Creating a Calendar That Shows All Utility Bills at a Glance
From electricity, gas, water, mobile service, maintenance fees, and insurance, each type of utility or fixed bill has a different billing source and payment date. If you cannot see at a glance where, when, and how much money will be withdrawn, it is easy to incur late fees or miss payments because of an insufficient balance. Bringing scattered information together into a single calendar almost eliminates this problem.
| Section | Key summary |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Bringing scattered information together into a single calendar almost eliminates this problem |
| First, gather all utility bills into one list | Short key point |
| Transfer them to a calendar | It does not matter whether you use a paper calendar or your phone calendar |
| Steps for making the calendar | Organize the item name, payment date, average amount, and whether it varies in a table |
| What changes when you can see cash flow | The example total is 402,000 won per month |
| Write down seasonal changes in advance | Electricity rises in summer, and gas rises in winter |
| Utility bills feel less intimidating when viewed by date | During that week, you can avoid large purchases or move funds in advance |
First, gather all utility bills into one list
Look at your statements and automatic payment history from the last 1 to 2 months, and write down every item that is withdrawn regularly. It helps to separate bills with the same amount every month, such as mobile service and insurance, from bills that change by season, such as electricity and gas.
| Item | Payment date | Average amount | Whether it varies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintenance fee | 25th of every month | 180,000 won | Variable (heating season ↑) |
| Electricity bill | 18th of every month | 42,000 won | Variable (summer ↑) |
| Gas bill | 20th of every month | 35,000 won | Variable (winter ↑) |
| Mobile service bill | 12th of every month | 55,000 won | Fixed |
| Insurance premium | 5th of every month | 90,000 won | Fixed |
Transfer them to a calendar
It does not matter whether you use a paper calendar or your phone calendar. The key is to write both the item name and the amount in the date box. If you write entries such as insurance 90,000 on the 5th and mobile service 55,000 on the 12th, you can immediately see which week of the month has the heaviest payments.
Steps for making the calendar
- Pull out all utility and fixed bills that repeat every month from your automatic payment and card statements for the last 2 months.
- Organize the item name, payment date, average amount, and whether it varies in a table.
- Enter the item name plus amount into each date box on the calendar.
- Add a reminder saying 'scheduled withdrawal for XX' in the box for the day before the payment date.
- Add up the amount withdrawn each week and write it next to the calendar (for example: first week 90,000, second week 55,000).
- If payday overlaps with a week when large withdrawals are concentrated, apply to spread out the payment dates for any items where this is possible.
What changes when you can see cash flow
The example total is 402,000 won per month. But if maintenance fees, electricity, and gas totaling 257,000 won are concentrated between the 18th and 25th, you can prepare in advance by avoiding other large expenses that week. Unlike when you only know the total, knowing when payments are concentrated makes it much easier to manage your bank account balance.
Write down seasonal changes in advance
Electricity rises in summer, and gas rises in winter. If you know the amount from the same month last year, write something like 'July electricity expected 80,000' next to the variable column. This helps you avoid being surprised by a suddenly larger bill and lets you adjust other spending for that month in advance.
Utility bills feel less intimidating when viewed by date
Utility bills feel burdensome not only because of the total amount, but because the withdrawal dates are scattered. If you write the item name and average amount in each calendar box, you can see which week the money is concentrated in. During that week, you can avoid large purchases or move funds in advance.
For items that change by season, such as electricity and gas, it is useful to write down the amount from the same month last year as well. Summer electricity bills and winter gas bills are less stressful when you estimate them in advance.