Broke-ish to Functioning: Step 6
Step 6: Get One Month Ahead on Bills
Start here if you haven't read the introduction:
This is where things start to feel different.
The reason we built that quick emergency fund first is simple:
Every time we try to do something good with money...
Life happens.
The car acts up.
The dog needs something.
A bill is higher than expected.
Something breaks.
That little emergency fund gives us a small layer of protection while we start working on the next goal:
Getting One Full Month Ahead on Bills
Download a Free Month Ahead Tracker PDF
Go back to the numbers you figured out in Step 1.
You already know:
What bills you have
When they are due
How much they cost
What your income looks like
Now we are going to use that information to slowly build enough money to cover one full month of bills before that month even starts.
And no, you do not need to somehow come up with an entire month of expenses overnight.
We are going to build it one bill at a time.
Start Small
Take your list of monthly bills and sort them from the smallest amount to the largest.
For example:
Spotify — $8
Streaming service — $15
Phone — $85
Car insurance — $190
Car payment — $500
Mortgage — $1,400
Then start with the smallest one.
If Spotify is $8, put an extra $8 into your month-ahead account.
Then cross Spotify off the list.
That bill is officially funded for next month.
Next, move to the $15 bill.
Put $15 into the account.
Cross it off.
Keep going.
You are basically building next month's budget while still paying this month's bills.
Why Start With the Smallest Bill?
Could you just start throwing random amounts into a savings account?
Absolutely.
But I really like the idea of funding one bill at a time because it gives you something visual to work toward.
You can physically see yourself making progress.
There is something satisfying about being able to say:
That matters.
Especially when you are working toward a bigger financial goal that might take a while.
Sometimes watching an account slowly go from $200 to $2,000 does not feel very exciting.
But checking off ten individual bills?
That feels like progress.
Make Yourself a Checklist
Write every monthly bill down.
Next to each one, write the amount you need to have saved.
Then give yourself a checkbox.
Every time you save enough to cover that bill for next month, check it off.
It can be in:
A notebook
Your planner
A spreadsheet
Your phone
A whiteboard
Your budgeting app
I do not care where you put it.
Just make it something you can see.
That visual motivation is important.
You're Still Paying Your Current Bills
This part is important.
Getting one month ahead does not mean skipping your current bills to fund next month.
You are still keeping everything current.
Your normal income pays this month's expenses.
Any extra money you can find goes toward building next month's bills.
That might be:
Extra money from cutting expenses
Overtime
Bonuses
Side hustle income
Cashback
Tax refunds
Selling things around the house
Any extra money that did not already have a job
Every little bit moves you closer.
What Happens When You Finish?
Eventually, you will look at your account and realize:
Next month's bills are already covered.
Before the month even starts.
That changes the entire feeling of budgeting.
Instead of getting paid and immediately thinking:
Which bills have to come out of this paycheck?
You already have the money sitting there.
Your current income is now funding the next month.
That gives you breathing room.
It also gives you another layer of emergency protection.
If something happens and your income is interrupted, you already have a month of essential expenses sitting there ready to go.
Don't Touch the Month-Ahead Money
I would highly recommend keeping this money separate from your normal spending account.
You could even open another savings account and name it something like:
Next Month's Bills
One Month Ahead
Bills Buffer
Whatever makes sense to you.
The important part is knowing:
This is not spending money.
This money already has a job.
It belongs to next month.
Your Step 6 Goal
Go back to your Step 1 bill list.
Put everything in order from smallest to largest.
Then start funding next month one bill at a time.
Every time you fund one:
Check. It. Off.
Give yourself that little win.
Because eventually all of those tiny checkmarks turn into something huge:
An entire month of bills already sitting in the bank.
That is when Broke-ish starts feeling a whole lot more like Functioning.
Your Turn
If you started funding next month's bills today, which bill would be the first one you could completely knock out?
Drop the bill and the amount in the comments.
Even if it is only $8.
That first checkmark counts.
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