Thanks for sticking with me as I break it down and tell you more in depth what I have in my planner.  I didn't originally plan on having a money section.  My husband does a great job with the bills and often we find ourselves working together:  deciding what needs to be paid, balancing our account, paying online, and things of that nature.

When I started my planner, I thought:  "It sure would be helpful to have a little check list of our bills in my planner."  My often will often ask me if we have paid such and such and since my planner is nearly always with me, I'd have the answer quickly.  So, I made a checklist, listed all our bills with a place to check each one off every month, and printed it on a 4x6 card.  It was so handy.

Then, one day I getting a current balance and I couldn't remember if a specific check had cleared (although we write check numbers and amounts in a register, we keep up with the balance online).  This kind of gave way to another printable for my planner.  I created a simple page and used these columns:  one to record the date a check or online payment was written (or to be paid), another column for the payee, the amount paid and a place to check if it had cleared or not.

Now when I get our balance online, I quickly scan this sheet to see if everything has cleared; if not, I subtract the amount from the bank balance to get the amount we can really spend!  After reading this, I realize it might even sound complicated but it is quite simple.  People have so many ways of doing things but this is one that has worked for me.  It has been very helpful to my husband as well and he appreciates how the work I put into keeping a planner has benefited our whole family.

Tomorrow I will share a copy of my Outstanding checks or Payments sheet as well as the monthly bill checklist.

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