Free Printable Annual Bills Planner + Your Monthly Number
An annual bills planner turns the bills you pay once a year, twice a year or every few months into one monthly number. For each bill, multiply the amount by how many times a year it comes, add those up, and divide by 12. A $65 Costco membership works out to $5.42 a month. Add the total to your monthly bills and you know what your bills cost, even in the months nothing’s due.
The year our real estate taxes weren’t in the mortgage
This was a long time ago. Our real estate taxes weren’t escrowed into the mortgage payment, so they didn’t come out a little at a time. They showed up as one big bill.
At the time it was like, “Whoa, that’s a lot to come up with at one time.”
They’re back in the mortgage now, so that bill doesn’t hit us anymore. But I average out all my yearly payments, business and personal, just so I know what’s going on. I want to know how much my monthly bills are, regardless of when they’re paid.
On the personal side, that’s yearly subscriptions, memberships like Amazon Prime and Costco, and car insurance, which I think is every six months. I don’t move money around for them. I just want the number.
What goes in an annual bills planner?
Every bill you pay less often than once a month. They hide in four places, so there are four stations, one ticket each. Stop after any of them.
- Your car: insurance, registration, a roadside plan.
- Your home: property tax, homeowners or renters insurance, HOA dues.
- Your memberships: warehouse clubs, Amazon Prime on a yearly plan, AAA.
- Your yearly subscriptions: apps and software you pay for once a year.
Bills you already pay every month don’t go here. Those belong on your bill calendar, and the number you get from this post goes on there as one more line.
Station 1: How often is car insurance billed?
It depends on your policy. Progressive says “major auto insurance companies typically sell six-month or yearly policies.” Pull up the last bill and look at the policy period. If it covers six months, the amount on it happens twice a year.
Already paying your insurance in monthly installments? Then it’s a monthly bill and it stays off this list. Add your registration and any roadside plan, and the car station is done.
Station 2: Property tax, home insurance and HOA dues
First check whether your mortgage has an escrow account. The CFPB explains it’s “set up by your mortgage lender to pay certain property-related expenses,” with part of your monthly payment covering property taxes and homeowners insurance.
If yours is escrowed, those two are already monthly. Skip them. If they aren’t, this is the station that got me, so write them down first. Then add renters insurance if you rent, and HOA dues if they come quarterly or once a year.
Station 3: Memberships like Costco and Amazon Prime
These are the small ones, so they’re easy to forget. Costco lists a Gold Star membership at $65 a year and Executive at $130 a year, plus sales tax where it applies. That’s $5.42 or $10.83 a month.
Check your Amazon account to see whether Prime bills you yearly or monthly. Only the yearly plan goes here. Add AAA, a museum or zoo membership, and anything else with a card in your wallet that renews once a year. While those cards are out, check what each membership already includes. The list of hidden subscription perks on my other blog covers Costco and Prime.
Station 4: Yearly app and software subscriptions
Open your phone’s subscriptions list and look for the ones on a yearly plan. Then search your email for “annual” and “renews.” If you’ve done the subscription sweep, the yearly ones are already on your list, so copy them over.
Want each renewal date on a calendar so you can cancel before it charges? That’s the renewal year in things that expire. This post is about the money.
How do you figure out the monthly cost of a yearly bill?
Multiply the amount by how many times a year it comes, then divide by 12. Here’s the same $600 bill at four different schedules:
| How often it comes | Times a year | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Once a year | 1 | $600 | $50 |
| Twice a year | 2 | $1,200 | $100 |
| Every 3 months | 4 | $2,400 | $200 |
| Every 2 years | 0.5 | $300 | $25 |
The “how often” column is where the mistakes happen. A $600 bill every six months reads like $50 a month if you forget it comes twice. It’s $100.
How much should I set aside each month for a yearly bill?
The per-month number is what to set aside once you’re on track. Starting partway through, divide the bill by the months left until it’s due instead.
Say that $600 six-month bill is due in 2 months. Setting aside $100 a month gets you $200 by then, not $600. To have it ready, it’s $300 a month for those 2 months, then back to $100 after it’s paid. The tool works this out for every bill you give a month to.
Work out your real monthly number with the tool
The tool walks the same four stations. Add each bill with its amount and how often it comes, and pick the next due month if you know it. At the end you get your per-month and per-year totals, each bill’s share sorted biggest first, and what to set aside for anything due soon.
Your bills save in your own browser, so you can come back on the same device. There's no account and no server behind it, and "Erase everything" wipes it.
The printable annual bills planner
One page, free, no email required. The four stations with a box to mark each one off, 10 bill rows plus a filled-in Costco example, a "times a year" column you circle, per-year and per-month columns with the math printed in the header, and a red box at the bottom for your real monthly number.
Two rules to keep the number right
Fix one row when a price changes. Renewals go up. Cross out the old amount, write the new one, and redo that row. Every other row stays put.
Count it with your monthly bills. The number only helps if it sits next to the rent and the phone bill. Write it on your bill calendar as its own line.
Finish all four stations and you've earned four tickets and Even Steven, the prize on this one. Nothing expires and there's no streak to lose, so a sheet you start tonight and finish next week still pays the same four.
Not financial or legal advice. This planner does the math on your own bills. It doesn't tell you where to keep the money.
Frequently asked questions
How do I budget for annual bills?
Turn each one into a monthly amount. Multiply the bill by how many times a year it comes, divide by 12, and add it to your monthly bills. A $65 yearly membership is $5.42 a month.
How do I calculate the monthly cost of a bill paid every six months?
Multiply the amount by 2, then divide by 12. A $600 bill every six months is $1,200 a year, or $100 a month. Dividing by 6 gets you the same answer.
Should property tax go on an annual bills planner?
Only if you pay it yourself. If your mortgage has an escrow account, the CFPB says part of your monthly payment covers property taxes and homeowners insurance, so they're already monthly.
What if a yearly bill is due soon and I haven't set anything aside?
Divide the bill by the months left until it's due. A $600 bill due in 2 months is $300 a month until it's paid, then back to the even monthly share.
Is the printable annual bills planner free?
Yes, and there's no email required to get it. It's one page, and the tool on this post is free too.
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