Nick Eff (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
roadrunnertwice) wrote2006-03-20 11:02 pm
roadrunnertwice) wrote2006-03-20 11:02 pm
Entry tags:
A Hack they ought to have taught me in grade school
So I was never particularly great about keeping track of the money in my checking account, which means I overdrew every once in a while. I've got "bounce protection," but still, bad. The main issue, as I figure it, was that I was spending most of that money with my check card, which is a fantastic invention, but doesn't intrinsically carry any particular habit of keeping track (i.e. a check register) the way a checkbook does. For a good long while, I tried keeping the receipts in my wallet and syncing up with my check register later, but I always lost track, lost a few receipts, didn't get around to syncing, and ultimately threw everything out when my wallet thickness hit three inches. Useless and abusive. So using the lessons about remembering homework that I picked up during my last few years of undergrad, I came up with a Hack. It's fast as hell and has a very low brain-load. I love it.
1. At all times, you carry a 3x5 notecard* in your back pocket. It'll get a little wrinkly, but that's okay. You don't necessarily need a pen at all times, but it's good to seed your main environments (kitchen, desk, bathroom) with a bunch of 'em.
2. Get as accurate a current balance as you can. Put that balance at the top of the card.
3. Every time you make a purchase with your check card, put that receipt in the back pocket where you keep that notecard. Don't let it fall into the bag, it belongs in the pocket.
These first three steps are the really important part of this hack, since they're the part that you're basically doing constantly. The next parts, you only do periodically, when you have time for them.
4: Pocket Sync. Whenever you find yourself in an idle moment and you see a pen (or have one in your bag), reach into your back pocket, grab your notecard and wad of receipts, and subtract each receipt's charge from the total on your notecard. Write two or three words about what each charge was, as well as the date it was incurred; circle the date so that your eye catches on it when it moves down the length of the card. As you subtract and notate each receipt, put a big checkmark on it. Once you're done, throw away** all the receipts you don't need to keep and drop the rest back in your pocket for later filing—the checkmark will remind you not to subtract them again. If you run out of room on your notecard before you finish, put the receipts back in your pocket and do another Pocket Sync after you've hit your pile of notecards.
5: Full Sync. Once a week or so (Sundays, for me), log on to your online banking account and get out your check register and notecard. First, subtract from your notecard balance all of the checks you've written (and add all the deposits you've made) since the last Full Sync. Don't put a circled date (or a comment) next to them. Then, copy all of the check-card transactions on the notecard (they're the ones WITH circled dates) into your check register. THEN, check your online banking transactions for charges that haven't shown up in either of those two places, and subtract them from both. (Usually either recurring payments or service charges from using sinister foreign ATMs.) When you're done, cross out everything above the most recent balance on your notecard. Throw away and replace any filled-up notecards.
6. Every once in a while, you need to reconcile your check register and your bank statement to make sure that you haven't made any cascading arithmetic fuckups. This is a pain in the ass, since it involves figuring out exactly which transactions the bank hasn't seen yet and subtracting them from the statement balance, so only do it every month or two.
____
* You actually need one notecard for each checking account that you're actively using a check card with; put something at the top identifying each account. This is written assuming that the number of accounts is 1.
** For reasons I have yet to grasp, some places still print out your full check card number on their receipts, so watch for that when you're getting ready to chuck your receipt-wad. It's not even a conscious action anymore for me: some asshole in Florida once drained $900 from my account while I was getting ready to go to Ireland, and I had to wait a month before that account was any use to me again; that sort of thing breeds a certain style of easy, reflexive paranoia.
1. At all times, you carry a 3x5 notecard* in your back pocket. It'll get a little wrinkly, but that's okay. You don't necessarily need a pen at all times, but it's good to seed your main environments (kitchen, desk, bathroom) with a bunch of 'em.
2. Get as accurate a current balance as you can. Put that balance at the top of the card.
3. Every time you make a purchase with your check card, put that receipt in the back pocket where you keep that notecard. Don't let it fall into the bag, it belongs in the pocket.
These first three steps are the really important part of this hack, since they're the part that you're basically doing constantly. The next parts, you only do periodically, when you have time for them.
4: Pocket Sync. Whenever you find yourself in an idle moment and you see a pen (or have one in your bag), reach into your back pocket, grab your notecard and wad of receipts, and subtract each receipt's charge from the total on your notecard. Write two or three words about what each charge was, as well as the date it was incurred; circle the date so that your eye catches on it when it moves down the length of the card. As you subtract and notate each receipt, put a big checkmark on it. Once you're done, throw away** all the receipts you don't need to keep and drop the rest back in your pocket for later filing—the checkmark will remind you not to subtract them again. If you run out of room on your notecard before you finish, put the receipts back in your pocket and do another Pocket Sync after you've hit your pile of notecards.
5: Full Sync. Once a week or so (Sundays, for me), log on to your online banking account and get out your check register and notecard. First, subtract from your notecard balance all of the checks you've written (and add all the deposits you've made) since the last Full Sync. Don't put a circled date (or a comment) next to them. Then, copy all of the check-card transactions on the notecard (they're the ones WITH circled dates) into your check register. THEN, check your online banking transactions for charges that haven't shown up in either of those two places, and subtract them from both. (Usually either recurring payments or service charges from using sinister foreign ATMs.) When you're done, cross out everything above the most recent balance on your notecard. Throw away and replace any filled-up notecards.
6. Every once in a while, you need to reconcile your check register and your bank statement to make sure that you haven't made any cascading arithmetic fuckups. This is a pain in the ass, since it involves figuring out exactly which transactions the bank hasn't seen yet and subtracting them from the statement balance, so only do it every month or two.
____
* You actually need one notecard for each checking account that you're actively using a check card with; put something at the top identifying each account. This is written assuming that the number of accounts is 1.
** For reasons I have yet to grasp, some places still print out your full check card number on their receipts, so watch for that when you're getting ready to chuck your receipt-wad. It's not even a conscious action anymore for me: some asshole in Florida once drained $900 from my account while I was getting ready to go to Ireland, and I had to wait a month before that account was any use to me again; that sort of thing breeds a certain style of easy, reflexive paranoia.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
http://drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=1&issue=2
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
I'm not saying YOU have to use it. I'm just saying that I've tried everything else (yes, everything) and it's all failed.
no subject
no subject
no subject