Comments on: The Proper Care and Feeding of a Pocket Expense Notebook

By: Susan S.

Susan S. — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 18:10:05 +0000

Quicken – buggy? Maybe but not on the basics of tracking expense, writing checks, making electronic payments – the key practicies for the simple dollar. I’ve used it for a decade successfully – and encountered no bugs (tho’ I do have one in QuickBooks).

I know it’s primarily techno-oriented people who read blogs so download would be a snap – especially compared to typing in 200 transactions per month… accuarately.

By: Susan S.

Susan S. — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 12:13:31 +0000

I recommend using just one credit card (or ATM card) for nearly all your expenses, including the $5 ones. Then, download your transactions into Quicken. Quicken is so smart that once you’ve assigned a source to a category it will remember to assign the source to that category from there forward. For example, Starbucks goes in ‘dining out’ the first time you download. Next time Quiken automatically assigns Starbucks to ‘dining out’. So, each time you download there are fewer and fewer transaction to categorize.

And, you don’t have to enter the transactions – few people are disciplined enough or care enough to invest the time to do that.

And, at any time you can get a spending report that tells you how the money is being used. A few years ago, when I started downloading, I discovered that I’m Trent’s kin in buying books… to the tune of $1,000 that year. So, I too strengthened my link with the library and became more discriminating in what books I buy.

Trent – how ’bout a series on using Quicken for basic finance? (I can help)

By: Wallet Rehab - Ways to save money

Wallet Rehab - Ways to save money — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:03:12 +0000

I normally just keep a notebook and tuck any errant receipts in my wallet. The problem is that sometimes I forget to empty my wallet, and it can get quite thick. I already have a notebook around with me to keep track of my ToDo lists, and manage my ever-increasing commitment to GTD.

By: Rick

Rick — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:59:01 +0000

Here’s what I do. I use my credit card for 98% of all purchases (of course I pay it off each month). That way, I have an automatic log of all my purchases, simply by looking at my credit card statement. I do still track my expenses in Excel, but I don’t have to religiously keep all my receipts. And if I go several days or weeks without entering my expenses into Excel, I can just log onto my credit card account online and get those expenses there.

By: lorax

lorax — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:51:03 +0000

For simple stuff, especially stuff that doesn’t require downloading, I like spreadsheets too.

For more complex stuff, I like Moneydance. Quicken has more features, but is rather buggy.

By: Chris Burgwald

Chris Burgwald — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:14:49 +0000

I tend to enter each day’s receipts that day, and even if I get behind a few days, the information on the receipts have always been sufficient for me to enter the necessary data into my Excel spreadsheet.

I love both the notebook and the pen you recommend, but wouldn’t it be easier and more economical to just enter the receipts on a quasi-daily basis?

By: TC

TC — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:45:55 +0000

You mention that you use MS Excel instead of Quicken. Might I ask what kind of spreadsheet you have built for yourself, or what template of someone else’s you’re using? I have built a fairly decent spreadsheet, used in conjunction with Quicken, and it is constantly evolving due to by budget changes and things of that nature. I’m always looking for new ideas…