Money clarity, one post at a time.
Guides on cash-flow planning, multi-currency money, post-dated cheques, and getting ahead of your commitments.
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When you cannot cover a post-dated cheque: swap, split, or move the date
Seeing a post-dated cheque you cannot cover two weeks out is a conversation. Seeing it on the clearing day is a bounced cheque. Here is the forward-planning playbook for a cheque you are not sure you can cover.
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Pre-funding next quarter's post-dated cheques: the sinking-fund method
Post-dated rent, school fees, and insurance cluster on the same few dates. A sinking fund sets aside a little each month so the big cheque lands against money you already reserved, turning a cash valley into a planned outflow.
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Guarantee and security cheques: not post-dated, still a liability
A guarantee cheque is not a post-dated cheque. It is blank or undated, given as collateral for rent, a loan, or a job, and it is a real exposure that should not sit on your timeline like a normal due-date. Here is how to track a contingent cheque you hope is never presented.
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When your post-dated cheque and your income are in a different currency
A post-dated rent cheque due in dirhams three months out, funded by dollars or euros you have not converted yet. A future-dated cheque is a fixed liability in one currency plus an open exchange-rate decision. Here is how to plan the conversion before the clearing date.
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The post-dated cheque you received is not money yet
A post-dated cheque handed to you is a promise with a date, not a deposit. Here is how to treat incoming cheques as expected income with a clearing date and a confidence level, so you never spend money that has not arrived.
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Your bank balance is lying to you
Your account shows one number, but rent, installments, and post-dated cheques are already spoken for. Here is how to find the money you actually have.
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The cash valley, and how to survive it
A month can be solvent on paper and still hit a dangerous low point. Here is how to map your cash valley, the gap between a big bill and your next paycheck, before it triggers a bounced cheque.
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How much cash should you actually keep in your account?
The "save three months of expenses" rule is a starting point, not an answer. Here is how to size a personal cash buffer around your real obligations and the gap until your next income.
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Irregular income, regular bills: cash flow for freelancers
Your income arrives in lumps, but rent and bills arrive on a schedule. Here is how to plan cash flow when your earnings do not match your calendar.
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Post-dated cheques: how to track money you have already promised
The day you write a post-dated cheque, that money is already spent, even though your balance still shows it. Here is how to track cheques as upcoming liabilities and watch the cash valley around big due-dates.
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One salary, three currencies: what expats get wrong about their real balance
Expats often overestimate spendable cash by converting balances at a flattering rate. Here is how to think in liquidity per currency, so a bill in one currency is actually covered.
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How to track credit card installments (and the interest you actually pay)
Installment plans feel free until the interest and overlapping months pile up. Here is how to track every credit card installment, see the real cost, and plan each month before it arrives.
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