Last month on another thread, I mentioned wanting to simplify life so I can enjoy it more. That includes money admin. All are welcome to join in the fun, share advice and tips, or ask questions.
Here are some things hanging over my head:
I have 3 different 401k retirement accounts. Stalled on rolling some over because not all equivalent options are available.
Credit card. I’ve had the REI credit card for almost two decades and it’s been great: 1% cash back, no annual fee, and supports a co-op business. Sadly, they’re discounting the cash back program starting in 2023. You still get 1% back, but only as REI store credit. In a panic I thought I wanted to be a travel hacker and got a CapitalOne Venture X card, but not only does the name make me feel like a Patagonia vest-wearing weirdo, I really dislike keeping track of two payments. I want to figure out how to get down to 1 credit card.
Some things that have been super helpful in simplifying money admin for me include setting up a DAF for donations so I have fewer receipts to track, mailing 2 rent checks at a time (with the 2nd check dated for next month), and YNAB. I’ve tried to break up with YNAB do many times, and keep coming back!
I love simplifying. I need to decide on a share purchase schedule and portfolio so i don’t have to think about that any more. I also have 2 bank accounts to close and 1 to open to manage our money better. Its costing me in fees to not have this done.
I went to close an extra bank account and realized that I had closed it, just didn’t remove it from my tracking spreadsheet. So I removed it from my tracking spreadsheet. Tiny victory, even if dubious.
I’m not sure if it counts, but one thing I need to do is change banks. And I’m the process I need to actually get the accounts set up within our trust. I think that counts as simplifying it for future people dealing with our trust?
Woohoo! Just submitted a request for a 401k rollover from 2 jobs ago. Now, ridiculously, I wait until the check reaches me and then put it back in the mail to new 401k, and then hopefully I’ll have 1 fewer account.
In another scintillatingly slow update, the new 401k has confirmed they’ve received the rollover check. I sent it though regular mail because yolo, and it took about one week between dropping it in the box and getting the confirmation. It will take 3-5 more days for the check to fully clear, and then the old account will be officially closed.
Next up in simplifying is the not-so-simple task of getting a non-paying tenant to move out of the rental that my mom will no longer live near enough to manage. It’s been a saga that predates the pandemic. As weird as it sounds, we are going to work with a real estate attorney to offer move-out support $ with hopes of avoiding an actual eviction process.
I started the process of simplifying when we moved. I went from being in four banks down to three, from multiple accounts down two at least. We still maintain multiple accounts due to my small business activities, but it’s one bank and two accounts less. I also cut my credit cards back to one.
To be clear, we still deal with three financial institutions and have plenty of bank accounts…so there’s room for improvement yet. But neither Hubby nor I believe in “putting all our eggs in one basket”. The only change I see happening is the transferring of funds from my old bank (bank #3) TFSA to my new bank, as the investment comes due. Once they are all transferred, bank #3 accounts will all be closed.
I feel the same way about being too dependent on a single institution or account. Right now we have 17 accounts, so plenty of room to simplify without being wholly dependent on any 1 thing!
Fair