February 2009 Archives - Free From Broke

Using Google Calendar To Pay Bills On Time

Have you ever realized you had a bill sitting around that was due today? Or worse, yesterday? If you are lucky you can pay the bill online but that’s not always an option (I’ve found that some companies have a cut-off time).

There was a time when I had a lot of credit card debt. Digging out of it was tough but what made it harder was paying late fees because I would miss the credit card due date by a few days or so. There was just about nothing more frustrating than looking through your bills and realizing one was already past due!

I definitely needed a bill/pay calendar system that would work for me!

So how can we avoid paying bills late?

You can pay the bill immediately. But if you are like me you would rather keep the money in savings for as along as possible or you budget in such a way that certain bills get paid with different paychecks.

You can write the date you need to pay the bill on the envelope. I do this. Usually this works great. Problems occur when you don’t notice the date or forget to keep up with the bill. That happens to me too!

So what’s another fail safe you can use?

I’ve been experimenting with Google Calendar to set up reminders to pay my bills on time!

When I get a bill I open it up and check out the due date. I then determine when I have to actually pay the bill to make sure I meet the due date. For example: If I have to mail a bill I give myself about a week. For online bills I pad a few days before the due date. If I need to transfer money I give myself about a week too to make sure the money gets transferred over (I keep my savings in my ING Direct account).

Next I write that date on the bill. That’s one fail safe.

The real useful fail safe is Google Calendar.

I take my bill and log onto my account, go to the day I need to pay the bill by, and write in a reminder that gets emailed to me when it comes up. Since my cell gets email it’s like an extra reminder since it’s on my phone and my computer!

Let me show you how I set up Google Calendar as my Bill/Pay Calendar:

Log onto your Google Calendar and open up the month for your bill due date:

Click on the day you need to pay your bill on, enter the bill name, and hit “edit event details”:

Enter the details (date; what the bill is; whatever you need):

Click on Options:

Here’s an important part – Click Add a Reminder. Set the reminder to Email (this will send you an email reminder):

Viola! You’ve now setup a reminder in Google Calendar to remind you when to pay your bill!

Update: You can also set up Google Calendar to send you a text message as well.

So far this has worked really great for me. The key to this is to make sure your enter you bill in GCal when you get the bill. I’ve used this to remind me about car payments as well as credit card due dates.

How do you keep track of your bill’s due dates?

Additional resources to help with your budget and pay bills:

Many online checking accounts offer free online bill pay as part of their banking and you can find similar services through your credit card.

How The American Recovery And Reinvesment Act Of 2009 Can Help You

Written by Glen Craig 12 Comments

Last week President Obama signed into law the American Recovery And Reinvestment Bill, otherwise known as the 2009 Economic Stimulus. A big question in the minds of the average American is How can it help me?!?

Here are some ways the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 can help you:

Unemployment – In 2009 you will not have to pay pay taxes on the first $2400 in benefits you receive.

Social Security – Some social security recipients will receive a $250 refundable tax credit mailed to them within 120 days of the bill’s signing.

Pell Grant – The maximum benefit for Pell Grants will rise to $5,350 in 2009 and $5,550 in 2010.

More Liberal 529 Plan – In 2009 and 2010 students can withdraw money or computers and related technology such as educational software or internet service for students living at home.

Transportation Accounts – Your employers are able to increase transportation spending accounts up to $230 a month. This is money you can have set aside from your paycheck tax free. (Check with your employer to see if they participate and raised their limits.)

New Car Buyer Tax Deduction – In 2009 you, if you purchase a new car you can deduct the state, local, and excise taxes off of your federal return.

Higher Tax Credit For Education – A credit of up to $2500 of college tuition and related expenses in 2009 and 2010. You need to spend at least $4000 in the year for the credit and 40% is refundable (which means you can qualify for 40% if you don’t have taxable income).

First Time Home Buyer Credit - A first-time home buyer credit of 10% of the purchase price of the home up to $8,000 for homes bought in 2009.

Health Insurance Help for Laid Off Workers – If you were laid off between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 the government will subsidize 65% of your COBRA premiums.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going to be expensive for the country but at least people get to see some of it.

What do you think? Is it enough for the average person?

Source: NY Times

photo credit: pfala

Excuse Busters For Not Having A Budget

Written by Glen Craig 13 Comments

Yesterday I wrote about 9 common excuses why you don’t have a budget. Today I’m going to bust those excuses and show you why you need a budget.

Excuse Busters For Not Having A Budget:

You Don’t Want To Be Told What To Do – Really? You don’t want something to tell you how to spend your money. Well how do you like the bills you pay every month? Or looking at your bank account and being told you don’t have funds to cover an expense? Truth is, when you have an effective budget you are in control of your money and you can see what you are doing. The only one doing the telling is you with a budget.

You Feel Constrained - Yes, a budget tells you how much money you may have for different expenses. And you may not be able to spend indiscriminately. But the truth is a budget can be liberating! You know exactly what you can afford and you know where your money is going. When you know your expenses you can re-allocate your spending to fit your needs and wants. Without a budget it’s more like a high wire without a net.

You Can’t Do What you Want – Not the case. A budget will tell you what you can afford. With a good budget you can change your spending to allocate more money for things that are important to you. You cut out the frivolous spending for things with more purpose.

Can’t Give up Your Ego And Admit You Need to Control Your Spending – Get over yourself and take a good look at the bills you have and the stress you go through every month to pay them. Look at how quickly your paycheck disappears and how your bank account dwindles. You want the best stuff, I get it. But you have to reign in your spending. The lifestyle you are trying to live is an illusion and it’s much healthier for you to truly live your life instead. Don’t worry so much about appearances because appearances lie. Be!

Your Expenses Are Too Big To Get your Head Around – It can be a daunting task to start a budget if you haven’t done one before. Start small. Gather up your bills. If you don’t have them then as they come in write down their totals in a spreadsheet (or a notebook). After you have put together your expenses, compare that to your income (for most that’s you paycheck stubs over the month). Once you can see you expenses and income you can start to go more into the details. Start holding on to receipts as you spend and mark them down. Track down the little expenses. Take a look at those bills and see what they are made up of. The point is, if you want to start a budget you can. Don’t think you have to do it all at once. For most a budget is work in process.

You’re Afraid – Liberate yourself from this fear. If you are afraid then you probably think your expenses/spending are out of control. It may not be as bad as you think. Even if it is, once you can put a definite figure on it you’ve taken a step to start attacking it. It’s not going to get better until you decide to do something about it and a big first step is starting a budget!

It Takes Too Much Energy And Time – Maybe at first it takes some time. But once you know your recurring bills it gets a lot quicker. Get yourself organized and you’ll find it doesn’t take much time at all (personal finance software like Mint, Mvelopes, or Moneydance – review can help). And you will also find that tracking things like your taxes expenses will be easier since you’ve been keeping track of spending all year.

It’s Depressing – It doesn’t make me happy all the time to see what money I have left for the month. Or to see how much I pay out. But a budget is empowering. With you budget you are in control and you see exactly what you spend. What makes me happy (not depressed) is knowing that I have a handle on my money. It’s a powerful feeling in fact!

You Manage To Get By Without One – That’s great if you get all of your bills paid and still have money left over without a budget. You might even have money going into savings and a retirement account. Some people are naturally good at keeping track. But if you put together a budget you may find lots of small “money leaks” that you weren’t aware of previously. You may find that your savings and such will grow considerably when you see exactly what your spending is. From personal experience, my wife and I were surprised to see how much we spent on the weekends on little things. Had we known then what we know now we’d have much nicer savings!

Your Spouse Isn’t On the Same Page As You – You need to sit down and talk to your spouse and have a serious money talk. A budget doesn’t mean you can’t use money any more it just means you know where that money is going and why. A budget allows you to align your goals for your family.

Hey, you know what? A budget isn’t that tough! Stop making excuses and get started on one. You just might find things are easier once you see where your money is going.

Bonus: I just discovered these templates to help manage your finances in Google Docs! They’re free and there’s a whole bunch of them!

No More Excuses!

See Part I: 9 Excuses Why You Haven’t Started A Budget
photo credit: peasap

9 Excuses Why You Haven’t Started A Budget Yet

Written by Glen Craig 34 Comments

I was thinking about why more people and families don’t have a budget.

It’s really the thing to do to keep track of your expenses and income and make sure you don’t go over with your spending. I thought about all the different excuses I’ve heard and seen from people.

So why haven’t you started a budget? Here are some common reasons:

You Don’t Want To Be Told What To Do

A budget can tell you how much you actually have to spend and what you can afford every month. You don’t want to be told where your money has to go and you don’t want to hear that you can’t spend when you want.

A Budget Constrains You

You feel choked by the limitations of a budget. Can’t spend what I want on clothes. {Cough, cough.} Can’t go out for coffee drinks every day. {Choke.} The mere thought of a budget starts to make you feel walled in.

You Can’t Do What You Want

What fun is it to know you can’t afford to go out to eat four times a week? Who wants that. You want to be able to spend freely and do what you feel at the moment. That’s what freedom is, isn’t it?

Can’t Give Up Your Ego And Admit You Need To Control Your Spending

You refuse to believe that you have a spending problem. You’re living an illusion. Even though it causes stress you always find a way out of your financial messes without learning the lessons. When there’s a will there’s a way and you can spend what you want. Everything’s ok.

Your Expenses Are Too Big To Get Your Head Around

You want to have a budget but you don’t know where to start. You’ve tried to get a few bills together but the task seems too big so you end up giving up. You’re not organized enough to get everything together. You may not even know all of the bills you pay every month. It’s too much.

You’re Afraid

You don’t even want to see what your finances are! To actually put a number to your expenses would give you a heart attack (not literally but close enough). You know it’s bad but you really can’t stand to see the actual figures.

It Takes Too Much Energy And Time

You don’t have the time to put all of your receipts and bills together. You work a 9 to 5 five that’s rarely just that and when you come home the last thing you want to do is more work.

It’s Depressing

It just doesn’t make you feel good to see your finances in a budget. You would rather not put yourself into a funk so you ignore the idea of a budget.

You Manage To Get By Without One

Your bills get paid. Money goes into savings. You invest. What do you need a budget for? (I’ll answer that one in another post).

That’s nine excuses a person might not have a budget. Does one of these resemble you? Can you think of others?

See Part II: Excuse Busters For Not Having A Budget!

photo credit: sarae