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written by RB @ RichBy30RetireBy40 , July 23, 2009

When way to stick to a budget is to "GO BROKE TO WIN BIG". You will always pay your bills on time with this system. If you use one bank solely for all your online bills and receipts, you will be super in tune what what you have to do.

http://www.richby30retireby40.com/2009/07/go-broke-to-win-big.html

Rgds,

RB

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written by RB @ RichBy30RetireBy40 , July 23, 2009

Sorry, should have wrote "One way" to stick to a budget, not "When way."

Rgds,

RB

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written by Kathy Ivens , July 23, 2009

The best way to STAY organized (as opposed "Re-Organize) for your personal finances is to invest less than $50.00 is software such as Quicken. You can track every penny by category, you can match your transactions against what cleared the bank automatically (including bills you pay by having the vendor, mortgage company, etc. deduct the amount automatically from your bank account), you can download each credit card purchase automatically, you can create budgets and report on your actual expenses vs your budgeted goals, you can see your net worth at a glance. Going online to type in everything you do is real work - I prefer to use my credit card, debit card, checks, etc and have Quicken check my bank, my credit cards, etc. every morning to see what I did yesterday (I don't know anyone who remembers to take all those receipts home and enter them into a spreadsheet or an online window, or remember to write down the mortgage payment that is being deducted automatically - we're all too busy for that).

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written by Amanda (DW Founder) , July 23, 2009

Dearest Kathy, Mint allows you to download directly from your banks/financial institutions, auto-categorizes ... much of what Quicken also does. I am testing Mint.com now so I will share more about it with you once I get set up. Unfortunately, my first attempt to connect with my bank failed so I am a little stuck but will wade through nonetheless.

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written by Kathy Ivens , July 23, 2009

Amanda, the download is dependent on the bank's ability to interact with Mint - they don't have a list of the banks that currently support them (but I've never seen a bank, including a credit union, that didn't support Quicken and Microsoft Money). Also, Mint is "passive" - you can't enter a check and say "send this to the vendor" nor can you transfer money between your bank accounts through their software. It's a good location for "getting re-organized" and figuring out which categories are important to track, but Quicken and Microsoft Money are better software solutions for "staying organized" and knowing every bill is paid, every deposit is accounted for, and "today's balance" - because today's balance is NOT what the bank says it is, today's balance is what has cleared the bank PLUS your activities that have not yet cleared the bank.

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written by Jinal Shah , July 23, 2009

Interesting thread. I use both Quicken and Mint. To Kathy's point, Quicken is compatible with most banks and credit unions. Its easy to track, send and print out checks. (Although I don't use that many checks anymore) I also prefer Quicken to chart out my future financial projections.
However, mint.com has become indispensable to me because of the mobility and versatility of the program. I like knowing that I can access most of my fin. info anytime, anywhere - even on my iphone. Additionally, the mint user interface is just easier to use and simpler than Quicken.
I think both exist to offer and fulfill different needs for me. (I am also a huge fan of wesabe.com but for different reasons.)

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written by Nancy , July 24, 2009

I read RB's post at Richby30Retireby40 regarding creating 3 different bank accounts and I like it. I find that if i use one bank to pay all my expenses, and receive all my income, i have a much better way of tracking my bills, keeping a budget, and paying on time.

Furthermore, I don't have the temptation to spend my savings since it's locked away in another bank!

Nancy

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written by Jane , July 30, 2009

Dear Kathy, I'm one of those boring people that take all my receipts home and enter them on to a spreadsheet. I have 3 kids (two of whom are expensive teens) and a very busy life, so I wouldn't say I have any more time than anyone else. What I do know is that it only costs me 30 mins of my time every week - no bank charges for downloading my info and no monthly subscription charges to an online software program.
By tracking every expense my family has, we are now debt free (except for the mortgage.) In 6 months we have paid off $11,500.00 in car loans and modified our morgage paying $2,500 in cash for the privilege. Not bad for a single income family of five in a major recession!

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written by Kathy Ivens , August 18, 2009

Jane,

Congratulations on getting so organized and out of debt. That's a gigantic accomplishment, you are awesome. I just want to point out that Quicken has no monthly (or other) charges for downloading transactions, sending payments to vendors, creating reports that match your personal tax return info, etc. etc. No charges for anything. Some greedy banks, knowing the popularity of Quicken, charge you for it (that's a bank charge, not a Quicken charge), but there are plenty of banks that don't. I stopped entering all my receipts for my debit card (I use it to shop everywhere), because an hour after I've spent the money I can ask Quicken to see what's going on and the debit card charge is automatically put into my bank register, and deducted from the current total... a real time saver (and a way to avoid typos).