielabracamontes4435]

I also am collecting SS for two of my kids and one of them turns 18 in two months so I will be losing that income. And I'm in about $50k in debt. I'm a single mom and I'm feeling very stressed and anxious about how to manage my finances after August. I don't know what to do. I'm trying to watch all your videos and learn from them but it just seems impossible.

[@jessicarossiter846]

The best thing would be to see where you can cut your bills and go to as basic of a budget as possible. Maybe call your ceditors and see if they will work with you. When my mom lost the last of my dads ss when my brother turned 18 we ended up having to move into a smaller more affordable house. $900 a month was too much $650 was more realistic.

[@gabrielabracamontes4435]

@@jessicarossiter846 Good advice, thank you so much! My rent is definitely too high for me and will be trying to move into a more affordable housing. I appreciate your advice :)

[@arthrodea]

My heart goes out to you... I think the first step would be to make up a budget and actually see all your expenses on paper side by side. That was what allowed me to see where I was wasting money and what I could cut. I also figured out that increasing my income was key to being able to start paying off my debt. After all, there is only so much you can cut! I took a 2nd part time job and that significantly helped me. When I turned 18, my parents helped me with initial costs of getting started in a new apartment and starting college and gave me some stuff (like pots, pans, an old sofa). Then my dad had a heart to heart talk with me that he couldn't afford to keep covering all my costs and that I needed to take over. I was stunned!! I guess I assumed he would just keep supporting me! But I hustled and found a job and was able to work and get myself through college, which was extremely tough but I made it. You probably need to have a heart to heart talk and develop a game plan with your 18 yr old about how he or she is going to transition to supporting him/herself as an adult (I'm assuming no disability that would preclude that of course). And honestly, teenagers and young adults crave freedom, and its really a good for them to start maturing into a self supporting successful adult. Its not bad thing or a failure on your part that you are not going to support them for years into adulthood.

[@gabrielabracamontes4435]

@@arthrodea Thank you so much for your advice, I really appreciate it!!

[@wendyeroche343]

Have you ever done a budget for someone who gets paid only once a month?

[@taryngeissler8797]

She only gets paid once a month..so there are previous videos of her doing her own budget that is once monthly.

[@wendyeroche343]

@@taryngeissler8797 Thank you

[@UghUgh1234]

Those are such high interest rates 🤯

[@arthrodea]

Agree! That's why credit cards are so evil - the interest rates are almost immoral.

[@maladyd1]

What are your thoughts on companies that help pay off debt? Not a loan, but they take out a certain amount of money from each paycheck and negotiate with your creditors to pay off the credit debt with a lower payment. Meanwhile, you are not allowed to use those certain credit cards and your credit score does drop , but later rises.

[@taryngeissler8797]

Personal experience.....its terrible! My husband did it and they couldnt negotiate most of his debt....but we never got the money we paid them back....so we ended up paying for it twice.....and it ruined his credit....like he went from 700 to below 500... :(

[@squishedpillow9559]

👋 hello

[@sandyseibelhager7131]

I personally would buy the house now or once the credit cards are paid off with little to no down. Yes, you would be paying PMI but that $1500 that is going to rent could go to the house payment.

[@lilbell98]

I assume this takes into account your employers take care of taxes, she gets $2,500 after taxes?

[@minanieves2205]

hey if you can help me out!! really need it, want to build a better future for my kids!!

[@iamjacquesbarjon]

With all due respect, this seems incredibly over complicated. Why not just create one budget for the whole month with all of the income and expenses?

[@taryngeissler8797]

Because folks who get paid bi-weekly or weekly usually have no idea what their paychecks and bill amounts will be at the first of the month.....it also easier to make a follow a shorter term budget, at least for me.

[@iamjacquesbarjon]

Taryn Geissler Feel like you should be able to estimate both. Whatever. This works for y’all. Just way too complicated and manual for me

[@talislyre]

Miko does get paid only once a month so if you look at her personal budget videos, you can see how she sets it up and then the second video showing how she closes out the budget for that month. The ones that include Ryen show side-by-side how this method works for both ways, one being paid once a month and the other being paid multiple times a month.

[@taryngeissler8797]

@@iamjacquesbarjon most folks can. But not everybody. Plus....its hard to do the cash envelope system because you cant stuff your envelopes for the entire month if you only have a weeks worth of pay or whatever.

[@michellemorales401]

No doubt, in the beginning of budgeting and listing our financial goals, it takes alot of work. Only after we have a TRUE money map, can we maintain it with minimal work. Of course, we have to go back in and reevaluate goals after bills are paid. 😊 My monthly budget now takes only 15 minutes to do.

[@futurefunz5870]

Not being funny but she isn’t on a low wage - that is a lot of income coming in - it would have been better for you to do a realistic budget of a single mum - as she is raking it in and how is she spending £550 on groceries a month wow - the issue with money that most people have the more they get the more they spend