Twice a month I get out an old tin recipe box and go through our recurring bills. One index card for each service provider, subscription, or charge, I note the amount, date paid, and any confirmation number for the payment. At the same time, I update our household checkbook, balancing it to the penny at least once a month. What can I say? I was raised by a woman who balanced her checkbook every month, letting out a little whoop of joy when it finally balanced it to the penny. Which it did. Every month. And she did it using an abacus.
Now don’t go jumping to any conclusions about me just because my next birthday cake has to have room for 70 candles. I’m as hip and with it as they come for a girl my age. Yes, the majority of our recurring bills are paid automatically. Yes, I schedule any that aren’t through online bill pay as needed. And yes, I have all of the necessary financial apps at my fingertips. No, I don’t keep cash in an envelope in our refrigerator to buy groceries, or stash money under the mattress. And no, I never did get the knack for an abacus.
So what’s with the recipe box filled with monthly index cards?
Going through those cards one by one is a way for me to keep my finger on our finances. Literally. That box and those cards are my two-factor verification to make sure that nothing is slipping through the internet cracks or into the hands of thieves lurking in the cbyer-shadows. But it’s more than that. By choosing a deliberate approach, by taking out, looking at, filling out, and refiling each card, I remember the financial blessings we enjoy. It forces me to rub up against the question of whether or not we are being good stewards of our resources. Are we being mindful with our money? Do we really need all of those streaming services? (Apparently so, what with Ted Lasso, Yellowstone, The Old Man, the NFL, 1923 and all.) Are we being wasteful rather than careful with our energy consumption? How about those online shopping sprees? On top of that, every single card is a 3x5 reminder to be grateful to those who make, pack, ship, and deliver the goods and services we’ve come to count on.
Two of our daughters, millennials to the core, are fluent in all things techie. They can pay a bill, transfer money between accounts and to friends and family, order takeout, and fill their virtual grocery cart before my arthritic thumbs have even begun the process. Virtual financial management is almost all they’ve ever known. However. They like the idea of my old-school hack for these newer times, and have both asked me to help them set up a file box system to help them keep track of the comings and goings of their very hard earned money, and to be good stewards in the process.
Who says you can’t teach a young dog an old trick?
