Comments on: The Simple Dollar Morning Roundup: Christmas Week Edition

By: Debbie

Debbie — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 19:03:15 +0000

I do a different type of envelope system with http://www.mvelopes.com When a deposit comes I divvy out the money into different electronic envelopes. My checking account updates each day and when my bills, debits, etc come through I just move that transaction to my electronic envelope and it does all the math. I love knowing exactly how much I have for each bill, groceries, eating out, savings for vacation, etc. This system really has made me save money since I am paying attention to my budget, money is not slipping through my fingers.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 06:21:15 +0000

Thanks for the link, Trent. Good reads, all around.

By: Anna

Anna — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:22:06 +0000

I can’t wait a whole month to do the receipt work. My receipts are processed every day (well, sometimes every other day if I am frantically busy). ATM receipts are entered immediately in the checkbook and tucked in behind the checks to await the bank statement and account balancing.

I also keep a log of cash expenses for the month, broken down by categories (food, household, personal, car, cat, gifts) and maintain that daily (or every other day if I’m too busy). All this is done by hand, not on a computer spreadsheet, and it takes very little time and effort. The reason and the payoff? I always know exactly where I stand financially. I can’t afford not to know.

By: turbogeek

turbogeek — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:56:11 +0000

The Saving Freak and I apparently have some things in common. (Freaks and Geeks — birds of a feather.)

We also went to cash, and in our case it is for all daily purchases (except gas for my wife, so she can pay-at-the-pump). It’s faster, and we know precisely where all the money goes. Cash comes out of an envelope and a receipt goes in. At the end of each month I take the 1 to 2 hours to tally my receipts, balance my checkbook, and then my wife and I set out our budget for the next 30 days.

We plan discretionary spending 30 days at a time, semi-flexible spending (utilities, cable TV, etc…) on a 12-month plan, and everything else using a 5-year model (investing, new car, pay down house, etc…). Works like a champ.

By: CL Talbert

CL Talbert — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:13:23 +0000

I enjoyed reading the information on your blog. Thank you for sharing!

CL Talbert
Healthy Moms
http://thehealthymoms.blogspot.com

By: fn

fn — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:42:50 +0000

Article headlines that reinforce beating the market is an illusion frustrate me. I’d rather encourage those who prudently start out picking stocks with a small percentage of their overall portfolio, to slowly up that percentage as they get better at managing how they deal with their own greed/fear issues.

The linked article indicates that the individuals did well, only that their gains were so small relative to their whole money pie.

Without individual stocks, my net worth would not be what it is.

By: glblguy

glblguy — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:21:20 +0000

Thanks for the link Trent. Hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!

By: The Saving Freak

The Saving Freak — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:06:22 +0000

We stopped using our Debit Card and wen to Cash envelopes for most everyday purchases. Contrary to popular belief (or at least the stupid Visa commercial) this takes less time than swiping the card because we don’t have to wait for the register to process the transaction.

By: paidtwice

paidtwice — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:14:58 +0000

I really enjoyed that article on gather little by little as well.