Things You'll Need:
- Realize that this is to be a change of habit and things will change in time rather than a quick fix.
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Step 1
Open up an excel worksheet or start a list with the following headers. Company, due date, Paid date, Paid. It's that simple. For one month you will need to list all bills that come in in order to make your template. Once you do one you will see that all following months are the almost the same. On your list, fill out the information for all recurring bills, including your paycheck amount and pay date. The due date will always be the same. If it changes it will be a day or two, no big deal.
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Step 2
Now depending how often you get paid separate the list into the number of paychecks you get every month. For example if you get paid twice a month you will separate you list into 2. One list will have bills with due dates from the 1st to the 15th. This part will go together with the "second" paycheck. Now, bills with due dates from the 16th to the 31st will go with the "first" paycheck of the month. Yes, I wrote it in the correct order.
You need to do this if you want to pay all your bills on time.
For example, you get paid on the 1st and your house payment is due on the 1st. Sometimes you will be paid on the 2nd or on the 3rd so if you count on the first paycheck of the month your house payment is late and may be late always. However, if you get paid on the 15th and with this paycheck pay your house payment or anything else due on the first fifteen days of the month you are always paying your bills on time and/or ahead of time. By doing this you have total control of your recurring bills. Plus you know exactly what's coming ahead of time. -
Step 3
Now for your real problem, the extras. Be sure to budget your groceries and make a list before you go. Make a specific budget for your groceries and try to stick to it. Your gas money also needs to get an average amount and put into your budget. Get your average costs during one month and round them up so your forecast is always within budget. Be sure to also budget how many times you go grocery shopping and not just how much you spend. Now there is no excuse, whatever is left, you should save as much as possible. No matter how much it is, Save it! If you think you must have money for "extras" then you should split the left over down the middle and list them both in your list. 50% for extras and 50% for savings. This will be your spending money/ your allowance. You can never go over this as you have to focus on the fact that this is what you make. You want more? Go make more money because you can't do it on this budget. It really doesn't matter how much you make. How you handle what you have is key to having a great credit. It is very simple way but hard to adhere and will power is key. This really works and you can use this concept for a struggling salary or for a multi million dollar salary.
