So, the story goes that a year or so ago I done had it with the checkbook. I would sit down to balance and pay bills and get so stressed out that I'd call my husband in one of two ways 1. a fit of rage at why he didn't enter his receipts or 2. crying my eyes out.
He took over.
It was blissful.
Suddenly, I became the negligent receipt enterer and he was the one fed up with oodles of receipts to enter when it came time for the biweekly checkbook balance. It was an odd twist of events...especially since I should've known better from my previous bookkeeper stress.
Here's the catch...I'm still in charge of paying bills. Do you know what it's like to not have any idea what the ledger looks like when you're in charge of bill paying? Oh, sure! I can pay this 1,000 doctor bill in full! Fabulous! Oh, yes! New tires on the van! New clothes for the children! Utilities and groceries (organic, anyone?!) and and and!!!
It was like we had an endless supply of money.
Only we don't.
Never did.
And now my husband is the one that's getting cranky with me. Something about stress with managing the checkbook?
We need a solution.
Or a money tree.
Or, perhaps, just some organizational skills.
He took over.
It was blissful.
Suddenly, I became the negligent receipt enterer and he was the one fed up with oodles of receipts to enter when it came time for the biweekly checkbook balance. It was an odd twist of events...especially since I should've known better from my previous bookkeeper stress.
Here's the catch...I'm still in charge of paying bills. Do you know what it's like to not have any idea what the ledger looks like when you're in charge of bill paying? Oh, sure! I can pay this 1,000 doctor bill in full! Fabulous! Oh, yes! New tires on the van! New clothes for the children! Utilities and groceries (organic, anyone?!) and and and!!!
It was like we had an endless supply of money.
Only we don't.
Never did.
And now my husband is the one that's getting cranky with me. Something about stress with managing the checkbook?
We need a solution.
Or a money tree.
Or, perhaps, just some organizational skills.
Use a debit card instead. We never use checks (unless that is the only option). That way nothing has to be entered . You just check your balance online. We also use mint.com for managing our finances/budget. Great free tool. Check it out.
ReplyDeleteEven better than a debit card, use cash as much as possible. Take out exactly the amount you need from the bank each time. It's not as convenient as writing a check or using a debit card, but it definitely helps curb the feeling of unlimited money. If you know you walked into the grocery store with only X amount of money and that going over means that amount you'll have to be embarrassed putting things back at the check-out, it's much easier to stick to your budget.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I have 1 account and 2 check registers. He deposits his paycheck (I'm a stay at home mom) and then writes a *withdrawl in his check register with the money that I get to spend and subtracts it from his paycheck. In my book I write a *desposit with that amount. (the * means it won't show up on our bank statement that way but it is just for us to note). He takes care of the bills and whatever else he wants to spend his money on and I take care of the household stuff and whatever I want to spend my money on. He subtracts his from his book and I subtract my spending from my book. That way we don't spend the same money on different items. Then when it comes to compare with the bank statement my husband takes both books and makes sure that my total and his total agree with the bank. Seems to work for us. We've been doing this for 13 years and we haven't had a problem yet!
ReplyDeleteUse a debit card. DAVE RAMSEY was a great resource for us.
ReplyDeleteoh, i like the money tree option. share some seeds?? :)
ReplyDeleteBalancing a checkbook? What's that? How do you do that? DEBIT CARD. Online banking is a relief. It lists all transactions that have been paid or is pending, your balance before and after. It's all on the bank's system. And if you want to do it manually, Quickenbooks will download your banking info to your computer and you can balance from there?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't even keep receipts.
ReplyDeleteDave Ramsey, my dear!!! I don't keep any receipts- cause everything is paid for with cash! We only write checks for bills.... seriously, it's a marriage saver!!!
ReplyDeletewe love our envelope system, basic bills are paid and everything else is spent in cash
ReplyDeleteFirst off, you do need to keep receipts if you plan to write it off your tax return. Especially if you pay for it in cash.
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion is find a way that works for you. My husband has his own account, I have my own account and we have a joint account. My husband hands over the majority of his check to pay the mortgages and I take care of the rest. What's left, he is responsible for his bills and I pay all the others.
I'm working on the whole money tree idea. I'll let you know how that works out.
ReplyDelete