I need suggestions

[Carpe Diem]

Anyone have suggestions on how to be better at balancing my checkbook, paying bills on time and budgeting? Are there any products you would recommend? I need help! I have an iPad but don't really know what to do with it. Thanks!

Edited July 30, 2012 by Carpe Diem

[eight_gregorys]

I have Page Once on my iPad for the exact reasons you describe. It takes a little time to set up with due dates, but it can import your banking data and will send you reminders via email. It has helped me stay on top of things much better. I'm pretty sure it's free, too. Just search for it in the app store.

[Mama Geek]

I set up almost all of my bills to be paid automatically. We have 2 credit cards that are the exception, because the balance varies from month to month. I know the dates that they are do and I pay them on time. At that time I update checking accounts and so forth using quicken. It works out pretty well for us.

[Mrs Mungo]

We use an Excel spreadsheet.

[Carpe Diem]

I am ashamed to admit that we don't really keep a ledger. If I had to prove I paid a bill I would be hard pressed. I need to change this before catastrophe hits. I don't really know how to do a spreadsheet or use quicken. Is quicken a disk that you put in your computer? I have been reading about mint.com but I am not sure I trust having our cc info in there.

 

Basically I am very unorganized. I need help.

 

Any more input?

Thank you.

[Georgiana Daniels]

I do things the old-fashioned way.

 

First, print out a month-by-month calendar (I use the Google one.) Then, I log each bill on the day it's due. For example, electric=$93. On bill paying day, I make a check by each one as it's paid.

 

Voila! Nothing forgotten.

[Mrs Mungo]

I am ashamed to admit that we don't really keep a ledger. If I had to prove I paid a bill I would be hard pressed. I need to change this before catastrophe hits. I don't really know how to do a spreadsheet or use quicken. Is quicken a disk that you put in your computer? I have been reading about mint.com but I am not sure I trust having our cc info in there.

 

Basically I am very unorganized. I need help.

 

Any more input?

Thank you.

 

An Excel spreadsheet is easy to make, if you have office. There are free versions too.

 

We play everything on the first or the fifteenth (that is when government employees get paid). If it is due *on* the first, then it would get paid in the fifteenth. If it is due on the thirteenth, then we would pay it on the first. So, there are tfour columns. The first column lists the expense: rent, insurance, groceries, spending, etc; the second column lists the projected amounts to be paid on the first; the third column lists the projected amounts to be paid on the fifteenth; the fourth column is for notes.

 

DH and I both pay bills, depending upon who is in town. So, we print off a new spreadsheet at the end of a month for the next month. We have a basket where we keep the bills, the spreadsheet, the checkbooks, etc. When we pay a bill we make a note of the actual amount, the date paid, the check number or online confirmation number. That way, if one of us starts paying the bills and the other finishes, we know what has been paid and what has not been paid. If there is a problem, then we can usually track it down. For example, we had a bill we paid online recently. There was a system glitch and we got an overdue notice, they were able to track the problem with our confirmation number.

[Tiberia]

We liked Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" to get us inspired about the "why's" of budgeting, bill paying, debt-reduction. Budgeting used to seem like a depressing chore, but Dave R's stuff really clicked with us and gave us a new perspective and new goals. Some people can't stand him, but his ideas made sense to dh and me.

 

Dave R also has some budgeting procedures, step by step. We modified them to make them work for us. I review our finances twice a month to pay bills that have come in, make sure our categories are working for us, and see if we're out of control in any area. If I don't do this, the money just seems to disappear...:glare:

 

Hope this helps.

 

Joann

[Mama Geek]

Yes you can get quicken on a disk or download it, but it is on your computer.

 

If you don't want to do a computer program buy a calendar and start doing your check register by hand. You will need your last bank statement and any checks you have written since then. Do you use duplicate checks?

 

Something else you might consider is when you pay a bill mark the date and check number on the bill, then file the bills by month. You would have 12 folders one for each month.

[Mommyof4ks]

I just have a spiral notebook that I have used for years. On the first column I write down all of the bills that I pay with check 1 (2 checks a month), then I write the months across the top, and basically make a grid like a spreadsheet. Once that is done I just record the amount I paid for each bill when I pay it and the date it was paid. I have an iPad, but I forget to update electronic things. Autodraft is handy too for most recurrent bills.

[Nestof3]

I made a table in MS Word with these columns:

 

due date, company name, account #, amount, and then 12 columns for months.

 

I write fluctuating amounts in pencil but type up the rest of the form. I also indicate whether it is auto-debited.

 

At the first of each month, I go through, enter each bill into my checkbook and mark it off in the appropriate column. You could also post it and pay each bill a few days before the due date.

 

Here it is in MS Word format.

http://kvisit.com/Sz9yKAg

Edited July 30, 2012 by nestof3

[Carpe Diem]

I am happy to report that I actually did some work today with this aspect of my life.

 

I figured out some of the basics of excel and listed as many of the bills and things we spend money on. I am sure there will be a few I have forgotten but I can add them as they come up. I am hoping to figure out what we spend and get on track with budgeting.

 

I just printed out calendars for the rest of the year where I can write what is due when as well as when the money comes in.

 

I also called today and put us on the yearly plan for the gas so that we won't have a huge bill in the winter. Also, for it to be auto deduct.

 

Finally, I gathered all the information on our credit cards and banks websites. I made a little manual for my husband of the security codes and passwords for the various items.

 

Now I just have to figure out how to get myself to balance our checkbook. I haven't done it for months on end. I don't even know if I could find all the books.

 

Also, I have to find a system for storing the bills and keeping all my information together. Also storing all the statements from the insurance company.

 

The paper piles in my house are a big problem.

 

Thank you everyone. I think I pulled some tips from everyone who posted!!

[Mama Anna]

I'm getting into this discussion late, but I have an idea that might be of use to you. To control our "important papers," we have The Great White Box. Back before we had kids, I bought a magazine storage box - one of the horizontal, hinged-lid types - with a white lid. It lives right inside our front door and all important mail goes in there. Being a detail-oriented person, I tend to go through it every week and pay the bills, write the letters, and reconcile receipts, etc.

 

Anything that we're likely to need inside a month's time (rebate information, birthday party invitations, etc.) tends to just stay in the white box until we're done with it. Other things that need to be kept for the future (medical information, payment receipts, etc.) I file away in our filing cabinet. Our checkbook and envelope of receipts awaiting bank statement reconciliation live in the white box, too.

 

I like the fact that it has a lid. Even if it gets knocked off and fall upside down, it stays closed. The girls know that nobody touches it without my permission, and we've not lost a bill or receipt (unless after I took it out of the white box :glare:) for years.

 

Anyway, something like that might help the paper problem!

 

Mama Anna

[FeFe]

Looks like you got it all figured out! I just thought I'd mention YNAB - youneedabudget.com is what I use for balancing, budgeting and keeping the bills straight on paid on time.

[Carpe Diem]

I looked at YNAB as well as MINT. Do those balance your check books? :) Do you have to give information about bank and credit card accounts? Maybe that is something I should look into moving my info to next. What are the benefits.

 

Do most of you set aside money each month for upcoming infrequent bills? Do you put it into a separate account?

 

Mama Ann, I need something like this. If I could just find the perfect thing. Maybe it is a big filing cabinet but I don't know where I would put it.

 

Thanks everyone for all the info.

[FeFe]

You have to enter (or import) your transactions into YNAB. I choose to enter them myself - just helps me stay aware. But of course, YNAB does do the math which is good. ;)

 

You don't have to put in any actual account information - just balances and transaction amounts.

 

We try to plan ahead and save the infrequent stuff.

 

YNAB has a free trial. You don't give them CC info or anything unless you want to buy.

[Nestof3]

I like to go online weekly to "balance" my checkbook (I actually do this for both personal and business accounts.

 

I put a little check next to each item that clears (in one of the columns). I also add in any debits listed that I did not enter into my checkbook (typically, paypal purchases and "save as you go" fees). I then take my total, add in what hasn't cleared yet, and hope I get the same number the bank gets. I then put a little checkmark with -ed at the end with a line so I know later on, if there is a problem, it doesn't extend back before it.

 

This keeps me from figuring out big issues at the end of the month and helps me in case something comes out I wasn't expecting.

 

Now I just have to figure out how to get myself to balance our checkbook. I haven't done it for months on end. I don't even know if I could find all the books.

 

Also, I have to find a system for storing the bills and keeping all my information together. Also storing all the statements from the insurance company.

 

The paper piles in my house are a big problem.

 

Thank you everyone. I think I pulled some tips from everyone who posted!!

[Carpe Diem]

Thanks FeFe.

 

Nest of 3-Do you set a certain time each week. I need a schedule for all the things I need to do around here. Maybe I should just start a new ledger with the few books I can find for now and move forward from here.

 

Thanks everyone.

[Nestof3]

Thanks FeFe.

 

Nest of 3-Do you set a certain time each week. I need a schedule for all the things I need to do around here. Maybe I should just start a new ledger with the few books I can find for now and move forward from here.

 

Thanks everyone.

 

Honestly, no. It may not even be exactly every week. I just don't like doing it only once a month. It could easily be added to the calendar, though.

[Kelly1730]

I like to go online weekly to "balance" my checkbook (I actually do this for both personal and business accounts.

 

I put a little check next to each item that clears (in one of the columns). I also add in any debits listed that I did not enter into my checkbook (typically, paypal purchases and "save as you go" fees). I then take my total, add in what hasn't cleared yet, and hope I get the same number the bank gets. I then put a little checkmark with -ed at the end with a line so I know later on, if there is a problem, it doesn't extend back before it.

 

This keeps me from figuring out big issues at the end of the month and helps me in case something comes out I wasn't expecting.

 

This is what I do, almost exactly:). I don't put the little check mark with a line at the end but I will now;).

[1GirlTwinBoys]

We have our own business so it's really important that I keep everything organized for personal and business. For making sure I pay bills on time, I purchased this black wooden bill/invoice organizer from Target a couple years ago. It has slots marked 1-31, and when I receive a bill, I file it in the number 7 days prior to the bill due date. Example, if it's due on the 14th, I'll file it in slot number 7. Each day, I glance at the organizer and pull out anything that needs to be paid that day. I do as much banking online as possible. It has a drawer where I like to keep a glue stick, stamps, a pen etc...:) LOVE my bill organizer!

[Nestof3]

This is what I do, almost exactly:). I don't put the little check mark with a line at the end but I will now;).

 

 

:lol:

[Carpe Diem]

I went to Office Max last night and picked up two magazine holders and labeled them "bills" and "hold.". Also, picked up a 13 pocket organizer to place paid bills in for each month and the last one will hold receipts. I have never saved receipts and so often wish I still had a receipt. Thanks for the ideas friends. Also, I sorted through a stack of insurance statements over an inch deep. I also got a handle on organizing all my loose medical reports that I am punching into a binder.!

 

Now just have to try to get started on the checkbook and hope I have enough discipline to keep it up and that my hold box will be big enough.

 

Thanks!

[Mama Geek]

I am glad you are making progress. One thing to keep in mind - it is like eating an elephant, you have to do it one bite at a time.:001_smile:

[Nestof3]

When I pay any medical bills each month, I take my copy of the statement, check it against my explanation of benefits and staple them together with any receipts from the copay I paid when I was there. I then indicate on the front of the EOB (which is always on the top of the stapled papers) that it is paid in full.

 

 

I went to Office Max last night and picked up two magazine holders and labeled them "bills" and "hold.". Also, picked up a 13 pocket organizer to place paid bills in for each month and the last one will hold receipts. I have never saved receipts and so often wish I still had a receipt. Thanks for the ideas friends. Also, I sorted through a stack of insurance statements over an inch deep. I also got a handle on organizing all my loose medical reports that I am punching into a binder.!

 

Now just have to try to get started on the checkbook and hope I have enough discipline to keep it up and that my hold box will be big enough.

 

Thanks!

[Carpe Diem]

Good idea Dawn!