If you do a quick search on Google for “financial calendar,” the results are bombarded with references to company financial calendars, Forex calendars, and economic calendars. I’m not talking about those. I’m talking about a very simple financial calendar that can help you remember the things you need to remember when it comes to your personal finance. A personal, financial calendar can help you track your financial commitments and help you plan for the month and years ahead. You can use an actual physical calendar that hangs on your wall or refrigerator, but I suggest you use calendar software that can be seen on your phone and/or computer.
Once you figure out what type of calendar you want to use, here are a few things you want to have on your financial calendar…
Bill Reminders
Never miss paying a bill again. Well, at least never forget when a bill is due. Whenever you add a new bill to your monthly obligations, or maybe even a one-time bill that is due on a given day, add it to your calendar. For example, you could put a reminder in for tax time in April and plan for completing and paying taxes. If you’re using calendar software, you can set reminders for yourself to remind you in advance or on the day a bill is due. It’s hard to miss paying a bill when your phone is telling you it’s due. Not to mention that it’s on the calendar. So if you check your calendar each day, you’ll know what you need to pay and when you need to pay it.
Financial Goals
Set goals for how much money you want to save by a specific time. Let’s say your plan is to save $1200 this year. Well, mark it on your calendar that you need to move $100 over to savings each month. You could do even better than that by automating the transfer of money so it just happens. Then you can just note it on your calendar the day the transfer happens. Each time you review your calendar you are reminded that you’re saving money and moving towards your goals.
Pay Days
It’s important to know when you get paid….duh!!! I probably didn’t need to list this one, but it’s good to remember. You want to see the days you get paid so you can plan your financial obligations around what you make and when it shows up in your bank account. For example, if you get paid every two weeks, you may not want all of your bills due at the same time every month. Yes, you can make this work, but you don’t have to. With a financial calendar, you can look at your bill due dates and estimate how much money you need in your account to cover those bills. If it’s too much money at the same time, you can call the company who owns the bill and ask them to change your billing date. Most companies will happily do this as they want their money and want you to be in the best position to give it.
Financial Planning Days
Schedule days on your financial calendar for time to review your finances and financial calendar. That’s right…use your calendar to remind you to keep an eye on your finances. Specify a day every week, or at least every couple weeks to review your finances. Look at what you’ve spent, what you’ve earned, and how much is left. Make sure you’re staying on top of bills and all is well. I review my bills every Saturday. And if I have an obligation that makes me miss Saturday, my financial calendar reminds me.
The Takeaway
A financial calendar is important if you want to be successful managing your finances. How can you manage what you don’t track? If you want to be ahead of the game, you have to have a plan. A financial calendar can help you with that planning. There are many advantages to having a financial calendar, some of the most important listed here in this post. Don’t worry about adding something new to track. You’re probably using some kind of calendar today to track events and your week. You can leverage the same calendar as your financial calendar. This keeps it simple.
Take the time today and get your financial calendar started. If you don’t manage your money, your money will end up managing you!!!