Life in the Banana Patch

A collection of thoughts and asides about life. And if I think of anything that needs to be mocked, it will show up here.

"If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way."
--Bertrand Russell

Monday, April 18, 2005

I have a difficult time controlling my spending. And controlling spending has to be the first step in getting my finances in order.

While I have also been decluttering my life, selling comics and dvds on eBay and Amazon, I've been depositing the funds in my account as quickly as I can. Unfortunately, I seem to have been spending the funds before they get into my account, and for the third time this year I am horribly overdrawn!

I hate reconciling my checkbook. With a passion. But I have to start doing it.

So going back to my goals post, I've come up with this goal: I will have no more overdrafts this year."

To acheive this goal,I need to do four things: 1)reduce my daily expenses as much as possible, 2) use check book software to help me do the math in reconciling my checkbook, 3) set up a routine that forces me to know what my checking balance is on a daily basis and 4) set up a system to organize my bills so I can pay them in the appropriate order, and minimize late fees.

Tomorrow, I'll post my thoughts on step one. If you have any advice on any of these steps, please feel free to share it.

UPDATE:

The ever handy Aunt Annie said I could link to her method of arganizing bills.