Does your cashflow never end?
Sometimes when I log into mint, My finances seem to be quite odd, and in some cases, teetering on the edge of a far-lower-than-I-want-but-not-quite-zero balance in my checking account. For the longest time, I was wondering what in the world was happening, because for the last 8 (from October 09 – May 10) or so months, I’ve spent about $9,000 less than I’ve earned. Despite this, every month I’ve got a point where my checking account is rather low (probably uncomfortably so for people who are quite removed from the college scene and have forgotten what it was like).
Looking at my results at the end of every month didn’t help a bit, either. They just showed that I had an income higher than an go, but didn’t get into the details I needed to get to. This needed more data, and being the huge data nerd that I am (I once wrote down what I was doing with every minute of my day in 15 minute blocks to see where I was wasting time) I decided to look at my finances in a different way…Enter pocketsmith.
Pocketsmith is a budgeting too (similar to mint) that has a different take on your budget. It has a calendar interface that you enter all the stuff you have to pay and all the times you get paid during the month. (Unfortunately, I only have the free version, so I can only do 8). So, you enter all of your bills and paydays, upload transaction data from your bank account, and you’re good to go. It forecasts your income and outflow for the next 6 months. You can also add goals (like saving for a new house or car) and it will estimate how long it will take you to reach them, based on your current savings rate and forecast calendar. It’s pretty cool. Baker at manvsdebt has his pocketsmith widgets displayed on his blog, showing his income and outgo while he was globe-trotting in New Zealand last year.
The bottom line is, pocket smith is pretty cool (side note: there are no affiliate links in this post). Back on track.
Pocketsmith showed me something I had not yet figured out on my own. Out of the bills that I pay every month (rent, utilities, car insurance, car payment, student loans (x3), cell phone) all but the utility bills were due within 5 days of each other. This meant that in 5 days, I was watching almost 33% of my monthly take go out the door.
This was causing me some problems (obviously) so I figured it was time to do something about it. I was tired of having a low amount of cash for a while. I decided to move the date of a few of my bills around so it would make it a bit easier on my monthly cash flow and free up some space at times. The first month of that is this month, and its worked swimmingly so far.
So remember, even though you may be making more than you spend every month, watch your cash flow (I track mine weekly) so you don’t end up with an amount you’re uncomfortable with. If I had my way, I’d probably have my bills all due on a Wednesday, and try to make the outflow from bills even every week. So if I had 1200 in monthly bills, I’d want to pay $300 in a week. Unfortuanately, most of my due dates are not flexible, and this is a pie-in-the-sky scenario for me.
Do you ever have cash flow issues?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Good post. I hadn’t heard of pocketsmith, thanks for making folks aware. I might check it out sometime.
As for cash flow issues, I have tried to manage those by getting into a expenditure pattern that allows me to live within my means. Tracking is a big part of that, though I don’t record everything every month. Rather, I “audit” myself periodically – maybe once a year or so. For a month, I’ll record every single penny – no exaggeration – and categorize thoroughly. This allows me to see where my money is going, and where I can cut. It keeps me in line, without the onerous task of tracking every penny every day all year (I have done that before!).
Squirreler.
Pocketsmith is pretty sweet, but I only have the free version. It’s also nice because you can export the calendar from them into your google calendar.
For the more day-to-day tracking, I use mint. Its been a big help, as once you figure out where it goes, you know where to put the squeeze on, as you said. I still do check mint about 1x per week, but as my financial situation and habits have improved, I log in less frequently now.
Thanks for stopping by!
{ 4 trackbacks }