Monthly Bill Chart

Today I want to share with you all how I organize paying bills each month. My system is very simple and it can personalized to each household. 

To begin, I created a Word document I've titled my 'Monthly Bill Chart' It looks like this:

How to Make Your Own:
To make this simple chart, all you need is Microsoft Word. From the menu bar, go to 'Insert' --> 'Table' and create a table that is 5 columns by x rows (However many bills you have). From here you can click on 'design' and change it from a standard table to something more fancy. You can change the table color, font color and font. Be creative! To the top row, I name to columns 'What', 'How Much', 'Due', 'Paid' and I leave one blank. You can name these however you'd like.

To Use:
Each month I fill out the name of the month and the year. The chart is organized into 5 columns and however many rows are needed to include all of your bills for that month. I usually leave several blank rows to write in unexpected and unplanned bills. Here is how each column is used:

• What:  I enter the name of the bill or company I am paying (i.e. Rent, Car Payment, Verizon Wireless, DirecTV, etc.)
• How Much: I enter the outstanding balance or my minimum payment (i.e. $1,354 on credit card OR $25 for minimum payment due.)
• Due: Here I enter the due date so I can prioritize and never forget an upcoming bill! It also helps to put them in order by due date from earliest to latest.
• Paid: Here I write down how much I actually paid (i.e. bill is $247.45 but I paid $300 so I write $300.)
• __: This small box is what I check off when the payment has gone through and the money is removed from my checking account. Or I check it right away if the payment was in cash.

Near the end of a month, I try to fill out as much of the chart on Word as I can for the NEXT month after I receive any bill statements in the mail or online. Once I have as much filled in as possible, I print it out. From here, I simply write in any blanks that I've missed, enter how much I paid and begin checking them off (as they're paid.) A few months I have done this entirely on Word and did not print it out, which works just as well, especially to save paper. I however am one of those people that likes tangiable lists, so I like to print mine off.   

Here is an example of my bill chart from October:

Well, there ya go! This is my quick and easy way to organize monthly bills so you never miss another again. This is a great way to keep all of your finances in order and it helps to share with your partner just what's going on with your money. You can make these charts as simple or as complex as you'd like. You can add a section to specify how you paid for it (ie. which bank account, cash, credit, etc.) There are so many ways to make this work for your family! As long as you stick to it, I promise it will make your life easier.

Thanks for checking this out and I'll be back soon with another post!

xoxoBrittany