Plan Many, Enact Once

So, as many of you know, I use spreadsheets to budget my paycheque pay periods. 

My budgetary cycle runs from when I deposit one paycheque in the bank to when I am about to deposit the next one. 

I use a spreadsheet to plan out how where my cash should go (before that payperiod arrives) and then record where my cash actually went (when I am in the middle of that payperiod). 

So, since these are cascading spreadsheets with the bank balances of my various bank accounts carrying over from one to the next, I can plan for a while into the future.

Again, when it comes to forecasting, the further you go into the future, the less accurate your fiscal projections are. 

So, you take these with a grain of salt, but it is nice to see what could happen. How things might play out if I do this plan or that.

I have worked up the paycheque budgets from now up until April 7 of 2023. (That is the projected end date of my Grand Savings Plan).

I have also reworked those budgets a number of times. Why? Well, each time I have an idea to do this or do that, I work up the budgets and see how it impacts my finances.

This lets me see what would happen if I save in different ways or invest in this or that. 

Again, the real power of spreadsheets is the ability to change things in them and see how they are impacted.

This lets me try out various patterns of savings/investing and see if I will still get my overarching goals of my Grand Savings Plan done.

It is through methods like this that I am not only keeping myself on track, but on the right track.

So remember kids: Plan Many, Enact Once. 

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!