Am I the only one who budgets like this

[Seeker]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Exactly what I was saying. Folks with a tighter budget need to watch things much more closely for obvious reasons. We are fortunate to be able to keep an adequate balance in our account so an extra couple hundred dollars on a bill wouldn't affect anything.

The reason I don't auto-pay the credit card bills is because those bills are more substantial, typically $3,000+/month and we don't keep that much extra in the account. I need to see that bill before paying it and occasionally need to hold it until payday or even transfer money into the account if we made a particularly large charge, like if we were on vacation that month.

Pretty sure that irmanator doesn't really need to watch his/her budget that closely either.

I wish my online bank had a "Sort by last date paid" too, but not all of them do. But as I informed DH, the best method I've found to keep on top of what needs to be paid, is to open each account on the Bill Pay listing and check that date. If it wasn't paid within the last month, then he needs to find that bill, look the account up on the Internet, or call them to find out what is owed.

But as far as is irmanator the only one... no. This method is good for seeing what's coming up, and what is missing. It works for me, but I agree that it's not a budget per se.

It does have the advantage of showing rising costs though.... which does indeed mean going back to the budget and maybe revising it or at least finding out why that catagory is growing.

[MrPolarZero]

that's correct! Controlling your monthly expenses is a sure way to cut-down and limit your costs

[snafu]

Since I developed a budget [spending plan] that shows me how much I spent in specific categories last year I have a better idea of what to pay this year. I already see that inflation is attacking my buying power. It helps me avoid being ripped off and being stupid about spending. I do a better job of buying on sale for example and staying on track with long term goals.