Money Under 30

I’ve been on a simplicity kick for a while. To give you an example: My wallet now consists of my ID and three other cards wrapped up in a rubber band. My key chain holds my house key and my car key—that’s it. I’m just tired of wasting time with extraneous “stuff”. The way I see it, the 80/20 rule can applies to everything. We use 20 percent of our things 80 percent of the time; 80 percent of our stuff 20 percent of the time. Why not whittle down to the 20 percent and learn to live without the rest? The same holds true with how much time I spend on my finances. Here are a few easy ways I simplify my finances. Give them a try and let me know how they work!

1. Use a Checkbook Register. Remember those little booklets that come with boxes of checks? I still use one! I use a checkbook register to track every debit card purchase, every deposit, every check. Since I started doing this, I’ve never had to worry about overdrafts—I’ve always known exactly how much was in my checking account. I don’t actually carry around the check register everywhere I go, but I leave it at home or in my suitcase if I’m traveling and I update it with my receipts once a day.

2. Make Your Budget with a Spreadsheet. I used to budget on pen and paper too, but I found it was a lot easier to let a spreadsheet like Microsoft Excel do the math for me. That’s why I created my original budget spreadsheet. Recently, I created a really simple budget worksheet that simplifies the monthly budget even further by grouping categories of expenses. Don’t get me wrong, I love—and use—fancy budgeting tools like Quicken and Mint.com from time to time, but I find they can’t replace the simplicity of a good spreadsheet. [...]