Travis Eneix

I have poor financial skills. They are getting better, and will continue to do so (damn it!!) but they are still not very good. After years of living paycheck-to-paycheck, and sometimes not even that, I finally have some savings, a growing 401K, a lessening fear of taxes and a credit score on the rise. It’s a struggle for me on a day to day basis, but using the marching slogans of dealing with “One Day at a Time”, “Acting as if”, and “Knowing what I Don’t Know”, I am getting better at the whole shell game that is modern personal finances.

Today I came across a great post over at ZenHabits - Monitor Your Impulse Spending Urges. The part I am immediately implementing into my developing GTD system is this nugget of pure gold:

Keep a 30-day list. If you have an urge to buy something, make it a rule that you have to first write it on your 30-day list. If, at the end of those 30 days, you still want it, then you can buy it (if you have the money). Just the act of putting it on the list (awareness) and forcing yourself to wait (delay) can make a big difference.

I wholeheartedly you read the whole post. Hell, read the whole site. I am rapidly becoming a fan of the sites owner, Leo, and think he has a lot of good tips to offer. Enjoy.

Additional:

As I was surfing through various blog posts dealing with personal financial management I came across Sally’s Kitchen, and the EXCELLENT post - How to budget effectively and also, how to stick to it.  It’s a great post about a simple finances spreadsheet format (I love spreadsheets!!)  It just so happens that last night, after setting up scheduled payments from me bank account for my credit cards, bills, and such, I was pondering not carrying my main credit card around with me.  I tried to think of somewhere to put it that I would be able to find for an emergency.  I couldn’t really come up with something.  Well, Sally knows what to do -

Freeze your credit cards. Spend what you have, not what you will have. That’s a Chinese proverb, actually, taught to me by my grandmother. A friend taught me an alternative - put it in a zip-lock baggie, fill it up with water, and put it in the back of the freezer. So it’s still there for a rainy day, but impulse buys will have to wait.

Stumble it!