★ Money Challenge #8: Create a Credit Card List!
This is part of our Weekly Money Challenge series. Be sure to check off any you’ve missed!
If you've ever experienced losing your credit card or being hacked, you might remember how annoying it is. Not only in canceling it and awaiting for a new one, but having to then go back and remember all the places that card was linked to. Was it only Amazon and Netflix that was connected? The cell phone bill? Utilities? Crap... Insurance? (Here come the emails and warnings that your card was declined!!) Before you know it, you're almost more mad at yourself than you are at the hacker who put you in this mess! But there's a cure for this madness...
This week's challenge: Make a list of all the places your credit card/debt card(s) are linked!
Put it in a spreadsheet, email draft, write it down on paper - it doesn't matter. Just make sure you have it *somewhere* for whenever the next time you get a new card happens (and believe me - it's going to happen again). This will bring you four major benefits:
- It will make updating spots in the future much, much easier (and quicker!)
- It will prevent late fees from happening, or worse - shutting off of services since you remembered what to update!
- It keeps stress levels to a bare minimum (never totally avoidable, but definitely better)
- And it forces you to re-evaluate all the services/apps/products/bills you currently have set up to see if it’s still worth including in your life. If not, cut 'em and save!
Our boy J. Money started doing this years ago and swears by it. While you are accomplishing this, think about the areas you love spending money on and those you don't. Which services/bills make you happy? Which are annoying? Let us know down below or in the forums, and let's laugh together at all the random stuff we ended up cutting from the list :) - Derek, __Master of Challenges ******* PS: Click here to see how the last challenge went for people!
UPDATE!
One thing I love about doing these updates is sharing all the unexpected ideas from the community over in the forums. By the time each week is over the original challenge has grown into a really cool collaborative effort. The folks over in the forum always add super helpful tips, trick, stories, and ideas that strengthen each challenge and wrap things up nicely. Anyway, take some time to either join us in the forum or make sure to read these updates on each challenge! Here's some of this weeks highlights...
I did this not long ago when my hubby and I were going on a long trip. I sent our financial details to a trusted family member with some other instructions (just in case) and included details about how certain bills were paid and what accounts we have. My boys are 18 and 17 so they would need help from their uncle in the case of something serious happening to both of us. -Mrs_Need2save
geckovision gave us this fantastic idea of creating a money map. Here's three posts on the idea, each one with great illustrations on how to map out your money...
MaximizingMinimalist also added to the discussion of creating a money map...
Not to hijack the thread, but, Yay, Money Maps! Never heard of it before, but I totally have to do this anytime we make a tweak to our system. We always talk about/draw it in terms of "flows". And call our accounts "buckets" (that once they are full can flow into other buckets). Then, when all out buckets/buffers/emergency funds are full, we call it "Shields Up", like we're the USS Enterprise or something. No splurging til Shields Up! Read the rest of how this money map works.