How to Set Up a Monthly Bill-Paying Spreadsheet

Keeping a good eye on your finances is essential these days, and part of that is knowing not only how much your bills are, but when they're due. It's an easy detail to forget, especially with so many different billing practices and so many other things to remember. However, a monthly bill spreadsheet can make it as easy as a glance to figure out what's been paid, what needs to be paid and where your money stands.

Instructions

1

Sit down and write out your monthly pay schedule and a list of all your bills and the due dates. Figure out which due dates fall within which pay periods and pay those bills on the days you get paid for that period. So, if you got paid twice a month on the 1st and the 15th, you'd pay all bills due before the 15th on the 1st and all your other bills on the 15th.

2

Open a new spreadsheet document. Use whatever program you like best.

3

Create the column headings "Due Date," "Pay Date," "Paid To" and "Amount." Instead of just listing things like "cable" under the Paid To section, write the name of the service that provides your cable. That's the name that's going to appear on your bank statement and this will make things easier if you have to match one to the other down the line.

4

Fill in the information for each of your bills. Don't worry about getting it all in chronological order until it's all in there. When everything is entered, select the Due Date column and have your program automatically sort the entries.

5

Go through and fill in the Pay Date column with the dates you decided on in step one. This way you always know which bills need your attention and which ones you don't have to worry about.