Writing down your due dates on your monthly planners will help you stay current on your payments.
The first dates that are marked in the calendars are birthdays, nobody likes that one day a family member or a friend arrives smiling waiting for a hug (and usually a gift) that you completely forgot because you did not have a reminder that it was their birthday . The unforeseen arrival of financial obligations is even more painful, it is possible that during 2011 you have been surprised with questions such as: how? Do I have to check the car? Or is it so fast is the return to school and the payment of tuition? The lack of anticipation of this type of financial events generally leads to debts that unbalance your pocket.
To prevent expenses from ‘catching you on the curve’ you can implement a strategy as simple as starting to mark the fixed expenses that you have month after month on your calendar.
For example: if you do not remember the cut-off dates of your credit card or the deadline for payment of your telephone bills, start by writing down this information in the upper right corner of your monthly calendar, so you will have it in mind every time you schedule one special date.
As a second step, make a list of programmable expenses, such as vacation trips or anniversary gifts, the key to making the financial calendar work is that you mark the dates when you will make these expenses and put some reminders with weeks (or even months) in advance, keeping in mind that you will have to make certain disbursements will help you better manage your money.
As a third step, mark the obligations, such as the verification of the car, for example, in the corresponding monthly box. Here’s a guide to some of the monthly commitments you will likely have in 2012.
January
January is generally a year of planning, take advantage of the last days of vacation and organize your expenses. If you still have a little money left over from the end of the year holidays, take advantage of it to reduce your debts as much as possible. Remember that January also implies a return to school that you should consider in your budget.
February
February is a good month to think about April. Although the Easter holidays may seem distant, you should bear in mind that only air tickets can generate a 70% savings in transportation if you buy them two or three months in advance, according to the Despegar.com agency.
March
If you have debts for public services such as water, electricity or property, local governments generally offer discounts on fines and surcharges if you catch up in the first months of the year, do not let the opportunity to have the accounts get out of hand. of your house to the current.
April
Easter is coming and even if you have already planned some costs of the holidays, if you plan to leave that will involve a disbursement, make sure you provision it.
May
The children are about to leave school, start a small savings for end-of-year expenses, the dances for Mother’s Day (and in some cases Father’s) can turn into setbacks for your portfolio as the year progresses .
June
Ready for the summer holidays? Well, whether you are or not, your wallet will have to face the walks and the desire that will give you to attend the summer sales of the department stores, take your precautions.
July
The rainy season will reach its most aggressive moments at any time, make sure your house is waterproofed and that your car is in good condition to cope with traffic and flooding. Ideally, you also have some major medical insurance to deal with any unforeseen event.
August
The very dreaded return to school makes its appearance as soon as the first half of the year is crossed, months before you will have to provision the cost of uniforms, registration and tuition, remember that you can deduct this last concept even if you are a salaried employee.
September
There are those who say that the Guadalupe-Reyes marathon is now the Viva México-Reyes marathon, September marks the beginning of the season of greatest holidays, plan your national festivities and if you can, even your Christmas shopping, that will make the end of year don’t look like a knockout attack on your wallet.
October
The ‘Good End’ will be very close by when October arrives, so prepare your budget for the week of sales that the chambers of commerce will carry out in November. It is also a good time to start thinking about the weekend holidays.
November
November is a good month to put your accounts in order and create payment plans for 2013, do not expect the end of the year to arrive again as December is usually plagued with unforeseen expenses.
December
If you did a good financial planning, December will only be the month in which you should worry about gifts, holidays and the adoption of resolutions for the next year.
