Continuing week 3 of Money Management by Personal Finance Bloggers, today we’re talking to Financia, who writes at Financial Freak Show.
Previous interviews: PT Money, Moolanomy, No Debt Plan, ToughMoneyLove and Gen X Finance.
How do you spend: cash, debit or credit?
I only use debit or cash. Mostly debit but I always carry cash. Never use credit, let’s just say credit cards and I were not a good fit and I never really saw much benefit from them once I had some actual money to spend
Do you bank online? How about use a financial aggregator (Mint, Wesabe, Yodlee, etc.)?
Yes, I do bank online with multiple banks. No, I don’t use an aggregator currently, though I may in the future.
What recurring bills do you have set on autopay?
Mortgage, Roth IRA contributions
How are your finances automated?
Money comes in as direct deposits to multiple banks & multiple accounts, savings accounts and checking.
Employer deductions for 401k & Health Ins.
Auto payments taken out for Mortgage & Roth’s
Online bill pay for all regular monthly household bills (except charitable giving)
Online transfer of funds from checking to savings accounts
Do you write checks? If so, how often?
Very rarely. I think I’m still using the first 50 free checks I received when I changed banks…and it’s been over 3 years! I only use them for charity (no cash for tax reasons) and to an occasional odd bill that may come up.
Where do you stash your short-term savings?
I use a simple savings account at a local CU separate from my regular bank for very short term savings. I can stash money easily and access it immediately through a debit card, a check, online transfer, or in person. I also use this account as an emergency type fund in place of my former credit card “safety net”
Want to find out more about Financia? Check him out at http://www.financialfreakshow.com, follow him on Twitter @FinancialFreak and subscribe to his RSS feed.
