Cash Budgeting Made Simple

Okay, I got paid yesterday and that means I had to make a few choices on how I was going to proceed.

First of all, thanks to my bank’s new policy I had to line up with paycheque in hand to deposit my paycheck. Didn’t we invent ATM’s so we wouldn’t have to do this? I then decided to pull out the cash I needed for:  Groceries, Rent and Personal Spends.

I went to the dollar store and bought three cheap wallets. I made sure to buy the ones with a coin pocket in them. Then I put a put a label on each of these wallets:  Rent, Groceries and Contingency.

I put the rent money in the Rent Wallet and the grocery money in the Grocery Wallet. I put the personal spends money in my main wallet. The Contingency Wallet I left empty, for now.

I have decided to put small amounts of money in the Contingency Wallet when I can. If people pay me gas money or what have you. In short when possible I will put small amounts into it so I will have a bit of a fund for a rainy day. I don’t intend to keep too much in it but a few hundred would be nice, just in case.

I have also decided to put half of the monthly budget into each wallet each paycheque, that way it is not a large hit on one paycheque.  As well it will mean I can make smaller and more regular payments to each credit card. This way there is less time between payments and (I think) less interest accrues. In any event the goal is to even out the demands on each paycheque.

This Saturday I will return the Cable/Internet equipment to the cable company and then curse myself for doing so. I know that I need to get busy on moving stuff out and I don’t want the house to be comfortable for either roommate or me. Cable and internet does make it more convenient to sit around and not do much . . . productive.

I have put up an add for my Table and Chairs and Couch and Loveseat on Kijiji. Next week, on the 29th and 30th I will be moving my stuff into storage and cleaning up my place. On the morning of the 31st I will then turn in my keys and for that one night I will be homeless (but probably will move into the room a day early.

Hard to believe this is coming  down to the wire, or rather this is not the end, far from it, it is only the ending of the beginning, the real challenge will come next month when I start paying down my credit cards.