u/Benwinch07

I'm following Financial Peace and working my way through debt right now (paid 3 credit cards off and down to Student Loan and Car Payment).

I structure my bank accounts and my paychecks such that half of my monthly bills gets direct deposited into my 'bills' account out of my paycheck. Two paychecks/month, all bills are covered with no risk of money not being available when a bill comes due. Any variable expenses such as gas or 'Fun' money is put into a different account and I use that debit card for those purchases. This way the available balance on the card dictates what I can spend.

Since I'm trying to operate on a zero-based budget, every extra dollar is going towards debt. Because of this, its super crucial that I keep tabs on my 'bills' account to detect any potential surplus.

A surplus can occur from the occasional third paycheck in a month or if, say, my phone bill is cheaper one month. If I dont notice the surplus right away and use it on my debt, then it can slowly add up and that money wont do what it needs to. In the case of the third paycheck, I know that entire check is a surplus because i budget for two paychecks per month, but can I allocate the entire check right away, or are there some bills coming due that require a portion of it?

I'd like to be able to know with good accuracy if, given my upcoming bills and paychecks, my account has a surplus.

Basically, I envision a spreadsheet with all of my expenses , upcoming paychecks, and current account balance where I say 'If I spend X dollars right now, will my account ever fall below zero or be at zero when a bill comes due?' If the answer is no, that means I have a surplus.

Does any of that make sense?

I'm following Financial Peace and working my way through debt right now (paid 3 credit cards off and down to Student Loan and Car Payment).

I structure my bank accounts and my paychecks such that half of my monthly bills gets direct deposited into my 'bills' account out of my paycheck. Two paychecks/month, all bills are covered with no risk of money not being available when a bill comes due. Any variable expenses such as gas or 'Fun' money is put into a different account and I use that debit card for those purchases. This way the available balance on the card dictates what I can spend.

Since I'm trying to operate on a zero-based budget, every extra dollar is going towards debt. Because of this, its super crucial that I keep tabs on my 'bills' account to detect any potential surplus.

A surplus can occur from the occasional third paycheck in a month or if, say, my phone bill is cheaper one month. If I dont notice the surplus right away and use it on my debt, then it can slowly add up and that money wont do what it needs to. In the case of the third paycheck, I know that entire check is a surplus because i budget for two paychecks per month, but can I allocate the entire check right away, or are there some bills coming due that require a portion of it?

I'd like to be able to know with good accuracy if, given my upcoming bills and paychecks, my account has a surplus.

Basically, I envision a spreadsheet with all of my expenses , upcoming paychecks, and current account balance where I say 'If I spend X dollars right now, will my account ever fall below zero or be at zero when a bill comes due?' If the answer is no, that means I have a surplus.

Does any of that make sense?