We ended last week talking about how to lighten your mental load when it comes to taxes. Today we’ll talk about daily or weekly financial tasks.
I’m a big fan of using technology for all our budgeting and bill paying tasks. But I know not everyone is comfortable with this. At the very least, I would encourage you to pay your bills online either through the provider or your bank’s online bill payment system. Just be careful with the former because sometimes they charge convenience fees.
I pay all my bills online through my bank and it is a Godsend. It’s great to set up different payee addresses just one time and create automatic payments for those bills with amounts that don’t change from month-to-month. You can even pay people through this system if you don’t use Venmo or other money transfer apps. And most banks also allow you to deposit checks by simply taking a photo of them on your phone.
I like being able to view transactions on my computer or phone each day and to easily transfer money between accounts by tapping just a few keys. I’ve caught some unauthorized transactions in the past by keeping an eye on my account this way, which obviously saves a lot of headaches and aggravation.
Of course, when doing any sort of financial transactions online, you need to take precautions to make certain you have a secure connection. I never do any bill paying or viewing of my bank account when I am away from home. Even when I am taking care of online banking in my dining room, I quickly log out when I am finished.
Watch out for the email scam when you receive a message that looks like it’s from your bank. If it truly appears that you have an email from your bank, log on to that institution’s site and get your message there.
Taking care of our family’s banking and bill payments online saves me at least an hour a week. I remember sitting down every week or every other week decades ago and writing checks/envelopes by hand and “licking and sticking” multiple stamps. I had to carve out 45 minutes or more for the process. Then there was the hour each month of getting a hard copy of our bank statement and balancing our checkbook.
Now I just look at our monthly budget, which is a simple Word document that breaks down our income and what is typically due on what week of the month and pay that week’s bills every Friday online through our bank.
I keep any paper copies of bills all together in a file in order by due date and do the same for any email bills on my computer. The rest is taken care of by automated bill payment or withdrawal from our account. I also take a minute at the start of every weekday to check our account online and do some quick balancing.
Finally, if you’re like I was a couple of years ago and still using a paper check register, I would encourage you to get a free app on your phone to track everything instead. I use My Register. It saves me probably 15 to 20 minutes a week!
Being smart with your finances and getting organized in managing them is an important first step in reducing the mental labor of taking care of your home. By using some or all these tips, you can decrease your financial mental load by up to 75 percent.
Amy Shankland is a writer and fundraising professional living in Noblesville with her husband John, two sons, two dogs and a cat. You can reach her via email at amys@greenavenue.info.