MAMEWorld Forums - The Loony Bin - What's a good money manager?

Money manager... I used to use M$ Money, Quicken, and a few others... when I used them I liked Quicken best...

But now... my favorite money manager is a cardboard box.

Truth be known... I quit balancing my checkbook two years ago... best time saver I ever did.

I used to balance my books to the very penny faithfully every month for twenty years... and one day someone asked me how often I found major errors, and the answer was never. Minor errors occationally... but was it worth an hour or so every week (even with a program you still needed to look stuff over and compare stuff) for decades upon decades... and I came to the realization... no. It's not worth all that.

This same friend suggested the following strategy to "manage" my money, which I adopted... to help ensure I stick to budgets, I just opened multiple checking accounts (they're free, why not)... and my pay gets divided into multiple accounts when I get paid. Some to a "business expense" account, some to a "grocery" account, some to a "fixed and routine bills" , and then rest to the "fluid" account. Any money at the end of the month still in the "fluid" account gets pulled out and invested.

Unless you're a big company, even managing a few employees isn't even worth the hassle of tracking every dime. If you're a big company, you'll hire a CPA, so...

So I quit. If there's money in the account, I can spend it... if not, I can't. No more balancing and wasted time. Took some adjustment... but I love it. If there is a major error, I'll catch it just looking at my monthly statements before I toss them it into a box. Outside of that, who gives a shit. My banker brother would have an aneurism... but then he's a typical banker... anal as hell. I'm happier than he is, so there.

And just to sooth the nay-sayers, my money is better managed now than ever. I've paid off almost all my debts using this method... the cars, the student loans, the credit cards, and a massive chunk of the house. Seeing the "fluid" money account allows you to really appreciate how much you waste eating out, or buying stupid shit, and focus on maximizing that account at the end of every month, so you can take it out and invest it or pay off debts. Less effort... better management... it's a win-win.

If you want to be crass about it... I'd even go so far as to say balancing your checkbook is bad for your sex life. You gobble up free-time balancing a checkbook, maybe even getting into a bad mood and pissed off when things don't balance perfectly to the penny, causing your spouse to be grumpy because you are, so now you have less free time, and that free time is affected by the overall downturn in moral... which equals less happiness and therefore less sex. Quit balancing your checkbook, you'll have more free time, be in an overall better mood, and that will result in more poontang.

So my favorite money manager now is a cardboard box, which we're careful not to crush while rolling around having happy sex.