Kiss — this was written on a teammate’s basketball shoe. It has stuck with me throughout my life.
It stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. I’ve often thought about why there is so much complexity in life.
Personal finance can be a complex topic – Interest rates, student loans, taxes, expenses, investments, etc. The list is long.
Here are some practical tools anyone can use to simplify their own personal finances.
Sign up for Financial Software
Mint.com is a free option. This financial aggregation tool connects with your financial accounts including credit cards, student loans, bank accounts, etc. With this information, Mint will create a net worth statement and allow you to follow all of your transactions from these connected accounts.
At WealthU we use RightCapital. It is similar to Mint however has more robust investment and retirement planning tools.
Automate Accounts
Streamline your 401k contributions, savings, and 529 education accounts by selecting an automatic amount going to these accounts. Arrange your bank accounts to send a fixed amount each month to these saving vehicles.
Also, set-up autopay for all of the bills that you can. This will save you countless hours by allowing you to skip the online portal or having to mail a check each month. Not to mention you are saving trees!
Maintenance Calendar
Pick a day of the month or quarter when you will do your financial maintenance. This involves checking your bank account statements or financial aggregation software, verifying the transactions are correct and reviewing the progress towards your specific financial goals.
Furthermore, mark on your calendar, a day each year when you can do a yearly review. This will involve a more holistic review of your investment accounts, total spending, insurance, beneficiaries, and taxes. Spending one day on this will allow you to see all of the progress you made during the year and motivate you to keep moving forward!
Credit Cards
If you chose to use credit cards, use one 2% cashback for daily use and one zero international transaction fee card for international use (if you travel abroad). Chasing cashback points with different credit cards is not worth the hassle.
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler. – Albert Einsten
Feel free to reach out if you have any thoughts about this article or share it with a friend.
Stay the course. Your future self will thank you.
-Mike
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation of WealthU Advisors, Michael Uehlein. Past performance may not be indicative of future results and may have been impacted by events and economic conditions that will not prevail in the future. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific security, investment product, or investment strategy referenced in the article, either directly or indirectly, will be profitable or equal to the corresponding indicated performance level(s). No portion of the article shall be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any specific security or investment product or to engage in any particular investment or financial planning strategy. Any reference to a market index is included for illustrative purposes only, as it is not possible to directly invest in an index. Indices are unmanaged, hypothetical vehicles that serve as market indicators and do not account for the deduction of management fees or transaction costs generally associated with investable products, which otherwise have the effect of reducing the performance of an actual investment portfolio.