Calendar and Call
When money is tight, oftentimes you have to “Rob Peter, to Pay Paul”. The only way you can successfully do that is by knowing exactly when both Peter and Paul’s payments are due. Armed with that knowledge and knowing the date when you expect to have money, you can determine if you’ll have adequate funds to make a complete or a partial payment to one or both of them. All you need is a monthly calendar. This practice is called “Calendaring”.
By recording bill due dates and amounts due on a calendar, you can visually see where the trouble spots loom ahead and can strategize on how to juggle limited funds. First, jot down all your Creditors Customer Service numbers right on the calendar to have them handy. Get in the habit of alerting a creditor when you won’t be able to make a payment or when a payment will be late. Often you can prevent being penalized for paying late or even have the due date changed by talking to a creditor beforehand. The fact that you called instead of them having to call you goes a long way in keeping you in good standing.
Manage Expenses with Record-Keeping
When you’re in better shape financially, keeping simple records can help you manage expenses to pay down debt and create a budget that allows you to save for a goal or an emergency. There are many tools that can be used to help you manage your monthly expenses. Probably the simplest way is to record bills, payments, contact info, and dates in a small journal or notebook.
If you’re looking for something a bit more sophisticated, Microsoft Excel® has “Budgeting” templates that allow you to input values like income and expenses by category. Under Housing for instance, you’re able to breakdown expenses for mortgage or rent, electricity, gas, repairs, cable, and others related to Housing. Find these templates by opening a “New” document in Excel and clicking “Templates”.
If your finances are a little more complex, you are self-employed or own a business, you may want to invest use Quicken or other financial software programs to track expenses as well as profit and loss.
The benefit of tracking expenses in financial software is the ability to create reports with a breakdown of expense areas that reveal total outlays in those areas. You can then see exactly where your money is going and decide how to pare down or redirect funds.
Regardless of the method you decide to use to track your monthly expenses, it’s always a good idea to know exactly where you are financially. By keeping accurate expense records you can quickly discover ways to save money, reallocate funds, and plan for a better month each time you prepare a new budget. Even on a fixed or low income budget being proactive with your finances will help you navigate rough waters for smoother sailing ahead.
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