Dollars and Sense

Image Via Today's Getaway

Part of this whole elegance project is to streamline my life. Make things as easy and organized as possible...while working more than forty hours a week. And getting enough rest to keep those dark circles at bay. One of the more challenging projects I have is to find elegance in my finances.

Pardon me. I had to pause for a moment to stop my eyes from rolling.

The last thing I find to be elegant is banking and bill paying, or balancing a checkbook. As a matter of fact, I haven't reconciled my accounts since the mid-1990s. But, I do have QuickBooks. A rather old version of it, but it still works. I typically spend the weekends in February inputting the previous year's debits and credits into QB to prep for the Ides of April. And, every year, I vow not to repeat that mistake. Every year I promise myself that I will be more diligent, stay on top of my bookkeeping. Yet, every year, I let myself down.

The irony is that I keep books for my clients. When I consulted, the first thing I would tell new business owners was to invest in Quicken or QuickBooks and be meticulous in their accounting from the get-go. Make it a priority. Isn't it funny how we can fail to heed our own best advice?

Let me be honest. Money and I don't always get along. He's been rather a cad to me, and I prefer to ignore him than confront him with his series of disappointments. But I want this year to be different, so it's time Money and I make our amends.

Yes, I spent the weekends in February catching up on 2010 finances. But, this time, I took it a little further. After entering my bank accounts' information, I input my credit cards, too, a step I never took for myself. Now, all of my financial information is up-to-date and in one place. While my version of QB doesn't allow for direct connect, I am able to down-then-upload transactions from my bank. I don't use my credit cards that often, so those charges can be entered manually as well. Now, each Saturday morning, as I watch my home redesign shows and sip my tea, I do a few minutes of bookkeeping.

I can't say that it's very glamorous, but it is simple, and almost effortless. Having everything organized in that arena makes my finances feel elegant, even if they aren't always pretty to look at. And I'm learning that, while ignorance may be bliss, there's an elegance in knowing.

So, if you've been avoiding any cads in your financial life, take a lesson from this longtime procrastinator: Dive in, the water's fine. It doesn't take that long, and you will feel much better when you're done. If you don't want to invest in software, perhaps a service like Mint.com would suit you. If you do prefer to utilize software, Quicken is very easy to use and will link easily with all of your personal accounts and will input and match your transactions. QuickBooks focuses more on business, and not all personal credit cards will work on the direct connect feature. There are also many smartphone apps to help you keep track of where your money goes.

Also, if you are like me and don't like paying bills, sign up for autopay. It's a little slice of heaven, and I've never had any issues in the many years I've employed it. Bill Pay, too, is another lifesaver. You don't have to worry about finding the envelope or searching for a stamp.

And now I'm beginning to look at my finances in a different way. As if they were the foundation garments to a wonderful wardrobe: absolutely seamless, supportive and comfortable. Yes, that might indeed be a stretch of the imagination, but it helps. And with that aspect of my life well on its way to being elegant, I can focus on things more fun. An overdue dinner party, perhaps?