Schedules, schedules, and planners

One thing that I've always been commended on is my ability to organize and plan. I am the person that over thinks, over plans, and over analyses every little thing. It's a little thing I like to call "control". Taking control of every aspect of my life makes my life a little bit easier, and not as stressful if I didn't continuously do these things.

One of the things I've started doing this month is working out. I like to have a visual schedule of everything I have done in my workout regime that way I always feel like I've been making progress towards my goal. 

Here is a visual calendar of my first weeks workout routine.

Another thing I obsessively need visual aid of is my Finances. I work in the Banking Industry and constantly see people making the wrong choices, over spending, and always going into the negative because they aren't watching what they are spending. I can honestly say that I do not make a huge income, but I always manage to save $200 - $400 a month. It was close to $600, but I opened an IRA, Life insurance policy, and started a 401 K. It's all still in "Savings" but I just can't always see it.

My friend has been asking me to start going to a 9 week program with her for getting out of debt and building a strong financial base. The program is based off of Dave Ramsey. She sent me a copy of one of the spreadsheets they use in the class. It's only a small sample, but here it is...

Here is what I have been using for the past year. It's a lot simpler and a whole lot less to look at!

It gets straight to the point, doesn't use any functions like on excel, it was just created on a word document.

After receiving the above document from my friend, I emailed her what I have been using, and I think we both decided to stick to the easier to view budget guide. The only difference, is I didn't enter in the MISC section like the spreadsheet has. 

My suggestion to anyone trying to get back on the right path, as soon as you get paid, subtract the bills from your income, and only leave about $100-$150 in your account. The rest of the money transfer to your savings account and out of eye's view! Of course the above amount should be tailored to your own living expenses. I only spend about $60 in gas a month and the rest in food.