FinanceGrrl

It’s not a budget. Budgets make people run screaming from the room. But it is essential to understand the difference between what you earn (take home - not gross) and what you spend.

If you’ve been through the exercise described in this post about the FinanceGrrl Bill Pay System, you’ve taken the first step to identifying your own cash flow. In short, you need to write on a calendar the week before each of your bills are paid. Add to this calendar the dates when you receive your paychecks, and you’re off and running.

After one full month of recording your bills on a calendar, you’ve already created a tool to analyze your cash flow. The visual effect of looking at your monthly bills in one place is powerful. It also helps to add to the calendar other steady financial transactions, such as when you get paid and how much you take home (net).

Do you notice any patterns? Are your bills evenly distributed throughout the month, or are they bunched up near the beginning or the end? If you are feeling a squeeze on your bank account during certain times of the month it may be because your bills are not evenly distributed. In this example the last week of a month is a bear - $1250 in expenses alone for that week. Compared to the week prior, when only $65 worth of bills are due, the third week can really take a toll on a budget.
If you are unbalanced, try calling the people you are paying (”payees”). Many companies, especially credit cards, loans and insurance companies will allow you to change your due dates at least once. But some only allow one change so be sure you’ve really looked to see when you need to move a bill.