Hi, new member, wondering about financial systems

An everyday system, TM, is a simple, commonsense solution to an everyday problem, grounded by a pun or metaphor. Propose/discuss new systems here.
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Spinningwoman
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Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:30 pm

Hi, new member, wondering about financial systems

Post by Spinningwoman » Sat Sep 04, 2010 8:36 pm

I'm a new member, but a long-time reader of the web-page and listener to the podcasts. (I mistyped that as 'podcats' which reminds me that I like how occasionally during podcasts a cat will make itself known<g>.)

Ever since I stopped eating much in the way of starch and sugar, long before I came across No-S, I've had little problem being disciplined on the diet front. But money is another thing - I'm surprised there isn't more here on that topic. I think I've read most of what there is, and some of it is useful, but mostly it's things which I have tried and haven't become automatic enough to work long term.

The one that comes closest to a real Everyday System is probably cash-only - draw it out and when it's gone, it's gone. But one problem I find is that I'm shopping for a family; if I blow the budget by overspending on something non-vital, I can't just say 'tough, we don't eat until the 14th'. When I was single, I could live on porridge for a week or so if I had to.

I've got a really good little app on my ipod touch which lets me record spending against budgeted items for a given period and gives a red, amber or green traffic light to new spending. That's worked well for a few months, but recording just hasn't become automatic; I forget too often, especially things like Kindle purchases, even though the thing hangs round my neck and is much easier and gives better feedback than pencil and paper. And once I have forgotten to record a few spends, the whole thing goes out of control.

I think the recording is the bit that doesn't work well, which in No-S terms is what you'd expect. I'm thinking of perhaps just doing a very simple system of making myself check my bank online system once a day and write down the total. That feels like an onerous thing, but actually it would take like 5 mins? I could still use the app to break things down and understand where the weak points were, but if I missed stuff it would be flagged when I checked the bank account. The app wouldn't be part of the system. The system would just be - check the bank and know where you are. Quite like the cash-only in that you would be able to see the money disappear, but with cash I'm quite capable of forgetting I already took cash out this week. Plus, if I gained nothing else, at least I would know how bad things were before the end of the month which is normally when I screw my eyes up and peep at the bad news.

What do you think? Anyone come up with a good name for it? I was thinking of Quick Fix or Bottom Line but they don't have the element of humour.

Spinningwoman
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Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:30 pm

Post by Spinningwoman » Sat Sep 04, 2010 8:38 pm

Hmm... musing on names and what exactly I want from this, I'm imagining a big red arrow with YOU ARE HERE written on it. Maybe that's it.

Spinningwoman
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Post by Spinningwoman » Sat Sep 04, 2010 10:16 pm

Thinking some more, probably I should check on N days. That should be enough for rapid effective feedback.

The checking is kind of like the single plate in no-S - hopefully, it will make spending visible. I'm not sure whether I also need an equivalent of the 'no sweets no snacks' to address particular spend types or spend patterns. 'Sweets' might be items of personal spending and 'snacks' might be something to do with not impulse buying.

But it might be that just daily facing reality in the form of the bottom line will do it without further development. (I should say that my online banking lets me see my credit card as well, so I do see the whole picture.)

kccc
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Post by kccc » Sun Sep 05, 2010 2:40 am

This may be like housekeeping, which I think of as a "cluster" of habits as opposed to just one.

I'm not exactly a financial wizard, but here are some tried-and-true habits that we use...

- "Pay yourself first" - savings comes out before we even see the paycheck. It's there in case of emergency or a planned big purchase, but doesn't count in "normal" expenses.
- Pay essentials first. We pay all our bills at the beginning of the month, so nothing will go unpaid. (And credit cards are paid in full. Period.)
- Allowances for everyone - including adults. Discretionary spending comes from that. (Lowers arguements, especially when there's a collector in the family who would go without food for whatever-they-collect.)
- We recently started using grocery cards bought at the beginning of the month. Though we started doing it b/c our church gets a percent of any they sell, we've found it makes us more conscious of what we spend on groceries. (It would also have been a good way to make sure that the grocery budget was protected, back in poorer days.)

We don't track tightly, and sometimes I wish we did. But I'm not going to do that, any more than I'm going to count calories. These basic structures keep us within reasonable boundaries.

Will watch this thread - I'm always open to new systems that work well! :)

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sophiasapientia
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Post by sophiasapientia » Wed Sep 08, 2010 4:50 pm

KCCC wrote:This may be like housekeeping, which I think of as a "cluster" of habits as opposed to just one.

I'm not exactly a financial wizard, but here are some tried-and-true habits that we use...

- "Pay yourself first" - savings comes out before we even see the paycheck. It's there in case of emergency or a planned big purchase, but doesn't count in "normal" expenses.
- Pay essentials first. We pay all our bills at the beginning of the month, so nothing will go unpaid. (And credit cards are paid in full. Period.)
- Allowances for everyone - including adults. Discretionary spending comes from that. (Lowers arguements, especially when there's a collector in the family who would go without food for whatever-they-collect.)
- We recently started using grocery cards bought at the beginning of the month. Though we started doing it b/c our church gets a percent of any they sell, we've found it makes us more conscious of what we spend on groceries. (It would also have been a good way to make sure that the grocery budget was protected, back in poorer days.)

We don't track tightly, and sometimes I wish we did. But I'm not going to do that, any more than I'm going to count calories. These basic structures keep us within reasonable boundaries.

Will watch this thread - I'm always open to new systems that work well! :)

Interesting thread!

We do everything KCCC mentioned with the exception of using grocery cards for groceries.

We take out a set amount of cash every Sunday to cover groceries, allowances, entertainment and eating out for that week. Since we take out the cash on the same day of the week, it has become a habit, and there are no questions of whether I've stopped at the bank or not. Allowance, for kid and adults, gets paid first. Grocery money is the second priority (and, over time, I've become pretty adept at keeping our expenses under budget even while eating quite well.) Any $$$ beyond that can go toward the entertainment/eating out. At the end of the week, leftover money goes in a pot towards something the family has decided to save up for, typically something(s) fun like a trip or outing. Right now we are saving for a dog. :wink:

We have a general, "good enough" budget that works for us. It isn't precise or down to the penny but we have a pretty good idea of how much we have at any given time, that we are living within our means and saving for our future.
Restarted No S (3rd times a charm!) January 2010 at 145 lbs

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Aleria
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Post by Aleria » Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:46 pm

I've also started taking cash out for expenses for a week. Since I'm alone, everything is up to me. First at the beginning of the month is rent (includes utilities) and my phone bill.

The remaining $100 per week is for groceries, etc. if I want to buy something extraneous and expensive, I buy cheaper groceries. If there's any leftover, it goes into a "piggy bank" which I save for buying presents for people, or times when my cheque is unexpectedly late.

I also get $0-$300 extra money, this goes into a separate savings account for emergencies.
Since I never have money in my main account besides that for the expenses, it becomes obvious if I've taken it out or not. My bank card otherwise stays in my wallet, I never use it.
"I'm not here to decorate your world"
Start: January 2010: 160 pounds, 39" waist
During: December 2010: 152 pounds, 33" waist

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Post by nhocngamy » Sat Aug 27, 2011 8:40 am

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Blithe Morning
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Post by Blithe Morning » Tue Aug 30, 2011 6:41 pm

Who, email Reinhard.

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