Accountability and Responsibility

I recently decided to take a short break from full time work so I can focus (or refocus) on my plans and goals and hopes for the decade — I’m now in my 30s. For most people, it is a near impossibility to just stop having a major income due to debt, bills and just the basic cost of living.

While my break is voluntary, sometimes life will bring you periods of unemployment, failed businesses or health situations (stress and depression count here, too). But beyond the stressed of temporary unemployment comes a bigger stress that you may not even notice: the daily stress of making sure everything is taken care of each month.

My recommendation is to get ahead on those payments and stay ahead. What I like to do is pay an extra 10% over the “Monthly Bill” portion of the utilities and all payments. If you do it every month the amount is minimal (sometimes just $8-$10 per bill), but within a year or less you’ll get ahead an entire payment. Keep on with the program and you’ll find yourself months ahead. For the past year I’ve been trying to pay 20% extra a month.

Note that you don’t want to pay 10% more than the Amount Due portion, as this portion will shrink each month from your overpayment. You want to find the smaller number that shows the actual Monthly Bill, before they subtract your credits.

Some people say you should use your extra dollars to pay down your highest interest credit cards first, or pay down your mortgage quicker, or any of those things. I don’t think this is a reasonable situation — when people pay down debt, they tend to run it back up. Debt, mortgages and loans are a huge headache in general, but if your utilities are paid a month or three in advance (or a year as I will soon be!), the underlying stresses are significantly reduced. A sadness you didn’t even realize was there is lifted off your chest.

I hear from many families how they can’t put two dimes together to get ahead, yet I see those same families buying junk in the convenience store. Cutting back two fast food visits a month is enough to get 2 months ahead of your utilities in just a year. The nicest thing about receiving bills after you’re ahead is seeing the “CR” tag after the amount due — meaning you have a credit, they owe you! Once that happens, you’ll find yourself not fearing the mailbox check each day, except for the revolving debt you might have climbing on top of you. Once you are ahead of the utilities, keep on trying to pay 10% more than the Monthly Bill but now focus on getting rid of that debt.

Once you get ahead of your daily responsibilities, you’ll find it easier to stay ahead in more than just finances. Lowering the quiet small daily stresses that you don’t realize you have is a huge step in getting rid of stress and depression that you notice in a more obvious way.