Obsessed about bank accounts...

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-11-2001
Obsessed about bank accounts...
10
Wed, 11-30-2005 - 10:37am

I guess I hope that if I stare at the figures in my bank account, and review the money for my bills etc, etc I will magically make more money appear in my account!

I am obsessed with paying my bills monthly and watching the amounts go up and down on the accounts.

Is there anyone else who is obsessed with keeping an eye on their accounts?

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-23-2005
Wed, 11-30-2005 - 11:07am
I am obsessed as well.

lvhunnie2005

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-10-2005
Wed, 11-30-2005 - 11:18am

Glad to know I'm not the only one. I keep all my information in Quicken plus have an Excel spreadsheet that I plan what to pay on. It makes me feel more in control of my money. And honestly, I need the discipline. If I don't keep looking at it, I loose track of it again.

I keep on hoping after the holidays and the car repairs I'm facing, it will be easier to keep spending down though. No matter how closely I watch my account it seems that money keep flying out of them.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-23-2005
Wed, 11-30-2005 - 12:55pm

Oh yea- that's me for sure. I have an Excel sheet also and play with that thing every day. Believe me- it helps. We went on vacation last week so I was away from my numbers and the longer I didn't have them to remind me, the more I felt we could spend, spend, spend. Now that we're back and I can see the numbers, I'm back in the mood to save, save, save. Goes to show it's a psychological mindset for most of us.

Keep up the good work! You'll see a difference soon, I'm sure.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-04-2004
Wed, 11-30-2005 - 3:24pm


Sounds like there are a lot of us here who are alike! LOL! I do the same thing as many of you, I log on to the bank every morning, play around with my spreadsheet, look for ways to speed up the process, etc, etc, etc. I know that it does help keep me in check though and I am happy to say that being this neurotic about money has helped me pay off more than $20,000 since Jan. 04 on a single income. It does work! Thanks for sharing, I feel like I'm pretty normal now! :)

~leanne

~leanne

deciding to be happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect, but that you had decided to look beyond the imp

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-11-2001
Wed, 11-30-2005 - 5:05pm

I also have a spreadsheet with all of my bills listed. I don't have Quicken, as I only have a computer at work. Hopefully, that situation will change this week!

I am always 'ticking' things off of my spreadsheet. It has helped me keep track of my medical bills, when all of my bills are due and now with the snowflaking I am doing. I am finally getting to the where I have paid off the smaller med bills, and am sending that additional money to my credit card. Soon I should be sending $50 extra to my CC. I also have another loan that should be paid off in less than a year. I will apply that payment to another loan. Wow - it would be so nice to make the money not to have to worry about these things!

I would like to aim to put my tax return (fingers crossed I get one!) in a savings account. I would like to start saving for a new kitchen and appliances. I didn't realise how old mine looked! My parents said they would send me money for Christmas. I believe I get a Christmas bonus and with my tax return I could be close to at least the appliances.

Looking at my bank account helps me aim for these goals.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 11-30-2005 - 7:28pm
Your post cracked me up! Absolutely--I'm obsessed with my finances. I always have been even as a kid with nickels and dimes. I got a college degree in finance because I love it. Family and friends thing I'm nuts to enjoy something so boring to them. Of course I think it's a good obsession and it has always kept my spending in check. My one vice about money that I don't like and am trying to overcome is that I calculate into "work hours" everything I buy. I read the book "Your Money or Your Life" by Joe Dominquez and Vicki Robin several years ago and it says to look at money as "life hours lost". For example, if I buy a pizza for dinner for $20, I think in my head "well that would take about two hours of waiting on people to pay for (I'm a waitress part-time), is it really worth it". Takes a lot of the pleasure out of anything I do because I feel it is rarely worth it!
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-1999
Wed, 11-30-2005 - 8:31pm
Oh, yeah, I do everyday, too....but I think it's a good thing for me.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Wed, 11-30-2005 - 8:54pm

Oh, Gosh, yes!! LOL!! Especially since I had an overdraft back in July! From that point on, I've have checked my bank account online every day. If I'm waiting for something to clear (most recently: my first online house payment), I will check several times a day. On one hand, I wonder if I'm becoming obsessive about it, and on the other hand, I'm glad I'm doing it so that I can avoid another overdraft. LOL! :-D

Pat :-D

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2004
Wed, 11-30-2005 - 9:18pm
I am constantly checking my balances online. Not so much my debts because I always pay them as they come in and honestly don't think too much about it because I know eventually I'll be able to get rid of them for good. I do this more so with my savings and retirement accounts, and my checking account. I balance my checkbook every day, and check my savings balance daily, and my retirement account 1-2 times a week. I just put my emergency savings in an account with an online bank that's paying a really good interest rate so I like to check it frequently; partly to make sure it's still there (just kidding!) and the other to monitor the interest. I love watching my balances go up; it makes me feel secure and that I am doing good for my family. When I was with my ex, I never felt financially secure, or emotionally for that matter, now I am able to do that for myself. It's funny how money is so tied to our sense of emotional well being, but it really is, isn't it? Good luck to everyone.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2003
Thu, 12-01-2005 - 7:53am
Yes I have to admit I am obsessesd with money. Both coming in & going out.

Shannon


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