Surprise! I'm fresh out of things to say about Portland. So, please let me introduce my other new love, Quicken.
When I told J last December that I wanted to start using financial software to track our money, I think he was a bit skeptical. Somehow my conversation about budgeting and tracking expenses translated into deprivation, banishment of beer, and the elimination of CD shopping forever, times infinity. In reality, all I wanted to do was see how we used our money. Neither of us really kept track of finances until a few months ago - there was always enough money in the bank account, so we hardly looked at were it all went.
When I told J last December that I wanted to start using financial software to track our money, I think he was a bit skeptical. Somehow my conversation about budgeting and tracking expenses translated into deprivation, banishment of beer, and the elimination of CD shopping forever, times infinity. In reality, all I wanted to do was see how we used our money. Neither of us really kept track of finances until a few months ago - there was always enough money in the bank account, so we hardly looked at were it all went.
After agreeing that we'd give budgeting a try, we started talking about finances. Almost immediately it became clear that we each had pretty different philosophies on how to handle money. J often worked in cash, while I hardly ever used the stuff. Personal paper checks blow my mind, and he was perfectly content writing them for bills etc.
Because of the ridiculous system we had established (Jesse writing me a check for his half of the rent every month), I sometimes felt like Faye Dunaway in Mommy Dearest screaming and wringing my hands, "No MORE personal checks! No More Personal Checks!" Now, I don't paint on my eyebrows, and never make him scrub the bathroom floor in his pj's, but it felt that dramatic (to me). In the name of simplifying our lives, we took a few baby-steps to financial sanity:
Step 1: J added Brasilliant to his checking account. He held her hand at the ATM across the street and watched her marvel at the wonders of having cold, hard, cash in her wallet. It was tough, but she's now withdrawing and depositing like a pro.
Because of the ridiculous system we had established (Jesse writing me a check for his half of the rent every month), I sometimes felt like Faye Dunaway in Mommy Dearest screaming and wringing my hands, "No MORE personal checks! No More Personal Checks!" Now, I don't paint on my eyebrows, and never make him scrub the bathroom floor in his pj's, but it felt that dramatic (to me). In the name of simplifying our lives, we took a few baby-steps to financial sanity:Step 1: J added Brasilliant to his checking account. He held her hand at the ATM across the street and watched her marvel at the wonders of having cold, hard, cash in her wallet. It was tough, but she's now withdrawing and depositing like a pro.
Step 2: Brasilliant introduced J to online banking/bill pay. She stopped his paper statements and saved some trees. J reduced Brasilliant's emerging grey hair by eliminating last minute, over-the-phone bill payments.
Step 3: They both (but mostly Brasilliant) welcomed wonderful Quicken software into our home.
Our success on paper will be determined in a few weeks after we review our first two months of budgeting and saving. However, I already feel closer to that house, yard, and dog.
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