Cash plan items - adding bill example 3

Add example #3: paid monthly, payment varies slightly

After paying a bill for a few months in You Need A Cash Plan you will have a payment history for the bill, similar to that shown below, upon which to base the highest expected payment amount. When entering a new bill with no payment history, you will have to use any past bills you may have, including information that might be on the company's website, to figure out the best plan amount to use.

For bills you want to "plan high and pay low." With that in mind, for the below example a planned monthly payment of $101.00 looks good.

Here's what you know about the bill.

The phone company automatically withdraws monthly payments from your cash plan's checking account.
Payment amounts vary slightly each month.
Payments are due on the 15th.
You plan on a monthly bill of $101.00.
The last payment was made on July 15th.
How long the payments will last is not known.
Automatic payments are made on the 15th regardless of weekends and holidays.

To add this bill, begin by opening the New Bill window as described in How to start an Add.

In the New Bill window:

1 Name - Enter a descriptive Name for the bill.
2 Outgo category - Select the Outgo category that applies.
3 How paid - Select Automatic Deduction.
4 Payments are due - The default monthly option applies.
5 Payment amounts - Select vary only slightly.

The four columns in the New Bill window are now configured correctly for the new bill.

6 Add a payment lead time of - With the payments being made with an automatic deduction, there is no need for a lead time.
7 Monthly payments are due on the - Check the 15th.
8 Monthly payments are due - The default every 1 month(s) applies.
9 Normal payment - Enter 101.
10 A payment is or was due on - Select the date of the last payment.
11 Payments will last - The default for the foreseeable future applies.
12 Payments due on a weekend or checked holiday are moved to - Select that day.
13 Include in Cash Plan - This option is checked by default which is correct for this bill.
14 Save & Add Another / Save & Exit - Click on either save button to save the new bill.

To verify that the bill has been added correctly, right-click on the bill in your cash plan to open the drop-down menu and click on Preview.

The Bill 12 Month Preview dialog box displays the calculated payment Date, Day and Amount for the next twelve months. If needed, click on the Calendar button to display the reference calendar to check the calculated dates.

If any of the calculated values in the Date or Amount columns are incorrect, right-click on the bill in your cash plan to open the drop-down menu and click on Edit to make corrections.