Ready to take control of your expenses and monthly budget? Here are a few freebies that I’ve handpicked from around the net. You’ll find worksheets in both Excel and .doc format though they’re mainly pdf printables. Several of these are ideal for filing in a household notebook (page also lists several goodies to download). If you need help setting up a system that works, I’ve shared the method I use at the bottom of this page. As always, I’ll be adding to this list as I find more goodies so you may want to bookmark this page for future reference. Hope these help!
Simple Method
*First published May 20, 2008 and moved to this page for better organization
Never forget to pay a bill, be surprised by a forgotten annual payment or bounce a cheque again! This tip is an addon to the inbox system that i shared here and the beauty is in its simplicity.
No matter how complicated or numerous your monthly bills are, it’s a no-fail method to having all of your financial obligations organized and listed at your fingertips.
Materials Needed: Spiral Bound Notebook
Setup:
This example is based on a weekly budget plan and it’s reviewed at the same time as the weekly Household Inbox review. You can easily adjust to your needs if you pay bills just once or twice a month.
Step 1:
List all monthly financial obligations on a sheet of paper (groceries, mortgage, credit card bills, car payments, utilities, phone, insurances, etc.).
List all annual or semi-annual obligations on another sheet of paper (ie. insurance payments, real estate taxes, vehicle license renewals, income tax payment, etc.).
Step 2:
On the very first page of the spiral notebook write all 12 months of the year (with some space under each month).
Looking at the list of annual and semi-annual payments you have to make, add each item under the month they are due. For example:
March:
- Home Insurance – $350
June:
- Property Taxes – $2,500
October:
- Furnace & Duct Cleaning – $200
- Vehicle Plates – $1,200
Step 3:
On the very last page of the spiral notebook, note the current month at the top of the page then divide the page into 4 weeks (or 5 for some months) with the weekly review dates for each month. For example:
June
- 1st
- 8th
- 15th
- 22nd
- 29th
The dates correspond to the designated weekly day that you review your pending items.
Taking the list you made in Step 1 of all the monthly payments you make, divide them between the weeks according to date payment is due. For example:
June
1st:
- Water – $80
- Cable & Internet – $100
- Telephone – $50
- Groceries – $100
8th
- Fuel Card – $200
- Credit Card – $200
- Mortgage – $1,000
15th
- Groceries – $200
- Utilities – $400
22nd
- Car Payment – $400
- Life Insurance – $40
- Investments – $100
29th (Extra Week)
- Savings
- Extra Debt Payment
The payments must be designated in a week that provides enough time for payment to be received by mail or in person before the due date. I also like to write the total amount due each week in that week’s section.
Step 4:
Glance at the first page in the notebook, check to see if there are any non-regular payments due in June. In this example the property taxes of $2,500 is due. Note that item in the week you plan to pay it:
29th (Extra Week)
- Property Taxes: $2,500
The System In Progress
- Each week as you sit down to pay the bills or make sure there is enough money in the bank for automated withdrawls, draw a line through each item that has been taken care of. Next week you’ll notice any uncrossed items from the previous week and will know to take care of them this week (sometimes happens due to bills/statements not arriving on time).
- For unexpected bills, pay them right away if possible. If not, write the item into a week where there’s more room for extras and return the unpaid bill to your inbox.
- At the end of each month, rip out the back page (June) and write out a new page (July) using the June month as a reference so you won’t forget to list any of your regular bills. Check the front of the notebook for irregular payments due in July and write them down in the week you plan to pay them (at the back of the book).
- As new irregular or annual payment obligations arise, add them to the front page under the month that they are due. Since you will be checking this page monthly as you create a back page for the new month, you won’t be surprised by a forgotten bill. If the front page gets too messy or several items become obsolete, just rip out the page and create a new one.
Tip: At the end of each month, I like to write a running total on the front page of any extra money from each month that I was able to save for the next upcoming annual payment. I can see at a glance how much money is saved for that payment and whether or not I need to tighten things up in order to have the cash on hand when that bill is due. If your front page is too full, a sticky note does the trick just fine.
This organization method will likely take a few months to finesse the payment schedule that works best for you but once your payment system is perfected, each month will be a breeze to setup and work with–never allowing you to forget a bill payment again.
