Monthly Checklist
 

For important tasks that you need to do every month, use a checksheet. Review it at the end of the month to make sure you've covered everything on it. This is especially useful with bills. Make a list of all your bills (fun, I know) and glance over it each month to be sure you're current.

Use Worksheet B to track bill payment. An example is shown in Figure 4. Write your list of monthly bills in the left hand column. Then each month when you pay the bill, write the day you pay it in the box for that month. That way you’ll have a record of when each bill was paid in the previous months and know approximately when it needs to be paid this month.

At the end of the month, a glance down the column for that month will show whether you’ve paid everything or not. Below is an example. Notice that by the end of April the one box that does not have a date in it is the US Dept of Education payment. Using this checksheet you would notice this before it became a bigger problem.

Figure 4

This is a safety net to double check that you're up-to-date and dramatically reduces the chance that you've forgotten something that can come back and, at the very least, cause headaches, and late charges. As they say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You can also set up reminders by email through various online services.

What you’ve done so far is to set up a filing system, balanced your bank and credit card accounts, and figured out your net worth and monthly debt obligations. In summary you’ve determined where you are, your starting point on a financial road map. From here you can go anywhere you want if you follow a few rules of the road.

Keep It Flowing In

One of the rules of this road is that you absolutely must establish positive cashflow. Spend less than you earn by either increasing your earnings, reducing your expenses, or both. For the vast majority of people it is easier, faster and more important to reduce expenses because it is something directly and immediately within their control.

I know it can be hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it right? Well it’s not easy, but it’s the only way to have financial security. You have to change some of the ingrained habits you’ve developed.

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