Organizing Your Plan

Betesha Ethridge – #BankWithBea

Hello friends! Let’s start with a recap of last week’s challenge. “Our next challenge is to write down your due dates and pay dates so we can determine which bills get paid with each check and what to do if the due date falls outside of your pay period.”

I hope you have learned more about your needs vs wants and budgeting your monthly income. This week we will organize your debt to fit your pay schedule. Some clients use their bank account to pay their monthly bills. It is sometimes wiser to separate your bill money from your daily spending funds.

Another option is to withdraw the cash that you have budgeted out for your personal expenses and keep the remaining in the savings account and the bill account. The challenge for this week was to write down the due dates vs. pay dates. What this does is help you determine when you can pay a bill and/or how much you can pay per pay date. Say for instance you get paid (bring home) $500 each week.

Your payment plan will look different from someone who gets paid once a month or bi-weekly. For most of us, rent/mortgage is always due on the first of each month. That means you may not have enough to pay it with one check. It may be easier for you to save a portion of each check. Here’s an example, let’s say you make $500/month, but your rent is $400. It may be best for you to save $100/week to go towards the rent, to allot for the other bills that fall in between the pay dates. If you get paid bi-weekly (every two weeks), the same goes for you. Those bills that are due after your pay date is what your funds need to go towards.

For example, if your car payment is due on the 15thand you get paid on the 7th, you will need to leave the funds in the account for that bill or pay it on the 7th. It is OK to pay your bills early! Guess what? If you are paying an interest-bearing loan, paying early will always save you in interest and more of that payment will go towards the principle. You can also ask the lender to divide your payments up to match your pay cycle. Do whatever is best for you to maintain. In the event you are struggling to make the payment because it falls after your pay date, call the lender, and request a payment due date change. You may have recently changed jobs and can no longer make the payments on the 5th but can make it on the 25th. Lenders will work with you!

Do not give up on this financial journey. Remember your financial goals! We will continue to work on it together. Next week’s challenge is to go back and complete what you could not complete the previous weeks. If you are still working on the goal from week one or two, complete it.

I’m your accountability buddy and it is never too late to organize your plan. Reach me at bea@bankwithbea.com #BankWithBea.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *