After paying an ungodly amount in over-draft fees and running into too many "oh crap I don't have money to pay *insert bill here*" scenarios, I decided to try something I little different with how I manage my checking account.
First and foremost I recently switched banks, I now have an account with a bank where checking accounts are 100% free (this is becoming rare in my neck of the woods). I then opened not one, but two checking accounts. I decided to use them as tools for budgeting. One checking account I have nicknamed for Variable Expenses and the other Fixed Expenses. I have set up for my automatic direct deposit money to go into my fixed expenses account, then I have automatic transfers from that account going into my variable spending and savings account. This way I have a limited amount of money I can spend for my variable expenses (gas, food) and I can have a full proof way of saving myself from ever running the risk of spending my rent money again. Also my new bank has excellent tracking tools for budgeting, I am able to select view specific categories in variable spending and see where I stand without having to filter through my regular bill expenses.
I have to allocate a certain amount into my variable expenses account because for me it is too hard to track and control my variable spending. I feel like my own daily life is just too hectic and crazy for me to track my expenses and stay within specific dollar amounts for each category. For me tracking them all together from a bigger money pile of money is so much easier.
I also set up automatic bill payments out of my fixed expenses account, this way I don't run the risk of ever forgetting to pay a bill either!
That is what has worked for me, I know it may seem silly to some, but I am trying really hard to build my self control muscle when it comes to swiping my debit card. It has been such difficult lesson for me. It's funny because I exhibit great self control in many other areas of my life, finances though are definitely my Achilles heel.
Let me know what works for you!
Nancy
This obviously could prove disastrous for many people, but I put every expense possible on my credit card. When I get ready to pay the bill, I transfer the amount of money I need to my checking account. My available credit is high enough that I don't worry about going over my limit.
ReplyDeleteI actually inspired to be like that one day. My issue with doing that right now is that my credit cards don't offer me any points or any perks at all o it's not really worth it for me, and I have itty bitty limits. That is definitely something I want to do in the future though.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of anyone using multiple checking accounts, but it sounds like it works really well for you. To maintain my rewards checking account (which yields 3% interest) I need to use my debit card 10 times/month, but after those first 10 purchases, I use a rewards credit card.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of a rewards debit card! I'll be googling that...interesting.
DeleteI think the key is to keep trying new things until you find out what works best for you! Everyone is different.
ReplyDeleteTo me the key is to know what's going on with our finances on a daily basis. I check my bank accounts often (more often than most of the people:). We have separate accounts with ING for short-term savings but otherwise we only have 1 credit card and 1 debit card. We also have weekly money meeting with a Hubby. That's just works for us! Do what works best for you :)
ReplyDeleteI try ti check my accounts on a daily basis too, so much happens to me in a day though it's crazy. I need to stop making so many excuses though and buckle down and get myself organized.
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