FACEing Your Finances

I've been dealing with paper clutter lately and now realize that it's a good time to look at the finances. Thankfully FlyLady has a Control Journal for FACEing your finances. For anyone who needs it here is the link to the FACE (Financial Awareness Continually Empowers) Control Journal.

I've gone through the FACE CJ before but I wasn't at a point then where I could implement many of the suggestions. I feel ready now. What I like about the FACE CJ is that it makes finances, usually a drugery for me, fun. And it's easy to follow too. There are Missions to do and simple worksheets to fill out along with some reading.

Of course, being a SHE, I had to look through the entire document before I could go back and work on the 1st mission. I'm going to tackle this just like I would any FlyLady project - 15 minutes at a time.

The reason I need to FACE my finances is that I am terrible about keeping a check register. I haven't kept a proper checkbook for years. I just 'knew' that the money was in there (big mistake ) and never balanced the checkbook. I did get NSF notices a time or two. I had good intentions, but I just couldn't work within a system. But now I think that FlyLady has given me hope that I can indeed have a system for finances and that it will effect more than just the finances.

I wondered about starting the FACE CJ right now when I still feel like I have trouble with my daily routines but it's a necessity for me. I need to know how much money I have in my bank account. I have no idea right now what my balance is - that's scary . I know that with FlyLady's help I can get the finances whipped into shape too.

Since it's kind of critical for me to FACE my finances, I'm going to do 2-3 Missions per day, throughout the day (unless it doesn't make sense to do that). I'll set my timer and give reading 15 minutes and missions 15 minutes each. I hope I'm not taking on too much. I think it will work seemlessly though with what I am already doing in the FLYlifestyle.

If you have any advice, suggestions, tips or tricks for dealing with your finances, I'd love to hear them.

p.s. If I've misstated anything, please let me know

My advice is to NOT listen to a word I say. I am horrid at finances. Does the FACE stuff look like it would be a good read for a self employed person with a spuratic income or is it a budgeting thing based on regular paychecks?

Enjoy the FACE journal.

You can also learn a lot from this website: http://www.cheapskatemonthly.com/
They have a free newsletter.

Also, the place I have learned the most about money is from Dave Ramsey. Go download iTunes if you haven't already (www.itunes.com). Then open the "store" and search for "Dave Ramsey". The TOP result will be a free podcast to which you can choose to "subscribe". Each weekday, and hour of his radio show will be downloaded to your itunes for FREE. Listen to even 15 minutes a day and you'll absorb a lot.

He's a lot more conservative than I am. i mean, I live in CA, have a large mortgage, etc. Thanks to listening to him, though, I ONLY have the mortgage. I haven't cut up my credit cards, but for the first time in my life I have a zero balance.

We deal almost exclusively in cash for our groceries and clothing. Man, when I've only got $80 cash on me at the store, I REALLY pay a lot more attention.

Oh, and the balancing the checkbook after an infinity without it? Uh, yeah. I tried to do that, too. My best advice to you is to open a new checking account and begin to use that one with your next paycheck. Then, keep the existing one open until you're sure everything has cleared. It is so much easier just to start over!

I'll look up the cheapskate site today. I'll also check into the Ramsey podcasts. Great ideas.

I know that I need to deal with cash too because my debit card is "NEVER" empty (as opposed to the actual account ).

I'm kind of embarassed to say that I just opened this account about a month ago, with that thought it mind (to just start over). I think that if I use cash and don't have all the debit card receipts then I won't have so much trouble. There are just too many receipts at this point. I'm going to have to sort of start over because I'm not going to go back and enter all the old receipts. I'm sure the FACE manual will help me out.

I took time today and balanced the checkbook and paid the unpaid bills.

Reading the CJ made me think a lot about my attitude toward finances. I need to realize that I don't have an endless supply of money (would be nice tho' ).

I know where I'm at now and that's a good feeling.

Paying your bills on time... DOES make a big difference in your credit rating too. Since really buckling down (and paying off several of DH's bills -- sigh) I noticed Im being offered (but not taking) new creditcard applications and the rates are getting lower sn dlower, which means, that my credit rating is going up up up...

Now that I have online bill pay, I'm getting the bills paid on time. When I had to write out a check, address an envelope, find the stamps, go to the post office, etc. I procrastinated. Now it's fun to pay the bills.

I really need to get that down... I do have a place to put bills.. and i should be doing it once a week, but i forget it a lot and sometimes i have 2/3 reminders with extra costs before i actually get to it. Any ideas on how to really remember??

well, I am the worst one to advice on that, because I always forget, but everything is on time since I asked everyone to "pick" the money from my bank account. Everything is scheduled down there, they just take the money when they send the bill. even taxes are in the bank, so the only thing I have to do is check every forthnight if all the charges are correct. I still have 15 days to send it back if there is an error (it never has been an error). I do al the checking online. I also have all the mail from the bank online, so I don't have to file it. If I need a receipt or an invoice, I go online and print it out. It worked for me.

By the way, this is quite common in Spain. 95% of the people have their bills sent to the bank

I'm very good at managing money. Since I lived below poverty level for so many years, I couldn't afford any late charges, so I made sure things were paid on time. Also, I refuse to pay interest, except for our mortgage, so we pay credit cards in full each month.

When bills come in, I write the due date on the left end of the envelope and file them standing up in a desk organizer (HA!!!) amid the clutter on our computer desk. Each time I sit down at the computer, those bills are right there beside me with the dates showing, so on desk day I pull out the ones that will be due within the next 10 days, and pay them.

My DH does not trust the security of our computer and will not do online banking, so we both continue to use my system described above. OR, you can just write a check and mail it when the bill arrives, then you don't have to worry about when it is due and whether you are late. (and less desk clutter)

And here I thought *I* was the one that wrote the balance due and due date on the envelopes (threw away the rest) and put it in a holder on top of the frig. I put them in order of payment. So on a payday - I flip thru the dates, and grab them and put them in my purse. Since Friday is purse clean-out day --- I take the bills out and pay them at lunch.

My desk is getting messy -- too many baskets full of stuff.... sigh

Rhonda

Tomorrow is desk day for me. I've somehow, in less than a week, messed up with my checking account again. I have no idea what I've done. Tomorrow I'll figure it out. I dread doing it because I know I've made a mistake somewhere. I know it's better to know what's going on with the finances than to stick my head in the sand.

Yes, balance your checkbook, Sam ~ you CAN do it!

Then you can make a feather duster out of that ostrich....

Thankfully I already have both dusters, so that poor Ostrich is safe for now. Thanks for the encouragement though!

I did go over the checkbook, but I wouldn't exactly say it balanced. I showed a lot more money in the account than the bank did, so I've got to trust the bank. I messed up somewhere, I just can't figure it out since I wasn't keeping track very well. But I did all that I could and now I feel better knowing where things stand. I've been checking the account daily to make sure I haven't missed anything. Why am I so apprehensive about doing that? The dread that I feel about looking at the account is overwhelming at points. I really have to force myself to peek. I would guess that I would get better at doing this over time.

But props to me for getting it done!

I got some ideas on how to keep the financial paper clutter down on this thread. Keeping the clutter down will help me to FACE the finances without such dread.

Today I got an accurate balance for the checking account and I'm going to start all over with that. I only have 1 item outstanding and I've got that recorded in my financial journal.

I've also updated my Excel spreadsheet that shows debts, bills, balances and income. That helps me plan my budget more realistically. Heidi reminded me that I need to add non-regular expenses (like vet bills, auto tag renewals, etc.). I'm in the process of doing that.

It feels good (once again ) to know where I am financially.

ps: I'll probably write this same thing every week.

I have all of the faith in the world in you, Sam!

Glad you are addng the non-regulars because they come up and bite you in the tush causing you to have to put off other bills if you don't plan for them. I just got my DMV renewal for Jane Honda due November 14th - $115. If I pay in December it will cost $183! Yikes! $68 bucks for a late fee is literally highway robbery. I need to budget in a smog check in October too so it is time to look for the coupons in the junk mailers. Post-it note!

Thanks, Heidi!

I've been going to the store daily, it seems, to pick up something or another. I spend a lot of money doing that. I didn't follow the Menu Mailer this past week, so I have had to figure out every meal as it comes along. I don't like having to do that. I'm going to use the MM when it's available this Thursday. I like knowing what's planned for meals, but I don't like to do the planning. So MM really helps me to save money (keeps me out of the store every day) and it frees up a lot of time for me too.

I've decided that I'm going to tackle receipts just once a week on Desk Day. I've been pushing myself to take care of it every day and that puts too much pressure on me. I basically know where I am from week to week and I should be able to handle the finances this way. I'll have to see how it goes.

I really need to sit down with my calendar and plan out the meals each week and also allow for any outside activities that involve food. That way I won't be going to the store so frequently and spending money I don't have in the budget.

Speaking of budgets, I have not been sticking to mine. For some reason the Labor Day holiday has really thrown me off. I'm hoping to get back on track starting today. It's hard to budget for gas and groceries though when I don't really know how much I spend each week/month. I know I need to keep tabs on that for a while.

I'd like to go to using cash instead of the debit card all the time, but it's been rough transitioning to cash. I need to note when the paychecks get deposited, when the bills are due and then how much is left over for groceries and gas on the calendar. I'm a visual learner and I think it would help to write it down. My calendar is going to be my new best friend.

Cant you look back on your previous statements and tally up your gas usage? You need to allow adaquate funds for gas to get to and from where you need to go honey!

As for bills. Get them out. WRite down each payee and how much and the date. I find it best to have it all on ONE piece of paper ---looking right back atcha. If you pay online (bills) you can normally look back at the history of your payments over the last year or so.. so you can get an average of how much you need monthly. I have to take into consideration down here, that our summer electric bills are gonna skyrocket.. and plan for that.

The holiday always throws people off cuz we tend to cook more, eat more, maybe drink more, and maybe play a lil more (recreational expenses)... so dont beat yourself up.

You can do this. Don't make it too hard... you CAN do it!
Rhonda

Here's an update on what's going on with FACEing my finances:

I've had to figure where all our money has gone for the past two years so I'm able to figure out what I've spent on gas and groceries.

I do have an excel spreadsheet listing all my debts and income. It is very helpful to have it on one sheet, I agree.

We met with a financial advisor yesterday and he asked us to track ALL of our expenses for the last 2 years - YES! 2 years! Thankfully I have saved all my check duplicates (hadn't shredded those yet, thankfully). And I have all of my statements for the last two years online with my credit union. I took advantage of Anti-procrastination day yesterday and tracked all of the checks for the past 2 years. I'm shocked at how much we spent on various categories. I also had to document everything I've sold in the past year (we had a house up in the mountains where we had lots of equipment solely used up there and we sold it all when we moved back to the city). I was up until 1:30am (very late for me) working on the excel spreadsheet documenting all of this stuff. I still have to track the debit card expenses and that will take days.

I'm actually having fun putting all of this together. I love doing stuff like this. And it's really helping me to FACE my finances straight on. I'm sure that it will help me develop a better budget than I have right now. I don't recommend that everyone do this (2 years worth of tracking) but I think tracking a month or three would really open up your eyes. It's amazing to see where all the money goes. I realize that I make a lot of impulse purchases that really have added up over the years. I could have been keeping track of all of this with a computer program, but I 'didn't have time' to do that. Now I have to make the time. I think going forward I will consider using Quicken or MS Money to document this type of information. That way I won't find myself in this position again.

I don't think there's a way to come up with a realistic budget if I don't know what I've been spending on in the past. So all of this has, in a surprising way, been extremely helpful to me. I honestly wouldn't have done all of this tracking if I wasn't asked to. I would have thought (as usual) that it would take too much time that I didn't have to give. As it turns out, it's going a lot faster than I thought it would. I do have a deadline, so it has to get done pretty quick. I'm still trying to work 15 minutes at a time and I'm taking breaks every hour. I think that's how I've been able to get through all that I have. I know that if I feel done after 15 minutes, I can be done for that session and pick it up again later.

I'm also trying to be proactive with current income and bills by using my FlyLady calendar to track when money comes in and when money needs to go out. I'm a visual learner, so seeing it on the calendar is very helpful to me. And I'll look into an online tracking system today. Now that I know how important it is, maybe I can keep it going day to day.

So I'm learning a lot about our finances and where we stand. It's a good thing.

Sam, I know it sounds crazy but entering your expenses into financial softwarwe and running all of those little reports is FUN. You know how the gas or electric bill shows that tiny bar graph of last year compared to this year and you ALWAYS have to look? It is like that but you can see anything with a click.

Have fun, GF! At tax time you will spend a whole 5 minutes printing reports, grabbing your receipt folder and you are good to go.

Hey Heidi,

I think you're right. After doing the financal work I needed to do this week, I've realized that I love doing a project as long as I'm using some kind of software on the laptop. And I do look at that little bar graph (hey, how did you know ). The idea of being able to chart stuff makes me feel all giddy inside (yes, I know, I need to get a life ). I've been having trouble transitioning to the wall calendar because an online calendar is so much more fun for me. But I like the idea of the wall calendar so DH knows what's going on too. I guess I could take time to print out the online calendar so he'd know what's up.

I would definitely be prepared for tax time if I kept everything in financial software.

I'll have to give all of this some thought and decide which path I am going to take. Thanks for the encouragment though.

I've decided on keeping the FlyLady wall calendar. Because I'm a visual learner, having the calendar in my face during the day is more helpful to me. I also have decided that putting the finances in Microsoft Money works for me. If I keep up with it daily, I don't have to keep track in a separate check book. However, I am putting the paydays and bills on the calendar so I can see when money comes in and when money needs to go out. I'm paying the bills online so that makes it much easier to get the bills out. Putting them in the online bill paying system ahead of time had been getting me a bit confused, but now that I'm putting the info on the calendar, it's much easier. So I think I'm going to stick with the wall calendar and Microsoft Money. And I like being able to see from month to month what expense categories have increased or decreased. This past month our spending on eating out has dropped 42% from the previous month (thanks to the Body Clutter adventure I"m on). It was nice to see it in writing.

FACEing the finances has made me feel empowered and less out of control. I like being on top of the finances. I may not thave the money I'd like to have (who does) but at least I know where I am with the finances at any given moment. I can see that NSF worries will be a thing of the past.

I guess I spoke to soon. I checked my account balance online and it showed that the amount available was in the negative! I guess I need to revise my calendar idea, and quickly. I realized that I messed up by using my debit card when I shouldn't have. I also didn't track what I was spending (except in my head ). That always gets me into trouble. I'm always pushing things to the limit financially and I've got to stop doing that. Oh, well, back to the drawing board (or shall I say, the calendar).

I redid the finances on the calendar in a way that now makes more sense. I updated my online account in Money and everything came out right. I actually didn't go into the negative because I made a deposit (instead of sitting on my franny). So everything is working out okay today. I even worked on putting my budget into Money. Interesting to see what I'm spending that I didn't budget to spend.

I think you are doing a GREAT job sorting out what will work for you. There will be tweeks of course.

IMO, it isn't the tools that are goofing you up - it is the plastic! They have credit cards now that you refill like phone cards. You can get them at most stores and load them up - or so the commercial says. This might be a great thing for you Sam so you can pay yourself by filling the card according to your budget. When it is gone it is gone without messing up the family funds or schedule. Cafe money...woohoo!