Finances & Home Information Binder: Bills & Calendar

For the last two weeks {seriously} I have been working on a new binder. Since creating my home management binder back in September 2011, I've changed the way things need to work for me. I don't have a family with children, so I feel there are many things that are truly just not important for me to worry about tracking at this time. Also, we've decided to tackle our massive student loan debt, the smart way {as opposed to the long way...of just paying minimum payments for 15 - 30 years}. It just makes sense to rethink the home management binder idea - for us - and revamp what and how we track.

Disclaimer: Don't take any of my "finance" related posts as expert advice. I'm not claiming to be an expert. Eh, I'm far from it actually. This post...and the few that are coming up next...is purely for me to show you how my husband and I handle our finances. We're a financial mess, but this is how we organize it in style.

{Due to not wanting to blur out all of our financial info, I'm just going to show you screen shots of the forms I used, where applicable. I'll use actual photos where I can.}

The very first section in my binder is bills. It just makes sense since my main focus is, well, paying them...on time. I'm pretty good at it, but I could plan better. Here are the forms I have in this section.

bill & payment checklist

Front and center. If I can check it off, I can ensure I've paid it - or scheduled it to be paid.

irregular payments for bills & memberships

Life saver. Truly. We all have those bills that are paid once a year, bi-yearly, quarterly, etc. I like to know ahead of time when things are due, rather than 30 days {or usually less} before it's due. This form is the best reminder for me. I can cancel memberships before they auto-charge if I don't want to renew. I can have the money saved up so we're not charging the cost because we forgot the bill was coming.

We also have a savings account called "bi-yearly bills". No joke. This is where I save money for all of these things. The biggest deal for me is auto insurance. I don't want to pay extra because I choose to go monthly rather than bi-yearly. I have the money every time. Smartest money idea I've ever had. {If you don't think it's that genius, fine. But just think...that means I'm truly not a financial goddess. Wish I was, but not even close...yet.}

The next section is simply calendar. I have a printed copy of my free 2012 monthly calendar in this section. And now that I look for it...I realize I never shared the current one I'm using...just 2 others. I keep changing my font preferences, I guess. You can purchase the new calendar, along with the 2013 set, for just $5 in my Etsy store.

Anyway... here's a sample picture of how I use the calendar. I color code paychecks coming in on the day they pay and how much {since we're salaried}. Then I color code bank accounts and write down bills as I pay them or schedule them. That way I know what account they're coming out of and when. Yet, another idea I think is brilliant.

I'll be back tomorrow - yes, seriously...on a Saturday - with the next three sections: budget, income, & business expenses. {Click here to read the next post.}

And, in the meant time, if you're wondering where you can get such amazing forms like these, let me tell you. I spent the last two weeks working on a new set with this new font. Maybe not new, new, but new from what I usually use. It's called GeosansLight. This whole set, called fiances & home information set, has the same usual colors I use, but this new font. It's on sale for $30 until Sunday, July 8. {Plus...if you've been paying attention...there's a 20% off code in a post from earlier this week that's still good until Sunday. So you could potentially only pay $24.}