Week 12- a cautionary tale

So I have to get this in before Week 13 begins in about two hours. And let's not even talk about the fact that maybe weeks 7-11 are missing from my blog (and maybe my life...can't remember now). But we will pick up and start afresh, and I will tell you a short tale of why this should be important to you. For more info and ideas, or if you would like a copy of any of the graphics Lea has created, head over to her blog. This was all her idea anyway.

Last week's bite from Tsh Oxenreider’s ebook (and just as a reminder, we aren't going in order, but randomly generating our "bite" for the week) was:

Streamline your receipt system (or create a receipt system).

photo credit: Blog It All

Throughout our  7 1/2 years of marriage we have tried a myriad of budgeting systems. We did the envelope thing for a while, and I liked having the cash but splitting up the categories was unreasonably hard. And confusing. Plus I really like using my Amazon card to get Amazon points. Then we tried Mvelopes, but there was a monthly fee and that sort of defeats the purpose. It also seems like we couldn't have as many sub-categories as we wanted. After that, we moved onto YNAB (You Need a Budget). It did cost money- a flat fee- and I actually think it was my favorite budgeting system. The downside is that it is not online, so you could only use it on the one computer you've installed it on. We didn't have a working laptop at the time, so if we went out of town, or if Warren wanted to check something at work, we couldn't access anything.

So now we are using Mint.com. We have tweaked it and it works for us. It would be nice if we could find a system that actually DOES do all the work for us (sort of my theory with planners...if someone else could put all the info in there, it would be so useful!) but as I learned last week, it is really our responsibility to keep track of our money.

I usually enter in receipts once a month or so (I know, not frequently enough- true confessions), but seeing this week's challenge made me want to streamline the process, enter my stack of receipts and categorize my purchases on a weekly basis. I enter the receipts and deposits and throw away anything I don't need to save. If it hasn't shown up on any of our accounts (which are all in one place on Mint.com) I save the receipt in a large plastic envelope for next time. Next time is now every Monday, not once a month, thanks to Tsh.

So I was going through my deposits slips, and my most recent deposit of $200+ was not there, 10 days after I was at the bank. I love my bank ladies, so I asked them about it the next day when I was at the grocery store (bank in the grocery store= genius!). I also called when I got home to read them all the info from my deposit slip...so thankful I at least had a semblance of a system to keep all those deposit slips, even if the former "system" meant stuffing them in my planning notebook until they fell onto the floor by the side of my bed. Turns out, they had deposited it into someone else's account. Even though we have been fairly faithful to record our receipts and stay on a budget, our deposits have not endured the same kind of scrutiny. SO, keep track of your money, friends. Otherwise, some unknown person who uses your bank may be $200 richer, and you will never notice.

Moral of the story: Keeping up with these weekly habits might be the key to your happiness. Or, a little strategic organization goes a long way. Stay tuned for the next life-changing habit...