A Better Way to Manage Your Everyday Money - Book - Page 12
bills one month in 1975, it dawned on me that what I was doing on scratch paper could somehow
be organized into formal records. After experimenting with designing forms with a ruler and pen
over a couple months, I managed to create a system of paper forms that replaced my scratch
paper.
With my new forms, my informal system had matured to the point that I was able to pay my bills
when due without financial strain, and I had a consistent amount of cash for day-to-day
expenses. I was quite pleased with how my own personal money toolkit had turned out. It was a
process that I, nor anyone else to my knowledge, had ever seen or used.
A friend of mine (let’s call him Fred) became interested in my little form system. I had told Fred
how pleased I was with the effectiveness of the process at a time in which he was searching for a
better financial scheme. He had an excellent income, including a generous monthly dividend
from a trust fund that his grandparents had set up. Despite his above-average income, Fred's
financial condition was also characterized by more month than money. He had large credit card
and charge account balances to which he forfeited substantial interest every month and was
constantly concerned about his ability to pay his bills. He was in the same boat I had been. At his
request, I agreed to create a set of forms for Fred to try.
After I copied the forms and instructed Fred on the methodology of the system, Fred became
very dubious that my toolkit would be of any help at all. He initialized his set of forms to fit his
financial situation. It immediately became painfully clear that Fred's finances were a disaster;
bad enough that he doubted his ability to ever get his finances under control.
In addition to doubting the usefulness of my forms, both Fred and his wife were afraid that using
the system would put restraints on their lifestyle the same way monthly budgets tend to do.
Despite their concerns, Fred and his wife decided to give my system of forms a try. They had
nothing to lose. Their finances were in such bad shape that they doubted my system could make
things worse.
The results Fred and his wife achieved with my initial system of manual forms amazed both
them and me. After using my system of forms for less than three months, Fred's finances had
stabilized. All of his credit card and charge account balances were under control to the extent that
he no longer paid interest on any of his credit cards or charge accounts. Furthermore, Fred and
his wife were very pleased that their concerns about having constraints on their lifestyle proved
groundless. They were actually able to begin pursuing interests which, prior to using my system
of forms, had been too expensive. As Christmas approached that year, they were able to do all
their gift buying without charging. In the eleven years they had been married, that was the first
Christmas that they had gotten through with no additional debt.
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