However, all of the information I have is so outdated and jumbled. The good new is most everyone Im dealing with is new, so we are starting over. I have also been wrapped up in some personal medical issues. So yeah, thats where I have been.
Today I want to share my budget binder. Its quite simple, but it really works.
First off I want to explain my system. I use online banking with my bank USAA. I have access to this because The Rooster is in the military. Its a wonderful bank, and their website is very easy to use. It has a ton of calculators and even its own budget software. You can check your bank to see if their site has something similar. This is very helpful. If not you can use programs like Quicken, that lets you record all of your accounts, registers, allows you to see where your money is going, and help you set limits with the budget tool. I used to use this before I switched to USAA. I also have an excel workbook I made, that I used before Quicken. Once I put the finishing touches on it I will share it so you will have a free option for tracking spending. With this, I have most of the information not on paper.
I have my bills set up to pay roughly the same amount each pay period. Sometimes this means paying a few bills early. I pay rent and cell phones in the beginning of the month then water, gas, electric, internet, car payment, insurance, Hulu, and Xbox in the second half of the month. Water is due at the beginning, but I paid it twice one month, and now I pay it as soon as get the bill so I can pay it with the others. I have all the fixed bills drafted straight out of my bank. I left the variable ones they way they are so I can see the amount before I pay them.
As far as my paper stuff goes, I made a cute little binder for it. Its separate than my household binder, and the rest of my files. I used to have it in a folder in my file drawer, but I never pulled it out enough to do any good. I wasn't as on top of my bills as I wanted to be. Then I moved it to a section of my household binder, but then I needed several sections for bills and budgets. It got to be way to many sections for one binder so I separated them. I will make separate posts for each binder and link them together so you can see what I mean.
Here is my bill binder.
I got the original idea here from mommyedwards.com. I used her divider pages and switched them up to do what I wanted them to do, since I have different things in my binder.
I got my supplies together, which were;
A three ring binder, 1.5 or 2 inch with an inner front pocket.
Durable dividers, 5, I actually re used a set I had from school that I purchased at the .99 cent store.
Three ring zipper pouch, I got this one, because of the 3 sections, but I bought it at Wal-Mart.
A few more tabs, to make a few more dividers.
Cheap calculater
A few pens, a blue/black, red, and a highlighter
Three hole punch
Then I put them together. I labeled the front pocket "Bills to Pay" and this is were I stash my open, but not paid yet bills after I throw everything other than the bill and return envelope in the recycle bin. I have them reversed in the interest of hiding personal info, but they usually have the amount owed showing.
The first thing in the rings of course is the pouch, and in one section are the pens, another has the calculator, and in the back I have my checkbook. Some people also keep some stamps in there too, but I prefer to leave mine with my envelopes since I use those for more than just bills. I'm comfortable leaving my check book in the binder since I do not use it for anything else.
I have mixed and matched printables from DIY Home Sweet Home, here and from Pinch a Little, Save a Lot, here.
My first section in the dividers is my Calendar and Bill Schedule. First I have a checklist of all bills owed and their due dates. Its a year at a glance form.
After that I have monthly calendars with the bills listed on the correct day. I took the time to fill them out for the entire year. This is helpful so I can see when it coincides with holidays and birthdays.
The next section is Budget, I have a simple budget written out, and some baseline info I found here under family guides.
Then comes Personal Statements. I have a family balance sheet here, its nice to see our net worth and what we still have to work on financially.
Account Information comes next, I record my logins and account numbers for banks and utilities sites.
After the last main divider, I have 4 more dividers for my statements. One for water, internet, power, and gas. I stuck the tabs at the lower part of the dividers so they could be hidden by that last main tab.
I use my binder by opening it at the beginning of the month to mark rent and the cell phones once I confirmed that the funds left the bank. I check them off on both the yearly and monthly forms. Then when I pay my paper bills, I write and sent the check. I write the check number and date on the part of the statement I keep with red ink, punch holes in it, and put it at the front of the statements in the proper section.
This way the most current statement is at the top and I can refer back easily if I need to, and I did need to! This month, my balance for my power bill was $.32 This wasn't right. I used the same amount for the last 3 months and knew my bill should have been around $70-80. This got me to look at last months, where I paid twice that for the same amount of energy. Apparently I need to read my statements a little more closely. The month prior, I paid a tad late. Late enough to be included on last months statement as still owed. I blindly paid the full balance effectively paying the last bill twice. Luckily it was carried over and paid this months bill.
I hope this helps you put together your bill binder or budget book. If anyone has any other tips or anything you want to share please submit a comment or feel free to contact me.
