Personal Finance
Intro to Personal Finance
On this page I will be sharing my personal finance system with you. Each section will take you step by step on how to manage your money.
A lot of my personal finance management system is based upon what I've learned from Dave Ramsey, Jaspreet Singh''s "Minority Mindset" financial education company, and also Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad Poor Dad" book. I have adapted what I've learned to what works for me at this time.
You may want to check out their websites/social media sites or published books for more information.
Disclaimer- This page is for educational purposes only and is not financial advice. This site is not sponsored by any of the authors mentioned above.
Setting Up Your Monthly Budget
Step 1- Download the free "Monthly Bills List" word document to create your list of bills you need to pay for the month. The money used to pay these bills is called your "disposable income".
Step 2- Download the free "Monthly Schedule of Bill Payments" excel spreadsheet to schedule when you will pay each of your bills from your Monthly Bills list. The money leftover after you have paid your bills from each paycheck is called your 'discretionary income".
Helpful Hint #1- For large monthly bills such as rent, mortgage, or car payments, divide those payments up by the number of paychecks you normally receive in a month. So, if you get paid every week, divide those large bills by four, or, if you get paid every two weeks, divide those payments by two. For example, I get paid every two weeks, so each time I get paid, I write a personal check for half of the amount of rent that is due for the month. This way, I know that the money I have budgeted for the rent out of each paycheck will in fact go to the rent, and not get spent on something else.
Helpful Hint #2- Set up the next month's "monthly bills list" and "monthly schedule of bill payments" on your last payday before the start of the next month. This way, if there are bills in the next month with payment dates due before your first paycheck of the next month, you can pay that bill from the current paycheck you are working from (the last paycheck of the previous month before that bill is due).
Helpful Hint #3- Always pay your bills that you have scheduled to pay from each paycheck before you spend money on anything else. This way, you know your bills are going to be paid on time each month.
Helpful Hint #4- Unless you are always paid twice a month, there will be some months during the year where you will get an extra paycheck. So, if you are paid every other week, you normally receive two paychecks per month, but there will be a couple of months during the year where you will receive three paychecks during a month. Or, if you get paid every week, you normally receive four paychecks per month, but there will be a couple of months during the year where you will receive five paycheck during a month. These extra paychecks can be used to help you get caught up on paying your bills on time if you are currently behind on any of your bills. Work toward paying your bills at least one week before their due date. Make sure to add in extra time before the due date for mail time if you are sending your payment in the mail, or at least a few business days ahead if you are paying online to allow time for the payment to be posted to your account.
Track Your Monthly Activity
Step 1- Download the free "Income and Expenses Tracker" excel spreadsheet to record the economic activity for each month that involves your cash, checking account, debit card, and credit card(s). Instructions are provided on the first tab of the spreadsheet to help you to fill out each month's worksheet.
Step 2- Each month, record all of your financial transactions, and follow the instructions to calculate your totals at the bottom of the worksheet for each month.
Helpful Hint-
Doing all of this tracking, listing, and recording can sometimes feel tedious and boring. I understand. As a free spirit myself, I sometimes struggle with disciplining myself to do the tracking, too.
But, it's about going from a mindset of being a passive income-earner and consumer, to being in business for yourself and working towards economic sovereignty.
More on that in future updates on this site.
Managing Your Accounts
Step 1- Download the free "2025 Checking Account Tracker" excel spreadsheet to record the transactions for the month for your checking account. Instructions are provided on the first tab of the spreadsheet to help you to fill out each month's worksheet. You can use a paper register from your bank instead, but you will find it easier to copy and paste your monthly activity from a worksheet to your "income and Expenses Tracker" worksheet.
Step 2- Download the free "2025 Savings Account Tracker" excel spreadsheet to record the transactions for the month for your savings account. Instructions are provided on the first tab of the spreadsheet to help you to fill out each month's worksheet. You can use a paper register from your bank instead if your prefer.
Once your savings account balance has reached your emergency savings goal, you may want to consider opening multiple savings accounts for other types of funds, such as a car fund, furniture fund, gift giving fund, or other types of funds to meet your individual needs.
Step 3- Download the free "2025 Credit Card Account Tracker" excel spreadsheet to record the transactions for the month for your credit card account. Instructions are provided on the first tab of the spreadsheet to help you to fill out each month's worksheet.
Sign onto your profile online at least once per week to make sure that all charges to your credit card are legitimate. Keep all receipts for purchases made with your credit card to compare against what you see online. If something has been charged to your account for the wrong amount, or if there is a purchase you didn't make, you can dispute it right away, and you have the documentation to prove it.
When you receive your monthly credit card account statement, always compare the transactions listed on it against your credit card account tracker spreadsheet to make sure everything matches.
Sign onto all active credit card accounts monthly, to monitor the account balances and any transactions, even it the accounts have a $0 balance.
Helpful Hint-
When reconciling your bank accounts each month, look at your monthly statement, and then compare it against your account tracker spreadsheet. Mark off the transaction in the column that is listed on your account tracker spreadsheet. Once you have marked all the transactions from your statement onto your account tracker, then you are ready to reconcile your account balance. You add up all of the deposits for the month not listed on your statement and add them to the ending balance of your monthly statement, for a balance subtotal. Then you add up all of the payments for the month not listed on your statement and subtract that amount from your balance subtotal. This reconciled balance should match the balance listed in your account tracker spreadsheet. If it doesn't, subtract the smaller amount from the larger amount, and see if there is a transaction you either forgot to record in your account tracker, a transaction you forgot to mark off from your statement, or re-check your addition and subtraction on your tracker. If this doesn't help you find the error, re-adjust your account tracker balance to the lower amount if your account tracker balance is higher, until you find the error. This way you will avoid any overdraft fees.
Always reconcile your checking account statement before paying your bills.
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