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What system or method do you use for your monthly budget or personal finance?

What budgeting advice do you recommend? Money management method?

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  • I avoid automatic payments like the plague. I never give insurance companies, utilities, credit companies, etc. permission to withdraw from my account. All it takes is one underpaid office drone to make a mistake, and you’re overcharged a thousand dollars. You can (probably) get the money back, but not without a time consuming hassle.

    Ever notice that billing mistakes on paper bills are virtually never in your favor? In my experience, I’ve always been overcharged, and never undercharged. I don’t expect automatic payments to be any different.

    I let them mail me paper bills, which I then pay through my bank’s website. When the payment is made, I write the confirmation number on the bill itself. Yes, it’s more cumbersome, but that’s a price I’m willing to pay. There’s a verifiable paper trail, and I’m completely in control. Since it’s my money, I deserve to be.

    • In my country you can set an upper limit to the automatic payments. (It's mandatory for the banks to implement.) So I just put in like plus 3-4 dollars as the max they can withdraw above my average bill and I'll just get a notification if they try to withdraw above that limit (and they would be refused to do so). Fortunately it never happened.

53 comments