When my net worth is zero, it is important to me that every cents count. I need a plan, a free plan. I had a sheet made from excel and use that as my planner. Now, I treat this loosely like my monthly event planner with cost in mind. Here’s how it looks like so you could print the image below or make one on your own.
Begin by filling in the month and date. Then, note down the bills, grocery day, meals appointment and events you have for the month with the estimated cost. You could draw too! I also keep track of what bills I need to pay for the week so that I won’t get panic for having not enough cash. Planning is easy, just that not everyone does it.
Having a monthly cost calendar is great, you’ll be surprise how different you look at each item you spend when you see them in the bigger picture. Writing them down gives me the sense of ownership, I get to celebrate the no spending day and big wins. Much more if I see a huge bill at the end of the month – I would be warn to spend sparingly.
The three lines below the table is new, reminding me to be more mindful of any impulse purchases that I may have. Inasmuch for this year. Apart from financial wins, I’ll also list down the “loser” things I did for the month like paying for overpriced snack or purchase that did not matter to me. Keep them in a tab file. It will be fun looking back the notes end of each year.
Hope this helps you in 2018!