Making Personal Finance Work Well Is Hard. Making Money Is Harder. Worry Less
There is no such thing as doing the right thing with money. It's all personal.
I have a home savings contract, my employer has some kind of company pension plan, we all have to participate, said the aunt in the HR office of the company where I work. I work remotely.
She went on to say:
There is still something in the money market account, but interest rates are not that high either. Maybe I should download one of those overnight money comparisons on the Internet.
But you don't earn anything these days. I'm not in the mood after work and you want the weekend off.
That's your speech when you are at the grill and your friend says: "Say, man, how do you save money? I was watching a program on TV about poverty in old age.
In other words, the garden of your finances does not consist of carefully tended beds of high-yielding plants but is more organic.
In this article, I would like to introduce you to a mental trick that you can use to control the natural turmoil in your finances.
This Is What Personal Finance Is All About
Personal finances sometimes get out of our control.
What if the washing machine breaks?
Where can we get a new one?
What if the retailer doesn't meet the promised delivery time?
3.1 Then I have to put the laundry in the laundry room. 3.1.1 Will they take the children's clothes too?
3.1.2 If I take the children's clothes, are they washed in a way that does not damage the children's delicate skin?
3.2 What if the machine is delivered, but doesn't work properly?
I will stop then. The principle is clear.
Do you know that feeling when you look at your personal finances?
That's right. Out of control.
A box is just a box. Carrying a box into the garage is not exactly a feat, anyone can do it. And then another, and then another.
Then you can search the basement for days and find what you are looking for.
What does this have to do with my finances now?
Your finances burden you. Well, then, just free your brain and gather your belongings. Not from the basement to the garage, but from the file folder to an Excel spreadsheet.
I have a file here called nuj.xls and it is half a megabyte in size. I started it in 2018. At that time the file only had one tab, now there are 55. I started very small and under the heading "List of accounts in May 2018" I wrote down which bank we have which account and what is in it. That can easily be done in a couple of hours. But then you have already formatted the thing in a clever way. This is my personal weakness. The numbers are right there, but then I need to worry less about the numbers.
I don't do that anymore. I never used a budget. I did it only for work purposes. Not for personal reasons.
The next room would then be insurance. Which ones do I have, and how much do they cost me?
Very important: open your sales. Don't squint your eyes at insurance companies when entering accounts. That just drives you crazy.
Cause: The washing machine was totally OK.
Wrap it up.
Planning ahead is a good thing, but sometimes it has to be the strategy you worry least about. Stop worrying about how much you spend.
If you feel that you can't control something, it is worth taking stock of the situation first. In this case, taking stock means: only collecting, not evaluating.
If private finances were not so private, any service provider could do this job.
This article is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.