<$Friday, January 25, 2008$>
The simplicity of the Post-it
 There's more money in my checking account than is reflected on my debit tracking Post-it. Hmmm.I need to go over my receipts and bill payments again before I get too excited. I know that part of that amount is my husband's spending stipend which I haven't yet moved over to his bank. There's a lot more than that in there, though... there must be something outstanding that I'm just not remembering right now. This is why I've reverted to my Post-it system. I tried to get all fancy and high-tech by tracking my spending in a spreadsheet, but that just got me into trouble. It's an ADD thing, I guess--the more trouble something is to access, the less likely I am to use it. I could only conveniently access the spreadsheet from my work computer, which means any spending I did wouldn't get subtracted from my available funds until I came to work, added up my receipts, and then signed in to Google docs to enter the amount into my spreadsheet. Sure, the spreadsheet did the math for me, which is always nice, but it felt cumbersome, like a big chore, and also something I had to work to remember to do. My Post-it system, on the other hand, is always with me. It's as simple to use as picking up a pen and doing a little elementary subtraction. If I want to know how much money we still have, I just have to look at the Post-it pad in my wallet. If there are any receipts stuffed behind it, I know I still need to subtract those. It's pretty much the same as keeping a checkbook register, except without all the extra spaces and categories that make me feel like I fail at finances and at life. And it works; with the spreadsheet system, I had an overdraft a few weeks ago. As long as I've used my trusty Post-it system, that hasn't happened once. Sometimes low-tech is the best way to go. It may not be for everybody, but for me, the simplest method is usually the best. The more accessible and in plain view something is, the more likely I am to remember to use it, and the fewer steps needed, the less likely I am to put it off until later. It may seem inelegant, but the Post-it method is the most ADD-friendly system for tracking my spending that I've yet to find. Labels: ADD, money management, spending |
