Weak Trick

So not much in additional news other than a little trick that personally helps me and who knows, maybe it can help you too. I'm the one that does the bills in my household and it's always been that way because I'm a tiny bit OCD on getting things taken care of and when you have money coming/going and you can have your power turned off (had that happen once in the beginning of my marriage) because you're not paying close attention, well, you either get OCD or you get to move everything out of your fridge to somewhere cold before it rots.

Anyways, when we're getting near to the next paycheck, especially after coming off one that gets hit with the biggest bills, there's the money crunch/anxiety. This is where being the bill payer has its advantage. If you don't pay the bill and hit the ATM you may see a larger number in your account than is actually there-pending charges that haven't hit, bills that are automated but haven't deducted yet, but will before the next paycheck. I account for every single bill due for each paycheck as soon as that paycheck hits. I go through my account and use a super simple excel spreadsheet (no formulas even, I use the computer calculator to do my tallies-this also makes it hit home where your money is going) and I add the date of every charge that cleared already and make a rough estimate of the expenses we'll cover before the next paycheck.

This last weekend as the money ran tight I decided to be even more OCD (if that's possible) for every cent. After I did the bills, subtracted pending charges, etc, I typed the balance amount into my phone calculator. Then, any errand I or my husband made, I immediately went to my phone and deducted that amount so I knew exactly where we stood as we go. So much easier than running home to pull up my excel sheet. Lame but effective. That's my tip for the week. Such as it is. :)