Uncommon Cents

This past Valentine’s Day, Trent over at The Simple Dollar discussed how he’s been spending less time managing his personal finances because he’s learned how to balance on his financial bicycle (read “improve his financial behavior”) and is starting to shed his training wheels (meaning his budgeting and planning tools). He also stated that he’s noticed that he trusts himself more and that he’s opening his Excel spreadsheet less often and checking his account balances less than daily. In short, it appears that Trent has been able to use the tools of basic personal finance to improve to a point where he may not need them anymore.

I think that’s wonderful. I also think that while I can understand where he’s coming from (both as a licensed clinical social worker and someone who has used a lot of these tools himself for years), I think I’m not where he is yet in terms of being ready to shed them–and even then I’m not convinced it’s a great idea.

I won’t make a professional case for it, but I sometimes believe that issues with money (particularly out of control spending) are similar to issues with food or, worse, issues with substances and maybe even mental health. Getting these situations to a manageable state requires discipline, support, and structure. Discipline–being able to put off immediate gratification for long term goals. Support–the help of other people, sometimes in similar situations (I firmly believe that the proliferation of personal finance blogs, particularly by those who are in debt, are a huge source of social support for those in financial turmoil. In some ways, finances are the last taboo–no one likes to talk about them–and the anonymity of the Internet can serve as a virtual support group.). Finally, structure–having and following a plan, and doing the same thing in the same situation over and over again.

Tools like a budget and a spending log and behaviors like regularly checking your account balances and scheduling bill paying time help with both the discipline and structure parts of your financial behavior. When I’m feeling unsettled financially, I take a few minutes and log down my expenses for the day, check my account balances, write out what my bills are for the next month or two, and estimate my income over the same amount of time. I tend to do this about once or twice a week. I worry that when I’m feeling great financially I’m like the drunk who feels fantastic and decides to skip their Alcoholics Anonymous meeting for a few days or the schizophrenic whose been doing great and decides he doesn’t need his medication anymore–that I’ll stop doing the things that helped me get and stay where I am and fall into my old pattern of behavior, and before I know it, all that hard work is down the tubes.

Perhaps it’s an issue of not trusting myself as much as Trent does. Or perhaps it’s the experience I’ve had dealing with other people and myself in trying to change behavior about fitness and finances and health. I’m not yet ready to give up those training wheels, if that’s what they really are. I may never be ready. I realize that behavior is learned over time, but I think that if I believe I still need to keep a composition book around where I write down all of my expenses, then that behavior might be the best one that I’ve learned to help me keep my spending under control.

I guess what I’m saying is this: if the training wheels help me to keep balance–even if it’s only in my head–then they’re still doing their job, and I’ll keep them on my bicycle as long as I need to.

Tags: Banking, Budgeting, Frugality, Goals, Social aspects

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