There was a time when work took up so
much of my time and energy that I had absolutely no clue whether my
finances were in order. It wasn't that I didn't care...I just had no
idea how to ensure that I was going to do a thorough job of it. That
meant that I needed to (a) design a comprehensive system for managing
my money and (b) implement that system. I was already so overwhelmed
with other responsibilities, that if a simple, straightforward method
of doing this wasn't immediate and obvious, I just wasn't going to
get around to doing it. Fortunately, I've since had time to set up a
checklist of items that do a pretty good job of covering my basis:
1. Savings – make sure you check this
figure regularly, so you have a strong sense of where you are, and
where you should be headed. This will enable you to spot when and
where you seem to lose money faster than you should. Without
monitoring, you really don't realize how easily money can be lost.
2. Pay Stubs – if you are on a
salary, you may not see the value of checking your pay stubs, but
errors do happen, and it only takes a minute to check them, so
consider it time well invested. If you do casual work or any sort of
shiftwork at all, then this step becomes imperative. Because your
hours may fluctuate from pay period to pay period, and because you
may be entitled to different bonuses and incentives for working
particular shifts, it is key that you verify your hours and pay rate
have been recorded accurately.
3. Recurrent bills – check your
credit card statements to make sure that they are accurate. While
credit card companies are quite good about catching fraud, they
often miss it, so make sure someone isn't enjoying five hundred
dollar dinners—or even twenty dollar gadgets—at your expense.
Additionally, check that your phone, cable and internet bills are
being recorded correctly, according to the terms you agreed to, and
ensure that you are not being billed for services you did not ask
for or use. Look over your utility bills as well to monitor trends
in your own use. For example, you may be spending a time and half
your typical electric bill in the summer months if you are overusing
your air conditioner. Reviewing your bills can help you monitor that
and adjust your spending accordingly.
Stay tuned for the next two installments
of this piece to find out about other areas you need to track, and
to learn of a free tool to help you do this easily!
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