Our rhythms and routines shape our worlds. From the first cup of coffee of the day to regular exercise, everything we regularly do either brings life or takes it away. Your money needs that type of routine too. There are daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, biannual, and annual practices you should implement to keep things straight and achieve your goals. Don’t worry, these practices don’t take long at all. And keeping your eye on them prevents pitfalls and headaches. Without further ado, here’s what you should do.
Daily
Every single day, you need to log into the accounts you use regularly. This includes all debit and credit card accounts. This is necessary for a few reasons.
- You need to keep a close eye on transactions, looking for fraudulent charges.
- You need to reconcile what you have spent so you can keep your budget in check.
- Daily checks ups also help you pay your bills on time.
Weekly
Each week, you need to have a budget meeting. If you’re married, this is a time to reflect with your spouse about upcoming expenses, potential problems, and celebrate financial successes. If you’re single, you could set up a time to talk to a trusted friend or advisor even if it’s only 10 – 15 minutes long. Talk through any struggles you might be having. Ask for wisdom and advice. Or at a minimum spend some time reflecting on the past week and looking ahead into the next.
Monthly
On at least monthly basis, it’s a good idea to check in on your accounts that are less day-to-day. Log into your retirement accounts, college savings accounts, mortgage, and any other investments. You can certainly do this more than once a month. We tend to check ours every 2-3 days because we’re nerdy like that. But do a quick check up on a monthly basis.
Quarterly
If you’re self-employed you know what you need to do on a quarterly basis – pay your taxes! Those dates are typically mid month in April, June, September, and January. It’s easy to get behind on quarterly taxes if you don’t pay attention. We have a savings account linked to our checking account so when we get paid we can easily transfer money, putting back what’s necessary to cover taxes every four months.
Biannually
Every six months, it’s a good idea to do a long term budget. If you’re newer to the budgeting game, check out my free printable budget that you can edit and at least do a monthly game plan. But if you’ve been budgeting any period of time, it’s time to up your game to a six month window.
Budgeting every six months helps you get a longer view of where your money is heading. You can begin to anticipate expenses that aren’t billed on a monthly basis. Things like car insurance or birthdays or holidays easily sneak up on you without a plan. Budgeting a six month time frame helps you stay on top of what’s just around the corner.
Yearly
Tending to your money on a yearly basis requires a couple of separate focuses.
- You need to file your taxes every year in April.
- You should set some specific financial goals at least once a year.
Forgetting to do either can lead to big trouble. Obviously, no one wants to get into trouble with the IRS. Nor should anyone take an accidental approach to their money. The good news is, you don’t have to wait until January to set financial goals. That could happen any day of the entire year. Potential goals you could set might include:
- Paying off your smallest debt.
- Making a plan for your entire debt.
- Saving a specific amount for kids’ college.
- Putting back money to pay for a vacation.
- Saving for a new house down payment.
- Buying a vehicle with cash.
- Ensuring you’ll have a debt free Christmas this year.
If we don’t manage our money, it dissipates in the wind. Being intentional keeps hard earned cash in your pocket instead. When you institute regular rhythms for your money, the process eventually becomes automatic. You may even feel less overwhelmed by your financial requirements and future. Begin small and you’ll be surprised just how much you can achieve!
Our new book Your Money, Your Marriage is now available! Be sure to check out videos on managing money together on Facebook.
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out The Debt Free Devotional
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