Going Paperless

The other day I walked into our apartment’s entryway to find our bank statement lying on top of our community mailbox, instead of being locked safely inside. Morbid tales of identity theft rushed through my mind and I quickly snatched the piece of mail. After a short discussion with my husband we signed up for online statements with that account.

Although I frequently tell my husband I prefer old-fashioned paper to online resources, my attitudes are quickly changing in-line towards his tech-savvy ways. We still have one or two bills trickle in through the mail each month, but now the majority of our budget, bill pay and even statements are stored online. This action saves us space, clutter and time, not to mention online statements prevents thieves from stealing our mail.

I have to say that except for tax purposes I find our need for actual bank statements obsolete as we check our accounts multiple times during the week and balance them against our neobudget account. I find toggling between my bank account and neobudget much easier than balancing transactions with a paper and pen. My statements are always weeks old and if I referred primarily to them my checkbook would quickly be out of balance.

When it’s time to pay the bills, I just have to check my husband’s e-mail for the amount and the date due and then pay it online through my bank. I can easily do this juggling a baby on my lap, which is a frequent occurrence. I know others swear by setting up bill pay in advance, but I haven’t tried that yet, I just pay the bills when the check deposits.

With the advances of paperless technology I feel more secure and organized in my financial dealings. Some things truly are better and easier online, while others (like a good book) will forever be the best on paper.

Saving for the Expected: The Baby Fund

I often hear the old adage, “Save for a rainy day”, in reference to unexpected occurrences such as unemployment, health issues, and accidents. But I rarely hear people express the need to save for major expected expenses that can just as easily derail your budget and potentially lead to unwanted debt.

Last year we were fortunate enough to bring baby Sweet Pea into our home. Although we have great health insurance, we still knew that we had to make room in our budget for medical expenses  associated with her birth.

Shortly after we found out we were pregnant, I started doing my research on the estimated costs for a routine delivery in our area. I looked into various doctors, hospitals, etc. and after extensive online research and numerous phone calls I felt confident estimating the cost to deliver our baby.

We put our emergency fund savings on hold for a few months and funneled all of our savings into “The Baby Fund”. After this was fully funded we returned to building up our emergency fund.

My estimation for the cost of her birth, was roughly accurate. The only reason we had to dip a little into savings was an extra day in the NICU.

Knowing that our baby was paid for without going into debt, allowed us to fully enjoy her without worrying about finances.