Okay, so just recently, my husband and I decided it was time to “get serious” about our finances. We bought the Dave Ramsey book, got our budget in order and even started paying off debt.
Then life happened… The water heater broke and an unscheduled heart surgery took a huge chunk of our funds.
Back to square one!
With tons (let’s be real when I say TONS) of medical debt that had crept its way into our lives due to unforeseen circumstances…and some foreseen, we were drowning in negative dollar signs and growing incredibly frustrated with the whole ordeal.
So, we made a system. That’s my forte, right?
I wrote down every single bill/debt we had in an Excel document. At my corporate job, Excel is the main program we use, so this seemed like the most logical approach. I typed out the total balances, monthly payments and the payment due dates of each bill on the lines following. There it was. In black and white and ready to be TACKLED.
First, a bill account and spend account were created (instead of one account for all spending). In the bill account, we created “padding” that equaled the total amount of all monthly bills combined.
Next, we decided to use auto draft for every bill that was eligible. Most companies have the option of setting this up online, so it’s mostly hassle free. Check, check! The purpose of the extra padding is so that when bills hit your account, the balance is covered whether or not your checks have been deposited. It is a constant flow of “in and out”.
We calculated the amount of money that would be used for everyday use and transferred it into the spending account each week (my husband gets paid weekly). If you didn’t already know, transfers can be set up through your bank account! Can you say AUTOMATION? Technology is incredible and we should definitely be taking advantage of it.
Any extra funds that weren’t needed in our monthly budget for necessities is being used to pay off existing debt. This includes credit cards, medical bills and other miscellaneous expenditures. Ramsey likes to use a term called the “debt snowball” and y’all, it is genius! If you don’t have his book, I recommend purchasing. He also has a free podcasts.
I’ve got tons of other tips and tricks when it comes to money management and would love to take you on as a client to help you FREE yourself from crippling debt.
Shoot me an email to set up a consultation at [email protected].
