Entries Tagged 'Budgets' ↓

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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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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A draw back to budgeting is there are always expenses that come up unexpectedly -or they were expected and forgotten- every year. The difference between being prepared for these expenses or not can be the difference between a having the money to pay your bills or going broke. Below are three tips to save for three types of unexpected and unusual expenses.
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Bi-weekly pay periods are great. You have the luxury of knowing that every other Friday (or whichever day is pay day for you) you will be getting paid. That is great for keeping your pockets full, but it presents some real headaches when it comes to setting your budget.

Imagine this, you get paid on say the 13th and your mortgage payment is due on the 15th. Your account is full, you write the check, no problem.

What about next month? Continue reading →

People think I am strange. Even though I hate budgets themselves, I love making them. I like the feeling allocating money and knowing there will be enough for the coming weeks. I love the feeling of finding out that there is more money avalible then I first thought. So yeah, I’m strange. But hey, I went to school for accountanting, so that is to be expected I guess.

Anyways, it is time to create your budget. Actually, it is time to prepare to prepare your budget. What I mean by that is… its time for a scavenger hunt.

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I hate budgets. By their nature they are designed to fail. With a traditional budget you allocate certain amounts to certain expenses and you pray that you can stick to it.

A lot of times budgets are unrealistic, expenses are forgotten, people get frustrated and quit. In short, budgets fail. Often, they fail because they are dependant on human interaction. Continue reading →