It can be quite overwhelming to handle your own finances, let alone for an entire household, so it’s good if you can take control and get into a rhythm going forward so that you are on a consistent pattern every month. Between due dates, balances, as well as making sure you are in good shape for saving for the future, there is a lot to be responsible for. By making sure you following a few behaviors on a regular basis, you can make sure you are in control for you and for family’s finances.
Change Due Dates
With all of the monthly payments that are due every month, between the mortgage, utilities, car payment, credit card, insurance, not to mention any student/personal loan payments, you could have payments coming out at any point of the month. By changing due dates to either be around the same time, or better yet, split between the beginning and end of the month, you can plan out having the available funds by spreading out the monthly expenses over the course of the month. Keep in mind that with a mortgage typically having a grace period of 15 days, it does not have to come out on the 1st every month, just as long as it’s not paid on the 16th when late fees will be added.
Even Out Available Cash
By spreading out the monthly expense due dates, you can spread out the monthly payments and have a consistent amount of available cash after all of the bills are paid. If you didn’t stagger the payment dates, you could run the risk of having little or no money left after payments for spending money, while having a large amount available the next paycheck.
Never Worry about Missing Payments
When you are on top of your finances, you never run the risk of missing payments and therefore ruining your credit score, jeopardizing future monthly payments increasing, on top of already paying late fees. Keeping a spreadsheet of when everything is due is a good idea, as well as when payments are made and pending so that you know where you stand every month. Auto-pay is huge, not only being able to take out on the due date every month for some, but for others, scheduling when to have them withdrawn every month, typically on Friday paydays as much as I can make it.
Avoid Wracking Up Credit Card Debt
It can be easy to spend money on whatever you want, but when you are trying to stay in control of your finances, you don’t want to be not only trying to pay back what you have been charging up and not able to afford, but also paying interest until the balance is paid off. Being able to pay off, and stay out of debt, will take willpower and discipline, but is necessary when you look at the big picture, which is trying to continue to reduce expenses so that every dollar freed up can go towards saving for the future.