My accounting habits

Anyone with a bookkeeping habit, please raise your hand.

I was the first to raise my hand, even though my accounting habits are a little different.

There are a variety of accounting books and accounting applications on the market with a wide range of functions, but none of them fully met my needs, so I created my own accounting system in Excel spreadsheet software.

Many people keep accounts by recording every expenditure and counting actual monthly expenses and consumption items. However, I don't need this information. My financial management method is to deposit my monthly salary into a bank account, then allocate the money to different banks for savings and investment according to the savings plan. The remaining money is used to pay for utilities, electricity, gas and other living expenses, and then I receive a fixed amount for daily expenses. As long as daily expenses do not exceed this amount, there is no need to write down every expense. Of course, there will be times when additional expenses are needed, but since the savings and investment money have been separated from the beginning, you can use the balance in the account with peace of mind.

My accounting system has multiple files that track different bank accounts and stock and fund investments. Although the passbook records the fund transactions in the account, it is not clear what the items are just by looking at the amount. I need to write down all the sources and divide the deposits into different items, such as reserved payment for insurance and credit card fees, investment projects, and funds. Contributions, education funds, etc. I must figure out the ownership and purpose of each balance in the account, and know the actual balance of each item. Investment stocks and funds also have independent records, and profits, losses and dividends are clearly known.

I have never owed any credit card fees, because every time I use a credit card, I will immediately record it in my spreadsheet to ensure that I will not spend more than my account balance. Later, I was too lazy to record the purchases one by one, so I simply deposited them into my frequently used credit cards. A sum of money for daily consumption. Such financial management habits are silly. Who would deposit money into a credit card first? But I persisted in this silly habit just because I didn’t like the feeling of being in debt.

No matter what financial management method you use, the most important thing is to develop good financial management habits. Regardless of whether you keep accounts or not, you must be clear about your asset status and live within your means to avoid getting yourself into financial difficulties.

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