Tips for Organizing your Bills
Ok, I admit it. I am not a wise spender. If my bills don’t get paid on payday, I will spend the money on something else. Money literally burns a hole in my Miche Bag!! I had to figure out a way to make sure my bills were not only paid, but paid on time. Just getting my bills in the mail was not enough.
Before I get into how to organize your bills, I have to tell you that you have to sit down every month and balance that checkbook. It does you no good to pay the bills if you don’t have enough money in your account to cover the checks you write. Paying those hefty NSF charges will only cause you more stress! If you don’t know how to balance your checkbook, get with your bank right away!
Ok, that being said. How do you organize your bills? First of all, you need to find a safe place to keep the bills that you receive through the mail such as a folder or a mail holder. Don’t just throw the bills in there as soon as you get it though. Be sure to open the envelope immediately and check the due date and the minimum amount due. Not all due dates fall on the same day of the month, and if your minimum balance is higher then normal, you will need adequate time to find out why. Most people these days are going to paperless bills. Check your email or the websites often to get the due date and amount due.
The next thing that I do is to enter my bills in an Excel spreadsheet. In my house, we have three paydays. I have columns set up with the amount of our paychecks and paydays. Then I have each bill set to be paid according to their due dates. I have a formula inserted so that I do not spend more money that I have. After I pay each bill, and the check is in the mail, I mark it with a red “X”. This way, there is no question whether or not I paid it.
I had my moments where I was in a lot of financial trouble because of my spending habits. With a little planning and self control, I no longer have this problem. You can do it too!
Corrie Petersen runs a successful Virtual Assistant business. She enjoys helping her clients organize their business through outsourcing. If you’re ready to get your business organized, click here to visit her site.
Organizing your Finances
Finances are a piece of cake for some while others struggle forever with them. There are so many different ways you can organize your finances. Some may work for you while others don’t. Once you find a way that works, you should stick to it because you don’t want problems if you switch and it doesn’t work.
You should write down your bills on a sheet of paper and mark which pay check will cover which bills. We all know how to pay our bills each month. Some pay with cash, some use checks, while others pay online either at each account or they use their bank. The problem comes with organizing them so you know when to pay and what is due. Here are some different options you can choose from.
1. Basket
Use a basket that sits on your desk that you put all your current bills in. Put them in order by the check that will pay them. You will want to set a day each week or when you get paid to sit down and pay your bills. Then go through and pay the ones that need to come out of that check. Once the bill has been paid you will need to file it or throw it away.
2. File folder
If you have a file cabinet that you use for your bills, you might want to use a file folder for your current bills. Put them in order based on the pay date so you won’t have to search when you have the time to sit down and pay them. Once the bill has been paid it can be moved to another folder or you can throw it away.
3. Envelope
You can place all of your bills in an envelope that sites on the counter, table, or paper clipped to the calendar. Make sure you only put bills in this envelope and throw away all other pieces of junk mail so they don’t overload your envelope.
4. Drawer
You can place all your bills in a drawer in the kitchen or in the desk. Make sure you don’t forget to pay them since they will be out of site. You can store your bills and the list of your bills all in one place.
5. Computer
If you are going to use the computer to pay all of your bills using a software program such as QuickBooks or the program through your bank, you will need to enter your bills into that program and then they can be filed or thrown away.
Organizing your bills to meet your needs will work well for you. With some of these tips may take a while to set up while others may be really quick. Getting used to your new plan may take time. You should set reminders in your calendar or on your phone that will help you to remember when you need to pay your bills and how you will work it. Once you do this process a few times, you will get the hang of it and it will come natural to you.
How to organize your Finances
Organizing your finances can be a difficult thing to do and it can add stress to your life if you don’t it. When you keep track of what bills are due with each check, how much you pay, and keep all your bills together, you will be well organized and feel better about everything.
Here are a few tips that will help you organize your finances.
• Track
When you first set out to organize your finances you will need to set aside two or three hours to get this done. Gather all of your bills and go to a quite spot with your computer or pad of paper.
Write down each merchants name, the monthly payment, and the due date. Now organize them so they are in date order. Start with the beginning of the month and work your way to the end. Now write down each pay check and the dollar amount. You need to decide which bills can be paid with each check.
• Budget
Now you need to create a budget. A budget is where you write down everything you spend money on each month. This would include groceries, take out, vehicle maintenance, clothing, etc. The main reason you do this is to look at all of your spending habits. If you are spending more than what you have or you have very little left over at the end of the month, your budget will show you areas that you can eliminate.
• Set budget goals
Whether you are saving for a vacation or trying to get some bills paid off, goals are the best route to take. Without them, you will continue to do the same thing day in and day out with your money. If you want to take a family vacation next summer, your goal may be to get a couple doctor bills paid off within the next few months so you can take that money and put it in savings. This could be the difference between a camping trip and a trip to Disneyland.
• Plan
Planning can be the most difficult part of organizing your budget. The reason for this is that you have to find a way to do this the same time each week or month. Plan this time around your paychecks. For example, if you get paid on Friday, take time on Saturday or Sunday to sit down and pay your bills. The longer that money sits in your account, the more likely you are to spend it. If you get it out of there right away, it won’t be there to spend.
Organizing your finances can be a difficult thing. But, if you follow these steps and set aside time to take care of these each week or every other week, you will do good and you will reach your goals. Keep track of everything and keep it in the same place so you don’t get off kilter and forget what you are doing and forget to pay a bill. Reach your financial goals through organized finances.