I actually discovered that my finances were a mess because of flylady.
Let me back up a bit. I am a disorganized person with a todo list a mile long, who always managed to pull it together for the occassion, just don't supprise me!
Well any parent will tell you kids are nothing but suprises! I discovered after having my first that my last minute ditch for paying bills or cleaning up the clutter were not going to work. Guranteed when I needed that 5 or 10 minutes of work, my son was going to need me. No matter that for the past week he took a nap at this time or played on the floor, whatever, today when I need the time that is when he would have a problem.
I tried to do it my way for months, Mostly I managed, but then I had my DD, now I had two kids needing me when I was supposed to be working, all my bandaid solutions were falling appart, I was paying overdraft fees and CC bills were piling up (using the CC to try and avoid the overdraft fees!)
I found Flylady and discovered I was not alone! I struggled with the idea that a routine is worthless when it is constantly interupted and finally hit uppon the perpetual todo list, when I am done fixing the kid 'emergency' (potty, sharing, booboos, whatever) I would go right back to wherever I was on my list. Simple right? but if my list wasn't written down, I would lose my place!
After I managed all that, life was much easier, and I again managed to get it all together err mostly. Then I discovered I had time for that dreaded thing I kept pushing further and further down the todo list in hopes it would disapear, the checkbook balancing! At first I tried dusting instead (another dreaded chore) but I discovered a calculator was still better than the duster, so I went back to the checkbook. I needed help! and Savingadvice was there for me, lots of little ideas, lots of encouragement, and best of all no telling me what an idiot I had been!
Now I have things mostly in order, but I am slipping I can't balance the checkbook a math error is escaping me, and the longer I avoid it the more hopeless I feel.
(BTW I still don't dust!)
Finances and Flylady
April 24th, 2006 at 02:30 pm
April 24th, 2006 at 03:37 pm 1145893025
April 24th, 2006 at 03:43 pm 1145893418
Dusting.........hmmm.........I don't do that either. I've given up on "stuff" that used to sit around my house, got rid of most all of it..... Switching to lower wattage light bulbs makes it hard to see the dust.........and then there is my luxury of having a weekly housekeeper. I'll cut almost everything else out of the budget in order to still have him here.
Flylady got me on track too..............better go polish that sink!!!
April 24th, 2006 at 07:07 pm 1145905678
Now, I try to never spend checks but I do use my check card for almost everything. I keep track of payment made on my budget spreadsheet and also my little notebook for recording purchases - and purchases show up in online access promptly. I don't cross my budgeted spending line and there is always enough in the account but I can't say how much should be in there. I just leave a buffer of a couple hundred and go on with my budgeting business.
oh yeah, I do the whole flylady thing too.
April 25th, 2006 at 11:34 am 1145964881
April 25th, 2006 at 04:05 pm 1145981111
April 25th, 2006 at 08:57 pm 1145998646
April 26th, 2006 at 02:39 am 1146019190
April 26th, 2006 at 01:12 pm 1146057130
I have never found a bank error, but I feel more comfortable knowing my total is correct.
I thought about computer programs, but the error was me adding instead of subtracting, unless the program notices which company pays not takes it still wouldn't help!
April 26th, 2006 at 08:37 pm 1146083830
April 26th, 2006 at 08:43 pm 1146084225
April 27th, 2006 at 06:34 pm 1146162864