It’s no secret that personal finance isn’t the most fascinating subject in the world. I try to do my part and change that with this blog, but I know logging into Mint.com isn’t exactly a roller coaster ride of excitement (unless it’s payday). With that said, there are a few ways to keep things fun and interesting. And most of all: less serious! Money (specifically, the lack of) can cause a lot of stress, so anything to reduce that is a good thing in my book.
First, I give my bank accounts cool names.
OK, maybe not cool, but they at least make me laugh when I look at them. Take a peak:
- I Do What I Want Checking is, obviously, my main checking account. I call it that because it allows me to buy what I want when I want it. I’d have a “I Do What I Want (within reason)” credit card, but no bank will approve me. It’s a conspiracy against people with little income I tell you!
- When Shit Hits the Fan is my emergency fund. I feel that it has an appropriate name and reminds me of its true purpose
- New Ride is clearly for a new vehicle at some point far in the future. For some inexplicable reason, the account has fifty cents in it
- Blogging Hustle is money I make from this blog
- Christmas Materialism lets me poke fun at the fact that as much as we say Christmas is about people and memories, we all buy each other mountains of Stuff
- Graduation Gifts doesn’t have a cool name, but it’s cash I’ve received from family and friends. Thanks everybody!
- Apple Kool-Aid is for my Macbook Pro or some other Apple product I convince myself I need
- I’m On a Boat is for travel: random trips, vacations, study abroad someday, etc. Does not mean I’ll actually be on a boat. The name comes from this video
- I have automatic transfers setup to my savings accounts so I don’t have to worry about whether or not I’m saving anything from this week’s paycheck
- I read interesting personal finance blogs. Punch Debt in the Face and Budgets Are Sexy are both funny and have commonsense advice. The Financial Student is also a great blog to visit.
- I buy stuff with money. Simple, I know. But a lot of people get their finances in order and start saving like crazy. Then they forget that the point of money is to improve your life. Don’t be one of those people.
Second, I use Mint.
I could just login to my bank’s website when I want to check things out, but Mint creates cool charts and graphs that let me see what I’m spending money on and if I’m staying on budget.
Finally, I don’t let myself worry (much) about money.
I equate stressing to boring. I realize that this is extremely easy for me to do since I’m just out of high school and have no real responsibilities. But still, finding a way to relax will make finance more interesting. You can start working out goals and stuff you want to do instead of freaking out over credit card debt and student loans. Here’s how I do it:
Do you have any ways to make finance more exciting? Share ‘em in the comments.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
How do I make finance more exciting? Well with my Virtual Wallet (from PNC) every time I add to my savings account (or punch the pig) it makes a fun little oink.
I have to ask a question though: are these all literally separate accounts? Or just divided through Mint? I always mentally separate my money (I need X amount for this) but physically separating it would be even better.
Lindsay, that does sound like an interesting “bonus”!
Technically, all of my accounts are separate. They’re all through ING Direct though , so I only have to login once. It makes it much easier to visualize if my savings are on track. If you’d like to open up an ING Direct savings account, you can get $25 through their referral program if you deposit at least $250 to start with. Check out this post for more details.
Cool post. I agree with doing what you can to make personal finance a little less boring. I think that your choice of accounts is particularly interesting because it seems to be somewhat goal-centric as well. I’m actually working on Zindagi, a social enterprise that combines aspects of social gaming with real money in order to teach kids solid money management skills. Think Mint.com meets Farmville. I’d like to tell you more about it if you’re interested.