Budgeting

[IHaveRegrets]

IHaveRegrets before our financial problems I use to do something very similar and maybe I should start to use our bank accounts differently. We have one checking account at the bank where our mortgage was because that was required and then we have two checking accounts at another bank. One of those accounts was originally used for "saving" for the non-monthly payments, we we had car insurance and few other expenses on payments that might be quarterly or yearly. We also kept some money in there for repairs that might pop up unexpected or the repairs that you know you will need eventually as appliances age or you need a new set of tires.

Even if I can't change it right now I think it's a great idea to go back to those principles and when our BK is over that might really help us stay on track!

I changed banks a little before filing, and my credit union allowed me to open the second checking account for free, though it doesn't have the same perks as my "Spend" account. They also hold my "cushion" account which draws a small but also noticeable (as the balance increases slowly) bit of interest. (A couple dollars here and there is still a couple dollars I didn't have before.)

Regardless, my life has gotten so much easier with this system that I have zero doubt I will continue this sort of thing for the rest of my life.

Even for the yearly payments, when I know they're coming up I start shifting a little extra money each pay period (for a month or two depending on size of payment) towards the "bill pay" account so I ensure the money gets held in reserve. The system is working well for me so far.