WAYT: Money Mistakes

How annoying is it to be in line behind the person at the grocery store who’s writing a check?  What are you thinking, check writer?  Swipe a card or hand over some cash and let’s all get a move on!  The milk’s getting warm!  Anyway, unless you’re getting the checks free from your bank (these days, I doubt it), you’re throwing money away on pieces of paper. 

In my opinion, checks should be used sparingly, only when absolutely necessary.  Who among us can afford to waste their money on anything extra these days?  What a silly expense. 

Every single year, I resolve that I’m going to do better at managing our money.  And every year I don’t.    In the last few years, we’ve incurred a lot of unexpected expenses.  Increased property taxes two years in a row and sewer installation - $2,500 just to agree to hook up.  (All I can do is wonder if I should own a horse and buggy, since we’re so backwards that our community never had a proper sewer system.) 

I am the Director of Finances in our house and for me, the job has a constant learning curve.  I know a lot of people are facing hard times so I hope my tips will help you think differently about your cash flow – and your check writing habits.

1. Set yourself an allowance.  While it sounds juvenile, it’s really helped us.  Frank and I agreed to an amount that works for us for each week and now as soon as we get paid, we literally pay ourselves.  Unexpected bonus perks: less transactions to balance and no more hounding Frank for receipts.  Also, neither one of us is scrutinizing what the other is spending their money on – mind your own business, it’s my allowance!

2. Keep a monthly log of our bills.  As soon as a bill comes in, I record its due date and the amount due.  This helps me decide when to pay what and I can see when my bills are going up.  Frontier is always trying to increase my bill on me.  I’ve learned that if you don’t pay meticulous attention, you’re getting ripped off when your cable, phone or internet provider ticks the cost up a few dollars this month and a few more dollars the next.  They think you won’t notice, so my log system helps me beat them at their own game. 

3. SAVE. I feel so impatient; I expect to see big changes in our account balances in no time and that’s just not how it works.  But since I started the allowance process, I’ve also started a saving process – because we have more money when we’re not spending it all the time – and I am so happy with what I’m seeing.  Also, I set up an automatic draft that squirrels away $10 of each paycheck.  While $5 a week seems like nothing, after one year, I’ll have nearly $300.  That’s $100 each for me, Frank and Auggie to buy Christmas gifts for one another, or it pays for the trip to Frank’s next marathon. 

4. I don’t carry my credit card with me.  It’s so easy to swipe that card and worry about paying for my purchase later.  Except that paying for it later just means I have less money later.  I am now constantly reassuring myself that I don’t need that card, that anything that comes up, even an “emergency,” will be covered by what’s in my checking.  Unless the emergency is a Lamborghini.  I definitely can’t afford that on my debit card.  No credit card means controlling my spending at all times.  That’s a good thing – no Lamborghinis. 

5. Oh, and don’t forget: I hardly use checks anymore!  About three per month.  It’s so liberating, especially because I hate waiting for checks to clear.

Oh, to be young again.  Frank and I were recently reminiscing on the days when we had an apartment in Pontiac with dirt cheap rent and we hardly had any other expenses and we were so happy because we never worried about money.  The last few years, all that we’ve done is worry about money.  No one prepares you for the reality of being an adult.  Sometimes, it’s truly no fun at all. 

To be responsible and grown up, you have to learn these things for yourself.  I’m not saying that what works for me will work for you.  But you have to think about it: what are your money weaknesses?  Do you have any awesome money tips?  I think the key is to just be honest with yourself.