Art of Paying Bills

What they don't teach in school is the art of paying bills.  It's an integral part of our lives, truly no one can escape it unless they live in a forest in the mountains.   The ease of paying a bill lies in the amount of money you have at your disposal.   I know that's really kind of a given, but it must be said because the art is when you don't have enough to pay each and every bill you have each month.  Even wealthy people have this dilemma, because most live to within their means or beyond, not matter their tax bracket. 

The most basic needs must be met first, rent or mortgage whether you agree or not, without a roof over your head, the other bills really can become moot.  This is usually a cost for the bulk of your income, if your lucky maybe 1/4  but usually for the middle income bracket, it's about a 1/3.  When it's 1/2 it becomes a dangerous area of survival, especially for families.

Next is utilities, such as electric, heat & water.  While you can fudge on paying this bill but probably only during the summers in the north, it's considered a basic requirement.   We all like to see in the dark, keep our food cold in the fridge and maybe take a bath or wash our clothes.   The juggling becomes interesting when this item is split into it's components; electric, gas/oil, water.  We will usually pick the one we need the most, electric & water. 

Another basic need that must be met and has the greatest flexibility is food.  Buying for one or two is a whole lot different than buying for a family.  A family's requirements are more stringent in what is required to insure a healthy child/children.  Thus, this cost is a big chunk out of a budget, sometimes as much as the utility, if not more.   Planning and execution can assist with keeping the cost down, but the economy can make this a difficult task. 

So if you have achieved paying your month outgoing cost to this point and you still have money left, congratulations.  Now the fun begins.  What do you pay next?  This is where you now enter the luxury portion of your life.  A car usually tops the list, because without a mode of travel, most cannot get to their job, so a car payment and the very least, gas, must be included. 

Next comes comforts, those can be different as the person buying them.  TV, phones, clothes, sports, coffee, lunch and/or dinner out, movies, books, etc.   These are where budget get cut.  Ever feel like you are the government?  This would be art and science department for schools, the "extras". 

Now if you still have funds available after your necessities and luxury, savings & investments are always a great bet.  This is where you can build of the little bit of extra you have right now, so in the future you can fall back into a feather bed instead of the hard concrete of life.   This is probably the most elusive to do when meeting basic needs is a challenge. 

One item that I guess baffles me because I am not a church-going person is the money that is given to a church.  I don't pretend to understand it, but I see where this is important to a lot of people.  A portion is given to the church, to each person or family it's different, but no matter how much is made, those that are loyal to their church will donate.  Even cutting into their basic need requirement costs.

Lastly, is taxes.  We can't escape them, although a few have tried.  This a major cut to our actual income and usually an expense we never really "see" because they like to scoop out of our ice cream bucket before we get it home from the store.  If we are lucky, we get a refund every year, but no where near what we paid into the "system". 

So each month is a balancing act to make sure the basic needs are met and still luxuries are available so life is more bearable.  Now to pass on that wisdom to the kids, when did they stop doing that in schools?  Now that's a life skill worth having.