Finances

Interesting last couple of days.

I track what we spend, what we spent it on, how much we spend from month to month. Due to having most bills paid automatically from checking or our credit card, and a fairly stable list of 'whom we buy things from', I can use an Excel macro to put tags to everything. This much for groceries, that much for books, etc. Each month I add to a rolling twelve month history of what we're spending. The spreadsheet flags any numbers that are out of line with the average of the prior six months. And I keep a summary of what we projected to spend versus what we did. It helps me feel in control of our finances, and I like that.

Which is why these days were not so much fun.

Due to a miscommunication, exacerbated by simultaneous colds and lethargy, we transferred money from an external bank into one of our checking accounts to cover a very large check -- only to find in casual conversation the day after it was written that the check had been written on the other account. Oh, and the transfer was taking significantly longer than normal, so we couldn't just shift it over immediately. Much scrambling to move funds. If I take 500..no, 750 from here, and move 2500 from...no, wait, that account doesn't have that much... I think we have it squared away, but it wasn't a fun experience.

Events like this trigger my paranoia.