Let me start off this post by saying I don't recommend anyone taking financial advice from me. I am not the smartest at managing my money and I have a shopping addiction. I have gotten so much better and continue to do better with my finances daily.

However, what I think you should take my advice on when it comes to organizing your finances. I've tried many ways to organize myself in terms of money in the past but I finally found a way that really works for me.

Most recently, I tried having a budget journal, using a May Designs notebook and then a few inserts in my Louis Vuitton PM Agenda. I got bored of both of those and switched over to only digital organization.

I have a lot of credit card bills and two student loans, so I pay a lot of bills on a monthly basis. I also have a lot of monthly bills for subscription services that are on autopay so I needed a way to remember the dates the money gets taken out of my account.

I was so disorganized at one point that I was getting overdrafted on a weekly basis. I think I finally got most of my finances worked out.

Forget the apps, forget the planners -- I have found my way.

How I Organized

I made an Excel sheet that shows the current balance on all my credit cards, the date that the bill is due, and how much I will pay this month.

That way, I can see the total amount of bills I'm paying this month and how much money I have left over.

I live at home but do pay a little 'rent' to my mom monthly I also put all my balances at $0.00 for privacy reasons :)

In this document, I also have my monthly auto-pays but I will show you how I took it one step further with these expenses.

I update this document about twice a month, whenever I get paid, so I know exactly what needs to happen to stay on top of my bills.

It's that simple... no crazy spreadsheets or formulas or anything spectactular. It's one sheet, a few columns, and a broad overview while still being as detailed as I need.

One thing I do recommend is putting your excel document into Google Sheets so you can update in real time on your phone, or another computer. Sometimes I would need to make an adjustment and if I waited until I went home to edit it on my computer, I would forget and it just threw me off.

Having it in Google Sheets the past few weeks has been really helpful.

My Auto-Pay Bills

Please do not judge all my spending habits/credit card debt/etc :) 

If you read yesterday's post, you'll know that I'm starting to save up some money and stop spending so much on frivolous items. We're on day 4 and so far, so good!

I've always had problems saving money, actually putting money away for a rainy day. Whenever I have a dollar in my pocket, I spend it. I've been like that my entire life but as I've gotten older, I've of course learned the importance of savings.

Also, as I've gotten older, I've learned about the dread of bills and student loans. Because of all the things I need to pay monthly, I knew I needed to get on track. I'm of course a big organizer and planner and I like knowing what is going to happen before it does.

I knew I needed a neat and organized way to know how much money I was spending on a daily basis as well as what bills were upcoming. I've done pretty good so far with just a physical planner and my bank account app on my iPhone but I knew there were different ways.

I wanted to get good at budgeting and keeping a budget and being a responsible adult. I discovered Mint a year or two ago but I wasn't mature enough or smart enough or ready to use it. I started using it at the end of September and I think it's really helped.



Mint is a website/app that helps with budgeting, paying bills, your credit score, property investments, etc. Basically what I do is I have budgets created for all the things I spend my money on each month. I have all the budgets set a little above what my actual budget is just so I don't go over too many times.

These are the budgets I have laid out:



Bills & Utilities: $350
Shopping: $300
Public: $130
Food & Dining: $100
Coffe Shops: $60
Misc: $100

I have Mint hooked up to all my bank accounts (checking & savings), my student loan accounts, and my credit cards. It takes all of these into account and every time I make a charge, it categorizes the charge into the appropriate budget.

It does everything automatically which is half the battle.



The other part of Mint I really love? Bill reminders and alerts. Every time I have a bill coming up, Mint lets me know that it's approaching; and every time I'm charged something a little extra (like credit card interest), it alerts me of that too.



Mint also provides your credit score which is super handy for keeping things on track and it provides you with ways to help save. Mint has a lot of information in every nook and cranny--so much that it's overwhelming. I definitely don't use all the resources that Mint provides, just the basic uses. As I get older, as I make more money, I'm sure I will start to use everything else Mint has to offer.

A very convenient part of Mint is the iPhone app that they have. It's set up just like the website but in the palm of your hand.

That is a brief overview of Mint but if you want anything more in depth or have any questions, ask away and I'll be happy to answer!

Do you like these types of posts? Non beauty, more adulthood type of posts? I think I really like them so I may be doing more of them in the future! 

What is your favorite way to track your spending?