Idly Obsessing.

I really wanted to write something today, but I'm currently obsessed with staring at my bank account.

I finally figured out how to set up Quicken. Unfortunately this means I have minute by minute access to our money, and where it's going.

This means I spend 75% of my day looking at reports and figures and WOW Logan spends a lot of fucking money on his hair. Princess.

Also, we haven't reconciled our checkbook in, I am ashamed to say this, 7 years. Somewhere we skipped a month or two and then, how do you jump back in?

So I'm trying to reconcile it but I can't. It's like money just keeps disappearing. How far do I go back? 7 years? Everytime I adjust our checkbook to match what the bank says, by taking $200-300 each time out of our register....ouch, I wake up and we're off again by at least $100.

It's not a new withdrawal or old checks being cashed, because like I said, I have a minute by minute eye on our account. When money comes out, believe me, I know about it.

"Logan, did you just buy a soda 7.3 seconds ago? How many times do I have to tell you! Drink from the water fountain!!!!"

I can not stop looking at our money and trying to understand it. Which is good, and also bad. Because money makes me anxious, which explains how things fell apart as they did. Now we're trying to be different but this anxiety is really unpleasant.

Even Logan, who used to perform one hell of financial juggling act, is secretly wishing he'd never involved me in the money. If he's not being grilled about that $3.00 lunch he just ate 3.7 minutes ago, he's getting frantic phone calls demanding to know why our stupid register won't balance! WHY ARE WE STILL LOSING MONEY OUT OF THIS FUCKING ACCOUNT!!!!!

Comments

[Gen]

Ugh, I hear ya! What I do to get restarted is just take the latest bank statement, and add the debits and deposits since that date. (You should be able to go online and get the list) Don't go back 7 months--you'd have to make hundreds of entries! My pet peeve with my DH is that he would go to the store and buy stuff, plus get cash back, and I could never be sure which category some grocery store trips would go into.

[Tuesday]

It is one of lifes greatest mysteries.
Where does my money go?

[rose]

Bite the bullet and open a new checking account, stay on top of it, and stop using the other one, but don't close it for a loooong time because as soon as you do, some check you forgot about will be presented.
It is really the only way to get on top of things if you haven't been balancing regularly.
Actually, if you want to get anal, open 3 checking accounts. One for mortgage, have 1/4 of your payment direct deposited every week,then have it direct debited by your mortgage company. Account # 2 for regular bills-electric,car,preschool tuition,credit cards-Quicken can help you figure out the average amount you spend on that every month, again have 25% of that total direct deposited weekly. Do all your bills through online banking, don't use checks. Account 3 is for incidentals-the checks for haircuts,drugstore,etc. This all is a pain to set up, and tricky to juggle the first month or two but in the long run gives you more control with less check writing. Keep a running balance in account # 3-make sure you write down all of your checks, and you'll always know how much discretionary cash you have
Sorry to go on so long-I am trying to avoid yard work for the wedding reception in our back yard next weekend.

[Figlet]

Oh we have a saying in these parts. The Money Comes In, The Money Goes Out. I'd like to be less obessesed with the ebb and flow of our bank account, a little more laisez faire like my darling un obsessed spouse. I got Cs and Ds in math, yet I spend my days doing complex formulas in my head. I've never balanced the checkbook, though. I kind of keep a mental tally of credits and debits and neither of us makes a big purchase without discussing it first. Of course once a year when my husband uses Quicken to get ready for our tax return, I run and hide, not wanting to figure out where $20,000 in cash withdrawals has gone. Because it didn't all go on take out food. Did it?

[Beerzie]

Note to self: Do not teach wife how to use Quicken.

[SueFromOhio]

I feel your pain...every month when the statement comes, I force myself to sit and balance the book. My hubby has the ATM access and I don't so trying to make sure every fucking receipt is in my hands every day is like pulling ass-hair BUT I do get it done. I liked Rose's idea...in fact, we did have to do that after our checkbook was stolen when our car was broken into--it has made things pleasantly under control for 3 years now.

Good Luck! Money sux!

[-erica]

I object to your title "idly" obsessing. Obsessing is a lot of work. You make it sound effortless. It takes time and energy to obsess about something properly. Sheesh!

[Veronica]

Thinking about my checkbook gives me a sickish feeling inside. Same as when I'm riding in the car and we go over a quick dip in the road. You know the one....

[Amy]

I work in a credit union and regularly force balance checkbooks for people like yourself. Rather than closing your account or even going back to last month's statement, just go through your register and check off everything that has cleared that you have written in the register. (And make sure to write in those things that you have not written in the register.) Take yesterday's ending balance (VERY important not to take your current balance, because that includes your balance minus things in activity), subtract out all those things that have not yet cleared, and *voila*, that's your force balanced balance on your account! I do this to my account EVERY DAY, and once you do it the first time it becomes a 2 minute long process, if that (depending on how much product Logan is buying!).

Believe me, it works, and it's a lot less hassle than closing and reopening checking accounts.

[Amy]

Also, meant to add, I do not keep a 'running' balance in my register. Every morning when I get to work and force balance I know exactly how much we have left in our checking account, and I really try hard not to exceed that amount. Good rule of thumb for everyone. :)

[amber]

I actually smiled when I saw on my BoA account that they have a "Portfolio" section which works kinda like Quicken and Money now. So of course, I'm sitting there hitting it like every half an hour or so, yet I can't sit down and balance my checkbook.

[Stacy]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one. What is this word, reh-con-sile?

[Torrie]

Step away from the computer.

[Heather]

Honey- i havent opened a Bank statement in at least 2 years. They go in the "burn" pile. I do my check book like comment # 1. I go online daily (HELLLLOOOOOOO, i'm a bankers daughter, it's a requirement!!) and i get the balance. Then I subtract what i got "out" When my paycheck hits bank (yes, i work) and my hubby puts his in (every thursday like clockwork) I go on from there. Simple formula: Balance - "out checks" = New balance, and somtimes: Balance + deposits = Balance - "out checks" = my new balance!! God, looking back, thats confusing as shit. I must just be smart....... I havent bounced a check in ages, and it works for me. Although i DO NOT share this method with my banker dad. He would have an utter heart attack. But it works for me. Alot like Comment # 1's......... And remember: You can only beat those numbers so many times.......you have what you have, your broke when your broke......

[Heather]

Shit, sorry - It wasnt comment number one, it was the bank lady, the credit union lady (Uh, AMY!, ya, thats it, i got it now........) I do my check book like she is saying. But again, remember, the more you stare and the more you obsess-------- it secretly changes the original "i'm broke" numbers to "maybe i might see 6 whole dollars....." and that could be dangerous territory.

[Barefootgoddess]

I'm getting better, but I hate talking/dealing/checking on money. i immediatly go into defensive mode as soon as the subject comes up between husband and I. there have been many a conversation that has started out with 'what bills need to be paid?' and ended with me stomping off in a crying huff, yelling 'Don't treat me like a child'. Ironic, huh?

[Stacie]

Dude. Use cash! I have one checking account for bills; I pay online only. I have another account for cash and groceries. Use the debit card for groceries and "incidental bills" such as large purchases (vet bills, dentist, buying large gift item, oil changes, etc.) only. Then, take out a set amount of cash every week and only use cash. When the cash is gone, no more hair products or cokes for Logan. He'll have to wait until the next "cash-day". It sounds crazy but it works! No need for Quicken. Who cares where the $ goes when you've already decided exactly what to spend and no more?

[Texas T-bone]

We keep our checkbook balanced to the penny after we get the monthly statement. Wasn't always like that, but I sleep better at night now.

[MelissaS]

It's not that I'm finding money that's not there. It's that no matter how many times I adjust it, it keeps coming up short/different from what I have in my register. How does that keep happening?

I round up when I add up my purchases (never add or subtract the cents, only up to the next whole dollar) when I make a large deposit I add it in $100 less, just to (my intent was) to give us a built in 'free' overdraft protection.

Instead, I keep doing that and then having to do it more and more. It feels like I'm just throwing money away, I enter ALL my expenses. I check them online. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING!?

This is aggravating.

Oh and Princess Logan is going to have to drop the atm card, I always thought it was only me with a problem.

[clickmom]

I'm having a very pleasant flashback to simpler times when my biggest banking concern was whether to take $20 or $25 out of the ATM (named "Betty" down at Geaoriga Tech back in 1982.) Why the difference? Well, the difference was if I was going to the place where beer cost a dime, or the expensive place. (Quarters) Do I hear Thriller?

[clickmom]

I'm having a very pleasant flashback to simpler times when my biggest banking concern was whether to take $20 or $25 out of the ATM (named "Betty" down at Geaoriga Tech back in 1982.) Why the difference? Well, the difference was if I was going to the place where beer cost a dime, or the expensive place. (Quarters) Do I hear Thriller?

[Christie's mom]

I love Quicken, but this is because we use to try to do it all by hand and it took forever. Ok, not like I enjoy entering a huge pile of stuff every week though. It's pretty scary how much money we actually go thru in a week, and before the kids I know we spent a lot more.

Speaking of throwing away money, does anyone out there have the wiggles presale code for the concert at the Palace? I saw they went on sale today and never heard anything about the presale this time.

[MelissaS]

I remember a happy time when my biggest bill was 94.19 for my little car (a one year loan) and my rent was $84 a month and I sold my plasma to buy my groceries (and the occasional beer) twice a week.

I forced it to balance as #2 suggested. Was it #2? But it feels like I just threw another $200 in the toilet. It feels like throwing up.

[Y]

I know exactly what you're talking about.

But after recently signing up for online banking, I quickly realised that the money was "mysteriously" dissappearing at "gas stations" and "jack in the boxes" and "wendys'".

Which is funny because everytime I'd ask my husband "did you use your atm card? Because we're short $$ in our checking account." He'd be all "No, not that I can remember."

Now, I can see how often he really does use it and "forgets" so the SECOND he walks in the door I'm like "DID YOU GO TO JACK IN THE BOX FOR LUNCH?"

And he can not lie! because I have proof!

(but I don't show him the proof, because he'll be all "what's that $5 charge at starbucks, woman?")

[tracy]

IMHO, all the rounding up and fudging the amount of your deposits has got to stop. You'll never get reconciled under those conditions. Also, maybe you're a better person than I am, but when I know I have "overdraft protection" (heh heh), I spend it.

[Wayne]

Did you generate any pie graphs yet? Because pie graphs are totally cool.

[MelissaS]

No, it's not gas stations and the like because I'm recording those real time as it happens.

Tracy: The thing is I don't even think about the built in overdraft protection. I wouldn't even know how much to spend if I decided to spend it since it's just 20-50 cents here and there.

What I'm saying is that I'm rounding up for goodness sakes, it should have some sort of cumulative effect over the course of a few years.

[MelissaS]

Wayne: Yes, yes I did. You should see the one for Logan's hair compared to my hair. Ludicrous.

[tracy]

Hmmm... you're right, rounding up should have had some effect. But something else (a big cash withdrawal or e-payment someone forgot to write down, a deposit that was accidentally recorded as $100 over instead of $100 under) might be eating it up.

So now, let's see some pie charts! Logan's hair vs your hair. Beer vs groceries. Target 2004 vs Target 2005.

[Y]

Ok. I wasn't implying that gas stations were the problem for you, I was just sharing my checking account story.

Because I always make it about me. Sorry.

[Lil' Sis]

Heh. Hair pie.

[WindyLou]

I just guess. I haven't bounced a check in at least 6 months. Usually the fear of bouncing keeps my guesses fairly honest.

[MelissaS]

oh no you didn't say Hair Pie. Coming soon: Hair Pie...Charts!

Y: I know what you were saying. I'm seriously trying to understand how I can reconcile to the bank and STILL end up $100-$500 off in my register. It's so frustrating and my mom keeps telling me I'm missing something. But I'm not kidding I sit here staring at the damn online banking page for HOURS AT A TIME. I write them in as they happen!

SERIOUSLY I'm losing my mind. I just so badly don't want to be poor again.

[Y]

I know how frustrating that is. I do. I've even deducted the missing money (to the tune of over THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS) just to "start fresh" and bam... another $100 gone, BUT, I found the source of my problem. I sincerely hope that you find out what's wrong and fix it. If there's one thing I understand, it's money worries. Almost destroyed me once before.

Good luck, girl. (I feel like an ass when I all I can do is say something stupid like that and not help.) :-(

[Meganann]

Here is a tip for the princess. I learned it from my own princess. He learned it in "modeling school". Yes, he knows how to walk on a catwalk, no, he has never needed that skill.

My princess likes expensive shampoo and conditioner for his satiny locks. Buy two squirt bottles, fill half with product and the other half with water. Shake. Spray on head. Works wonders for satiny man hair. Ta-da--shampoo and conditioner woes semi-solved.

Good luck with the real worries! Got no advice there, I marvel at my own quicken and wonder how we can spend less on food.

[Flippy]

I never open my bank statements. I also never write checks - I hate when people take too long to cash them. All payments are done through online bill payment and all charges outside the house are done with the ATM card.

Have you thought about two accounts? Maybe it would be easier to keep track of things that way. One ATM card for Logan, one for you. Give one of you the big account with most of the money for bills and such. Give the other one an account for incidentals (er, hair care - heh, I have pudding in *my* hair, not pie) with a set amount of money in it.

[Ada]

Doesn' t your bank have some kind of service where you can sit down and discuss it together?

This is my motto:
When obsessing, see a professional.

[Tammy/averagemom]

Some people actually balance their checkbooks? Seriously? Cause you know, I haven't even tried to do that. Honestly.
Hey! Where'd the toes picture go?! I like the dolly, but the toes were cute!

[J.]

Here's my 2 cents worth of ass-vice:

The reason your Quicken register is not working out is because you are cooking your books by rounding up your checks and deposits in the register and not adjusting appropriately for this against your real bank balance (a few pennies and $100 on each deposit over seven years adds up to more money than you've calculated when you go back to "adjust.") My husband used to do this rounding "trick" and it drove me (the math-impaired daughter of an accountant) absolutely batshit crazy when it came time to reconcile.

If you are really worried about an overdraft, rather than rounding up you should consider getting an account that provides insurance against this (sometimes they link it to a savings account at the same bank). Then start you checking account over from your last bank statement (basically, open a 'new' account in Quicken). Then write the actual, real dollar amounts of checks, other withdrawals, etc. in both your check register and your Quicken one. Write a monthly check to your savings account, too--make savings a monthly commitment, like paying your mortgage, and not the result of an accident of your accounting procedures by nicking a few cents here and there.

I used to obsess over our money, too, until I forced myself to set up the bills so I only had to pay them once a month and therefore had no good reason to check the bank balances every day (Real Simple ran an article on how to do this not long ago--it's on their website), and we started charging absolutely everything (utilities, subscriptions, groceries, etc.--everything but the rent check) to a single cashback credit card, which put an end to the quick debit card cash withdrawals at the grocery store checkout. Now I can easily download all the info into Quicken from the credit card site once a month and it categorizes it for me, and bill paying has been virtually eliminated. I balance the checkbook and write two checks (one to the credit card, one for rent) a month.

The problem with using cash or a debit card instead of credit is that you don't have the same guarantees against fraud a credit card does. Now that it's all contained in one gigantic balance, we actually spend less For some reason, writing one check for $1800 to pay one credit card bill is psychologically more difficult than writing 3 checks for $600 for three cards, and really makes you think hard about your next purchase.

Oh, and decide on monthly allowances for fun money for non-necessities, and get yourself and Logan seperate accounts for your fun money (his hair products, your camera), which you each take resposibility for balancing. This seperate account business saved our marriage, as we no longer have fights about what I spend on my clothes versus what my husband spends on guitars. What we each spend our allowances on is none of the other spouse's business. If you overspend your allowance? too bad, you have to wait 'til next month to get more.

OK, I really should have shut up about 1000 words ago. Sorry!

[Leslie]

I highly suggest ONLINE banking. It's so wonderful! Almost every purchase we make is with our debit card -- and our transactions are recorded almost instantly. This keeps us on top of everything -- our balances work out, and all checks are sent electronically. Therefore we don't have to wait for checks to clear. It's all so EASY. Really! And you can even download to Quicken.

[rhonda]

Quicken is a source of great joy for my husband. It's like a hobby for him -- he sits at the computer til all is balanced and the colorful pie charts are happily updated.
Those pie charts can be frightening.

[Lil' Sis]

Please note that I called you to talk me out of posting "Hair Pie" (heh! yep, still funny! i must not be getting old like i thought!) and you didn't answer the call, Lis.
oh, i crack myself up.

-miao.

[Becky]

Are you banking at Wells Fargo? I swear that our local branch must be wrapping their sandwiches with all of the $20s that seem to come up missing from our account.

[Erica]

Can I second (or third) the request for a hair pie chart? Pretty please?

And while I totally sympathize with your frustration over the balancing issue, please be proud of yourself for even attempting it, unlike...umm...me.

[Amy]

Oh my god. Credit union lady back with more advice. I absolutely refuse to sit down and even work with people who round up their checkbooks like you mentioned. It is IMPOSSIBLE to get them right, and it's wasting both of our times to try. I agree with whoever said it above, trash that shitty habit.

[Amy]

Sorry, didn't mean for that to sound as bitchy as it did. I just get riled up sometimes. Good thing I'm not the postal worker lady.

[okgirl]

You just wrote my life story. We too are horrible about balancing our checkbook. It makes me scared and it also makes me grind my teeth all night while I am sleeping to even think about it (I am not kidding about the grinding my teeth part). UGH! Luckily, we have online banking, and I just go on about every two days and check off the checks that have gone through and walla! Balanced! I had to go back about 6 months to get started. Now I am keeping up with it. I was lucky though..sometime in the last whenever we balanced our checkbook last, I had made $350 bucks in errors to our good (anal hubby verified this). Instead of going out shopping and celebrating this great victory, I used it to pay down a bill. *sigh* Good luck girl. I do agree with the others. Forget the rounding up. There is just no way in hell you will ever be able to figure that out.

[DM]

Sigh. I work in banking and yet I have no clue on how to balance a check book. Wait. That's not true. I can tell someone else how to do it but I can't do it myself. I just got an overdraft fee today.

I was laughing over these comments but seriously, I used to take escalated calls from people who would become overdrawn and would find ways to blame us for it. One customer replied, when asked if she balanced her account with her statement, "What's a statement?" And yet, it's our fault she was overdrawn.

I don't know who suggested it but what I usually do, when I decide to start keeping a register again, is start a "new" account on Microsoft Money and go back the last couple of months. It helps. I'll probably have to do it again because obviously my attempts to keep track of this in my head is not working.

[Wayne]

Oh, I would love to see a hair pie. Er, chart.

[Bill]

We had this same problem for years and only got a handle on it this year. For what it's worth, here's how we did it:

We created a realistic budget for every spending category- even things like kid's activities, hair, etc. Like you, we get paid on the 15th and the 31st each month so it's easier to break the expenses in half knowing that we only get 2 checks a month.

As soon as we get paid, I go to the credit union and withdraw all of our budgeted expenses for the next 2 weeks in cash. I then put the money in a multi-pocketed coupon binder with a different pocket for each expense. There's a grocery pocket, a clothing pocket, etc. Since were dealing only with cash (not the dreaded debit card) we can see exactly how much we've spent and how much is left.

If we go over our budget in something (like maybe groceries) we still don't use the debit card. We borrow it from one of the other categories. The idea is that this way I'm never taking more money out of the bank than I originally did. It is also a huge help when balancing the checkbook because there are only 2 big withdrawals a month- easy to track.

I then pay the bills on the same 2 days every month when we get paid. I'm able to pay all but 1 of our bills online, so I only have to wait for 1 check to clear. Also, by paying all of the bills online right when we get paid, the money is instantly gone and won't get spent on anything else. I use PayPal BillPay to pay most of our bills- it withdraws directly from our checking account and it's free!

An important step is to establish an allowance for each of you that you again take out in cash. If you want to get really hardcore, leave your debit card in a drawer. The $3 here and the $5 there that get spent casually with our debit cards without paying attention were what was killing us.

All of the money that remains in our account at the end of the month gets sent to the credit card with the highest balance. Since we started this in January, we've created a backup savings fund of $1,000 and paid off 1 of our 3 maxed out credit cards. This is after 10 years of struggling paycheck to paycheck.

It's not easy and it takes some getting used to. Once you break the debit card habit and get used to using cash, you realize just how much money you were throwing away. Also, by using cash we're much more selective about how we spend it. When you're using a credit or debit card, it doesn't seem real. When you're handing over cash and you can see exactly how much you'll have afterwards, it causes to really think about what you're buying.

This has worked wonders for us and has really made us feel more secure. And it's sooooooooo much easier to see where our money is going. Good luck with whatever you end up doing!

[Jerri Ann]

This is funny, not ha ha funny but funny. We were bouncing checks like rabbit balls all over the country side and MY MOTHER continued to harass me about the money we were losing. WEll, hell, I knew that we were losing money. Anyway, my sweet husband and I agree to give her all our money, all our bills, she gives us $ for groceries, incidentals, gas and junk. That was in February...she just last week agreed.....she can't do it either. And the funny thing is...she uses the same damn phrase I used, "the money is there and then it is just gone". I do the force balancing thing and still, we bounce 'em. My mom gave up too. Not that I am glad that our money keeping skills are shitty, I"m glad she realized that it isn't just me and she cant' do it with our money either...she does fine with hers. So, who knows where the fuck it goes but I'm getting very pissy about it.

[Flippy]

The solution to bouncing checks? Don't write any. One of my biggest fears, even more than heights, is bouncing a check.

[Darcie]

My favorite reason to use Quicken is for the online billpaying feature. I pay the bills and enter payments with one step. But good Lord, I don't actually look at any of those pie-thingies to see where the moolah is going. And yeah, when I fall behind, it's kind of a pain in the butt. But, it sure makes me feel organized when it's reconciled.

[luo lin]

delurking to say, Melissa, I love your blog.

Just wanted to share that a friend of mine, who didn't keep up with balancing her checkbook (although more often than 7 years) once lost the checkbook in a fire (didn't take her purse when the fire alarm rang at work). So it could be worse.

No advice on how to fix it. It seems like you have been working heroically to get the finances under control, which is the important thing. (We had a bit of financial insecurity when I was a kid, so I tend to freak out about money).

[christy]

I couldn't comment until now beacuse I was sitting in a corner rocking myself just from thinking about money this much.

*shudder*

[jenn]

I am currently obsessing with Quicken also. Unfortunately, it's quicker to spend money than make it, so I spend half my time in front of the computer staring at my balance and hoping it will get better. Meanwhile, I buy things online. Damn.

Count me in with the crowd that refuses to balance their checkbook. Quicken works much better for me. I only write two checks a month, so I can type those in and all my debit transactions show up right away. Much better. I love you, Quicken.

[clickmom]

My very intelligent friend, Isabella, was having the most ridiculous time balancing her check book, until she realized that the beady eyed teller named Matt at our local bank was somehow siphoning small amounts of money from her account. I swear this is true. She confronted him and his attitude was "You'll never prove it." Isabella switched banks and had no more problems.

Do you have a teller named Matt?

[Kay]

I know. . . I know. . you are probably sick of all this advice. AND. . you've probably already done this. . but have you checked the math in your register? Go through line by line and make sure someone, somewhere didn't transpose numbers or make a math error. That will screw you up and you'll never be able to find it. My darling husband (read: idiot) cannot do math to save his life even though he thinks he can. I am constantly finding where he has screwed up the math and thus screwed up our checkbook for the rest of the month. (not to mention all the little things such as golf paraphernalia that he fails to enter in the checkbook)

I used to let my husband do the checkbook. . .until I realized he just "guesstimated". I'm completely anal now with the checkbook. I don't use Quicken (really, I'm neurotic enough the way it is) but it has to balance to the penny or I won't rest. It took at least 4 months of making adjustments before I finally got it to balance after taking it over from my husband.

Lesson: Don't let mathematically challenged men take over the checkbook. ;)

[amy]

I confess hubby does that stuff. I am completely into spending while he is the most penny pinching guy you will ever meet. (However, his pinching has meant I have stayed home with our 3 kids for the better part of 12 years, we own a nice home, two vehicles and savings..)

What works for us is saving every single receipt and online checking our balance weekly (well, he does)on the family account. He has taught me (grimacing) that all those little things really DO add up. As do bank charges.

Now that I am working again (yeahoo! found something I can work casual at to accomodate hubbies rotating shifts, no day care!) I have my own account and am responsible for kids clothes, and the 'extras'. A lot of stress has been diverted and both of us are happier.

Perhaps both of you need an 'allowance'? The trick is sticking to it! And that way each partners spending habits are not scrutinized, you each have your $ and go with it...

Money used to be the biggest stressor in our marriage. And that just SUCKED!

[Chris]

Have you tried simply scrapping the register and entering receipts directly into Quicken? We use Money and put our receipts into it as soon as we get home from a shopping expedition, and we have only had problems with overdrafts when we have failed to enter the receipts in a prompt fashion. If you do it right reconciling with your statement will take less than a minute each month.

If you still want to keep an "overdraft fund" of some sort simply make one entry in the Quicken register that says something like "free cash" or "don't spend me" with a date way in the future so you can always see it and update the amount when you see fit.

We are also subscribers to the two account system. All our direct depsoits go into one account, mine, from which we pay all of our bills. Then from whatever is left over I keep enough for gas for my car and a couple of lunches out and the rest goes to my wife for groceries and whatever her heart desires.

[Megan]

I think it's time for an intervention. When I first got Quicken, I couldn't stop either. Reports, graphs, budgeting. I was hooked. I couldn't stop.

But the truth is, it gets old quick. It's just a fling honey, it'll pass. Don't make yourself insane; have Quicken keep making the balance adjustments until you start reconciling regularly. It will work out eventually.

And instead of putting your marriage in peril, do one or two ATM withdrawls a month at a set amount. When the cash is gone, you're done. No more until next month. It's the ATM that's eating all your money - I guarantee it - $20 here, 20 there...

[styro]

Wait. You're supposed to KEEP TRACK of money?? I thought that's what banks were for. What the hell. Thanks, now I'm all paranoid. You mean I can't just spend all the money in my account until it's gone, and then eat boiled rice until my next paycheck clears? That's my METHOD, man! don't screw it up!

[kelly]

OH MY GOD, THIS IS SOOOOOO TRUE!
we go through this shit every month.
we finally went to bryce's handy dandy
envelope system and did away with all
debt! i have to say i am the one that
spends all the money on my hair.

just keep on it, it will get caught up

kelly

[trine]

oh my god i am having to de-lurk to state that I am so totally confused right now... just TRYING to decipher those 63 (!) comments without even knowing what the heck Quicken is, has been quite a challenge... it sounds evil though!