Simple Money

[catherine]

I don't know--all the tools we have for personal finance SHOULD make life easier, but for me, I think there are too many choices, and my financial life seems so complicated!

I used to write down all my bills on the back page of my DayTimer, and then write out checks twice a month, noting the check # and date on each bill and then pop them in the mail. Done!

Of course, when paying online became available, I started doing that, which was fine until I quit my corporate job and went freelance. It didn't suit me to have automated pay dates because if a check didn't arrive when expected, and I didn't adjust the autopay, I'd be hit with overdrafts.

Because of my debt situation (which I've posted about), I am obsessive about tracking it. So, I have signed with Mint, with Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover online program, and I just joined YNAB. Not only that, but I have Excel spreadsheets that I use to account for rolling funds over from one month to the next so I don't count on paying a bill that I won't likely have the money for (actually I signed up for YNAB because they have that feature). I have budgets and spreadsheets all over the place!! I have debt thermometers, line charts and graphs, Snowball charts.

Also, sometimes I'm inclined to try to go with the cash only system, but then sometimes I'll use my debit card. Then, for business I do use a business credit card because sometimes I have pretty heft travel expenses that the companies don't reimburse me for for months sometimes.

Too complicated!! Help me out! Tell me your "simple money" habits.

[Marianne]

We each have our own little systems. I use one spreadsheet to track snowball debt, another basic form that I came up with for our business expenses for tax purposes. I add to those as expenses are paid/incurred. I have some recurring expenses that are auto drafted, others I pay online. Those I just write the amount and confirmation number in my check book.

My DH has a small day planner type notebook that he logs mileage, on the road business expenses, etc. He uses a credit card designated for business only expenses. I pay that off at the end of the month. He uses a debit card, I write a check. If he doesn't write down the debit in the checkbook, he will get whacked with a wooden spoon.

By the time it's over, I have two sheets that I can print off to file with our tax papers (one for each of our business expenses) and one online spread sheet to keep an eye on debt.

I'd be screaming if I didn't get reimbursed monthly for business expenses. That is enough to throw everything out of whack!

[rosarugosa]

Marianne: LOVE the wooden spoon technique :)

[Acorn]

We used to use a pencil and ledger to keep track of our spending and from there switched to Quicken. We don't sync Quicken with any of our accounts, but just use it to keep track of our spending. I'm always trying to simplify our finances. We seem to have so many accounts and I've been slowly trying to consolidate, but it isn't an easy task. We use one credit card for the majority of our spending and the rest is cash so spending is fairly easy to track. I don't like things to be so complicated that it becomes a chore keeping up with it.

[Marianne]

Ditto! I used to have one checking account for business, one for a rental house we owned, plus each of us had our own checking acct. One day I thought that this was stooopid. This was pre-computer era, so after I closed all but one account, I just put a large asterick by any entry in the check ledger that was tax related. I never could stay with listing things as the year went along, but at least things were easily seen in the registers at tax time.

We use the business expense credit card for things that normally we'd pay cash for (like the home improvment store). We deduct the amount from our checkbook as we go along, using the last four digits of the credit card where the check number would be entered. That way I know that I can pay that bill off each month without worry. I pay that off online, so I just put ( ) around the amount, again have the CC digits listed and confirmation #. It's just a reminder that the amount has already been deducted from our bank balance. This is a cash back rewards card, so I usually get about $50 every three months that is applied to either the next month's statement or I take a Lowe's gift card if we have a purchase coming up.

I'm pretty much a pay as you go person now. We have two other CC's that I'm paying down, the one with the lower balance was used when we had to buy a new mower - $3K. Hated it, but we had no choice as the old one couldn't be repaired again, two acres that has to be mowed because of possibility of flash fires, etc. But that's life, the snowballing continues.

I have a sort-of-friend that has SIX bank accounts! She's constantly shuffling money from one account to the other just to pay bills. The craziest thing she did was when her husband said that he needed some money to buy ______. She got on the computer and had the bank MAIL him a check. No other funds were available, so he had to wait two days until the check came to their house. That is really stooooopid. He should get a wooden spoon. :o)

[Selah]

We got ourselves out of debt, so that made things MUCH less complicated because we have far fewer bills to pay every month. The rest is automated on BillPay, except for the one credit card we still use, where we decide how much and when to send the money to the company. We don't track every penny that we spend, since most of it is tracked by the bank statements anyway, and we pay cash for groceries, eating out, and the occasional purchase (gifts, clothes, etc.). We make it a habit to buy each other Starbucks giftcards as part of our gifts to each other for birthdays and anniversaries, so one of us seems to always have one on hand for the occasional spontaneous Starbucks visit.

We don't keep a graph, since we're out of debt. We just decided to live within our means from now on, including when we are both on Social Security and will have a nest-egg to draw on. Frankly, I wouldn't mind setting some more solid financial goals, but DH won't bite, so I'm not going to push it. I'm not working now, but perhaps that may change when we move overseas and one or both of us manage to find a job.

[simplepleasures]

I am interested in this too. In fact today, I deleted my MINT account because I was so overwhelmed and confused. I want a simple simple budget system. I'd love to hear others thoughts too!

Thanks.

[ljevtich]

Keep it simple -A credit card (not a debit card, as it is the same as cash), online bill pay, and a spreadsheet work great. I use Open Office (free) for the spreadsheet. While we have several bank accounts, we are out of debt, and those accounts are for the CDs and Money Markets.

I would suggest using just one system. I do not know what the YNAB is but I set my spreadsheet up based on Your Money or Your Life principles - every cent in or out is put onto the sheet.

Each sheet is for a different month, and there is a totals sheet at the end. Debt would be in the expenses section of the sheet. Ask for receipts for everything, and put it into your sheet. I think it part is really important, as you see what you are spending your money on. Even for food. Like for me, at one point I noticed we were drinking lots of soda and it was expensive. We no longer drink soda.

Same thing for candy - noticed that it was getting high, and removed from the expenses.

I do not like the fact that you have to wait several months for payment of expenses. Is there anyway to ask for expenses up front? Just getting a rough estimate would be better than them not paying you for several months! This was one of the reasons my business ultimately stopped working for me, as people were late in paying. It got so bad, I had to shut down websites and lost money. Try to ask for a deposit on work to be done. An upfront fee, if you will.

Good Luck, and if you need help with that spreadsheet, PM me and I will send you one.

[Gardenarian]

I take care of all of the finances for our family. I still pay all the bills by check. A long time ago I arranged with the utilities, credit cards, etc. to bill me so that I can pay on the first of the month. I just throw all of the bill into a file folder and when the first of the month rolls around I get out the checkbook and pay. I like to have the actual paper; I just feel more comfortable with it than with online payments.
Dh and I use the same credit card for just about everything and we pay off the complete balance every month.
We write down anything that we pay cash for on an index card (we each keep one in our wallet.) We both have a rule to use only cash for spur of the moment purchases (coffee, books, etc.) We find that using cash for things that we haven't planned for cuts way down on spending.

I like how the credit card company gives an end-of-year statement with the expenses broken down into different categories.

[Sissy]

Gardenarian, I have been wanting to use (roughly) the system that you use. I have gotten all of my bills except one to come due around the 5th of the month so that DH's SS has had time to process. I still write out checks too and like to get it done in one go.

I have been kicking around (with DH) using CC for all other purchases and using a small cash allowance. I think I can make it work. He is pretty good about letting me know what he spends with the debit card, but I would have to have him keep those CC receipts! But I can check that online, so it isn't a problem. I feel that CC's are safer than debit cards. Also, if something should go screwy with our bank account (and it has) the CC wouldn't go through like a debit. I swear those debit charges beat me home!!!!

That is my plan, anyway.

Sherry