Stop Budgeting. Start Building a Money System That Actually Works.
Don’t blame the person, blame the system.
A money system is a method to organize your finances that ensures your bills are paid, your savings are growing and lets you spend on things you love!
And if YOUR money system looks like Nick Miller’s box of unpaid bills - don’t blame yourself, blame your system!
Nothing upsets me more than Nick’s box of bills shoved in the back of his closet! 😩
In this post I’ll walk you through how to build your own simple, flexible system to organize your money that not only provides financial stability, but also allows you to spend freely on things you love.
Setting up your money system
1. Set all your bills to auto pay
The first step to setting up your money system is to set all of your bills on auto-pay.
This includes:
Credit cards
Car payments
Insurance payments
Utility bills
Any other bills you may have
This way, your bills will always get paid on time and you don’t have to worry about late fees.
Also, not having to track all your due dates will take a huge weight off your mind!
2. Set savings goals
Once you know all your bills are covered, the next step is to create your savings goals.
These should be realistic, attainable, SPECIFIC goals for your money.
“I’m going to save more” is NOT a savings goal. How much is “more” anyways??
“I’m going to save $2,000 in the next 4 months to take a National Park road trip across the U.S.” is a REAL savings goal.
My husband and I on our own National Parks trip - September 2024.
An important note here: You should WANT to save money because it’s helping you pursue your goals and passions.
If the idea of saving money makes you groan, you’re doing something wrong!
So sit down with a piece of paper and start thinking about your short term and long term goals and dreams.
Don’t be afraid to write down something you think is crazy.
Too often in life we minimize our dreams because we think we can’t achieve them. Writing them down helps make them a reality.
If you’ve always dreamed of an incredible luxury vacation, it might not happen this year but it could happen in 3 years, if you save for it.
So decide how much money you want to put towards each of those goals. Then, just like your bills, you’re going to set an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account so you don’t even have to think about it.
3. Create a cash flow statement
Step 3 is to create a cash flow statement. (Don’t worry it’s not as complicated as it sounds).
Cash flow is simply money coming in and out of your accounts every month.
When you receive your paycheck that’s cash coming in, when you spend money that’s cash going out.
Unlike a budget, cash flow shows you where your money is actually going, not just where you think it will or want it to.
Your money should flow from the top down - paying your bills first, then saving & investing, and then you get to spend what’s left!
Setting up your system in this way ensures your bills are paid, you’re saving money and STILL lets you spend money on fun things!
Maintaining your money system
Once your system is set up, it’s very simple to maintain. Go through this checklist once a month. It should take you less than an hour.
1. Check your bills
Take a quick look through your statements, particularly your credit cards, and notify the companies if there are any discrepancies.
2. Review your savings and investments
This is just a quick check-in to monitor your progress.
Check how your savings and investments are growing, and decide if you want to increase the amount to help them grow faster (or not!).
3. Check your cash flow
Your cash flow likely stays pretty much the same month to month, but if you’ve had any major changes to your expenses lately, go ahead and update it.
Final thoughts
And that’s it!
You don’t need complicated budgeting spreadsheets and you don’t need to obsess over every dollar to feel financially secure.
You just need a simple, easy-to-follow system designed specifically for you and your money.
Action items:
Set your bills to auto pay.
Come up with 1 short term and 1 long term goal (and make sure you’re excited about them!)
Set up your cash flow statement so you understand where your money is going every month.
Your life may not be perfect, but it is imperfectly yours. The only way to live it is your way.
Katherine, founder of Imperfect Budget
Imperfect Budget is an educational platform built to help women align financial goals and free themselves from limiting money mindsets.
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