Simplify Everything

I have found, especially as I get older, that there is a real benefit to simplifying many aspects of my life.  For me the reasons include:

• Saving time
• Easing decision making
• Limiting behavioral mistakes, including thrashing or freezing, due to complexity 
• Preparing for cognitive decline or physical incapacity
• Preparing for ease of transferring responsibilities to spouse or children

Do you find that simplification helps you and if so what things have you done to simplify your financial situation and other aspects of your life?

Below I have listed some of the areas in my life I have tried to simplify and specific things that have helped me.

Financial Investments

• Simplification of financial investments
  • Use of an “all in one” fund. Its attributes include:
    • High diversification
    • Low Cost
    • Automatic Rebalancing
    • Hands off
• Consolidation of similar accounts (multiple IRAs, Roth, Checking)
• Minimization of number of companies used (Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab)

I have it easy as the bulk of our investments are in tax deferred (IRA) and tax free (Roth) accounts.  So it has been easy for me to make simplification changes without tax consequences.  I have decided that an appropriately chosen “all in one” fund is good enough for our financial needs. I specifically use Vanguard LifeStrategy Funds, and have chosen for myself to invest all of our IRA and Roth funds in the LifeStrategy Moderate Growth Fund (VSMGX). 

The bulk of our investments are at Vanguard and we will likely keep them there.  I also have a Fidelity account as my past employer had made use of it for certain financial accounts they set up for me.  I do prefer several aspects of Fidelity’s interactive web site, so I have opened and retain Cash Management, HSA and 529 accounts there.

Automate Payments

I have all bills automatically paid using a credit card, and where not possible use ACH transfers from a cash management account.

Create On-Line Calendar Reminders and Record of Events

I have super charged the use of an electronic calendar and the search capabilities within them. 

• I create electronic entries for everything  so I don’t have to remember anything and always get timely reminders.
• When activities need to reoccur, I create automatic recurring reminders.
• I make sure to make use of the “Notes” section in a calendar entry item to facilitate detailed documentation and ease of search in the future.
• My spouse and I share calendars with each other so we both know what the other is doing and can easily coordinate plans 
• Items I create calendar entries for include:
  • All appointments
  • Auto and home maintenance reminders
  • Reminders to review something in advance of an automatic renewal (insurance, ISP contract, cell phone carrier)
  • When something significant happens that I want to remember with its details, I create a calendar entry item for it for easy search in the future.

Use of Cloud Based Password Manager

If you are like me, you have accounts for hundreds of different online resources. Without a password manger it would be impossible for me to remember or manually document all of the associated information for all of these accounts.

With a password manager, I never have to remember my id or password, am able to automatically fill those fields when needed, and can store all kinds of other associated information related to the account.

In addition, certain password managers (like the one I use named BitWarden) allow you to store generated “Passkeys” that can be used on compatible websites, further eliminating the need for password and id input.

Consolidated Tracking Of Financial Resources

I find it useful to have a consolidated view of all of my financial resources.  This includes:

• Net worth tracking
• Asset evaluation (allocation, performance)
• Transactional view (view, search, by category, by time )
• Retirement planning (scenario projections based on various criteria)

I use a couple of sites that have overlapping capabilities, with each more useful for certain aspects:

• Empower (Free)
• Fidelity Full View (Free for people with a Fidelity account)

For more heavy duty retirement planning I use a few different resources including:

• Boldin (Paid)
• TPAW Planner (Free)

Setup Privileges, Authority and Access In Advance

For online resources such as financial and medical, as appropriate, I and my spouse have both set up accounts and grant full access to one another’s accounts. Doing this in advance will prevent difficulty and delays in a situation where one loses capabilities.

What things have you done to simplify your financial situation and other aspects of  your life?