Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
Three-year list of predictable big costs
Most money shocks are not emergencies at all: the car needs tyres, the washing machine is eleven years old, a friend's wedding is in June. Listing every big cost you can see coming in the next three years, with a rough price and a likely month, turns those surprises into a schedule. Every pot in this area is built from this list.
First tasks
- Write down the last five costs that knocked the monthly budget off course
- Walk round the home and note appliances and furniture likely to need replacing
- Add car, travel, celebration and annual bill costs from the calendar
- Put a rough price and likely month beside every item
Yearly lump-sum bills found in twelve months of statements
Annual charges are the easiest big costs to forget because they arrive only once: car insurance, home insurance, vehicle tax, breakdown cover, a professional membership, a software renewal. Searching a full year of bank and card statements finds every one with its exact amount and renewal month, so each can be funded a twelfth at a time instead of absorbed in a bad month.
First tasks
- Download twelve months of statements for every current account and card
- Ask the agent to list the charges that appear only once in the export
- Add each annual bill's amount, payee and renewal month to the cost list
- Divide the total of kept annual bills by twelve and note the figure
Target amount and due date for every pot
A pot without a number and a date is just a savings account with a nice name. Turning the cost list into pots, each with a target, a due month and a note of where the price came from, gives every contribution a purpose and makes it obvious which pots are on track.
First tasks
- Group the cost list into pots by type and timing
- Look up a current price for each pot's main item
- Set a due month for each pot, even if it is a best guess
- Show the pot list to anyone who shares the costs
