How Can I Get Control When Bills Keep Catching Me Off Guard?

You feel like your bills are playing hide and seek, and it's not because you're irresponsible, because they hit at weird times and every time one pops up, you feel that same stomach drop. Oh, no, I forgot that one. Then you scramble, you move money around and you hope nothing else hits that day. That's exhausting. Is it?So today is not about being perfect. Today's about building one simple map so you stop getting blindsided and you can start breathing again. Hey, friend. Ralph Estep Jr. Here.This is financially Confident Christian, where every day I'm working to break that cycle of financial shame and truly help you find confidence. And today's topic is all about that. Today we're talking about getting control when bills keep catching you off guard.Well, let's get into today's listener question. This one came in and it said this. Ralph, my bills hit at random times throughout the month and I'm constantly caught off guard.I'm always scrambling, moving money around, trying to figure out what's due when. It's exhausting living in reaction mode. I want to get ahead of this, but I don't even know where to start.What's the easiest way to map everything out so I stop getting blindsided? I need control back. What a great question. And you know what?I think Back to my 53 years on the planet, I don't know how many times I've been blindsided the same way you have. So thank you so much for sharing that question. And here's the thing. I want to start off with today's big idea. You don't need more money.First, you're sure that would help in the long run. What you really need right now is what I call a simple bill map. Because what you're feeling is very normal.Due dates are scattered all over the place. And listen, the more bills you have, the more scattered it feels. And when you're living in that, it feels like financial chaos, doesn't it?So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to help you today build what I call a one page bill map. Now, this isn't some complicated budgeting app, just clarity in what you're doing.So here's the way you do it. We're going to start with step one. I want you to make one list of every single bill you have.Now, you might say, ralph, where do I get that information? If you've got a bank app, that's a great place to start. Or maybe your email, or maybe you've got an Auto pay list.And what I want you to do is write each of those things down.For example, your rent or mortgage, your utilities, your telephone, your Internet, any insurance payment you make that car payment, any subscriptions you have, and those credit cards, anything that gets paid money automatically. If the money comes out, it goes on the list. Now, we're doing this not to shame you. You just need to have clarity and you need to be able to see that.So start with that. Put that list together. Second thing I want you to do is add two details for each bill.For every item, I want you to write down the due date and the amount. Now, if the amount changes, which, hey, some of our bills change from month to month, write the usual range.For example, you might be saying, ralph, wait a minute, my electric bill, it's due the 18th, but in the winter months, it's less. In the summer months, it's more. So put a range in there. Maybe you say 120 to $180.I was with my son for dinner last night, and he said, dad, I'm so excited. My, my electric bill last month was almost $20 less. And I said, well, it was February.February had less dates, and he didn't have his air conditioning running. But that creates that map. And when you have that map, it reduces that panic. Now, here's the next thing I want you to do.I want you to turn the month into two pay periods. The truth is, most people get paid either weekly, bi weekly, or twice a month.Now, I had a job at one point getting paid once a month, trying to budget. Man, that was hard. So you can't plan your by months when you're planning bills. I say plan by the paychecks.So if you get paid bi weekly, draw two columns and think about it in terms of paycheck number one covers these bills. Paycheck number two covers these bills or these dates. And then what I want you to do, once you've got those columns.Now, if you've got four paychecks, you.You could do four columns, but place each bill under the column where it's due, because once you do that, you're going to start to gain control again because you can see what each paycheck is responsible for. Now, all those things are great. Here's another pro tip. Create one bills buffer inside of your checking account.This is the simplest protection you can build. Just pick 25, 50, or $100 and label it your bills buffer. Do not touch. This is the money that's out there for surprises.This way, if You've got that bill you weren't expecting. Like when my son kicks the electric on in the summer, his electric bill might go up a little bit. That handles that.Or maybe you've got a due date that you missed. Or there's just a timing issue. It's not about wealth. It's about building some breathing room. And here's my final tip for today.Set two reminders, not 12. A lot of people do this. They have a reminder for every single bill. And what happens when you do that? You just tune them out.Just put in two reminders if you get paid on the 1st and the 15th, then put in two money check in reminders, one for the 1st and one for the 15th. And all you got to do is remind yourself, hey, check my bill map what's due before the next payday.And that keeps you out of reaction mode without living on your phone all the time. And see, here's the thing. I want to encourage you with that clarity, and that's really what we're talking about building today, is clarity.That clarity turns chaos into comp. So here's your one win for today. I want you to go ahead and make that one page bill map. And like I said, just three things on it.The bill, name the due date and the amount. And then split it into that columns based on the number of paychecks you have. That's it. You don't need to fix your whole budget today. You.You just need to stop getting surprised. Well, let's get into our Bible verse for today. It comes to us from the book of Proverbs, chapter 27, verse 23. It says this.Be sure to know the condition of your flocks. Give careful attention to your herds. And see God's wisdom is calling us to pay attention because what we track helps us to be led.How about we pray together right now? Father God, we just want to thank you that you're not a God of confusion.You see the stress and you see the scramble in our lives and that feeling of being blindsided. I ask you, give my friend listening today peace, Lord. Just not just emotional peace, but practical peace.Help them take just one step today towards clarity. Give them patience to list the bills. Give them courage to look at the numbers.And Lord, give them strength to build a simple system that they can use. As always, Lord, we ask that you will provide for our needs and remind us always that we're not alone in any of this.And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen. Friends, you're not behind because you're broken. You're behind because you need a map. So go put that map together.And if you've got a question for this show, I would love to hear it. You go to financiallyconfidentChristian.com/question. We'll put that in the show notes. But I want to give it to you one more time.It's financially confidentchristian.com/question you can leave your question or listen to this one. You can also leave us a voicemail. I'd love to hear your voice.You do that by going to FinanciallyConfidentChristian.com/voicemail real simple. Just FinanciallyConfidentChristian.com/voicemail. Well, thank you so much for joining me today. As I always say, stay financially savvy.May God bless you. And you have a great day today.