Living Clean
My Favourite Budgeting Tips
If you have tips that you use to make budgeting easy, let us know!
Here is what I do to help myself to keep track of our finances, pay bills on time and stay sane (somewhat).
1 - Create a financial planning book. I buy a cheap day planner every year (this year it's pink, I love using it) and use it exclusively to keep track of bills, pay days etc. I write these things in the monthly calender at the beginning of each month so that I can tell at a glance what's what. I put notes in the notes section on the opposite page when I pay things - record transaction numbers, note what accounts I used and paid etc for future reference. Record your credit card balances etc as well. It's a great feeling to look back and see how far you've come once you start knocking them off!
2 - Friday is finance day. That means that I pull out my handy planner used just for my finance schedule and hit the books - check bank balances, pay anything that needs to be paid, file invoices/bills etc.
If you have your own business, it's a good idea to put aside some time every week for your business financial tasks as well, save yourself A LOT of headaches come tax time and stay on top of your money.
3 - Have a basket to keep your lose invoices and bills in until Friday or keep them in your finance planner. Have a 'file it' folder to hold anything that needs to be filed later, but don't let it pile up... file it once per week! (I File It Friday)
4 - I use a binder to keep my bills and invoices in, a new once every year. You can also use a file folder. I like to be able to flip through to find things but use what ever you are more comfortable with. The advantage to using a file is that it is much quicker to file than to punch and put in a binder. I'm considering making a switch. What do you think or use?
5 - Check out Budget Map. The only time I was truly on top of our budget was long before I used credit or debit cards and used only cash or cheques, and longed for that simplicity again.
Now I have it. I LOVE this system. It works just like a cheque book but it has budgeting capacities and you can record every transaction from any account etc in one place. You can carry it with you to have at all times and work on when ever you get a minute. Can't say how happy I am to have it. I gave one to my sister and niece too.
What's your budgeting routine to track and stay on top of your finances?
Here is what I do to help myself to keep track of our finances, pay bills on time and stay sane (somewhat).
1 - Create a financial planning book. I buy a cheap day planner every year (this year it's pink, I love using it) and use it exclusively to keep track of bills, pay days etc. I write these things in the monthly calender at the beginning of each month so that I can tell at a glance what's what. I put notes in the notes section on the opposite page when I pay things - record transaction numbers, note what accounts I used and paid etc for future reference. Record your credit card balances etc as well. It's a great feeling to look back and see how far you've come once you start knocking them off!
2 - Friday is finance day. That means that I pull out my handy planner used just for my finance schedule and hit the books - check bank balances, pay anything that needs to be paid, file invoices/bills etc.
If you have your own business, it's a good idea to put aside some time every week for your business financial tasks as well, save yourself A LOT of headaches come tax time and stay on top of your money.
3 - Have a basket to keep your lose invoices and bills in until Friday or keep them in your finance planner. Have a 'file it' folder to hold anything that needs to be filed later, but don't let it pile up... file it once per week! (I File It Friday)
4 - I use a binder to keep my bills and invoices in, a new once every year. You can also use a file folder. I like to be able to flip through to find things but use what ever you are more comfortable with. The advantage to using a file is that it is much quicker to file than to punch and put in a binder. I'm considering making a switch. What do you think or use?
5 - Check out Budget Map. The only time I was truly on top of our budget was long before I used credit or debit cards and used only cash or cheques, and longed for that simplicity again.
Now I have it. I LOVE this system. It works just like a cheque book but it has budgeting capacities and you can record every transaction from any account etc in one place. You can carry it with you to have at all times and work on when ever you get a minute. Can't say how happy I am to have it. I gave one to my sister and niece too.
What's your budgeting routine to track and stay on top of your finances?
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