Best way to keep track of bills

Dobbibill

For bills, a bills account should work without too much monitoring.

Do your budget for annual bills to be included. Then divide by 12 if paid monthly or 52 if paid weekly etc.

Make sure you put a buffer in to start off. I make sure a little extra goes in each month so the buffer builds up just in case. This hasn't got to be loads just round it up to the nearest £10, £20 etc.

This should keep it ticking over and there isn't the worry of spending any money before the bill is paid as it's only used for that purpose so the funds just sit there.

Your spending money can go into an entirely different account that you can use/monitor daily with the reassurance that all bills will be paid regardless, with little effort.

All the best and welcome back

System

Just come across this thread and thought I would offer up how I do it. We have all our monthly and weekly bills coming out a joint account and OH's wages get paid into it. From that I have set up spread sheets, so I can keep track of what should be in our account at any given time. I am currently in the process of inputting figures for 2019. As OH gets paid weekly on a Thursday, it is not always the same date every month, so I need to check that all bills will be covered. It worked very well last year. We don't use that account for anything else. Also have small savings accounts set up on this account and pay a weekly amount into them for things like Dentist, prescription costs, car maintenance etc.
My wages are paid into my own account and my other PT job is paid cash. I buy all the food, clothes, save for holidays from that etc with various savings accounts set up for different things like holiday savings etc. This year I have started using a small diary that I will update daily if possible or every other few days if not, and write down exactly what I have spent that day and make sure I always keep receipts.


don't know if this helps, but works for us now, after years of struggling

Willing2Learn

Hi Steph,

Are you using YNAB Classic or YNAB (subscription model)? If you have been using the Classic version, then you can select a Fresh Start and restart budgeting the YNAB way! (And the Classic version is still free to use).

findingthisdifficult

I've just found an app called Debit & Credit, it allows me to add transactions on the go and it takes less than 5 mins to reconcile with my online banking.
I'm using the basic version at the moment which only allows 2 accounts so I'm tracking bills and spends account but if I like it after a month of use, I'll pay for the premium version so that I can track savings and hubs business account.

StressedSteph

Wow thanks for all your replies.

Hmm lots of food for thought here.

I have restarted YNAB and I have the app set up, so on the nights I am stuck sat waiting for children to finish sports clubs etc i can keep my accounts up together.

I really like the idea of a Bills account and a spends account. I need to think it through abit more but think that might really work well for me. I am a terribly impulsive "Spend it now, worry about bills later" kind of person, so often convince myself that the money in the bank is available to be spent when really it should be left alone for imminent direct debits etc.

Need to set up this on YNAB and see how it goes.

Thanks for all your help guys xxxxx

Chandelier.

I'm currently in the middle of reevaluating my budgeting system. I don't use pen & paper or an app.

Previously, I have used a money pots system which has worked to an extent. I worked out all my annual expenses for the year and divided them by twelve and put aside the monthly payments in seperate accounts.

These pots consisted of many things such as car expenses, birthdays, Christmas, emergency fund, holiday etc. Each pot had a seperate account which was named and I moved money around when required.

I used a credit card for day to day expenses which offered cashback, moved the money to another account in order to pay in full each month.

It worked great and I was able to see where my money was going and if I needed to move the budgets around to compensate for other unexpected spends/expenses.

Right at this moment, I'm giving things an overhaul and trying to make it much simpler.

What I do is save up all my income for the month, ready for the next month. At the beginning of each month I spend 10 minutes dividing my money up into the pots then I let things tick over.

The thing that bugged me most was my main current account statement which all the money was going through looked rather messy and complicated with all the incoming/outgoing expenses.

I've decided to utilise most of the bank accounts I have and use them for different purposes.

My main current account is with first direct. All my income goes into here and I transfer it out to another current account ready for the next months budget. The bonus of the other account is that I earn 5% on the balance at the end of each month. Once this has happened I then transfer the money back in, split the funds between savings and budget pots and then leave enough in there to cover main bills/direct debits.

I have a 5% saver with FD which I save the maximum amount into each month.

My nationwide account is the holding account for my income and is where I earn interest each month on the balance. I also have a 5% saver account here which I pay the maximum into each month.

I then have a HTB Isa with Halifax that I save the maximum I can into each month. This is ticking along nicely. I also hold a current account with them which I add any surplus income from my budget into that I use for personal spends across the month. What is left over gets rolled into another savings account.

Then all my yearly/monthly budget pots are with Santander as they allow me to name the accounts and I add the allocated budgets to them each month. Sometimes I use the full budgeted amounts, some come under budget. I let the funds roll over into the next month and build up a safety cushion.

And last but not least, I have a monzo account that I use solely for entertainment purposes. It allows me to see where my money goes and updates me with each transaction.

I use an amex credit card, purely for the cashback/reward plints. Whatever I spend, I transfer the money straight over to a seperate account ready to pay in full. I update this as I go along.

This system is complicated but it works for me. It allows me to see where my money goes and I have full control of everything. I like to see my pots grow.

I spend about fifteen minutes towards the end of the month to plan my next months budget/upcoming expenses and adapt as needed. At the beginning of the month I spend 10 minutes transferring everything as needed. I set myself a minimum target payment to each account to ensure all is accounted for.

An example of this was I had built up a safety cushion car fund. My car needed some work doing and I had the money sat there to fund the work without having to use a credit card or other options. I was grateful of this.

I tend to review my online banking each day and spend five minutes to reconcile as needed.

I've tried pen/paper and budgeting apps but they just don't work for me. I figured out a way that does. No month is ever the same so balances may differ.

Some of my bank accounts allow me to see the transactions I have made straight away which make things easier to keep track of and I can always check the available balance.

I just thought I'd share my way.

We are all different. I suppose I'm kind of using the YNAB system but actually use real accounts as pots that I can physically see.

Good luck, finding a way that works for you.

Chandelier.

I also found that withdrawing cash made me spend more wrecklessly without thinking and then I'd question what I'd actually spend or forget where/how I'd spent it.

Virtual and online banking seems the way for me.

ChesterSam

I had this problem too. I get paid weekly and used a Spreadsheet to figure out what I could pay myself each week. Was a right pain, so now I use an app called Squirrel. You tell Squirrel what your outgoing payments are and when, pay your wages into there and it pays the bill amount into your account the day before it's due. I've found it really useful.

It's kept in a bank account in your name and Squirrel just moves it from there into your current account when needed.

cheeky-peach

Another vote for YNAB.


We have a Bills and a Spends account. Bills are all done on YNAB using automatic transactions which we just need to approve and spends are done as we spend. Once you've spend somewhere once, it'll pick it up next time using location services which I find really useful and easy. It takes seconds to add a single transaction and I've learnt the hard way leaving it too long and taking HOURS to sort it out.


Good luck!

Buffythedebtslayer

StressedSteph wrote: »

Wow thanks for all your replies.

Hmm lots of food for thought here.

I have restarted YNAB and I have the app set up, so on the nights I am stuck sat waiting for children to finish sports clubs etc i can keep my accounts up together.

I really like the idea of a Bills account and a spends account. I need to think it through abit more but think that might really work well for me. I am a terribly impulsive "Spend it now, worry about bills later" kind of person, so often convince myself that the money in the bank is available to be spent when really it should be left alone for imminent direct debits etc.

Need to set up this on YNAB and see how it goes.

Thanks for all your help guys xxxxx

I found (cos I am the same re impulsive spending) that if I only took the spends card out I become really careful about not spending all the money. and I leave the bills card at home!

XXX