I'm retired and I have 1 money market checking account. When I get my income (SS and pensions) deposited during the month, I save it in a "Monthly Income" subaccount I created for the next month, then transfer it within Quicken to my checking account register at the beginning of the new month. The same subaccounts feature in my "old" Quicken program has various subaccounts I've created for saving each month from my total income for various items (Auto expenses, Real Estate taxes and home maint, etc.). I also subtract in Quicken every credit card purchase I make during the month, so that my Quicken register total is always reflecting actual remaining discretionary cash for spending. Most bills at the end of the month are automatic, and are entered in my Quicken register at the beg of the month, when I have the upcoming amounts that will come out on various dates (utilities, for example). When I am paying credit cards for the month, I go back into my register, add those debits for credit card purchases back into my running total, and then pay each credit card bill. I've used this system for decades--probably back to when Quicken first came out for Windows in 1991. I still use a Quicken Premier 2007 CD program on my computer. I don't use auto downloads of my banking into it--just enter by hand. That Quicken program still works fine on my updated Windows 11 computer--have downloaded it using an external hard drive each time I've gotten a new computer.
Jonathan--
I got to your column by way of The Retirement Manifesto, and am so glad I did! Having lost my husband and sister 8-9 months ago, I am very much sensitized to death in life as I have grieved. Your writing is so rich and full of the realities of your continuing life and impending death that it takes my breath away. I honor you for your honest sharing. Dealing with the financial and physical aftermaths of my two loved ones' deaths has had me clearing out my house while I am able and putting things in order for my family. While I am alive and well, I do not want my family to experience the trauma of having to "throw my life away", as I did with my sister's decades of stored "stuff." There is such wisdom in living one's life in touch with the cycle of life and death, especially as we grow older. Thank you for your writing that is helping me do that just a bit more. Peace to you and your family in your journey to the end.
Comments
I'm retired and I have 1 money market checking account. When I get my income (SS and pensions) deposited during the month, I save it in a "Monthly Income" subaccount I created for the next month, then transfer it within Quicken to my checking account register at the beginning of the new month. The same subaccounts feature in my "old" Quicken program has various subaccounts I've created for saving each month from my total income for various items (Auto expenses, Real Estate taxes and home maint, etc.). I also subtract in Quicken every credit card purchase I make during the month, so that my Quicken register total is always reflecting actual remaining discretionary cash for spending. Most bills at the end of the month are automatic, and are entered in my Quicken register at the beg of the month, when I have the upcoming amounts that will come out on various dates (utilities, for example). When I am paying credit cards for the month, I go back into my register, add those debits for credit card purchases back into my running total, and then pay each credit card bill. I've used this system for decades--probably back to when Quicken first came out for Windows in 1991. I still use a Quicken Premier 2007 CD program on my computer. I don't use auto downloads of my banking into it--just enter by hand. That Quicken program still works fine on my updated Windows 11 computer--have downloaded it using an external hard drive each time I've gotten a new computer.
Post: Spending Without Guilt: An Overlooked Retirement Skill
Link to comment from January 24, 2026
Jonathan-- I got to your column by way of The Retirement Manifesto, and am so glad I did! Having lost my husband and sister 8-9 months ago, I am very much sensitized to death in life as I have grieved. Your writing is so rich and full of the realities of your continuing life and impending death that it takes my breath away. I honor you for your honest sharing. Dealing with the financial and physical aftermaths of my two loved ones' deaths has had me clearing out my house while I am able and putting things in order for my family. While I am alive and well, I do not want my family to experience the trauma of having to "throw my life away", as I did with my sister's decades of stored "stuff." There is such wisdom in living one's life in touch with the cycle of life and death, especially as we grow older. Thank you for your writing that is helping me do that just a bit more. Peace to you and your family in your journey to the end.
Post: Four Questions
Link to comment from December 28, 2024