If you’re like most busy people today, you’re hanging onto organization by a thin thread. This or that task may get away from you, and before you know it — chaos. When it happens to your finances, it can feel like an impossible challenge. Payments fall behind, fees rise, and credit scores drop. Fortunately, there’s a ton of tech that can help you get back on track.
Use Your Calendar Effectively
Calendaring has long been one of the best ways to get and stay organized, financially or otherwise. If you’re a parent or caregiver, you work, and you’re running a household, it can feel impossible to keep track of all your to-dos. Even if you’re single and independent, appointments, bills, and expenses can be a lot to manage for many people. Keeping a calendar to track your bills, payments, due dates, and upcoming expenses can help.
Thanks to technology, you can now have a digital calendar that will go with you (or your smartphone) everywhere. Even better, once you learn how to share Outlook calendar features, you can include your family or roommates. If you share expenses with someone else, you both can see when bills were paid and what’s still due. That way, you’ll have two (or more) pairs of eyes ensuring you don’t fall behind or overpay.
Set Up Autopay
Another great way to ensure you don’t fall behind on payments is to sign up for autopay for your bills. Missing a payment is more trouble than it’s worth. Not only do your bills start piling up, but you’ll likely pay late fees and extra interest charges in many cases. Before you know it, you’re over your head in expenses you’re struggling to keep up with. Or you can’t pay them at all. It’s much better to at least pay the minimum payment amount on time.
One of the easiest ways to do that is to set up autopay on each bill to come directly out of your account. Sit down with your bills, line them up with your paydays, and plan for your bills to come out the same day your money comes in. If for any reason a company can’t set up autopay for you, you can often arrange to have that bill paid automatically from your bank account. That way, your bills will be paid on time, and whatever money’s left is yours to spend!
Save Without Thinking
You can take this same auto approach with savings. One of the biggest barriers to saving is that people spend what they want to and then save whatever’s left. Of course, if you’re like most people, very little if anything will be left. So, you decide that you’ll save money when your income increases, or when you pay some bills off. But those days may never come. The good news is that thanks to technology, you can “force” yourself to start saving now.
Set up direct deposit with your employer for a portion of your paycheck to go into a savings account. If your employer doesn’t offer that service, set up an automatic transfer with your bank to move funds from your checking to your savings. Schedule the transfer for the day you get paid, just like with your bills, so you can’t run out of money first. Also, consider keeping your savings in a separate bank from your checking so you don’t have easy access.
Track Spending With an Online Checkbook
Once upon a time, people with checking accounts kept check registers. They would write down every dollar they sent out of their account and every dollar that came in. They would also itemize each deposit or withdrawal so they could organize their spending and income. Today, most people just keep track of their balances through mobile banking apps. They cross their fingers that the numbers on the screen reflect their actual balance.
While mobile banking apps have made banking easier in many ways, they have also made people lazier when it comes to tracking expenses. It doesn’t have to be that way. Sign up for an online check register like ClearCheckbook or Online CheckWriter to start tracking your expenses digitally. Many of these services are free and will also help you budget and understand your finances better through analytics.
Sign Up to Raise Your Credit Score
Finally, more than organizing your household finances, you can improve your financial state. A devastating consequence of falling behind on your bills is watching your credit score fall as well. A low credit score can make it difficult to get approved for future loans and credit cards. It could affect your ability to buy a car or a home. Even worse, once your credit score drops, it can feel like it takes forever to bring it back up.
To keep track of your credit score, you can sign up for free credit monitoring with Experian. If your credit score has dropped, and you want to bring it back up, consider enrolling in Experian Boost. This service allows you to include your rent and utility bills in your monthly payments. That way, you’ll have more evidence that you’re a reliable debtor when you apply for credit in the future.
Staying on top of your finances can be challenging, especially with the constant demands of daily life. However, by leveraging technology and adopting strategies like effective calendaring, setting up autopay, automating savings, and tracking your spending, you can regain control and maintain financial stability. With these tips in hand, you can prevent financial chaos and build a more secure future.
