Saving Money - Part 3 "Get your stuff together!"

Okay, so here is yet another installment of my saving money tips. Of course, I don't have it all together, and I don't know all the tricks of the trade.. but I do have ideas and things that work for us and I want to share them with others in hopes of helping out in some small way. Now, I'm call this "Get your stuff together" because when it comes to bills and long term saving, there is no better way to start than sitting down, writing down, and organizing where your money goes and how you can save more. I suggest a monthly printable calendar  I have been using this method since 2008 and it works wonderfully for paying bills on time and budgeting your monthly finances. I use a printable calendar from the Print Shop program, but you can find them free online too. It's very simple. First, gather up all your bills. Write down which bill is due on what day.  Write it directly on the calender. I circle payday dates as well. Don't forget semiannual payments like insurance as well. Once you figure out how much money is going out each month, you can see how much potential you have to save. You may not have any to save. That's ok, but you need to do something about it. As Dave Ramsey says, sell what you can and pay off debt. As soon as your debt is down, you can start saving. Sell whatever you can find. Use craigslist, ebay, any way you can find. The goal is to pay off your debt, and then start saving. Decide what you're going to save for.. paying off your car, planning a trip, buying a house... whatever it is! Make a chart. Your chart should lay out a plan : 3 month, 6 month, 12 month... whatever you chose. Just make sure you map out how you are going to get there on the big chart. Stick it somewhere you look at everyday! Use it as a reminder to stay on your budget, follow through and get your reward! I placed ours in the pantry! When I feel like pulling my hair out with the budget,  I go look at the chart and remember why we are saving! I hope this post will encourage you on your path to saving!

Here is an example of my monthly bill calendar.

Our big chart maps out what things get paid, the order they get paid in and the date they will be paid off. It's very rewarding to mark off the debt as it goes away!