Having two pay periods in a month has been a challenge for my budget. I have struggled for years with how to divide my expenses between the two. I got help from Lauren from My Something Beautiful Life.
Lauren suggested I make three columns. The first column has a list of all my bills and expenses for the month and the due dates, if applicable. The second column shows what I will pay for the first pay period and the third column shows what I will pay with the second pay period.
Genius! This makes it SO much easier to see everything at once and what needs to be paid when.
In the past, I have also had trouble keeping track of cash expenses. For example, I like to buy my groceries with cash (because then I don’t spend as much, LOL!) But sometimes I end up buying some groceries with my credit card and then keeping track of that turns into a complicated mess for me. I try to stay organized. I want to stay within my budget. But I just haven’t had a system that worked.
With the three columns I have found it easy to divide online payments and cash payments without going over my budget. There are a couple of things that I have to be aware of though.
First, I have to keep track of what I am spending. This has been something I have neglected in the past. By updating my spending weekly, I hope to keep a better handle on this. I can keep my receipts in an envelope so that I can easily record my spending each week. And if I spend money on Amazon, I can go back to my account and record what I purchased. If I do this weekly, I’m hoping it won’t get overwhelming.
The other thing I have to remember is that this is a new system for me so I have to give it time to work out the details. I have to give it a chance to see how it works for me.
So far I like how it is working. My biggest challenge is updating my spending weekly. Knowing it will make it easier in the long run, is helpful.
Thanks to Lauren from My Something Beautiful Life for getting me off to a positive start with my finances!