If your having a hard time budgeting bills and it seems like your bank account is always over drawn, this blog post is for you :) I never used to be very good at budgeting, in fact i was horrible at it. I was always late with my bills, my account was always overdrawn, I was on check systems and in fact I had so much debt I finally had to file bankruptcy! Since then I have said "you know what i am going to be better about paying my bills and be better with my money". There are times where I still overspend it does happen and hey no one is perfect but, the majority of the time we (My husband and I) are pretty good about budgeting. First of all my husband gets paid every two weeks so we have to make our checks last. So usually with the first check of the month, we will pay our mortgage first, before we spend money on anything else. Than we use the rest of that check for gas and groceries or whatever we need for the next two weeks. With the second check of the month we pay all the rest of our bills, which equals about the same as our mortgage. Than whatever ever is left, same thing, we use it for gas and groceries or whatever else we need for the next two weeks. The key thing here is that we pay our bills first before anything else, that way we don't have to worry about them, and they are never late. In fact most of the time they are early! Also make sure that your not spending money on things you can't afford. Lower your phone bill, get any kind of discount you can find. For example my husband works for Coke so we get a 15% discount with T-mobile. I know allot of different companies will support discounts like that. Call your internet company tell them your going to switch companies and they will lower your bill for you. I have been doing this with Clear for almost a year now. They have been charging me $27 a month when my normal bill is $54. I am always looking for new companies with lower rates and by the time I tell Clear i'm going to switch they lower my bill. Just always look for ways to save. If you can't afford a Gym membership than don't get one. Go walking or running at night. Also when you are using your debit card, make sure you are writing down every transaction in a transaction registry. That way you know exactly how much you have spent and where. Always make sure you know exactly how much money you have, than you will never have an overdraft fee again. Allot of banks will have overdraft protection. I'ts basically a credit card you have just in case you accidentally overdraw. Its a great thing to have. We have one and have never had an overdraft fee. FYI Credit unions are better than banks, they don't charge for every little thing a bank does. Any way back on subject, also what really helps me every month to make sure my bills are on time and paid, is to have a day planner. I have to have one. I write down the dates my bills are due and write paid next to them once I've paid them. When you are paying all your bills at once, make sure you write them in your registry so you know your exact balance after your bills are paid. My day planner also helps because I have a daughter in school and she has different activities, I write down everyone birthdays and events and it always helps. Trust me it's allot less stressful to have one so you always have everything scheduled. With the money you have left over after paying bills, Budget out how much your going to be using for gas and groceries. Than whatever is left you can either save it or get something you need or want. Its always better to at least save a little bit. There is never to small of an amount to save. Some times you wont have extra, once you have payed your bills and budgeted groceries and gas. That's OK. It happens allot for us , so we always do fun and free things with our kids those paychecks. If you have a paycheck with money left over than that's the time to go and do something fun. We are always finding ways to save. Going to thrift stores for clothes or Kid to kid. Clipping coupons for grocery shopping. Finding coupons for fun activities, even going out to eat I will, most of the time, have some sort of coupon. Hey don't judge, in this economy and since I want to raise my kids and stay home, I have to budget. I am fortunate enough to be able to stay home. I never was able to before and I am definitely grateful. If I can do this , so can you. You just have to be strict and don't spend money before you pay your bills, or get the things that you need. Well if your not going to get anything out of this post, Just remember these few things:
- Always pay your bills first when you get your paycheck.
- Avoid overdraft fees, by writing down EVERY transaction.
- Keep a day planner to make sure everything is scheduled.
- Save every little way you can! Always try to find ways to save!
- Don't buy things you can't afford.
Well that's my budget tip for today. Please leave any comments or advice about how you save and budget. Thanks for checking out my blog : D
