Welcome back for part two of "How I Keep The House Running." Today I'm sharing the binder that certainly gets the most use of all... our Financial Binder.
Why not our Budget Binder? This binder goes beyond just paying the bills, it also helps us get ready for tax season.
Directly after the folder is the Budget section. There are quite a few vital worksheets kept in this section. The first one is our Financial Checklist. As I pay a bill each I make sure to mark it off on my checklist. Also I added an Auto column for all the bills that are automatic withdrawal from our account.
Next is the calendar from Tomkat Studios, that I shared in the post about my planner. On the calendar I write when each bill is due and how much the bill is.
Followed by our monthly budget worksheet. Since we use the cash method for part of our monthly budget I made sure to add a cash column just for reference. I don't use a check register because we only use our account to pay bill and everything else is cash method.
In the budget section I also have some worksheets that will help the hubby if he ever has to pay the bills. Next in the budget section is our Bill Tracker sheet. This sheet is the who, what, where and how to all our bills. I include each bill that must be paid each month and fill it out descending by due date.
The final sheet in this section I call our "bailout" sheet, it's our Credit Card Info sheet. This has all the info we need if we ever lose a credit card or our wallets and have to call and cancel a card. Some of the info on this one is redundant from other sheets but I wanted it all on one sheet for quick reference.
After the budget section are the sections for each bill. Most of the statements for our bills come via email but, if need be, I make a print out and add it to the binder. I decided to divide the binder by bill instead by month because at tax time I can hand over the binder to tally all the sections and presto tax deductions are done!
Speaking of taxes, the last section is actually for our taxes, I have another folder and I keep tax deductible receipts and tax documents (1099s, W2s, and so forth) as they come in in there.
This binder truly makes paying the bill paying and keeping track of tax deductions easier. As you can see from this picture:
My binder is quite fat... we are at the end of the year and ready for tax time. Once the remainder of our tax documents come in I will empty the binder and start all over for 2013.
So that all folks. I hope you can use some of the printables that I have found very helpful.
{Click HERE to view "How I Keep The House Running - Part One.}
Till next time...
I'm partying here this week:
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