Nah, I like to call it smart. prepared. managed? Ok, maybe I am just an organizing freak.
The same strengthsfinder profile that told me I am an assertive person who collects random things also brought my attention to my need for organization. I never viewed my organization habits as ridiculous until I had to write an example of a way I am organized:
I plan exactly how much $ to pay towards every bill each month (currently I have through 12/2012 mapped out on an Excel spreadsheet) and which precise day each will be paid in full. I also plan how much to put into savings and track how much “play money” I’ll have every month. If I make more/less than anticipated or if a new bill arises, I adjust every proceeding month accordingly...
Why do I do this? I haven't always been this way. Not with bills, anyhow. When I was single I just balanced my checkbook like a normal person. When I got married simply balancing a checkbook didn't work anymore since there were now two debit cards that linked to our bank accounts. I could not stand not knowing exactly how much money we had at any given moment! This may seem irrational to you, but to me it was just one more thing in my life that I need to be organized about and it had gotten out of control for even ME to keep up with! For a while we tried keeping all of our receipts so that I could balance the checkbook that way, but it didn't work well enough because Ben didn't keep all his receipts, so the whole thing ended up being pointless.
Another reason I started this system is because I didn't have a sense of where our money really went every month. Have you ever wondered, "Where did our money go?" or try to pay off a bill but you aren't sure how much you can afford to pay extra on it every month? I did! Sure, I can check my bank statement online every day, but I needed something better... an Excel bill tracker! So, I got my little laptop out and started plugging computation formulas into all the necessary cells and pretty soon I had a very organized bill tracker.
It gets a little bit more "orderly" than what I cared to share with my boss (I don't want him thinking I am crazy or anything!) but I will share it all with you guys...
On top of the above mentioned tracking, I also organize the "play money" (which is our disposable income each month after every bill is paid and we put money into savings). I deduct the cost of dog food for the month (about $100) and their heartworm prevention, I deduct money for buying birthday, Christmas, or whatever other gifts we need to buy, I allocate extra money to help pay off bills, and I deduct money for tithing. Then, I have the grand total left for food, gas, and other random things we may buy. I divide that number by the number of days in the month and- voila! I know how much we can spend each day to stay in budget! I have no need to keep up with what I spend or Ben spends because as long as we stay within our daily budget we are good to go, and that is good enough for me :)
But wait- there's more!
This started out as a simple Excel spreadsheet with each month on a different tab, but it has turned into one of my strongest tools for being smart with my money! I can track each month's progress towards becoming debt-free and give myself a realistic timeline for that goal. I can track how much money should be in our savings account every month (if there are no emergencies!) and also how much interest we should accrue each year. I can now also- and this is the most important thing- tell if we can afford something we want at a glance.
If this sounds too complicated to be worth anyone's time, don't be fooled. I do not spend more than 20 minutes a month looking at this thing. I simply type in the amount of money we bring home every month, and the formulas that I've plugged in do all the work for me (that is the nifty little thing about Excel!). I only spend extra time determining where to allocate our extra money between savings, paying off debt, or just treating ourselves to something else.
I know where all of our money goes now, and I am so happy about it.
The same strengthsfinder profile that told me I am an assertive person who collects random things also brought my attention to my need for organization. I never viewed my organization habits as ridiculous until I had to write an example of a way I am organized:
I plan exactly how much $ to pay towards every bill each month (currently I have through 12/2012 mapped out on an Excel spreadsheet) and which precise day each will be paid in full. I also plan how much to put into savings and track how much “play money” I’ll have every month. If I make more/less than anticipated or if a new bill arises, I adjust every proceeding month accordingly...
Why do I do this? I haven't always been this way. Not with bills, anyhow. When I was single I just balanced my checkbook like a normal person. When I got married simply balancing a checkbook didn't work anymore since there were now two debit cards that linked to our bank accounts. I could not stand not knowing exactly how much money we had at any given moment! This may seem irrational to you, but to me it was just one more thing in my life that I need to be organized about and it had gotten out of control for even ME to keep up with! For a while we tried keeping all of our receipts so that I could balance the checkbook that way, but it didn't work well enough because Ben didn't keep all his receipts, so the whole thing ended up being pointless.
Another reason I started this system is because I didn't have a sense of where our money really went every month. Have you ever wondered, "Where did our money go?" or try to pay off a bill but you aren't sure how much you can afford to pay extra on it every month? I did! Sure, I can check my bank statement online every day, but I needed something better... an Excel bill tracker! So, I got my little laptop out and started plugging computation formulas into all the necessary cells and pretty soon I had a very organized bill tracker.
It gets a little bit more "orderly" than what I cared to share with my boss (I don't want him thinking I am crazy or anything!) but I will share it all with you guys...
On top of the above mentioned tracking, I also organize the "play money" (which is our disposable income each month after every bill is paid and we put money into savings). I deduct the cost of dog food for the month (about $100) and their heartworm prevention, I deduct money for buying birthday, Christmas, or whatever other gifts we need to buy, I allocate extra money to help pay off bills, and I deduct money for tithing. Then, I have the grand total left for food, gas, and other random things we may buy. I divide that number by the number of days in the month and- voila! I know how much we can spend each day to stay in budget! I have no need to keep up with what I spend or Ben spends because as long as we stay within our daily budget we are good to go, and that is good enough for me :)
But wait- there's more!
This started out as a simple Excel spreadsheet with each month on a different tab, but it has turned into one of my strongest tools for being smart with my money! I can track each month's progress towards becoming debt-free and give myself a realistic timeline for that goal. I can track how much money should be in our savings account every month (if there are no emergencies!) and also how much interest we should accrue each year. I can now also- and this is the most important thing- tell if we can afford something we want at a glance.
If this sounds too complicated to be worth anyone's time, don't be fooled. I do not spend more than 20 minutes a month looking at this thing. I simply type in the amount of money we bring home every month, and the formulas that I've plugged in do all the work for me (that is the nifty little thing about Excel!). I only spend extra time determining where to allocate our extra money between savings, paying off debt, or just treating ourselves to something else.
I know where all of our money goes now, and I am so happy about it.
IF YOU CAME HERE FROM WFMW, PLEASE CLICK "HOME" AT THE TOP AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON W/ BECCA NOW! THIS POST WAS WRITTEN LONG AGO!
**Linked to 8/12/09 Works For Me Wednesday
Do you have any organization techniques posted on your blog that you think I'd like? If so, leave me the link and link back to this post!
Do you have any organization techniques posted on your blog that you think I'd like? If so, leave me the link and link back to this post!
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3 comments:
I love reading your blogs..
Wow, that's awesome you're so organized! I need a lesson from you!
WOW, I'm so impressed Becca.
I also do our budget on Excel but I'm not so clever with it - your spreadsheet makes my heart beat just a little bit faster :)
Marcia from Organising Queen
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