Entries from July 2009 ↓

A while back I wrote about how to budget for a bi-weekly paycheck. The best part of getting paid every other week is the same as the problem with it… the consistency.

From one point of view it is great to know that every two weeks you will be getting another paycheck. Every 14 days, like clockwork, your bank account is filled up. But that is also the downside.

Your monthly bills do not always line up with your pay dates. Let’s say you have a large bill due on the 15th. One month your paycheck might land on the 13th and another month it could be the 17th. Regardless of the day you get paid your bill will still be due on the 15th.

This can get you into trouble those months where your paycheck comes after the bill is due. It is very hard to budget, especially to create an automatic budget, when there is no consistency of the due dates to the pay dates.
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Happy Independence Day everyone. I pray you all have a great holiday as we celebrate our right to freedom.

Tip 1: Is it Automatic?

In my mind, a budget is never good unless it can run by itself with little to no required input each month. After my budget is set up, I just want it to work. In an effort to reach this perfect state, I advocate setting up automatic bill payments to pay your bills online, automatically, at a scheduled times.

The more that can automate the more worry free –a better the chance for success- your budget will be. However, once your budget is set, you need to ask yourself… “Is my budget really automatic?”
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