0229-01 Check Stubs and QBuxBox

    Topic:    Check Stubs and a  Spending Control Personal Finance System                                ID: 0229-01/01   

     From:   Jim Bramer                                                                                                                                    Date:  August 2007

PREFACE

        Those of us in our retirement years had few computer bookkeeping systems when we began to live on our own and handle money, etc.
        We deposited our pay check into the Bank and then we posted each transaction to our  Check Stub records. Of course, whenever we wrote a check we made it a part of the Check Stub  records.  Obviously, as part of our Check Stub  conventional process, we took our beginning balance, added our deposits and deducted our checks so we always knew if we had any money in the Bank.   If we were smart, we wrote the equivalent of a check to ourselves for cash;  or we did NOT cash our pay check and deposit only the residual to our Bank Account. 
        When the statement came from the Bank we "reconciled" the Bank's data to our  Check Stub  records and made sure they agreed. 

CHECK STUBS AND BUXBOXES

        With all of this in mind, please embrace the information below about a modified  Check Stub and BuxBox  system for today's use as we have Spending Limit information that we talk about when you  Click Here  -- especially as each of us comply with    Righteous Personal Finance issues within context of these   TRUISMs.

  •      Many of us, especially the younger generation, are NOT living within our income and are incurring too much Credit Card debt.

  •      We, therefore, should make use of a system whereby all of our money, either received or spent, flows through some type of BuxBox (or Envelope) system that allows us to readily know the amount of our agreed Spending Limits. Or we discipline ourselves to  spend only  the balance per the applicable  BuxBox, etc.

  •      Most all of us today have 24/7  Internet access whereby we can get the equivalent of our Credit Card and Bank Statements. Or we get this information weekly and we do not have to wait its monthly arrival. If we do not have Internet access, we simply make use of our small Credit Card slips.

  •      At the offset, we set up only two BuxBoxes; one called "Spoken For (Obligatory)" --  where you have made a financial commitment and the other called "UnSpoken For (Discretionary)"  -- where you decide within context of your life style as you go along, etc.  Please note examples of transactions going out of each of these two  BuxBoxes  below:   We limit the number of our  BuxBoxes  and  purposefully do NOT have a BuxBox for every type of expenditure. 

        (1) UnSpoken For

         (2) Spoken For 
   
Auto/Vehicle Operations - not essential Auto/Vehicle Operations - flat amt for essential
Church Offerings etc Auto/Vehicle Payments
Clothing - non essential Church Tithes and Pledges - etc
Dental - as needed Clothing - flat amt for essential
Eating Out - Restaurant or Fast Food Debt - College Loans etc
Entertainment and/or Recreation costs Debt - Old Credit Card Pay off
Gifts to Family, etc. Groceries - flat amt for essential
Groceries - non essential House Payment or Rent
Investments for Retirement or the future Household Equipment Payment
Residence Maintenance - non essential Insurance - Life
School/Education/Activity Costs  Insurance - Property - Vehicles
SetASides for any of these future wants Insurance Medical/dental expenses
Utilities - TV and Internet/Cel Phones Residence Maintenance - essential 
Vacation Costs SetASides for any as named in future
  Taxes - Income (3)
  Taxes - Property
  Utilities - flat amt for essential
    (1) Defined as "your optional choices
that you make"
    (2) Defined as "associated with
a need/promise/agreement"  This could
be with the Lord, Self or Vendor/Provider; 
    (3) Defined as "usually not an option
due to employer withholdings"
   

  •    That is right  ........  we establish and maintain two Check Stubs .......  each with a running balance.  The first  Check Stub  is for "Spoken For (Obligatory)" activity and the other Check Stub  is for "UnSpoken For (Discretionary)"  transactions as each deposit and/or check transaction is divided up accordingly. The result is that after we make a deposit, or write a check, we update these two  Check Stubs  and know how much is available per the running balance in both of these two Check Stubs    (Yea, BuxBoxes).  Or we view both Check Stubs  as if they were a separate Bank Account.   Another view of a  Check Stub  equivalent detail is found at   0722.   By the way, if this rings any bells with you, please ask me at Jim@bcidot.org about the  Check Stub  process via the use of a special type of Excel doc.

  •      We do all of our buying (preferably by Credit Card , or via a check - if needed) only if there is available money in that  Check Stubs  BuxBox ----- this is especially applicable to the many buying options within the UnSpoken For (Discretionary)  BuxBox.     

  •      Since we pay off our Credit Card balance weekly (preferable via an Online Payment)  and place such check equivalent activity into the respective " Check Stubs  "BuxBox. we have the current running balance of the two  Check Stubs  BuxBoxes at least weekly.

  •      Our Bank Reconcile process includes activity and balances of both Check Stubs.  Some prefer to accomplish this effort via actually having two Bank Accounts, but we recommend dividing up only one Bank Account.

  •      In time we may want additional  Check Stubs  (BuxBoxes) to better control more specific areas of our spending.  Then we likely would more fully embrace the applicable Internet/Online/computer resources mentioned at www.qbuxbox.org. 

  •      Be sure you understand the ATF (After the Fact)  option of making entries to the two  Check Stubs  (BuxBoxes) only from transactions appearing in the weekly copies of the Bank and Credit Card Statements - thereby eliminating the need for a reconciliation process.  Or both  Check Stub  (BuxBoxes) balances would agree with the total shown by the weekly Bank Statement.

  •      Did you notice that  we have not used the "Budget"  awful word in any of our comments above?

CAUTION!!  You  MUST  have consistent "Money Record Keeping"  plus   Discipline   !  Discipline   !   Discipline !!
 

          If you have any comments or questions, please contact me at   Jim@bcidot.org  or leave a message at  1 559 298 5507. The bulk of this material originated in August 2007.      UPTD: June 06, 2010   

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