One Needs a Budget

I am happy that I will be getting just enough to go on vacation with my family and fix my boat with a little left over. I was really worried that the 17% would eat up most of my return, thank God the legal fees were lowered.

Good info nemo. Something all of us should take into consideration. Don't let the money lead you to a shopping spree. Invest, pay mortgage, top up RRSP or TFSA, RESP, pay bills.

One thing that does not get talked about is updating your heating source, hot water, attic insulation. Renovations that lead to a better re-sale value to your biggest investment in life...a house. I know just replacing my windows, hot water tank, and a new furnace helped reduce my heating bill and also helped reduce my home insurance.

There will be a wide variance of the amounts that we get from SISIP. I have often wondered what the max will be. There are some that go back 30 plus years so I imagine some could get half a million or more.

So many people do not know how much they spend every month. It really is essential that you know. Do you bring in 4k per month but spend 4.5k? Bankruptcy is in the future there unless someone brings in more money or trims their expenses. And for most, bringing in more money is not possible.

But regardless of the amount we make per month or will get from this lawsuit, everyone needs a budget. Gail Vaz-oxlade has a good site and lots of good info. She has a budget worksheet u can use http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/resources/guide_to_building_budget.html

Use her form and adapt to your own needs. Then ensure that EVERYTIME u buy something, u get a bill. Then, every day mark down your expenses. At the end of each month, you will be able to see what you spent. After doing it for 4 or 5 months, it will give you a good idea what your average monthly expenses are for everything that is variable like food and medical/dental.

Then you can see where all your money is going. Too much spent in a certain area - then trim it. Stick to your budget and SAVE, SAVE, SAVE.