Managing Household Finances // Enter Financial Data & Pay Bills {series, part two}

This is Part Two of a 3-part series about the Home Finance Binder System. Check out Part One here.

This post was updated on June 14, 2020

How the Home Finance Binder System Changed Our Life

Hey there, friend. I’m Jessica.

I’m a 30-something wife & mama of two on the path towards financial independence as part of our family’s journey to simplify our entire life and ultimately, do less.

It’s been 6+ years since we started this journey with the Home Finance Binder System as our home base.

With it, my husband and I have been able to:

• Pay off 100% of our student loans.
• Buy a beautiful, right-sized home with a very low mortgage interest rate.
• Pay off our first car, and intentionally finance a 2nd car at 0%, while quickly increasing our cash cushion every single month!
• Gut & remodel our master bathroom with cash.
• Consistently maintain a credit score of over 800 (even hitting 850 at one point – didn’t even know that was possible)!

There are quite a few layers in our home finance management process.

In this post, I’m teaching you how to Document Your Financial Data in Part 2 of my 3-Part Series.

My hope is that you’ll discover energy & momentum to dive right into a better home finance management system for your family today.

You can start for free on a No Spend Challenge with this starter kit.

OR, if you’re already convinced you need to take action to budget, then I invite you to invest in your financial future with immediate access to the Home Finance Binder System here.

Everything you need is in the playbook and worksheets, including everything you see in the post below (except for the binder supplies!), plus so much more!Save

DOCUMENT YOUR FINANCIAL DATA

Complete the Bill Schedule

Let’s put that ink on paper!

Flip to the Planning tab in your binder to grab the 2 Bill Schedules printed during Part 1. 

Label one for your checking account and the other for your credit card.

A Note On Credit Cards:

The Home Finance Binder System accounts for the use of a “master” credit card. One that is paid every single month through laser tight checks & balances.

One of these checks is knowing exactly what the minimum balance on the card is based on the recurring costs that are already committed.

If you don’t use a credit card, no problem! Just skip any instruction that references a credit card.

Next, complete each Bill Schedule according to recurring charges that hit each category.

Be sure to document all charges that repeat weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, or anything in between. 

This is why the Home Finance Binder System is so helpful. You’re guided through the process of uncovering ALL of these commitments in Phase 1 & 2 in the Playbook.

When you’ve paid each bill, check off the box in the monthly columns on the Bill Schedule. For charges less frequent than monthly, strike out the box so you know it’s not due that month.

Complete the Monthly Calendars

In this step, we’ll transfer paydays and bill due dates over to the Monthly Calendars. The current Monthly Calendar is basically the “dashboard” of your binder. It’s the first page in view when you open it up, so it needs to provide all the key information!

Every month, you’ll reference the Bill Schedule to populate your Monthly Calendar. If anything changes, always make sure to update it on the Bill Schedule so that future updates can be made for current information.

Let’s start by recording paydays because that always makes me happy! 

Choose a fresh color code or a fun sticker to note payday(s) on your Monthly Calendar.

Next, transfer all recurring charges from your Checking Account Bill Schedule to the Monthly Calendar. 

For quick reference, if anything is on autopay, put an asterisk next to it.

Reminder: Don’t transfer the Credit Card recurring charges because they are assumed within the payment from your Checking Account to your Credit Card. Adding them again would equal a double count on the calendar.

NEXT STEPS

You know how to make your binder now & you also know a great way to get ahead of and track your recurring bills. 

If you’ve ever missed a bill because you forgot it was due, you know how frustrating that can be. That just doesn’t happen with the Home Finance Binder System!

It’s time to dive in if you haven’t taken the leap already. I explain everything you’ll need to know to maintain this process weekly, monthly and beyond. When you’ve got this system running smoothly over time, the money stress will just melt away.

In the next post in this series, we’re covering budgeting. Make sure to first have a big picture view of your current financial state through intentional review of your current expenses. 

This is done step-by-step within the Home Finance Binder System, so if you need some help, I’ve got you covered!

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