Personal Finance Habits and Process

I believe that systems beat goals and habits beat checklists. In order to incorporate personal finance consistently into my process, I’ve used a few techniques. One of those is to turn the activities into habits. The other is to tack those onto already existing habits I already perform regularly. 

1. Track Net Worth Religiously
   • Never less and never more than Monthly.  This is my minimum monthly check in. 
   • I must check 7 accounts to get 12 numbers that updates my monthly assets and liabilities to come up with my adjusted net worth for the month.
   • While I typically do far more than this each month, this is the minimum
   • Also, this is the minimum I force my wife to provide each month on her accounts.  She’s not nearly as into PF as I am, so this was a fight.  But I convinced her that her giving me her 7 numbers every month was reasonable – if only to keep us aware of where we are as a family.
2. Track Spending Religiously (Monthly – or quarterly if I fall off track.
   • I use combination of quicken and spreadsheets
3. Maintain a Budget. Review monthly
   • Even if I don’t follow it monthly, I have a budget that I set up at the beginning of the year that I can track to. 
4. Hold regularly scheduled family meetings
   • I have a set schedule for the year that outlines what I want to review, discuss or decide for each month. 
   • Every month is slightly different, and some items repeat either quarterly or bi yearly.  Example, taxes review in Feb, Will in September. 
5. Regularly learn about money, finance, and business.
   • Read 6 books per year in finance, personal finance, investing or something related
   • Blogs.  Websites.  Magazines.
6. Regularly discuss money with others I can learn from.
   • Already rich folks. People in finance fields.
7. Track Ratios
   • Set these up in the beginning of the year and updating my BS|IS automatically updates the ratios
8. Pay something extra on my mortgage every month.  Even if it’s just a few bucks.
9. Open bills as soon as they arrive.
   • Place them in a place where they are easily found. 
   • Apart from doctor/healthcare bills – which have deduction / insurance ramifications – pay the bills as soon as they come in.

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