Getting My Finances Together with The Budget by Paycheck Workbook
After my recent move, my finances started getting chaotic. I was hit with so many unexpected bills (someone had my car towed on my first day of work!) and I was starting to get stressed out. I had started the year off well when I started my emergency fund an it helped me navigate my move and helped with some of those bills. But it wasn’t enough. Now that I’m working and my income is steady, I have to figure out my finances. Over the weekend, I felt the need to dive into my finances and get organized, so I turned to The Budget Mom’s Budget by Paycheck (BPP) workbook. This workbook provides a structured approach to budgeting and saving, giving me the clarity I need to meet my financial goals. I’ve tried to do this before, but, if I’m being honest, I never stuck with it. I thought I could rely on my bank apps or other financial organizers like Rocket Money. While they are helpful, I still felt like I wasn’t in control. So I’ve decided to put in the work and make a plan for my money so I don’t overspend or overlook any transactions. Here’s what’s inside the BPP and how I’m making it work for me.
What’s Inside the Workbook?
‘WHY’ Worksheet
Define your purpose for budgeting by asking why this journey matters to you. It helps establish a strong foundation for more intentional financial planning. For me it’s my family. I want to manage our money better so we won’t live paycheck to paycheck and can plan for vacations and just more fun family events overall.
Reminder & Savings Worksheets
Keep track of upcoming subscription and annual payments, and set up savings for anticipated expenses throughout the year to avoid any financial surprises. As I was going through my transactions and emails, I realized I had a lot more annual subscriptions than I thought. They were out of sight and out of mind since I they get pulled once a year. But because I wasn’t actively tracking them, the subscription would take when I wasn’t expecting it and throw me off balance for the rest of the month. We’re not doing that anymore. Now, I’m planning to save a little each month to go towards those annual subscriptions. I have a So-Fi savings account which allows me to make vaults or buckets for different savings goals. I plan to be more intentional with what I am saving for so I don’t get tempted to just transfer it back to my checking out and splurge.
Monthly Budget Calendar & Paycheck Tracker
Get a monthly overview of bills and special events, and use the paycheck trackers to plan how each paycheck will cover bills, savings, and debt. The paycheck tracker is going to be the biggest game changer for me. There are about 5 per month with corresponding cash envelope breakdown pages for people who use that method. I sat down and wrote down my budget based on my monthly paycheck #teacherlife. There’s room for fixed expenses (like bills), variable expenses (like groceries), savings goals, and debt payments. I went through all my accounts and wrote down all my anticipated expenses, subtracted them from my estimated paycheck and can see what I’ll potentially have leftover by the end of the month. At the end of the month, I’ll go through all my expenses and write down what was actually spent. I already felt stress melting away as I planned out how I was going to be using my money. My brain is also hardwired to focus on this plan and I’ve already been thinking twice before touching my debit card.
Spending & Expense Trackers
The workbook emphasizes tracking every dollar, whether incoming or outgoing, helping you monitor and manage your spending habits. There are about 5 expense trackers per month in this workbook, I plan to dedicate a page to each bank account. This will let me see exactly where my money is going and to see which account the funds are being pulled from. Actually taking the time to write them out even though I can just login to my account at any time will be much more effective for me.
Financial Goals, Debt, & Net Worth Trackers
Define short- and long-term goals, outline a debt payoff strategy, and track assets and liabilities for an accurate view of your financial health. Planning for different goals also helps me budget my savings. It’s one thing to talk about wanting to own a home but it’s a whole other thing to actually start putting that money aside.
My Setup and Customization
To make this workbook my own, I purchased and downloaded the PDF version (it’s also cheaper than the physical version), printed it, and used a discbound punch to keep it flexible. I created a custom cover with my name, and on the back, I included money-related affirmations for motivation. I divided the workbook into sections with tabs for quick access to essential areas like the paycheck tracker, savings goals, and expense logs.
I also paired this setup with The Budget Mom’s meal planning printable set, which lets me organize family meals and align grocery expenses with my budget. Having both financial and meal planning organized feels seamless, supporting my efforts to spend intentionally while sticking to our grocery budget.
How I’ll Be Using the Planner
Each month will begin with a review of my financial goals, using the ‘WHY’ worksheet as a personal check-in. I’ll map out bills, events, and holidays in the monthly budget calendar, giving me a clear picture of what each paycheck needs to cover. This calendar also helps me anticipate and prepare for special expenses throughout the month.
Since I’m going cashless, I’ll be using the spending and expense trackers as my go-to tools. Every payday, I’ll update the paycheck budget tracker and make note of any bills, debt payments, or savings allocations for that period. I’ll track every transaction, writing down every cent that goes in or out of my accounts, which keeps me aware and accountable. This routine allows me to manage my funds digitally while still feeling the impact of each transaction on paper.
At the end of the month, I’ll use the debt and net worth trackers to see my financial progress. These reflections will allow me to assess how close I am to reaching my goals, giving me extra motivation to stay on track. Monitoring debt reduction and savings growth each month is a powerful reminder that these small steps add up.
The Budget by Paycheck workbook has turned into my go-to guide for budgeting in a cashless system. This structured approach helps me stay intentional with every dollar, building financial habits that will support me long-term.
How do you keep track of your finances?